Page 71 of Tainted Blood

There was no reason to think that vampires and cambions had anything to do with each other…

I tried my best to stay awake, trying to banish the train of thought and find another, but before dawn even rose, my eyes drifted closed, and I was lost to the same healing sleep Alexius was in.

I woke up to the bed moving, my eyes opening to see I was staring at Alexius, and he was awake as well.

“This is not where I thought I’d wake up,” he said simply, then winced. “Or the state I’d be in.”

“Isaiah put us in here,” I explained. “Do you… remember what happened?”

“Yes…” He winced again. “Somewhat. I remember the smell of smoke and pain when Isaiah and I went to investigate the bunker.” He closed his eyes. “Then the smell of blood. Something about it enraged me. I woke up… not myself and fought. You fought. You were hurt…”

“Not by you. Don’t think that. Kallias drank the blood on purpose. He did it. He’s why Isaiah put me here with you in the safekeeping of his personal bedroom.”

“Oh no,” Alexius said, sitting up. “Absolutely not.” He tried to get up and grabbed his ribs, his fingers pulling at the bandages.

“What’s wrong?”

“He had sex with Jacob in this bed sometimes,” Alexius said, getting up with a staggering step.

“Oh.” I moved as well, my leg a dull echo of the pain it had had before, but it still wasn’t properly healed.

“The sheets have been washed dozens of times since then, you fucking ridiculous man,” Isaiah said, spooking me enough to make me sit back down on the bed. He was sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, a book in his hands. “I believe the mattress was replaced a couple of months ago as well.”

“I don’t care,” Alexius said, growling as he fought with the tight bandages around his abdomen and left arm. “I’m old, but did you really feel the need to make me a mummy?”

“You are covered in burns, Alexius. A bomb set you on fire after you shoved me down the hall.” Isaiah put his book down. “Everly, I told you that you needed to stay off that leg and that Alexius would need to be careful if he didn’t want to be covered in scars for the rest of his miserable immortal existence. If you both want to limp around tonight, that’sfine. I don’t control either of you. Let me tell you what I’ve learned today and officially declare that the situation is resolved… for now.”

Resolved. I didn’t believe him, but I desperately wanted to.

“Was it all Kallias? Theron didn’t control his son?” Alexius frowned. “Or was he directing his son?”

“Oh, you have a lot to catch up on,” Isaiah said, a small smile forming. “Theron and Solon kept it a secret, but Solon was Kallias’ real sire. It was a trump card they wanted to use one day. Imagine, like I did, asking Theron to control his offspring, only to find out that Kallias isn’t truthfully following orders. He’s a sleeper agent who I think is on a leash but isn’t. Theron was required to prove that Eumelia is, in fact, his offspring, and I’m going to make other vampires prove those relationships going forward. Theron pledged his loyalty to me before Kallias’ body stopped burning, and so did his Eumelia. They will accept repercussions in the name of honor for Solon’s and Kallias’s plan to restore the position of their nest, which is damaged. We captured Solon. You and Everly killed Kallias.”

“I remember… not killing someone, but I was angry…” Alexius rubbed his face. “Someone else took my kill… or maybe…” He dropped his hand and turned on me. “Youkilled Kallias.”

“She did. Moving on. You can both go home tonight because I let most of the others leave yesterday. Some are still hanging around, but no one I have a problem with. You don’t need to do anything about that. I wanted you two to come with me to interrogate Solon tonight.”

Isaiah seemed like he was back to normal, but I wasn’t sure how much I believed it.

“Yesterday?” Alexius stopped messing with his bandages. “What?”

“You both slept through the night, so Marcus and I handled things. Imani finished helping Marcus and me question the others in attendance. Ramman woke up last night and wandered off. I didn’t bother him… I didn’t see the point of harassing him for answers when he seemed to remain catatonic after he opened his eyes. We wrapped up everything. You both needed the night to recover, and I would not disturb that. Everly’s leg needed the time because of her age, and you…” Isaiah pointed at Alexius. “Well, let’s just say I’ve never seen that before and never want to see it again.”

“You wrapped up everything? What did you learn? What pieces were we missing?” I needed to know. For my own peace of mind, I had to know.

“Marcus and I were able to put together how Kallias ended up with the blood. The man they had working in secret took it to the trash during the daytime. Then one of their employees took out some trash and grabbed it before coming back in. Some sleight-of-hand, as these things can be. Sometimes, it’s the simplest of tricks that remain effective because they can go undetected.

“Kallias was just waiting for it to be dropped off to him. When Marcus and I started having issues with others, they both took their chance to step out. Solon left first, baiting Everly and getting out of the dangerous area of the building, then Kallias went off by himself once Marcus and I left. At least, that’s my assumption, and I have a feeling it’ll be correct.” Isaiah went to the door. “Meet me in my office, and we’ll go together. There’s fresh clothing for both of you that should be comfortable to fly in.”

After he walked out of his bedroom, Alexius and I stayed quiet for a minute until I asked an obvious question.

“He wants us to see the beginning of the interrogation but not all of it? He’s sending us home tonight. What are we supposed to use if we don’t get to ask the questions we need to ask? There’s still so much to figure out, like how this might tie into Jacob’s murder, the Alaska stuff, and the person emailing me.”

“I don’t know what his plan is,” Alexius said, shaking his head. “But I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”

Sighing, I got dressed, grateful to see Isaiah had continued to consider my preferences for clothing over the styles of others. It was comfortable enough to wear for travel.

When we met him, he silently led us to one of the estate's tertiary buildings, which I’d only seen during the tour. Inside, we descended to a basement, but not a normal basement. It had been dug down three stories deep, most of it a single narrow staircase until we reached a small underground jail. Solon sat in one of the cells, which didn’t have bars, but large metal walls with only a peephole. Looking inside out of curiosity, Solon looked weak, his face gaunt and bony. He was chained to the far wall, holding himself up but unable to sit down and rest his legs.

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