Page 88 of Amethyst and Iron
Silence fell again from him, stunned once more.
I took the opportunity to hold out one of the glasses to him.
He took it and scented it, then screwed up his face. “This isn’t from a blood bag.”
“It’s straight from the vein.”
“I told you that—”
“Straight from the vein without the need for the bite, Lazriel,” I told him pointedly.
“You’re accommodating me.”
“That I am.”
He scented the blood again. “This was literally just poured, right?”
“Correct.”
“So, you have humans down here bleeding into glasses for you?”
“Not usually into glasses. This is just for your preferences.”
He looked horrified. “You’re holding them captive? Hurting them? Forcibly feeding off them?”
“There is noforcibly.They wish for it. They garner pleasure from being fed from. Not to mention, fear and panic taints the tasteandthe power of their blood.”
“It does? I thought—”
“We are not merely predators in that sense. It is easy to incite fear, especially over humans who are very far beneath usphysiologically. But it takes more effort and smarts to acquire respect and come to mutually beneficial agreements.”
“I want to see for myself.”
“And you shall. After you drink.”
“It took you days to show me this fight space. The rest you’ve shown me has just been limited to the residences.”
“When I speak to you, Lazriel, know that it is the truth. If I tell you something will happen, it will. I am not playing a game here. The stakes are too high for such nonsense.”
“Then why only offer to show me this feeding place now?”
“Your reaction to me offering you a glass of fresh blood should answer your question sufficiently. There is a great deal to take in here. One step at a time. Work on your patience.”
“It’s not aboutmypatience. It’s been days and nothing. You know I’m in a rush. I’m needed. Velra is in danger. Sylas is fucking dying. They need answers, they need help, solutions. Not me fighting for three straight days in this training space and holed up in the room you assigned me reading tactical manuals and a shit-ton about vampire lore.”
“You have been here merely one week. And yet you believe you are entitled to ferociously guarded secrets at the heart of an immortal organization that survives through such secrets?”
“Twenty-one years of abandonment would say that you fucking owe me.”
There it was.
He hadn’t just sought me out for information, although it was what he’d been allowing himself to believe since he’d been here. The only thing he’d been allowing himself to believe, to demonstrate toward me.
There was no shame in that, no judgment that he’d get from me for it. Of course that was how he’d had to frame it within his own mind.Twenty-one years of abandonmenthad seen to that.
“You seek not only information to weaponize, but also a father. One you have been denied for too many years.”
“Because of—”
