Page 122 of The Art of Exiley

Continue to spy.

My mother said those exact words. “It’s not… how she made it sound.” I try to swallow, truly afraid. I know how he feels about traitors to his people, and this time the proof is much more damning.

His eyes are like ice over a frozen lake, cold and harsh and hiding endless depths. He’s surrounded by the bodies of the unconscious security guards that he somehow managed to overpower single-handedly.

“Please…,” I squeak. “I’m not planning to spy.”

“Ada.” His commanding voice silences me. “Don’t worry. I believe that you did not know what they were doing and do not want to help them anymore.”

“Rafe, I swear…”

He shushes me with a finger to my lips. “Ada, I trust you.” He steps closer. “You’re shivering.” He shucks off his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders. “Now, we have to get out of here. Let’s go.” And without another word, he walks to the boat where Hypatia is resting.

It takes me a moment to recover from the surprise, and then I follow him.

36

We quickly cross the river and rush back to the hotel. Hypatia is still very weak, and Rafe carries her most of the way. As soon as we’re back in our room—the receptionist must have woken and left, as she is nowhere to be seen—Rafe lays Hypatia on the bed and begins rolling up his sleeve.

“What are you doing?” she protests.

“You need blood now.” He extends his hand to her, but she feebly pushes it away with a shocked expression.

“Not from you. Find someone else.”

“You need to eat now, and Sire blood will help you heal more quickly.”

“Mother said never from a Sire.” But her voice is small and frail. Rafe ignores her and presses his inner forearm against her mouth. She hesitates for a moment, then grabs his arm and bites down.

I turn away to give them privacy, but not before I see small fangs puncture Rafe’s skin.

I expect to spiral into a total freakout over the fact that my dear friend is apparently even more of a vampire than her cousin, but it seems that I’ve reached my mental limit on shock for the day. My brain has thrown up her hands and is willing to accept anything right now.

I sit on the other bed, pretending to busy myself with my phone until Rafe comes to sit next to me.

He says softly, “She’s sleeping, and she needs to rest. We’ll stay the night, and my brother will collect us in the morning. I’ve already been in touch with him. What you said about your grandfather not being the sick one means we don’t have to go there first, correct?”

I nod. I’d explained the basics on the boat ride back.

“Are you… okay?” he asks.

“No.” Better to keep my mind busy with practicalities, so I change the subject. “Who could have given them the knowledge to create a false Sire?” I’d filled Rafe in on Kor’s illness and his surgery, and I’m more curious than ever who Prometheus might be.

“I honestly have no idea who would do such a thing. But we’ll need to find a way to neutralize the knowledge. Sire abilities are too dangerous in provincial hands.”

Neutralize the knowledge.That can’t mean anything good for my family. Despite everything I witnessed tonight, I don’t want any harm coming to them.

“I don’t understand,” I say to Rafe. “Maker inventions are one thing, but why can’t we teach provincial Sires how to wield Ha’i? They haven’t all been recruited. There are many untrained Sires out there who have no idea what they are or what they could be doing for society. There’s no one forbidding it any longer, so why can’t the knowledge of Sires be reintroduced so the rest of the world can have some advantage?”

“Are you kidding me? Look at what your family did as soon as they learned about Sires. Abducting them and draining their blood—you think that’s the first time something like this has happened? This is what that provincial world does, Ada. Wake up. They can’t accept people being different, and they steal any power there for the taking. They weaponize anything that can be weaponized.”

There’s nothing I can say to this. I look down at my hands, rubbing myscars. My best friend, one of the most benevolent people I have ever known, has done unspeakable things for this power. What if it were in the hands of even less scrupulous people?

I had been so sure that there was someone else involved in all of this, but if the Families abducted me and they now have another informant at Genesis, it’s possible that everything has been them all along. I’m not sure I can stomach that.

“What do you know about Nora Montaigne?” I ask Rafe, still unconvinced that she’s not somehow involved.

“The traitor Leonora de Montaigne? She’s Leonardo’s older sister, a Blood Sci and Cipher master and cousin to the Crown. I despise that family.”

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