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“Vampires are like… They’re like families. It’s feudalism. A Patron holds a family together through blood ties. Those ties are… They’re forever. You don’t break them. You can’t break them. Most don’t want to.”

“OK. So can’t you… can’t we just move? Go somewhere else?”

“No. I mean,” he fidgeted on the bed, his legs getting all twitchy, “you can. Maybe. I cannot.”

“Why?”

He pulled my hand into his lap, and ran his thumb along my palm, like all the answers to his problems could be found in my lifeline. I was trying to keep my own panic at bay. Yesterday, I wanted to die to get away from this man, and now I’m begging him not to send me away. I didn’t even understand what I was really asking for. All I knew is that I don’t want to do this life alone.

“When Warren died,” he rubbed his face with one hand, “No before that. Warren had houses in Cold Spring Harbor.”

“On Long Island?” I interrupted. He nodded.

“It was… No, it still is,” his shoulders slumped, “It’s complicated to explain. Veronica made Warren. Back in Europe. Before the wars.”

“Which war?”

“Ah,” he looked up at the ceiling, “Not sure what the mortals called it. The whole bloody war was just a cover for a feud between rival families. Napoleon used vampire backing to tear across Europe.” He waved that thought away, “Anyway, Warren and I and Saint, came here, blending in with others starting a new life in America. Veronica followed not long after. It was unusual,” he stopped to think about that, “No, it’s really rare that a vampire you make lives outside your immediate territory. Lesser family maybe. Veronica became the dominate force in the Americas. He kept up his residence in Cold Spring, a days ride from Manhattan.”

He rubbed his chest. It was his tell, that whatever he was remembering hurt. Physically I think. His story telling was disjointed, like he didn’t know the order of events, and what would be important to share. Shaw had said this kind of grief was physical. I took his palm and traced his lifelines, hoping it would be a distraction. He watched our fingers mingle.

“I had only been to the City once, on Tribute Day, to give my blood to Veronica. To become a Venier. To become Family. It was the only time I met her, until,” he swallowed, “until Warren died. A fire had broken out in the factory above Veronica’s rooms that day cutting the day short. It was chaos, and we bolted back to the Harbor. She wanted us to stay in the city.”

“OK.” I said softly. I didn’t fully understand. “So, it’s like joining the mafia right? You get protection?”

He nodded. “And resources too. After the wars, it became harder to keep who we are secret. You can’t just live in the woods secluded. You need to drink.”

Oh. Right. I pushed that thought out of my head to freak out about later.

“Veronica now owns all the blood banks in New York. Ambulance companies too.”

“That’s convenient.”

“That’s survival. That’s what family means. Survival.”

“But everyone here…”

“Are outcasts. They were all cast out of families for various reasons. And that cuts them off from money and blood.” Lachlan gave a huff of laughter, “you don’t want this life.”

My mind was spinning to put this disjointed conversation together. I wanted to race to the punchline to ease both our anxiety.

“So,” I began, “You’re in Veronica’s family… and…” I got it with a revelation, “I am not?”

He nodded. His eyes still following the patterns I was tracing on his palm.

“Can’t you just leave, like Warren did?”

“I… I don’t think I can.”

I sat with that for a second. This was more than weird rules and protocol. What had Shaw said? Lachlan had capacity but not ability to change things.

“When Warren died, Veronica found me. Brought me here. She was… broken too. She had made Warren.” He shrugged. “We bonded tighter. It helped.” He finished with “for a while,” in a softer voice.

“OK,” I pushed the hair out of my eyes. Problem solving was my thing, we could figure this out. “Our options are,” I pinched his index finger “you send me away…”

“To another family…”

“We’re not doing that,” I batted that finger away and pinched the next one, “I join another family here in New York. There are other families right?”