“Obviously,” Hunter deadpanned.

“And you’d say you feel one hundred percent? There were no…side effects?”

I flinched at his words and Hunter clenched his jaw a couple of times, undoubtedly trying to work out how to approach the question. After a few long seconds, he smiled.

“Well, I do have a tiny, itchy bite on my ankle—”

“Enough.” Cesare exhaled, not willing to see Hunter’s cheekiness through to the end. “While your story holds strong, I’d like to see it for myself. If this serum does indeed work with no side effects like Mr Reeves here is claiming, then we need to adjust our weapons accordingly. We could save many lives, shifting the balance back in our favor.”

The stained glass windows I didn’t notice before darkened, blocking out the sun, and I felt apprehension ripple through the room—or maybe it was just me. A loud snarl grabbed everyone’s attention as elite guards dragged in a vampire. Thankfully, it was caged behind the thickest bars I’d ever seen and I watched as minimal smoke seeped from the cage—from the feet of the vampire—as he stood on silver bars. He cowered from the silver, desperately trying not to fall against it as they carted him along. I didn’t recognize him—not that I was expecting to—and he wasn’t faring to well. His skin was chalky and almost transparent, his eyes as dark as volcanic glass. My hands began to shake, drawing Eli’s attention. I threaded my fingers in an attempt to stop them, and it worked to a degree. I glanced around the room. No one seemed to be shocked that the council had a spare vampire in a cage lying around. How many more did they have?

“Ruby,” Cesare’s voice startled me and I jumped in my seat. “If you’d be so kind as to donate a little more off that…‘freaky’ blood of yours.”

Hunter snickered and I shot a glare at him. I looked at Eli, who sat next to me, and he gave me a subtle nod of the head. It was all the reassurance I needed. If he thought it was okay, then it had to be.

I rose from my chair and stepped out into the aisle. I took one step and my heart raced so hard I was worried it’d rip a hole through my chest. All eyes were on me and it scared the hell out of me…since when did large crowds make me nervous? The closer I got to the vampire, the more I noticed. His nostrils flared as it took in all of the delicious smells. Saliva leaked from his mouth, leaving red rashes in its wake as the drool burned the skin as it rolled off his chin and onto his naked chest. Before I got too close, the elite guard (the same one from the holding room yesterday) extended his palm to me in a motion to stop. I stopped. From the pocket of his jeans, he produced a small syringe and stepped forward. I extended my arm and looked away. Please, for the love of God, don’t let this vampire become sired to me. Please let it only be a freak, one off accident. A small pinch was felt in my arm and as my head spun a little, I regretted skipping breakfast. The elite guard only took a small sample and it was over before it really began. I stepped back as he reached for his back pocket again and pulled out a small vial. He tipped the vial upside down and stuck the needle in, extracting some of the serum. It mixed with my blood in pretty swirls and soon the syringe was ready for use. I took a few more steps back as the elite guard approached the vampire. The vampire didn’t move. It was too weak and confused to try. The elite slammed the needle into the vampire’s back and its loud, blood-curdling screech filled the air. We all gasped. Some of us screamed. He threw himself around his cage, burning himself on the bars every time. My hands shot up to cover my mouth—this was cruel. Sure, he was a vampire, but this wasn’t okay…was it? Slowly, the vampire’s skin began to fill out, turning more ‘human.’ He fell to the floor and suddenly, the bars didn’t hurt him anymore. I heard others rise from their seats, but I didn’t take my eyes off the transformation in front of me. He was turning. It was working. I saved him…I could save a ton of lives.

The vamp—kind of human—guy shook his head. His entire body shuddered on and off as he curled in the fetal position. We waited and watched, expecting something to go wrong, and when it didn’t, everyone began to talk with excitement. My chest tightened, I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t register it with all the excitement. It was like it filtered into my ears and then stayed there, locked just behind the eardrum. It hurt—the pressure hurt. I contemplated leaving. I did what they wanted me to do. As I turned, the man in the cage began to sob. I pivoted back around to him, suddenly feeling an urge to take care of him. I stepped forward and his soft sobs turned into howling cries.

“Help me,” he cried. “Please, I trust you.”

