Page 68 of Blackthorn

The situation could go any number of ways. He could say something pithy like, Well, you’re very good at it, and throw fuel on the proverbial fire. Or he could be the adult he purported to be and de-escalate the situation.

“I do not like arguing with you,” he said.

Her posture relaxed somewhat, though she folded her arms over her chest.

“Charlotte—” He reached for her. This time, she did not flinch away in the face of his rage. His instability. She stood firm, even as he held her in his arms. She fit against him so perfectly, like a missing puzzle piece he had searched decades for. “You are very attractive when you are angry.”

Her head tilted to the side and gave him an unimpressed look.

“I am not trying to distract you with my wiles. I am merely stating a fact,” he said. “You have every right to be upset. I misled you.”

“You swore you would tell me the truth.”

“I said I would share with you what I could,” he clarified.

Charlotte pulled away and marched across the room to perch stiffly on the edge of a chair. Tension radiated from her ramrod-straight posture. “You are splitting hairs.”

And she was being willfully difficult. He bit back his reply because he had decided not to throw fuel onto the fire, as tempting as it seemed. He was very old—two hundred and forty-one years—and could control his impulses. Mostly.

“I did not intentionally mislead you. No one has found a second anchor yet.”

“Because it’s not possible.” Then, because intellectual curiosity won out, “Is it? I’ve never read any accounts that suggest otherwise. Captain Beckford’s memoir is viewed as the standard but there must be other sources.”

“Let us consider my experience as a source. No one has lived as long as me. Again, two hundred and forty-one years old,” he said, trying to lighten her mood. She rewarded his efforts with a supremely sour look. “I’m the oldest of my kind. I may very well be the only one of my kind left.”

She nodded. “My friend Solenne said her family hadn’t encountered a vampire in a long time. She didn’t specify how long it was.”

“Is this your friend who outfitted you with the charming monster hunting kit?”

“I’m sorry, I thought you wanted a discussion, not to make snippy remarks. My mistake.”

He raised a hand in surrender. “You are correct. My apologies. I only wished to say that my kind rely on others for our survival. Our nutritional needs make us easy to find and exterminate. A second anchor could be possible. No one has survived long enough to find out.”

“How long has it been since Judith…” Her voice trailed off, as if unsure she should speak Judith’s name.

“One hundred and fourteen years.” It seemed impossible as he spoke the number out loud. He had a lifetime with her and more than a lifetime without.

“She must have been quite elderly when she passed,” Charlotte said.

He bristled at the term. “She did not pass. She was murdered.”

“Oh.” Charlotte was silent for a moment before continuing in a cautious tone. “Was she like you?”

“She was human. An extended life is a happy side effect of the anchor bond.”

Her brows rose, and Draven spotted that curious gleam in her eyes. “Really? How fascinating. I don’t think I’ve ever read that.”

“So there are things you do not know,” he said, amusement creeping into his tone.

Charlotte frowned, clearly not amused. “I don’t appreciate being teased.”

“We are not a long-lived population. Few survive long enough to find out,” he said, in a kinder tone. Then, for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom other than the knowledge would delight her, he continued, “The concept of an anchor was not unfamiliar. On Earth, there was the idea of soulmates. They were ideal partners, someone who fits together with you perfectly. They understand you, complement your strengths, and provide balance for your faults.”

It seemed improbable to ever find someone to balance all his faults.

Silence fell between them. It was not the comfortable kind they had previously enjoyed. Tension crackled between them, waiting for one wrong word or thoughtless statement to set off another argument.

“You’ve been trying to replace her for a century,” Charlotte said. “Do you know what Madame Lemoine told me the day I arrived? Your women never last long.”

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