Page 99 of Bitten Vampire

“This one deals with soul-infused objects,” Dayna says, tapping the hefty red-leather volume. “They are more than a century old, so handle them with care.” She steps out of the circle and places the six antiquarian tomes on magic carefully on the coffee table. “You will need to stay inside until the magic drains; it won’t take long—just another couple of minutes. Good luck, Winifred.”

“Thank you.”

She leaves me to my thoughts, following her brother.

Valdarr returns, watching me intently.

“I’m all right,” I whisper. “The blood test came back negative.”

“I heard what Lander said. I thought it would. Whatever magic House used to alter your DNA, it wasn’t my father’s. I’m sorry, Fred.”

“I’m sorry I let you down,” I murmur.

“Never. Not in a million years.”

As soon as the circle’s magic fades, Valdarr steps in and scoops me up so I’m not standing on the shards in my socks.

He carries me to the sofa and settles me gently.

I have never experienced that. A man lifting me as easily as he does, rearranging me so deftly. My mouth parts as I stare at him in shock. He gently rubs his thumb across my bottom lip.

“The Council are going to eat us alive.”

“Not necessarily. You are only one person. Everything will be fine—I have a few tricks up my sleeve. We will sort it out, together.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Valdarr wantsus to move again, saying the safe house has been compromised after Dayna and Lander’s visit, and the run-in with Jay’s mother. There’s no telling who might talk. It simply isn’t worth the risk.

He rearranges the meeting with the shifters for tonight. It’s easier for him to go alone while the rest of the clan packs up and secures the new location. Besides, he doesn’t really need my help, and I’m still a little shaken from the revelation about House, Dayna’s magic and the failed blood test.

And honestly, I’m peopled out. I don’t want to meet the shifters or stay on guard; I just want to curl up and let the world pass me by.

When everyone is ready to move, we load the van. Baylor, half-asleep, leans against my leg as we drive.

The next safe house is the townhouse I escaped after the border station, the one with the lion-headed brass knocker and the spiky window boxes.

The house now has even more upgraded security. Each of us must give a drop of blood to the warded threshold, just to get inside.

What is it about vampires and blood?

Baylor and I settle in Valdarr’s modern office. The rest of the townhouse features silk wallpaper, expensive furniture, and honey-gold parquet flooring—none of which is designed for paws, and he keeps skidding about. The office is simpler by comparison, and it boasts a thick grey carpet.

I try again to find House, using my usual phone-scrolling trick. I know I must eventually practise without the phone, yet the mindless music and endless reels help me drop in.

The vision almost takes me, then lightning strikes behind my eyes. A blinding headache flattens me. Perhaps the magic doesn’t recognise her—she isn’t human. I switch focus to Ralph, who’s in the next room, and my nose starts to bleed.

Head tipped back, tissue pressed to my face while vampire healing does its work, I reach an unwelcome conclusion: I can manage only so many visions before the well runs dry. I’m tapped out.

Or perhaps I can only have a vision when the person is in immediate danger. I don’t know, I’m winging it at this point.

The power might recharge in a few days, or it might not return at all. With my skull throbbing as though it mightsplit open and ooze all over the floor, I’m in no mood to test the limit.

The Vampirical Council hearing looms. If I cannot navigate it with foresight, we will be in a pickle.

When the bleeding stops, I bin the tissue, sigh, and decide to read.

One of the books, the red one, tingles in my hands; I seize it at once. Relief washes over me when I find in the index that there is a chapter on recharging magical objects.