I stepped closer and a hand wrapped around my forearm, yanking me back. I didn’t even glance over my shoulder. I was too fixated on the broken man in front of me. His eyes were brown—a light brown—like toffee, and they provoked so much emotion in me. I couldn’t pinpoint it. It wasn’t like this with Hunter. He couldn’t affect me, but this guy, he made me feel strange.

“Watch yourself, Ruby,” Eli said and I pulled out of his grasp.

The man screamed some more, clenching his insides. I looked up at Hunter and he watched us, completely transfixed.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked the ex-vampire, loud enough for only us to hear.

“It hurts!”

I dropped to my knees, careful not to get too close. “It’ll be over soon. It will feel better soon, I promise.”

He shook his head, slowly at first, and then more vigorously. “No. No. No.”

I searched my brain, trying to find the right words to soothe him. As I sat, dumbfounded and unsure, his skin began to bulge, like there were hundreds of M & Ms under his skin. The bulges grew bigger and bigger. They lit up like torches were being shined from underneath his skin…and all I could do was watch, wide-eyed and frozen. Heavy hands grabbed my shoulders and dragged me back; I let them. The man’s nice eyes stayed fixated on mine as his face began to mutate and twist. With one last, unexpected shriek, he exploded into a million pieces. Blood splattered my face and my clothes—I guessed it got a few other people too, because a myriad of screams followed the explosion. The council members were on their feet, and again, all I could do was watch. It was like a grenade had gone off right next to me. I couldn’t hear properly and everything moved slomo. I glanced at Hunter, who was standing, resting his hands on his head. His bright blue eyes were wide and absolutely terrified. Why didn’t that happen to him?

I was too dazed, horrified, and shocked to realize the next set of events that unfolded. One minute I was sitting on the floor covered in someone else’s blood…the next I was yanked to my feet and passed around before eventually being shoved into Mila’s arms. I blinked once, twice, no, three times before I finally came back to my senses. Eli, Xavier, Lyric, and Mr. Aleksandrov formed a defensive line in front of me. I looked past them at the elite guards that slowly advanced on us.

“Let’s be reasonable,” Eli demanded. “We have to ask questions before we start arresting people. Surely there has to be something different in the works here.”

Cesare’s large, heavy wooden chair scraped against the floor and all attention was diverted to him. “I was promised a working serum. Miss Moore’s blood was mixed with the serum exactly how it was last time. Unless,” his dark stare bored down on Mr. Aleksandrov. “You’re keeping something from me.”

Mr. Aleksandrov shuffled forward. “I can assure you that the very detailed account of events Mr Reeves told you is accurate.”

“Then why, oh wise higher power, do I have blood and guts all over my courtroom and you have a full functioning ex-vampire?”

The crowd in the room sat still and quiet, patiently waiting for Mr. Aleksandrov’s miraculous response—and it was miraculous. I sure as hell didn’t think of it.

“Before he was turned, what species was he?”

“Human.”

Quiet, eager whispers filled the room.

“That seems to be the only obvious difference between Hunter and your…blood and guts, here. Perhaps humans can’t handle the blood.”

Cesare pondered Aleksandrov’s words. It made sense to me. Humans had no idea about our world. They weren’t magical or special…it makes sense for them not to be able handle it.

“I want the use of the serum stopped until we can be sure. I don’t want blood and guts to be sprayed over the streets. We can’t risk exposure. In the meantime, we’ll take more of Miss Moore’s blood for testing.” He glanced up and down the table, at the other council members. “Agreed?”

They murmured their agreement.

“In the coming days we have Mr. De Luca’s hearing. Until then, enjoy your stay. Tonight we’re having a party in the great hall and I expect all to be in attendance.”

Chatter filled the room as the council left and amongst the excited hurry to get out and get ready for the party, our tight knit group stared at the ground…we were going to be here longer than we needed to be, weren’t we?

Once again, my body began to shake…Eli turned to look at me and I saw the vampire’s blood splattered over his skin, too. He stepped forward and I pushed off of Mila. I needed him to hold me, to console me, and he wanted to do it. I could see it burning fiercely in his eyes, but Mr. Aleksandrov stepped between us, keeping me from his warm embrace. My chest deflated.

