The Rebel Queen (Outlaw #1) - Lexi Blake Page 0,43
good at languages. It’s the dark demon inside me.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a dark demon,” Daniel said, a frown on his face, too. “The vampire is a part of you. Son, this is serious. You are a latent vampire and you have a decision to make.”
“Fen, you want to kill me? I don’t trust Rhys to do it. He would be brutal about it, but you can just pop a claw or something.” Lee was grinning from ear to ear. “Or Evan. How about shooting an arrow through the heart you claim I don’t have.”
“Oh, you have one. You simply don’t use it when it comes to women,” Evan shot back.
“I do, too. I love them all, which should mean I have the biggest heart of all,” Lee replied. “It’s huge. It’ll be easy to hit.”
Rhys held up a hand. “How do we know this? I understand the concept of a latent, but how on all the planes would we know until he died? He’s been around vampires all of his life, and no one has ever looked at his dumb ass and said you’re one of us.”
It was everything I’d feared. When Daniel had explained that Lee was a latent vampire and must be given the same choice he gave all latents, I’d known what Lee would do. When Daniel identified a latent vampire, he offered the latent the choice as to whether he wanted to die in the natural course of time or begin his life as a vampire. Many chose to become a vampire in the prime of their human lives so they spent their “immortality” in a younger body rather than dying naturally. While the vampiric DNA would heal all wounds, it did not change age. The vampire was stuck in a perfect version of whatever body he’d died in. Lee would immediately want to end his human life and walk the night. He would do it so he could be a badass, so he could finally be more than human. So he could feel like he fit into our world. He wouldn’t think for a second about what he was giving up.
“Your dad has always been able to tell when a new vampire rises,” Dev explained. “It’s a necessary but rare talent. In the beginning, that talent was one of the only reasons Daniel survived. Your father can feel when a vampire is going to rise, and oddly enough, we tend to be in a place where it’s easy to get to the vampire before he rises the first time. I’ve always thought it was fate guiding us. Like when Sasha rose. He died in Munich. We were in Italy at the time. Daniel felt his death and we were able to get there before he rose and killed everyone in his general vicinity.”
“We were lucky there hasn’t been a vampire rising in the last twelve years.” Daniel was studying Lee though he spoke to all of us. “I checked last night and the academics have seen no evidence that we’ve had a rising while I was gone.”
“I think that might be fate, too,” Dev said under his breath.
“But I haven’t died,” Lee pointed out. “I mean it was close a couple of times, but I’m still here. Do I get my eye back? I’ve missed peripheral vision. Think of all the women who escaped my notice simply because they walked by my left side.”
Evan huffed, a frustrated sound. “Lee, this is serious.”
“So is the fact that I might get my eye back,” Lee countered. “My eye was taken with a magical weapon. Vampire blood couldn’t save it.”
Danny leaned Lee’s way. “I assure you that you will have your eye back. The magic worked on human flesh, and when you rise, you will see the world again. You will see it perfectly, and you will be able to avenge all of your losses.”
“I thought we weren’t going to take a position on this.” I sent Danny my harshest frown because we’d discussed this. I knew Danny would feel better if Lee wasn’t vulnerable, but Dev and I had argued that there was a point to human life. There was a lot Lee gave up if he rose at this point in time. He was so young. He hadn’t fallen in love and had a family. He hadn’t gone to college or traveled the world for fun. He hadn’t spent days and days in the sun, and he wouldn’t if he died.