Page 70 of Tears of Revenge
“I will, but I have another question.”
“And I will answer it as best as I can.”
“You said the blood we are drinking comes from blood donors.”
“That’s right.”
“I think I once read that donated blood isn’t pure—like, it’s processed.”
“It usually is, but we drink the unprocessed ones. We actually made that mistake the first time we tried it. It tasted awful and didn’t meet our needs. We looked into it, and figured out that we needed unprocessed blood.”
“And you just go out and buy it? Like do you have a dealer?”
“That’s one of the few things that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years: money. Everything has a price.”
Avalon shivered in his arms, and it wasn’t because of the water. He remembered how easy it had been for Troy to get rid of her once he’d seen how much Varos had been willing to pay. Wanting to take her mind off Troy, he offered her the glass.
“What made you switch to donor blood?”
“Convenience. With Lysander being tied to the full moon cycle we like to have a permanent residence and that means we can’t be seen doing anything suspicious. If people were mysteriously going missing, that would put us in danger. So, we limited our hunts and each time we travel a little bit farther from where we’ve based ourselves.”
“I don’t think I want that.”
He paused. She didn’t want them hunting? It didn’t surprise him, but finding something he wasn’t willing to give up for her? That was shocking.
“I mean I don’t want to do that,” Avalon corrected.
He’d been set to argue, so he needed a moment to collect his thoughts. “You don’t have to.”
“You don’t expect that of me?”
“Of course not. We won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
She set the empty glass aside and repositioned herself to kneel between his legs. “I’m sorry.”
“For what could you possibly feel the need to apologise for?”
Her gaze dropped, her hands skimming over the water and over his thighs. “I know there is nothing to apologise for, but it feels… wrong that I don’t want to hunt humans. I mean, that’s what we’re supposed to do, right?”
“We can do whatever the fuck we want, which is why I enjoy being who I am so much. As a human, you’re so limited: time, resources, illness. But now, I don’t need to do shit. Nothing limits me. Yes, I follow society’s rules and laws—some at least—but that is by choice. I don’t need money, don’t need a house to keep me warm and safe, don’t need a passport to travel, and I don’t need to answer to anyone but myself. The only thing I need to survive is blood, and I can get that wherever I want.”
Avalon’s body stilled. “Anything we want?”
“Anything. Just think about it. What are the police going to do? Hold you in a cell?” He chuckled. “Unless that cell is made from the purest silver, you’ll rip through it like paper. Many people don’t even believe we exist.”
“I won’t die.”
“You won’t.”
Slowly, she lifted her head until their eyes locked. “Would you travel with me?”
“Of course. We all would. But if you wanted to go alone, we would stay behind. You can return to us as you please. A month, a year, even a decade is nothing compared to eternity.”
He knew how hard it was to process all of this. In his first years as a vampire, he’d struggled with all the freedom. It almost felt like too much freedom.
“I want to show you just how free you are.” He shifted, water splashing over the sides of the tub. He grabbed her by the waist and hauled her in for a toe-curling kiss. Once she was completely enamoured, he leaned a little more. His weight firmly pushed her back, his hands dancing up her sides to support her shoulders. When the back of her head touched the water, she began to fight. She thrashed against the water, clawing at his shoulders—but he didn’t break the kiss. He simply doubled down, moving his mouth against hers until they were submerged beneath the water. Only then did Avalon realise: she didn’t need to breathe.
Submitting, Avalon tangled her fingers in his hair just how he liked it. She relaxed, the water giving the illusion they were floating. They didn’t need air to survive, her body and her lips were all he needed—all he wanted.