“This is neither the time nor the place,” he uttered under his breath.

Eli and I never dropped eye contact, not until Hunter’s arm slung around my shoulders. I glanced at his face and it reflected the unease I felt. Mila joined Eli, the both of them ignoring the blood that seemed to soak into my skin. Although their hold didn’t soothe me like Eli’s did, it was all I had and I appreciated it.

Chapter Seven

I rushed into the bathroom and threw up for the third time since Hunter’s hearing. It was like all of my stress was finally crashing down on me…and gushing out of my stomach like Niagara Falls…I know. Gross, right?

“If you get any vomit on that dress, Ruby, I will kill you,.” Faith growled through the wood and I rolled my eyes. Of course the council stuck me with her.

Were all elite guards so unpleasant to deal with? I didn’t even want to go to the stupid party and I was clearly not in any shape to attend, but Cesare requested that we ‘all’ be there and every single one of us were brought expensive clothing. The gorgeous fabrics set the tone for the party and I guessed it wasn’t the casual dinner party I’d originally assumed. It also turned out that our outfits were pre-chosen for us. Mila was draped in a stunning royal blue chiffon gown while I was stuck in pink, and not a nice pink, either. It was the kind of pink you see spewed over an infant girl’s room.

I sat back from the toilet and wiped my arm across my mouth. I felt disgusting—even worse now that I was all glammed up and forced to party. Don’t get me wrong, I liked pink, but I didn’t like this particular shade. Maybe I was just being fussy because I felt off…I couldn’t describe how strange I felt. It was like I was connected to the vampire-human for the slightest moment and then, when he exploded, it felt like my stomach had been squeezed and all of my breakfast threatened to slip up my throat. Worse than that, I felt kind of empty, like I’d lost a tiny part of me. Is that weird? Who am I kidding? Of course it is.

Three loud bangs rattled the wooden door, startling me from my thoughts.

“Ruby?” Mila called through the wood. “Are you all right? Do you need me to hold your hair back?”

I smiled despite my current miserable state. “No. I’ll be right out.”

I gripped the toilet seat, more worried about losing my balance than the germs, and pushed myself to my feet. I stumbled over to the sink and washed my hands before brushing my teeth. As I stared at myself in the mirror, I felt a little better. It reminded me of me and I was strong, independent, and capable of great things. I can overcome this. I flicked my long, dark hair over my shoulders and ran the palms of my hands down my dress. I guess I liked the dress…or at least, I liked the style. It was tight around the breasts and waist, like a corset, and it was covered in tiny pink beads. From the waist, it flowed in beautiful light fabrics, expanding slightly, like a princess’s dress would. I smiled at the thought.

I opened the door and Mila smiled at me. She looked beautiful. Her hair was tied in a relaxed braid down to the side and only the smallest glistening white gold and diamond jewelry adorned her ears and neck. She looked so…ethereal and innocent. If only.

I glanced at Faith, who was leaning against the large bay window, clutching a half empty glass of red wine. Of course she wore the tightest, sexiest, most slim fitting dress I’d ever seen. Unfortunately, she wasn’t on duty tonight. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me she was dressing that way to get Eli’s attention and it made my palm twitch. The thought made me sick and she noticed. Her lips curled into a smug smirk and I couldn’t help but wonder if Faith chose this dress for me. While I dressed like a child, she dressed like a woman and the difference was painfully obvious.

“Cute dress,” she said in that ‘you’re an idiot’ tone. You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all heard it.

Just to spite her, I smirked and did a little twirl. “Thank you.”

I strolled toward the door, filing Faith to the back of my mind. I had more important things to worry about like, I don’t know, trying not to throw up.

***

They went above and beyond when it came to decorating the hall. Everything was white—as were most things in this city—and all of it was trimmed with silver. It was beautiful. From the fogged glass windows, to the large white tables cluttered with shiny cutlery, from the charmed ceiling that feigned snow to, finally, the gigantic frozen ice sculptures of swans that lined the wall. It was mesmerizing and I was suddenly certain that I was never leaving here.