Page 27 of Blood Legacy (Eternal Descent (MistHallow Academy) #1)

27

GAIDA

The laboratory beneath MistHallow Academy looks like something from a Victorian nightmare, with its gleaming metal surfaces, strange apparatus, and the distinct smell of antiseptic barely masking the undertone of blood. I hadn’t even known this place existed until Luke led me here moments ago, descending through hidden passages far below the academy’s main floors.

“How long has this been here?” I ask, trailing my fingers along a bookshelf filled with ancient texts on vampire physiology.

“Since the founding,” Luke replies, adjusting settings on what looks like an unnecessarily complex microscope. “MistHallow was built as much for research as education.”

The door opens, and Felix strides in, his expression darkening when he sees the equipment arranged around the room. “This looks friendly,” he mutters, standing beside me, a look of contentment washing over his face at our proximity. “Let me guess, you’re the lab rat today?”

“Volunteer,” I correct him, though his protectiveness warms something inside me.

The door opens again, admitting Dante. He’s rumpled and bleary-eyed, clearly having been woken from vampire sleep to attend this little gathering. His eyes scan the room before finding me, relief washing over his face.

“You’re okay,” he says, moving to my side, taking my hand and kissing the top of my head in a sweet gesture. “Felix told me about what happened, and it’s all over the Academy.”

Luke sighs heavily but carries on inspecting my blood.

“I’m fine,” I assure him, squeezing his hand. “Just confused.”

Luke watches our interaction with an unreadable expression before returning to his preparations. “The tests should confirm whether what happened with Eliza was an anomaly or something more significant.”

“And what exactly do you think it might be?” Dante asks, his tone slightly confrontational. “Because it sounds like you’re keeping Gaida in the dark about her own blood.”

Luke’s jaw tightens. “I’m as much in the dark as she is. That’s why we’re conducting these tests and awaiting her father’s arrival.”

Felix’s grey eyes narrow with suspicion. “Her father? That suggests you have some idea about what’s happening.”

“Educated guesses only,” Luke replies, not looking up from his work. “Her father knows more about her bloodline than anyone. Obviously .” The last word is withering and would submit a lesser man to his knees. Felix, on the other hand, glowers at him and then at me before he smiles and crosses over to plant a kiss on my lips that makes me melt slightly.

Luke growls as the temperature drops slightly.

Felix pulls back sharply with a triumphant smile. “Get used to it,” he says, echoing Dante’s words from last night.

I catch Luke’s gaze and shake my head slightly, begging him not to rise to the bait. He doesn’t; if anything, he dismisses it too easily for my liking. A bit of caveman wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Dante’s grip on my hand tightens, ignoring the situation. “So you want to test this on actual feral vampires? Using Gaida’s blood? That sounds like a terrible idea.”

“Do you have a better suggestion for helping the three students currently locked in containment cells, slowly going mad without their sire bonds?” Luke challenges, finally meeting Dante’s gaze. “Because if so, I’m listening.”

The tension between them crackles like electricity, and I get it. I feel like the biggest arsehole of the century. For all his power and age, Luke is a turned vampire. He has a sire and knows a sire bond. Despite loathing Lucius with his entire being, it doesn’t change vampire bonds. He would have to be stupid or remiss not to wonder what would happen if he lost his sire bond and turned feral. And he is neither of those things.

“I want to do this,” I say, giving Dante a firm stare. “If my blood can help them, even temporarily, we need to know.”

Luke nods, something like relief flickering across his face. “We’ll start with controlled exposure. Small amounts of your blood will be administered to each subject, and we’ll monitor their reactions.”

“I still don’t like this,” Dante mutters, but he backs down, moving to lean against the wall.

Felix approaches the laboratory equipment, examining it with professional interest. “I can monitor the magickal signatures during testing,” he offers. “Might give us insight into how her blood interacts with the severed bonds.”

“Fine,” Luke says, though his expression suggests he’s merely tolerating Felix’s presence. It kind of makes me want to giggle, but I daren’t.

The preparation is clinical and detached. Luke draws several vials of my blood with a pure silver needle, his hands steady and professional despite the intimacy of the act. Our eyes meet briefly as the needle pierces my skin, and something passes between us, a current of awareness that makes my breath catch.

“We’ll start with Victor,” Luke says, breaking the moment. “He’s been feral the longest.”

A wall slides away, revealing a viewing window into a padded cell. Victor Tanner thrashes against magickal restraints, his features contorted with rage and madness. His blonde hair is matted with sweat, and his clothes are torn and bloodied.

It makes my heart thump as I think of Luke like this. The thought of it must be killing him. He is a man who lives his life with iron control. If that slips away, what will be left?

Felix stands beside me, his grey eyes focused on Victor with analytical intensity. “It’s like the magickal tether was cut, but the anchor points remain intact,” he murmurs. “Something targeted the connection specifically.”

Luke prepares a small dropper with my blood. “We’ll administer it orally first,” he explains. “It’s the least invasive method.”

A small hatch opens in the wall of Victor’s cell. Luke chucks a vial of my blood into the cell, and Victor pounces on it immediately and gulps it back.

The change is instant and startling. His body goes rigid, then relaxes completely. The feral light in his eyes dims, replaced by confusion and awareness.

“What...” he croaks, his voice hoarse from screaming. “Where am I?”

“A containment cell beneath MistHallow,” Luke responds through an intercom. “How do you feel, Mr Tanner?”

He looks around, bewildered. “I don’t understand. Why am I here?”

“You experienced a sire bond severance,” Luke explains calmly. “You’ve been in a feral state for approximately thirty-six hours.”

Horror washes over his face as understanding dawns. “My sire!”

“She is fine,” Luke says. “This was an anomaly. One we are working to fix.”

His face scrunches up, and he drops to his knees, letting out a whimper of relief.

I gulp. My heart wrenches for him. For all of them. I thank my lucky stars that I don’t have to worry about this. It makes me selfish, and I hate that, but I can’t help how I feel.

Felix is taking notes, his expression intent. “The magickal signature is stabilising,” he murmurs. “It’s not reforming the original bond, but it’s creating a temporary substitute. Fascinating.”

Dante moves closer to the glass, studying Victor with narrowed eyes. “How long will it last?”

“That’s what we need to determine,” Luke replies.

We monitor Victor for twenty minutes, during which he remains lucid and cooperative, answering Luke’s questions about his experience. Then, with frightening suddenness, he stiffens again. His pupils dilate, his fangs descend, and within seconds, he’s hurling himself against the walls of his cell, all humanity gone again.

“The effect is temporary,” Luke notes, his voice clinical despite the disturbing transformation we’ve just witnessed. “Approximately twenty-two minutes.”

“We should try a larger dose,” Felix suggests. “See if the duration increases proportionally.”

Luke nods. “After we test the other subjects. We need to confirm the effect is universal.”

The tests with Melody and Eliza yield similar results. Both return to lucidity after exposure to my blood, remaining coherent for roughly the same period before reverting to their feral state. Each transformation is harrowing to watch, the cruel slide from person to predator.

“Three for three,” