a lot when she was first turned.”
“Someday I want you both to sit down and tell me your different sides to that story.”
“Of her being turned?”
“Yeah.”
Lucas stacks the wood on the metal rack in the fireplace. “It’s not that interesting.”
“You revenge killed her, left her in the ground, and then were forced back due to a bond forged by murder and black magic. It’s super interesting.”
“It didn’t happen quite like that.”
“Then tell me how it did happen.” I sit up when Lucas goes to get the lighter from where we have it stashed on the mantle. “And I got this today.” I hold out my hand, wait for him to take a step back, and use magic to start the fire. Lucas moves the metal screen in front of the fire and joins me on the couch. The blanket isn’t warm yet, and I do my best not to shiver from his cool skin. This is our first winter together, and I’m perpetually cold from December through April. I heal fast, don’t really gain weight, have a very high tolerance for alcohol, and can get by on little sleep, but I’m still affected by the weather.
“You know why I turned Eliza,” he starts, and I snuggle up with him, pulling the electric blanket over us both. He turned her to get revenge on her father, who was some sort of sergeant or general in the British Army. He’d ordered attacks on a nest of sleeping vampires, killing most of them with sunlight. I don’t think Lucas was particularly fond of any of the vampires but wanted revenge on someone for killing dozens of his kind.
“I do. She was the prettiest out of all her sisters.”
“Yes, and set to marry a wealthy man.”
“She mentioned that before.”
“I turned her, left once I knew the change had taken, and came back soon after.”
“Why did you go back?” I ask, starting to feel really sleepy now that the fire is going and the blanket is starting to warm up.
“She didn’t know how to be a vampire, and as much as I didn’t want to feel for her, I did.”
“Romantically?” I ask, needing to be sure.
“No. I’ve never felt that way about her. I cared for her like a daughter, and the thought of something bad happening to her was awful. I knew you felt bonded to any progeny you make, but I didn’t know just how strong the bond would be with her. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if she too was killed by her father or if she burned in the sunlight because she didn’t know how to find shelter. I went back, and instead of being happy to see me, she was angry.” He smiles. “Very angry.”
“Shocker,” I chuckle. “She told me she tried to hate you.”
“She did, and I think I made it easy when I didn’t return her feelings of attraction. She couldn’t help them, as many progenies are attracted to their sire in that sense. Over time, our relationship became what it is, and I will always view her as my child.”
“She’s going to be a good big sister, though I do take her for the jealous type.”
Lucas laughs softly. “Only a little.” He slips his hands, warmer now from the heated blanket, under my sweater. “What happened at lunch?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
I lift my head off his chest. “Remember how I said I thought Tabatha knew something about my mother but wasn’t telling me?”
“I do.”
“I was right, and she fessed up today. She said my mother was Callista Lancaster, hailing from an old and established line of witches on the East Coast. And she said that my mother…my mother was excommunicated for practicing Satanism.”
“Fuck.”
“Right?” I shake my head. “Maybe I should stop looking for answers. The more I ask, the more I wonder, and the answers I have gotten are less than satisfactory. It felt so good to know my mother was a witch. But now…I wish I didn’t know. I had her on a pedestal in my mind, and now the pedestal has been knocked over and broken into a million pieces. The other angels don’t think I should live because I could be too easily tainted with darkness. If my mother was already dabbling, then doesn’t that mean—”
“Callie, stop, my love. Who your mother was has nothing to do with who you are. I know you want to find out about that side of you, but it won’t change anything. You could actually