arms.
He slides a small book across his desk. “I’d like you to get familiar with this.”
The leather cover is scratched and dry, and the golden symbol etched on it is almost entirely faded. I can distinguish only the letter B.
“What is this?”
“Just an overview of one of the most notorious and savage families of Bluebloods in the entire history of vampires. The Bouchers.”
I open to the first page, cringing at the art depicting a vampire female bathing in blood. The drawing is in black and white, but the severed heads hanging above the bathtub, dripping blood, clues me in that the liquid in the tub is not water.
“Ew. Who the hell is this?”
“A first-generation Blueblood. Her name is Madeleine Boucher. I believe you’ve met her already, haven’t you?”
I lift my gaze from the page, meeting Solomon’s intense stare. “I have?”
He raises an eyebrow. “You were clever to use a concealing spell to spy on your mother and me, child. Unfortunately, nothing those rogue mages produce will affect me. You were in the catacombs when we imprisoned Madeleine again.”
“You knew and you didn’t rat me out?”
He smiles. “You see? I’m not such a terrible headmaster after all.”
I switch my attention to the book again. The following pages contain text, but there is more disturbing artwork sprinkled throughout the book. “What happened to these vampires?”
“The Nightingales’ departure affected vampires in different ways. While second-generation and regulars must hibernate to recover their strength, first-generation vampires are slowly losing their minds. The Boucher family was the first one to succumb to the madness.”
My blood turns ice cold in an instant. King Raphael had gone mad in the vision I saw. So that’s why. I seek Solomon’s gaze again.
“The creatures trapped in the catacombs are ghosts, not vampires.”
“They’re not ghosts. They’re specters, which is far worse than your generic poltergeist.”
“But how did they get like that?”
“We’re still trying to figure it out.”
“That lady looked possessed by a demon. Do the warlocks know about them?”
Solomon nods. “Only the head of the guild, Zachary Morel. He helped us with the wards.”
“What about the king? Does he know about this?”
He furrows his eyebrows. “What kind of question is that? Of course the king knows.”
I shut the book, taking a steadying breath. “Is he already showing signs of change?”
“Not yet, but Tatiana is.”
Ah, hell.
26
Saxon
I wake up with a big smile on my face, and a much bigger evening wood. The memory of Aurora naked on that couch pleasuring herself is not something I’ll likely forget for a long time. It begs a repeat, but only when I can fuck her senseless after. Not being able to be near her is agony.
Speaking of agony, it seems the effect of the potion is already wearing thin. I can definitely feel the bond’s tug and the uncomfortable sensation that comes with it. I get out of bed and head for the shower. It has to be a cold one, and paired with a hand job.
Five minutes later, I’m ready to face another cumbersome day in the institute. If it weren’t for Aurora, I’d beg Lucca to simply be done with it. Pretending everything is normal just for appearance’s sake is not how I roll. I miss the ages of blood and chaos when we could deal with our frustrations in the best way possible—on a battlefield. Now conflicts are solved behind closed doors via treaties and diplomacy. Well, there’s Jacques, itching for violence. He’s bad news, but secretly, I do want him to go savage. I’d like nothing more than to kill the bastard.
But Aurora has to remain at Bloodstone for another nine months, so that’s my sentence too. I hope those two warlocks can find a solution for the blood vow. Staying cooped up in the institute won’t be as bad if I can be with her.
I’m smiling again. I’ve never felt this way before and I’m a little freaked out to be honest. When I step into the living room, my roommates are already up. Ronan is actually escorting his breakfast out of the apartment while Vaughn is playing a video game with Rikkon.
My stomach rumbles, reminding me that I haven’t eaten in a while. I’ll have to resort to blood bags because there’s no way in hell I can drink from another human. I just want Aurora’s blood. I pluck a blood sucker from the bowl in front of me and stick it in my mouth. Normally, blood has to be kept chilled, but there’s enough chemicals in the