A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) - Kelsey Quick Page 0,104
the blacked-out ceiling above, numbly trying to find calm in the light snores that ricochet across the supply holdings, which doesn’t work in the slightest. I roll my head toward Glera.
“How did you manage to come from the Mortal Mezzanine if you were born in the breeding houses?” I ask tonelessly, needing more and more answers to keep myself convinced of this new reality.
“I’m not from the breeding houses,” she whispers. “Castrel and I were ‘gifts’ to both Zein and Marina from two of the Mezzanine’s elite vampire benefactors.”
“So, there are supporters of the human cause that far up on the vampire side?”
“You would be surprised.” She smiles. “The benefactors usually attend these gatherings, too.”
“I suppose that’s why Zein brought you here, then?”
“Yes, it’s courtesy to bring gifted supply units to banquets where the endower will be present,” she hesitates a moment before adding on, “That’s also why Castrel is here.”
My mind swirls for a moment recalling Castrel and our brutal history, but I force his image down to focus on getting answers. “You were assigned to your station pretty young…”
“I had an easy job.”
She knows I’m testing her, but I don’t care. Right now, I don’t have an easy mind to trust anyone.
“To watch me?”
“Yes, and to make sure you didn’t do anything to ruin the long-term plan.”
“Well, I nearly escaped,” I scoff, thinking about the day before Distribution, when I scaled the wall.
“Yes, I know. The ‘nearly’ was my fault. I followed you out of the boarding houses that morning,” she admits. “I was the one who had informed the guards once I saw you climbing the Eastern Rim.”
I bite down on my cheek as anger envelops my reasoning.
“How did you follow me? I self-checked several times...”
She nods. “From the time I was a toddler until I was admitted to Nightingale at age eleven, I was trained by the Mezzanine in stealth. You were very well calculated; the game just wasn’t fair for you.”
“Oh,” I mutter, stifling the urge to scream. If only she had let me go, I could have saved myself from all of this. From the heartache, from the truth. Everything. “Why couldn’t you have let me go?”
“If I had and you would have died on the other side of those walls, then my family would be at risk for slaughter every single day for the rest of their lives.” She exhales. “I have several brothers and sisters back at the Mezzanine. Many who are still young, with so much potential. Plus, I’ve always wanted children of my own.” Her face lights up like a firefly for a split second before it extinguishes. “But I refuse to bring them up in a world unrefreshed.”
“Unrefreshed?”
“By the heir.” She clears her throat. “If you go to Jerusalem. If you… commit. You will instill peace and order, allowing the revitalization of human nations for centuries.”
Ugh, more ‘heir apparent’ talk.
“What if I had made it over the wall that day?” I ask, accusingly. “What if I had made it to the Mezzanine, or to a benefactor? It could have been a whole hell of a lot easier on me.” I picture Zein as I say it, tears brimming. A once passionate view, now a compilation of haunting memories tainted by lingering feelings of regret, anger, and betrayal. I almost start crying again. But Glera’s voice pulls me out of it.
“You and I both know that those hills are filled with rogues,” she states. “You tried to escape with no intention of long-term survival. In a sense, I saved you from killing yourself.”
Although I know she’s right, I don’t reply. Because telling her I would prefer getting torn apart by rogues than suffering like this might be a bit too much.
“Come on,” her voice changes. “Let’s go take a dip in the baths. We can talk more about the plan for tomorrow.”
She stands and quietly makes off for the empty bathrooms in the lower level, stepping around and over other supply units in the process. The attendant glances her way, but ultimately goes back to her reading. I hesitantly follow once I find enough motivation to move.
✽✽✽
Her lashes flutter while I study her, locking her face into my memory, as this may be the last time I ever see her. I want to save her; I always have. But despite our friendship, she will never follow me. Even if I told her what I know about Zein, about what he did to me, she could never find the courage to