Page 92 of Vampires of Eden: Oliver
“Why are you helping me?” I ask, struggling to keep up with his stride. It’s difficult because my limbs and head are still aching from the fight, but adrenaline has taken over. Hope pushes me forward.
“Because I disagree with your father’s choices and I refuse to take part in this merciless cruelty. Not again.”
“Again,” I repeat, immediately understanding. “He did this to Thomas, didn’t he? Is this… Did Lord Blakeley keep Thomas down here?”
Hudson is quiet for a moment, as if he doesn’t want to answer. Or he’s refusing. I’m not sure which. “Hudson?” I prompt.
“Yes, this is where your father kept Thomas. For three months.”
I stop dead on the narrow, dark path and wrap my arms around my torso because my stomach lurches in anguish. “Three months of this?” Easily, I recall Thomas’s shallowed cheeks that disturbing morning at breakfast. His dried, scabbed skin. His misery.
If he was forced to spend three months down here, I… I can’t imagine. It’s unfathomable. Unforgivable. “Did anyone feed him?”
“Lord Blakeley only allowed us to feed him when he was near starving. Even then, he was strictly given lower-level blood—second-gen and below. It made him violently ill the entire time. I am… deeply ashamed to have participated in that abuse. Until this day, I carry the weight of my decision to be obedient and the subsequent harm it caused Thomas. I won’t let this happen again.”
“Was this his plan for me, too?” I ask.
“Yes, but this situation is different from before. Times have changed, drastically. Lord Blakeley wants to rule with an iron fist because it is the way he was brought up. But the social and political landscape outside of Eden and across the world has shifted. His actions toward you are inexcusable. If anyone discovered what he did to your brother…” Hudson shakes his head. “I cannot even imagine the consequences. I will not be part of this again. It was wrong the first time and it’s wrong now. Come, my lord, we must keep moving.”
Nodding, I step forward. We walk, passing cell after decaying cell as the dark, narrow hallway gently curves. It feels as if we’re inside the belly of an iron snake.
“The outside world has mostly abandoned these antiquated practices,” I note, wanting to continue this discussion. To hear more of his opinion. “But it feels like I’m the only one who thinks that this… this pageantry—this restrained lifestyle of forced bonds, silly banquets and meaningless titles—is a thing of the past. It’s something we should have abandoned decades ago.”
“You are not alone in your observations, my lord. Many of Eden’s smaller houses can no longer maintain a full staff of servants, because lower-ranked vampires are leaving this aristocracy in droves, searching for a more independent existence. Even some younger royals, like you, are rebelling.”
“Leoni in eastern Eden,” I say mechanically, remembering Alexander’s cousin who refused her arrangement.
“And Santiago Torres of the west. He casually left his estate one day and never returned. I heard that he sends letters from unmarked addresses. I, too, am questioning whether or not to raise my child here. We cannot continue in this oppressive lifestyle.”
It’s such a relief to learn that I’m not alone. That I’m not crazy—or selfish or silly. Aries taught me that my thinking is valid, but hearing this? Icing on the cake.
Stepping up beside him, I look up into his face. “Hudson, can I just disappear? Is that possible for me, too?”
He slows, coming to a halt and meeting my gaze. “The difference between you and Santiago is that he had been planning his escape for months. I’m told that he established connections on the outside, so that when he made his move to escape, he had a safe refuge. We have hastily devised a temporary solution for you, however… do you have any outside connections, your grace?”
We? Are there more vampires than Hudson involved in this plan to help me escape? Biting the inside of my cheek, I consider. “No… well…” Shit. I’m not clever at all, am I? Because if I were, I would have spent my free time thinking this through and planning something in advance.
“What about Aries?” he asks.
Heat unexpectedly flares in my cheeks and I grin. God. Does everyone in the castle know about this? “Maybe?” I say. Reaching into my pocket, I caress the small paper rectangle of Aries’s note. After I read it earlier, I folded it up tightly and have been carrying it with me like a talisman.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Aries would help. I have full confidence that if I reached out to him, he would rescue me—gallantly and stylishly as he did so.
But that’s not what I want. I need more time to think about it.
“For the interim, we’re stashing you at a support house that my friend Roland is renovating, just outside of Nantshire. I’ve already spoken to him and his mate and made the arrangements. Your presence there will be of the utmost secrecy.”
“Wait, Roland?” I ask, surprised. “Is he the same vampire that showed me the derelict houses in Evanshire? The ones I photographed.”
“He is. I’ve known that vamp for a long time and he was impressed with you. Roland and his partner are in the process of opening a new blood clinic in Nantshire to help the lower-ranked and human-vamps in Eden. It’ll be the first of its kind in our realm. He was able to buy the property sometime after your pictures were featured in all the news articles. The outpouring of support for the project was fantastic.”
“Really? That’s incredible.” This is exactly what Eden needs. Novel ideas. Inclusive and benevolent projects that push us forward and into the modern era.
“Listen,” Hudson says, resuming our trek through the dank labyrinth. “Once I show you the way out, you’ll need to walk through the western woods while it’s still dark. If you move along the stream, eventually you’ll reach a dirt road. A car will be waiting for you at the edge where the brush meets the lane. I apologize for the nature walk, but having a car pull up to the front of the house at this hour is too risky. Someone might hear the engine and the tires on the gravel.”
“Alright. I know the woods’ edge and where the stream runs. Is there anything else?” That area is rough terrain, but I’ll manage it. Anything is better than spending another millisecond down here.
“I’ll guide you out of the dungeon, but you’ll have to go alone,” he says, picking up his pace. “I’m supposed to be doing rounds right now, and if I don’t show up at my post—”
