Page 92 of Always Eros

After cleaning ourselves up, we’re just about to get comfortable in bed when Yves summons us.

When we enter the common, Midnight and Syn are standing on either side of a chained Callias. The vampire is sullen, his eyes dark with rage he can’t release. He lifts his head to gaze at me, focusing too long on Justice before growling as he lowers his head again.

“Hey,” Yves says, kicking the vampire’s boot. “We complied with your demands. Your turn.”

Callias lifts his head again. “Very well.”

I lead Justice to the sofa where he sits next to Hale. The rest of us gather around.

“What demands?” I ask.

“Callias wanted to see the source of the blood king’s essence,” Yves explains. “That would be Hale and Justice.”

“What?” Justice sputters. “What are you talking about?”

Callias focuses his odd eyes on my mate, stirring my beast to the surface. Knowing he’s chained keeps it somewhat at bay.

“You have no idea, do you?” Callias says. “Nightsky, as they call it now, was once just a humble nest of vampires. That is until the one you call the blood king wanted to seize power for himself.”

“When was this?” Hale asks.

Callias makes a circle gesture with his hand. “Hundreds of years ago. Before the uprising.”

“Uprising?” Justice asks.

“Yes,” Callias nods. “There were two groups—those with the blood king and those against him. I was in the latter group. We were not keen on his plans to wipe out humanity and have vampires be the dominant race. He wanted to enslave the mortals purely as a source of blood. We wanted to assimilate and exist in harmony.”

“Wait,” Thorn says. “You’re against that?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, our efforts were thwarted. We were tricked and buried alive.”

Yves pulls his head back. “Fucking hell.”

Callias nods. “With no blood available, we grew weak, unable to fight our way out, but hell-bent on revenge. Little did we know how much had changed.”

“You were buried for…?” Justice asks.

“Centuries,” Callias answers.

“How did you get out?” Hale asks.

“Just luck. Some workers dug up the ground where we rested, unearthing our graves, and sadly for them, providing much needed nourishment. That was a few months ago, I think. Time is still difficult for me to grasp.”

Justice squeezes my hand as I stand beside him.

“We were told the blood king is dead,” Justice says. “Replaced by a chosen disciple, the Supreme Being.”

Callias scoffs. “The blood king is not dead. As for disciples, they are merely vampires, and he is their maker. Perhaps he thought renaming himself would fit a modern world and allow him to continue his recruiting.”

“Why were you attacking us if you’re against those plans?” Hale asks.

“We were going to kill anyone who had the blood king’s essence within them, make our race pure again, and find our way back to him to end this once and for all.”

“But I don’t,” Justice says. “I’ve never even seen him. Eros is my maker.”

Callias shakes his head. “You really didn’t know.” His tone is slightly sad. “I thought everyone there was complicit.”

“Will you please explain what you mean?” Justice demands.

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