Page 28 of Blood as Sweet as Roses

Crimson

Murad bellows with laughter, distilled blood spilling over the side of his glass. “And then I said, ‘If you’re going to drink from so many shifters, you need to stop buying such expensive suits!’ And then he ripped it again!”

I clutch my stomach, red tears streaming down my face. “It’s true! He could not control his shifting for at least the first two decades.”

“I told him,” Murad says, shaking his head. “If he stuck to one group of shifters, fine. But he was all over the place! Wolves, bears, panthers…did you know there are owl shifters?”

“No…”

“Yes! Tudor found an ancient clan of owl shifters, living in Germany, I think.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“He really wanted to be able to shift. He was so obsessed, it was almost adorable.”

“This one’s done,” I say, finishing off the last of our most recent bottle.

I stand and cross to the wooden cabinet at the side of the large room.

We’re drinking distilled blood in Murad’s library-study, on the second floor of the mansion.

It’s a cavernous room stuffed to the brim with old texts in Arabic, Latin, English, Persian, Greek, Turkish, and a dozen more languages I can’t even recognize.

Thick tomes are piled haphazardly across wooden tables doted with flickering candles, half-full bottles of distilled blood, and vases of roses from the garden outside.

Murad is one of those vampires who uses his immortality to collect rare books and antiques.

He’s amassed quite an impressive collection, and his library continues to grow.

When he requested to join our clan several decades ago, he joined on the condition that he could have a library here at the mansion.

Xavian was happy to oblige. He’d never touched the dusty rooms on the second floor. So Murad moved in.

I’m glad he did. Murad’s an old vampire - only a few decades younger than me - and while he brought several progeny with him when he joined our clan, he never made a move for Xavian’s seat, or threatened his power.

I think he prefers to have the pressure on someone else, so he can enjoy a good book and the mansion’s many donors without the stress that comes with leadership.

That’s my burden, I suppose.

I grab another bottle and quickly uncork it. As I pour, I catch a glimpse of the label. “Uh oh, we should be careful!” I point to the image of a seashell. “Wouldn’t want to grow a fin by accident.”

“Well, I’ve never heard of a mer-vampire,” Murad says, taking his glass.

“First time for everything.”

“If it’s anyone, it’ll be Kai.”

I sigh. “Don’t remind me. Can you believe that they’re engaged to that oversized salmon?”

Murad gives me a look. “Young love, you know. If you try to stop them, they’ll just dig their fangs in.”

“I have to stop them, Murad,” I groan. “You know how the dolphin shifters are, they’ll be furious if we throw a whole wedding for Kai and a merman. Vampires never marry. And if they do, it’s for a political alliance. The shifters will take it as a slap in the face.”

“So let them,” Murad counters, with a provocatively raised brow. “They seem genuinely happy together, Crim. Are you really going to keep them apart?”

“They’re lucky I’m so soft. If Xavian were still here…”

“But he’s not,” the other vampire counters, his tone unexpectedly firm. “Tudor, Xavian, Lazarus…they’re the old guard, and they’re gone now. Now you get to decide how to lead. And it doesn’t have to be their way.”

My stomach twinges. “If I want to be lectured, Murad, I would attend Amrita’s magic academy.”

“Don’t listen to me, then. After all, misfortune is a better teacher than a thousand pieces of advice,” he replies with a teasing wink.

This only irritates me further. “I didn’t ask for your advice, Murad. I came to you for good stories and a bottle of blood.”

“That’s not why you came to me, Crimson.” His voice become suddenly serious, and a little bittersweet. “You come because you can talk to me. Really talk. Without worrying about politics, or optics, or who’s going to try and drive a stake into your heart.”

I grimace at him, but I know it’s true. There are few other vampires in my clan who I trust, and I appreciate that I can relax in Murad’s company.

He’s also one of the few vampires close to my age, and he can understand something of what it’s like to be in my position.

He was the right-hand vampire of his own Creator, and he only joined Xavian after they had a falling out.

“You’ve come a long way,” he continues, emboldened by my silence.

“You survived Xavian’s tyrannical rule, and now you’re on the throne.

You spent three hundred years getting here.

Now that you’re in charge, what’s next? Are you going to keep amassing more power, like Xavian and Tudor, until someone stakes you?

Or are you actually going to embrace your existence? Do something meaningful?”

I glare at him. I hate how he reveals my insecurities, ones I haven’t even fully admitted to myself. But there’s no way I’m going to say that to him.

“I’m perfectly happy with my existence, thank you very much,” I reply, unconvincingly. “And I’m the king of a powerful vampire clan. My reign is new, I can’t take it for granted. I have to focus on consolidating my power. I don’t have time for anything else.”

“Maybe you could make time,” Murad suggests. “Enjoy some of what the world has to offer. Otherwise, you’ll work yourself to dust.” He takes a bright red rose between his fingers, twirling it around wistfully. “How did that American union song go? Hearts starve as well as bodies?”

“Give us bread, but give us roses.”

“Exactly! You need more roses.”

“You’ve been drinking too much seablood. And I don’t eat bread.”

Murad smirks at me. “Well, blood and roses, then.”

I take a rose from the vase, stroking its soft petals. For the first time in a long time, I wish I could smell it. Wish I could remember what it was like to be human.

“Your new breather is quite something, isn’t she?” Murad says. “I notice you’ve been quite enamoured with her.”

I glare at him. “If the word ‘prophecy’ even crosses your mind, Murad…”

He throws up his hands, dropping the rose to the floor. “I didn’t say anything! I only meant to point out that you…seem to quite enjoy her company.”

“Of course I do,” I reply, curtly. “She’s beautiful and her blood is divine.”

Murad gives me a pointed look. “Well, I’m glad you’ve found a good companion.”

“Like you should be talking,” I accuse, playfully. “I saw you with Eloise the other night. And she had some new marks on her neck…”

“Guilty as charged.” He grins, then finishes off his glass. “Well, what do you say we go see if our roses are in the lounge tonight?”

I drain the last of my glass as well. “I thought you would never ask.”