Vampire Debt - Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #2) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,37
awareness in his kind blue eyes with new understanding.
“You know,” I whispered.
He held my gaze. “I do, Miss Le Spyre.”
“How long?”
The butler lowered onto the seat opposite me, the massive desk separating us. “Just over one year.”
Far longer than the six weeks since I’d left the estate. Which meant…
I rested my head in my hands. “Grandmother knew.”
“She did. Long before confiding in me.”
I could have come to her. She could have helped me get away from Kyros and his tower.
And no wonder she’d tried to push Tommy away. She’d known the entire time.
That was a bitter fucking pill to swallow.
I rested back in the upholstered seat, regarding Fred as I scrambled to collect my feelings and thoughts. A foreign focus invaded my own shock, and I honed in on Kyros’s emotions for the first time since leaving his lair. His focus was intense. Pinpoint. Which was fine unless he was studying my emotions.
First things first. “This room is only soundproofed when you press that button?”
“Yes. Without the button, it’s merely soundproofed against human ears. However, if you’re concerned about outside ears listening to your conversation with Miss Tommy, I can assure you I set a high-pitched frequency through the speakers outside the room.”
My brows climbed.
“Your grandmother believed Vissimo had trouble hearing through a specific frequency.”
My grandmother didn’t believe in things. She’d tested the frequency herself—or knew someone she implicitly trusted who’d done so.
I breathed fully as my chest loosened, the fear for Tommy dissipating. “Thank you, Fred.”
“My pleasure, Miss Le Spyre.”
Leaning forward, I clasped my hands together atop a stack of papers. Grandmother hadn’t just known vampires existed, she’d learned about them. That was a whole other kettle of fish. “First off, you need to be aware my ability to talk freely on this subject is controlled. These are chains I cannot break.”
His eyes widened. “I see. You’ve been compelled. Mrs Le Spyre suspected as much.”
I swallowed. “Was Grandmother controlled, Fred?”
“No, miss.”
My grandmother had somehow managed to discover vampires, elude them, and protect herself and her family against them. Meanwhile, I’d botched things right out the gate.
He added, “She wasn’t sure if you’d been compelled the permanent way or not.”
“Permanent,” I replied.
He closed his eyes. “For that, I’m sorrier than you know. Can I ask if you’re compelled to report to the beasts?”
“I am not.” But he hadn’t known that when broaching the subject, which had been a massive risk for him.
Fred took a breath. “Of course you could be forced to say that too. I have only a small idea how such things work. Your behaviour since returning gave me reassurance you weren’t totally under their control.”
“The tequila and golf cart?” I asked drily.
The butler’s lips twitched before his solemnity reappeared. “Several of your grandmother’s close acquaintances are also in their grip.”
That was news—though Rory told me most of the city’s rich were tied under the compulsion. I’d just assumed those I knew and loved would be free.
Hoped.
The thought of anyone from the front row of Grandmother’s funeral being under the thumb of a Vissimo clan made me feel sick. “I’ll need a list of their names later, but I’d like to know how my grandmother first made the discovery. Please tell me everything.”
Fred tipped his head back. “She did confide in me on that point. I’ll tell you what I know. She first discovered vampires when Sir Olythieu was placed under a blood compulsion nearly thirty years ago. She was on the phone to him when the beasts stormed his estate. The phone dropped but didn’t disconnect. She overheard everything.”
Nearly thirty years ago. So long ago.
“Oh my god.” I’d been in her shoes. I’d felt that terror and disbelief and horrible loneliness. It was too late to show her that I understood her pain.
I’d regret that to the end of my days.
“I believe she was a great source of comfort to Sir Olythieu. For the others too. With her help, they could speak of the controls over them. In return, they protected your grandmother and yourself always. Before themselves even. She was their bridge to the human world and some modicum of independence and stability.”
My grandmother hid this my entire life, maybe even from my parents.
“This is a lot to take in.” I stood, striding around the desk, my head lost in that moment—all those years and decades—and how it must have felt. The threat of Vissimo discovering her involvement would have been constant.