Page 34 of Wynter's Bite

“Exile,” Gavin finished.

“My lord?” Surely he didn’t hear him correctly. Gavin never exiled vampires. He despised rogue vampires so much he wouldn’t dream of creating another.

“From this moment on, you are no longer a vampire of Rochester. Benson and I will escort you from my territory. If you ever return, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.” The blade was withdrawn from Justus’s skin as Gavin handed it back to Benson. Then the Lord Vampire of Rochester set to personally unlocking Justus’s shackles. “I’m well aware of what the others call me. ‘Ruthless Rochester.’ Aye, such a moniker is more useful than not. Still, I suppose I must show my people that I am capable of mercy.”

When he was free, Justus rubbed his raw wrists and blinked at Gavin in disbelief. Life as a rogue would not be easy, but at least he could find Bethany.

Gavin and Benson then seized Justus’s arms and led him out of the cell, up the stairs, and out of Darkwood Manor. Justus turned his head to give one last look to the place where he’d spent so many hours of his nights. Memories of countless chess games, hours of conversations about the goings on of the territory and the meanings of their long lives, and yes, moments of laughter flashed through his mind.

All of that was now gone from his reach. All because he’d fallen in love, he’d lost his home, his position, and his best friend.

Yet it would all be worth it once Bethany was back in his arms. It was the only glint of hope that he could cling to.

They walked in silence, Justus sensing other vampires hidden in the shadows, keeping their distance, but still following to witness his fall from grace. He didn’t care what they thought.

But once Gavin and Benson led him to the edge of Rochester’s territory, a lump formed in Justus’s throat. He’d never see Gavin again.

Gavin grasped his shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze that may have been affectionate. “Goodbye, my friend. Please, don’t make me have to kill you.”

Justus nodded. “Thank you for sparing me.”

“Do not thank me,” Gavin said through clenched teeth. “Most likely I handed you an extended death sentence. You’ll have to utilize every speck of your cleverness to survive.”

“I know,” Justus said. But survive he would. For Bethany. He’d heard that the Americas had countless cities and villages without vampires. They could build a new life there. Maybe Justus could even become Lord of his own city. He sighed and bowed before his lord one last time. “Goodbye, Gavin.”

Then he was off as fast as his depleted body could carry him.

His journey to Derbyshire was worse than expected. Had every Lord Vampire of every village and borough on the way doubled their patrols? It seemed he could not find a meal or a place to rest without being chased by snarling vampires.

The places he slept were shoddy and dangerous. On the first day, the sunlight had crept into the abandoned cellar he’d hidden in and burned his arm. Starving from not having fed last night, and nerves rattled from constantly looking over his shoulder for pursuit, Justus hardly slept. Instead, the reality of his new existence beat on him like a hammer. He’d thought rogues were amoral parasites, invading territories and hunting grounds out of pure malice and greed. Instead, it seemed like they were chased from land to land because they had no choice if they wanted to live. God, he prayed he could get himself and Bethany safe passage to the Americas within the next two nights, for he did not know if he could fend off the vampires who would try to arrest him with a human in tow.

As the sun sank from the sky, Justus nearly wept with relief to smell a human passing his hiding place. With predatory stealth, he emerged from the cellar and seized the farmer. Drinking deep, strength once more returned to Justus’s body. Releasing the farmer from his trance, a pang of guilt pierced him as the mortal swayed from losing too much blood. Though he longed to flee from the area, his conscience forced him to escort the man to his home. At least no vampire would dare attack him in front of a human.

Once he saw the farmer home safe, Justus utilized the strength from his feeding to run to Derbyshire in a burst of speed.

Although he longed to seek out Bethany at once, he knew if he strolled openly into the territory that he’d be set upon at once by the local vampires. Keeping to the shadows, he carefully made his way through the area, opening his senses to detect the Derbyshire vampires and remain downwind from them.

After making his way into the township, he came across a pub where there were no vampires around. In his experience, these sorts of establishments to be the best places to gather information. The barkeep and patrons ceased their chatter and stared as he approached the carved mahogany bar. Justus was used to such stares because of his dark red hair. However, due to his disheveled appearance and his being a stranger, people looked longer than was polite.

Yet once the barkeep saw his coin and a small glass of port was placed before him, people returned to their conversations. Justus cursed under his breath as he realized that his money would soon run out. All of his investments and money were banked with Gavin, who had likely seized everything as was his right as Lord Vampire.

He’d worry about that later. His first priority was locating Bethany. God, he was a fool not to have Marked her when he’d had the chance. He’d intended on doing so as soon as their betrothal contract was signed.

As he sipped his port and listened to the conversations around him, Justus’s heart sank as he heard no talk of Lord Wickshire, or even of a family receiving a lengthy visit from a relation. One would think that the appearance of a member of the Quality who was prominent in politics would set tongues to wagging. And visitors to noble families always merited speculations and gossip.

Even after he eased himself into a few conversations, he found that no one had heard anything of Lord Wickshire coming to Derbyshire. And the one person who was acquainted with him swore that he had no relatives in the area.

With a sinking heart, Justus finished his port and left the pub. He spent the next week dodging vampires and searching out information, but found nothing. Bethany was not in Derbyshire. She had no relatives here.

Justus bit back a roar as his fingers dug into the marble crypt in which he sought refuge for the day. Gavin had lied to him, most likely to get Justus to complacently leave Rochester while he either used his power to persuade the Meads to leave the country, or worse, that he arranged an “accident” to befall them, the one loophole in the law forbidding vampires to kill mortals. You could not drain them to death, but you could push one off a cliff if you were so inclined.

Pulling the locket from beneath his shirt, Justus opened it and gazed at the picture of his love. “Bethany,” he whispered. “I’ll find you, I swear. And if you are indeed lost to me, I vow I will avenge you.”

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