Page 79 of Blood and Buttercups

I blink, startled, trapped in his deep brown gaze. Recognition passes between us, and his eyebrows jump. It’s like we know each other, but I’ve never seen this man in my life.

Noah steps between us, subtly making the man release me. “We’re late for an appointment.”

“Who is she?” the man demands.

“My pre-vamp—she was the victim of an attack. Her infection was none of her doing.”

The man’s jaw twitches. “She’s one of mine.”

As if that’s a challenge, Noah narrows his eyes. “Maybe you should be careful who you bite.”

I watch the exchange, baffled. Though I expect the man to respond, he merely looks at me, his eyes sliding over my face, and then continues into the full light of midday.

I turn back to Noah, raising my eyebrows, and whisper, “What the heck was that?”

“That was not good.”

The look on Noah’s face does nothing to ease my concern. “Why? Who is he?”

“Cassian Chevalier.”

“That means nothing to me.”

“He’s from an old line and was one of the earliest supporters of our medical research. In the early 1900s, he offered himself as a test subject so we could begin studying Vampiria B. He followed Dmitry Ivanovsky’s virus research and theorized that vampirism could, in fact, be a legitimate illness.”

“He’s a vampire?” I say, though I already gathered it from their strained conversation.

Noah nods. “About twenty years ago, he granted money to several of our science labs in hopes of creating the synthetic blood. But his life’s mission is to eradicate vampirism entirely, which doesn’t always make him the most popular man at the yearly company picnic.”

I think about that for a moment. “Doesn’t everyone want to eradicate viruses?”

Noah ushers me inside. “Not necessarily this one.”

I think about what Dr. Granger said would happen if the general populace learned about the virus. Most would be horrified. Others would see it as the fountain of youth.

“There are people in NIHA who would like to use it?” I ask carefully.

“Not in its current state, necessarily, but some would like to see it put to use, yes. They believe that if we could harness it, minimizing the side effects, we could cure cancer. Heart disease. Aging.”

“And the downside?”

“To begin with, it would be extremely expensive, so the only people with access to it would be the wealthy. Second, if we ever reached a point where it was widely available, it would likely cause population issues.”

“But it doesn’t matter because it doesn’t exist, right? This hybrid, genetically modified Vampiria B virus?”

“As far as I know, it does not.”

“Does NIHA have their scientist working on it in their labs?”

“If they do, I’ve never heard about it. But hunters don’t rank that high in the NIHA hierarchy.”

I nod as we walk through the lobby. Our footsteps are muffled by the gray runner that carpets the faux-wood flooring, the soft noise drowned out by the hum of the large fish tank built into the wall directly across from the entrance.

“What did he mean when he said I’m one of his?” I ask.

“He believes you’re from his line.”

“Like…” I cringe as I think of Olivia’s question. “He thinks we have asire bond?”

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