Longing for You, стр. 6
Amelia smiled. “She’s lovesick, but she’s never going to winKatie’s love by mooching around the bar and looking so serious.”
“She wasn’t always so serious. At one time I had to caution herabout falling in love so quickly and intensely.”
“The girl that Victorija’s vampires killed?” Amelia said.
“Yes, Anna. It broke her heart when she died. After that, shewasn’t interested in anything but work and became harder and more serious.”
Amelia trailed her fingernails down Byron’s cheek. “So were you,and I melted your heart.”
Byron’s eyes started to turn red at Amelia’s touch. “Are you surewe can’t go upstairs now?”
Amelia laughed. “Not yet, but I promise it’ll be worth waiting on.I have something special planned.”
Byron was just about to reply when her sister, Serenity, danced upclose to them with her dance partner, Angelo. Angelo was Byron’s cousin, headof the North American wing of the Debrek bank.
Angelo was a younger vampire and biracial, African American on herfather’s side, but in most ways she was a kindred spirit and very like Byron inher tastes and her love of fashion, although Angelo was more relaxed in herdress sense. Not today, though—today, she wore a dinner suit and lookedextremely sharp as she danced Sera around the room.
“Sera, keep out of trouble,” Byron said as the couple dancedbeside them.
“As always—anyway, I have my lovely cousin to look after me,” Serasaid.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Angelo?” Amelia asked.
“I sure am, Principessa. It’s so much fun being with all thefamily again,” Angelo said.
Byron smiled. “It’ll be your turn next.”
Angelo gave an exaggerated shiver. “God, I hope not. There are toomany beautiful women out there to narrow it down to one.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Sera agreed.
Byron looked back to Amelia and deep into her eyes, “You mightthink that, but one day love will strike and never let go.”
Chapter Two
Victorija Dred let the human she was feeding on drop to the floor.It had been a waste of time. The blood she had gotten hadn’t even touched thehunger she had. Nothing had touched it since leaving Britain.
In the months that passed since she killed her grandmother, herconscience and her hunger hadn’t given her any peace. She’d retreated to herbedroom for the last few months. Victorija wanted solitude to torture herselfwith the memories of what she’d done.
Victorija never expected to feel this way about the Grand Duchess.She had always relished the idea of ending the Debrek matriarch, but when thetime came, Lucia touched her and gave Victorija back memories she had repressed.Memories of being a child, being with her grandmother and her cousins, beforeher father had been banished from the Debrek clan for breaking their mostsacred rule. Consent.
The memories of the little girl that she had been, happy andcarefree, running around the Debrek estate, playing with her grandmother,chipped away at the ice inside her.
“Principe?” It was the voice of her Duca, Drasas, who stood in herdoorway.
Victorija turned without making eye contact and walked over somebodies to get to her castle window. “What is it, Drasas?”
“I wondered if you could find the time to come and cast an eyeover the new recruits I’ve been training.”
“I’m sure you can handle it, Drasas,” Victoria said withoutturning back from the window.
“Well, I can, but I just wanted you to see them. Our vampires arebringing home newly turned humans every day. We’ll soon have the numbers totake on the Debreks and pay them back for what they have done to us and to takeover their immense clan. You would be unstoppable with the Debrek clan underyour boot.”
“I’ll leave it in your capable hands, Duca. I wish to rest for themoment,” Victorija said.
“You haven’t been downstairs for weeks, Victorija. Your vampiresneed your leadership.”
The gnawing hunger was churning painfully inside her and drivingher mad. Victorija flashed across the room and grasped Drasas’s neck, pushingher up against the wall.
“I told you I want to stay up here,” Victorija shouted. “Now getsomeone to clear up these bodies and send me vampires to feed from, fromnow on.”
“Yes, Principe.” Victorija walked back to the window. Drasasadded, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, now send me some food.”
Drasas bowed her head and walked out of the room. Victorijagrasped her stomach and steadied herself against the castle wall. Then thecramps hit hard, and she doubled over in pain. Why was this happening? It hadstarted after they returned to France.
She remained in her bedroom because she wanted to be alone withher thoughts, and not show any weakness to her clan. Her thoughts were almostas debilitating as her hunger for blood. Lucia hadn’t just unlocked memories ofVictorija with the family—the memories brought forth all the thoughts she hadkept locked up tight behind her icy walls.
Victorija once told Amelia that she had experienced every shade ofpain. Whatever Lucia had done to her mind, everything was melting, and facingthose memories was terrifying. Between that and her unquenchable hunger,Victorija Dred feared she was going mad, just as her father Gilbert had donewhen he killed her mother, his blood bond.
The Debreks were vampire royalty. They were the oldest and mostpowerful vampires in the world because of one special ability—they couldreproduce. Born vampires, as the Debreks were known, grew stronger with eachnew generation.
Victorija, Byron’s cousin, was a born vampire, but when her fatherwas banished from the clan, he and his descendants lost the ability toreproduce. It made the newly formed Dred clan weaker than the Debreks.
Victorija, like her father before her, wanted this ability back,not for the joy of bringing a new life into the world, but for building apowerbase of super vampires to rival the Debreks. She sought to find out whatmagic Lucia had stripped them of, but it wasn’t until Victorija confronted hergrandmother at the Debrek castle in Scotland that she found out the awfultruth.
There was no secret magic or incantation that was taken fromthem—the secret was love. A pure unselfish love for another vampire or humanwould allow them to reproduce like the Debreks.
It was a shocking revelation, because Victorija knew she wouldnever want or be capable of loving anyone.
Gilbert had fallen out of love with Victorija’s mother afterVictorija was born. He