Page 55 of Claimed By Blood

His tone is mocking when he replies, “With what army?”

I don’t remember him being this… infuriating before. Although, I’ll admit it’s been centuries since his ‘death.’

Before I can respond, he sighs and gets to his feet, picking up my weapons as he does so, “What are you willing to do to see our sire dead?” he asks.

“Why does that matter to you?” I retort.

He shakes his head. “Because when I last saw you, you looked at him like he hung the moon and told the stars when to twinkle. And he… he doted on you in a way he’d never doted onanybody. I find it hard to believe you’re here, seeking to end him, when you were so close.”

It’s my turn to snort. “You’re out of touch,brother. I’ve spent the last two centuries in a silver coffin, being punished for daring to love someone other than him. Whatever favour I once held is gone. Right now, all I want is my freedom, and that can only happen if he’s dead.”

Samuel is silent for one heartbeat, staring into my eyes with an eerie intensity before flicking his questioning gaze to the men behind me. The vampire who spoke to me earlier says something—once again using that damned language—and Samuel clenches his jaw in answer.

No one is more surprised than I am when he holds my two blades out in offering. “Come with me.”

I accept them, tucking them into their sheaths as he strides past me. Being armed makes me feel better—even if it can’t fix how outnumbered I am. One of the vampires who brought me to him says something else, but Samuel holds up a hand to silence him, before replying in their language.

He leads me past the gathered group of soldiers, rolling his eyes when the one talkative guard insists on following behind us, but he says nothing to stop him. The three of us leave through the immense doors, but walk in the opposite direction to the way I came from. We turn into a larger corridor, and I make out another heavy door at the far end.

Other vampires pass us, heading into the various rooms and corridors which branch away from this one without giving our trio more than a sideways glance. Most of the rooms seem to be offices of a sort, crammed with tech I can’t really understand.

Samuel has to drag a heavy bolt out of the way to open the door, letting in a burst of blinding sunlight. He doesn’t stop to let his eyes adjust, and I don’t have a chance to either, because the guard behind me shoves me forward after him.

When I followed him into the sewer it was the middle of the night.

Just how long was I asleep for? And where are we?

I stumble out onto a balcony and stare in wonder at the hidden city before me. We’re standing at the bottom of a desert crevasse, riddled with caves which seem to have been fitted with yet more doors, and carved to have more balconies. High above us, sunlight and rivulets of sand stream downwards into the narrow canyon, and the floor at the base is littered with sharp rocks.

Now that we’re outside, away from the protection of the deep, cool earth, the heat is almost unbearable.

It’s probably the least hospitable place a vampire could imagine, and yet Samuel and his people must have been here for a long time.

“We have lived here for several hundred years,” Samuel begins, echoing my thoughts. “Unlike with you, Cain chose warriors well into adulthood when he picked my brothers and I, so I recalled perfectly my childhood, growing up on the banks of the Aegean. But it was too populous to return, and I would’ve been too easily recognised, so when I chose to hide, I moved farther south, knowing that the sun would keep me safe.”

“And you built a city…”

“No. They did that themselves.” Samuel chuckles. “I was just a cave-dwelling hermit for the longest time. I used my speed to run across the dunes each night so I could feed from the people of the village on the other side of the desert. I thought it was the best way to keep my location secret. Still, word got out.”

“Did you turn them?”

“Not by choice. I healed a street urchin in a moment of weakness. The next thing I knew, they’d started leaving their dying on their doorsteps after dark.”

I raise my eyebrows. “I never took you to be so compassionate.”

He shrugs. “I had a lot of sins to make up for.”

“So you turned them to save them?”

Turning someone isn’t always necessary. Most of the time, vampire blood can cure a human without turning them—as long as they’re not too far gone. Mine just does it faster than others.

“I turned them when my wife asked me to.”

Hiswhat?

“You’remarried?” Such a commitment is almost unheard of among vampires, especially since the thrall bond is so much more meaningful.

He rubs the back of his neck, almost ruefully. “It is a long story. I’ll introduce you, if you turn out not to be a threat. Needless to say, I turned her first, and then her family requested the same, and she insisted…” He trails off in a shrug.

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