Page 150 of Claim of Blood
“Is she coming?” Leo asked, suddenly terrified at the prospect of meeting the being who had created Adam more than four thousand years ago.
Claudia laughed, the sound bright against the gathering shadows as afternoon began its slow slide toward evening. “No, beauty. Consider yourself fortunate—she can be... challenging.”
The pool party continued as the sun began its leisurely descent. Leo finished his whiskey, declining a second as he watched the festivities with growing unease. Tonight marked not just the solstice, but the height of whatever the hunters were planning.
As Claudia and Emilia fell into reminiscences about festivals past, Leo slipped away from the pool area. He needed to check on Felix and make sure his cousin understood what might be coming.
The halls of the mansion felt eerily quiet after the noise of the party. Leo made his way toward the south wing, his mind churning with Claudia’s revelation. A hunter had been sacrificed at noon, while he’d been sleeping, while Lander had been deliberately keeping him occupied. The thought sat uneasily in his stomach.
As he rounded a corner, a figure stepped out of an adjoining corridor. Leo tensed, then relaxed as he recognized Oren’s familiar silhouette.
“Looking for someone?” Oren asked, his voice deceptively mild.
Leo straightened. “I wanted to check on Felix.”
“Your cousin is secure,” Oren said. “And will remain so until after the solstice.”
“I’d like to see him.” Leo’s voice carried more determination than he felt. “Please.”
Oren studied him, expression unreadable. “Adam is occupied with preparations. Does he know you’re wandering the halls alone?”
“I don’t need permission to move around my home,” Leo said, hearing the claim in his own words with a mixture of surprise and certainty.
Something flickered in Oren’s eyes—approval, perhaps. “No, you don’t.” He stepped aside, gesturing down the hallway. “Your cousin is in the third room on the left. You have fifteen minutes before the evening preparations begin.”
Leo nodded his thanks, hurrying down the corridor before Oren could change his mind. He paused outside the indicated door, steeling himself for what he was about to tell Felix. The absence of visible locks or guards struck him as significant. This was, in fact, protection, not imprisonment.
He knocked softly. “Felix? It’s Leo.”
The door opened immediately, revealing Felix’s familiar face. His cousin looked surprisingly well, clean-shaven, dressed in borrowed clothes that actually fit him, hair neatly combed. Better than Leo had seen him look in months.
“Leo!” Felix stepped back, allowing him to enter. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”
The room was comfortable, but nothing like the guest rooms—a bed, desk, chair, and a small bathroom. Windows near the ceiling provided natural light, but they were barely large enough for a cat to squeeze through, Leo noted. Probably magical wards, too, given what he’d learned about vampire protection.
“I haven’t forgotten,” Leo said, closing the door behind him. “But things have been... complicated.”
Felix sat on the edge of the bed, studying Leo with the sharp curiosity that had made him such a good researcher. “You look different. More settled, somehow.”
“I feel different,” Leo admitted, then hesitated. How did he explain that he was genuinely happy here? That the claiming had given him something he’d never known he was missing?
“The claiming?” Felix prompted gently.
Leo nodded. “It’s not what I thought it would be. It’s not...” He struggled for words. “I’m not a victim here, Felix. I chose this. I keep choosing it.”
Felix was quiet for a moment. “Is it Stockholm syndrome if you recognize what’s happening and still want it?”
“I don’t think it’s Stockholm syndrome when you were never really a captive to begin with,” Leo said carefully.
“No?” Felix gestured around the room with a wry smile. “What would you call this situation, then?”
Leo took a deep breath. This was going to be the hard part. “You were caught infiltrating a Night Court, Felix. But this room? It’s not a prison.” He moved closer, lowering his voice even though they were likely being monitored. “They sacrificed a hunter today. At noon.”
The color drained from Felix’s face. “What?”
“Victoria brought him from New York. He was planning an attack on the Court,” Leo explained, watching his cousin’s reaction carefully. “They executed him as part of their solstice ritual.”
Felix swallowed hard, his academic detachment crumbling. “Who was he? Do we know him?”
