Page 55 of Tainted Blood

“No, I only know that it’s the case because I’ve witnessed it. Is there a reason you’re asking theoretical questions?”

“Just following my train of thought to pass the time as we do this, and I think it helps me process and… re-realize things as we work. Maybe I’ll put something together and have a light bulb moment while we’re working. I’ll stop if you find it annoying.”

He studied me for a moment as he reached for the door.

“Don’t stop. I don’t find it annoying,” he said before opening the door and heading to the next suite.

We moved on to Ramman and Samas’ room before bothering Lyra. It was clear to me who was who when it came to their things. Ramman had more of everything, and there were pops of color that didn’t exist in Samas’ things. I found Ramman’s laptop and frowned.

“Should I take this? Maybe I can get into it and discover who he bought the blood from…”

“Icouldsay yes, but right now, we should trust Ramman to tell us if he can when he wakes. If we take anything but the blood, if we can find it, we’re casting him in a bad light after he’s lost someone important. I wouldn’t take any of Samas’ things yet, either. Ramman won’t be the most stable vampire when he wakes, and disturbing Samas’ things too much could push him over the edge.”

Sighing heavily, I left the laptop. We found nothing in the end, not even the note or letter they had received from that human when the sun was up. There was no sign of the blood Ramman had brought, just in case someone had brought it back to his room, or any blood, for that matter. Leaving the suite, I looked back, knowing there were things I could have used, but I understood the tightrope Alexius and I had to walk right now. I was already making a mental checklist of everything I wanted to do once we were done with the room searches. Alexius locked the room properly after I closed the door.

“It was unlocked when we got here. If you can, check footage from the hallway later to see if anyone else entered the room before we could.”

“Already on my mental checklist, but I’ll write that down for you. Are you going to keep working when the sun forces me to sleep?” I looked up at him once I finished making note of his request. He frowned.

“There’s a way to help you stay up for the day, but… never mind. That’s a foolish move.”

“What is it?”

“Give you my blood. However, it wouldn’t work after just one feeding, and it would bond us together in a one-sided way for some time until it left your system. I’ve never given my blood to another vampire. I’m not sure why I had the idea to do it now.” He shook his head, then went to Lyra’s door, knocking several times. I never got the chance to process anything he had said because we were jumping into the next search.

“Well, hello…” She smiled at him as she opened the door, then saw me. “Ah. This must be work.”

Alexius explained, and Lyra followed us through the search, not bothering us but watching carefully. She didn’t let me look through her drawers or suitcases, so Alexius had to dig through the lingerie and other unmentionables. He didn’t seem bothered by it, but it was weird, knowing why Lyra was so adamant that I not do it.

When we were done, we had found nothing, and Alexius didn’t even thank her for making it easy. He walked out with me, ignoring her attempt to start a conversation. We were already an hour into searching when we finished her room.

“Now, the hard rooms,” he warned as he knocked on the next door. “None of these vampires will appreciate this.”

The Athenians were first. I felt guilty that none of their names had sunk in when introductions were made, but their names were on the room assignments. They had two suites since there were four of them. I didn’t have pictures to put a face to each name, but I at least had their names again. Eumelia and Kallias were in the first suite. Neither was the Master or Mistress of Athens. I was certain it was Theron or Solon in the next suite. Eumelia quickly confirmed this.

“How dare you request this of us?” she snapped. “Kallias, do you hear this?” She looked over her shoulder, clearly furious. “He wants to search our suite and demands we hand over our property.”

“Let me get Master Theron,” he said, stepping around her and giving us a once-over before leaving the room. He didn’t knock to get the other Athenians, walking straight into their suite. A moment later, both Theron and Solon followed Kallias into the hallway.

“Tell your Roman that our property is our property. You’re not going through our things to report back to him about it,” one of the vampires told Alexius.

“We’re trying to protect everyone by confiscating outside blood,” I explained for him, hoping that part of the message just didn’t get to him. "There's too many variables that have the potential to cause more chaos when we need some order."

He looked me over, confused, maybe by the fact that I had spoken at all.

“Aren’t you some servant who got lucky to be Turned because the Macedonian was feeling soft-hearted? Why don’t you follow the training you must have and stay quiet?” He focused on Alexius when he was done chastising me.

“Don’t be difficult,” Alexius said, his words clearly a warning for the other vampire. “We’re doing this whether you agree to it or not. You know the security of the household and the vampires here must be a priority over your petty need for control. This isn’t your home. You’renotin control here.”

“Neither is Isaiah, it seems,” the vampire said, glaring at Alexius. “I still don’t know why you and Jacob thought he and Rome were better than your homeland, but your loyalties to him are misplaced right now. We’re here because he promised to keep us protected while we gather, and he clearly didn’t. Not this time. Two prominent Masters of nests and three respected members of the community are dead. More of both are wounded. I will be keeping my suites secure until I feel this is under control, and that means no, you won’t be coming into our space.”

“I’m not sure if you’re just being a shitty person or you have something to hide, but neither is very helpful right now,” I said, crossing my arms. I smartly took a step back right after I finished talking, with Alexius making a half step to the side to be in front of me as the vampire snarled in offense.

“How dare you mouth off like that to any vampire in this building,” he growled, trying to look around Alexius.

“I call it like I see it,” I said lightly, knowing Alexius had my back.

“She’s right. You can’t imagine that others will appreciate you doing this when everyone so far has kindly let us do what we must to protect everyone here. Are you hiding something, Theron? Or perhaps you’re protecting one of yours. Is it Solon or Kallias? Maybe it’s Eumelia. I am more than willing to investigate any of them to discover why you seem to be against the right decision to protect everyone here.”

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