Longing for You, стр. 53
“Why did I let this happen again?” Alexis asked the sky.
The first time she had fallen in love, with Anna, she was a greenvampire, not fully grasping the problems of falling in love with a human. Nowshe knew the full horror of watching your lover die, yet her heart still fellin love again. Why?
Why had she done this to herself? Alexis remembered Byron tellingher the advice the Grand Duchess had given her. Love doesn’t give you achoice. Maybe that was the penalty, the cost of immortality.
Humans always hungrily tried to find ways to live forever, butwould they if they knew the full cost? The realization then hit her—whether shewas in a relationship with Katie or not, she would still have to watch her growold and die, unless her love faded, which she knew it wouldn’t.
Katie was a loving, warm woman. She needed love, and Alexis wassure she would eventually find someone who would give her everything Alexiscouldn’t, and that would be horrendous.
She fell forward and covered her face in her hands. Love was meantto be joyful, and yet she was in torment.
Through her messy thoughts and painful feelings, Alexis becameaware of the scent of fresh blood, then the noise of something in the trees onthe other side of the park. As she got closer, she heard a noise—somethingbreathing and feeding.
Alexis ran at super speed into the trees. She arrived at the parkwall just as something had left the scene and dropped on the other side of thewall. When she climbed the wall to follow, there was no one there.
Alexis dropped back down to where the blood scent was coming fromand found a collection of dead birds and a few squirrels. All had been killedviciously, their flesh torn and ripped apart, as if in a frenzy.
It could have been another animal, but the creature she’d heard,which had jumped over the wall and slammed down on the pavement, sounded like ahuman, and that gave her an uneasy feeling.
Alexis made her way out of the trees and took out her mobile. Shecalled her lieutenant. “Peter? Get a team to patrol a two-mile perimeter fromthe house. I found something in the park, and I have a bad feeling we haveanother vampire in the area.”
“Yes, Duca.”
When Alexis hung up the phone she went into her photos and gazedat the picture of Katie. There would be pain if she was with her, and if shewasn’t. Which was worse, loving her every day and losing her to age, slowly, orto danger out there in the world, or watching someone else love her?
Chapter Eighteen
The next day Byron and Amelia were due to meet Daisy. Byron waitedin the drawing room, where Amelia said she would bring Daisy, and wondered whaton earth she needed to talk about. Whatever it was, Byron had a bad feeling.
Byron looked at her watch—it was two o’clock in the afternoon.“Time for a quick drink.”
She walked over to the drinks table and poured out Wulver Whisky,given to her by Kenrick Wulver at her wedding. It was a one of a kind tipple,and Byron had promised herself to ration it. She didn’t have that many cases,and rationing was not going well so far.
Byron took a sip and closed her eyes to appreciate the flavour.“Hmm.” She picked up the more than half empty bottle. Maybe Kenrick could bepersuaded to keep this whisky on continuous order for her. Byron would payanything for this blend.
The door to the drawing room opened, and Amelia led Daisy into theroom.
“Ah, good afternoon, Daisy.”
“Hi.”
“Sit down here, Daisy,” Amelia said. “Tea won’t be long.”
“How are you, Daisy?” Byron asked as she sat down next to Amelia.
“Okay, thanks.”
Daisy usually had a cheeky or punchy reply, but not today. Shesounded down, worried, and that made Byron worried.
Amelia put her hand on Byron’s knee then said, “What did you wantto talk about?”
Instead of answering, Daisy took off the scarf around her neck.Amelia gasped, and Byron felt like gasping herself when she saw that thevampire bite Victorija had given Daisy at The Sanctuary had not healed. Thefull implications hit Byron like a ton of bricks.
Amelia got up quickly and went to Daisy. She sat down next to herand touched the wound on Daisy’s neck.
“Tell me this is not—”
“Victorija’s bite? Yeah, it is,” Daisy said.
Amelia looked back to Byron quickly before saying, “Why didn’t youtell us?”
“I didn’t believe it at first, and then I was too scared to faceit. I told Katie, and she told me I should tell you, but I begged her for timeto get my head around it.”
Amelia couldn’t believe this was true. Daisy was bonded by bloodand fate to Victorija Dred just like she was to Byron.
She turned to Byron. “Byron…”
Byron got up and said, “You should have told us straight away,Daisy. You could have been captured by Victorija by now. You probably wouldhave been if she wasn’t missing in action.”
“Byron, I have a lot of experience chasing the paranormal andoccult. I won’t accept there isn’t a way to stop this. But I tried to researchand find something that could break this, and I found nothing.”
“Do you think she knows?” Amelia asked.
Byron let out a breath. “She’s got to be having some seriousproblems by now. It explains why Victorija has been quiet, but her clan isattacking at will and not being careful. I’m now sure someone else is givingthe orders at the moment.”
Amelia rubbed her forehead. She remembered that confusing time ofbeing newly bonded and trying to push Byron away, but at the same time fightingan unquenchable need to be close and feed her.
“Nothing will stop Victorija coming for you, Daisy. She’ll use youfor blood and never stop, just like Victorija’s father did with her mother.”
“There must be some way to break the bond. There’s always a way.I’m not going to be some vamp’s everlasting meal.”
“Maybe Magda might know of something buried deep in the magicliterature?” Amelia said to Byron. “Or maybe Sybil?”
“We will look into it, but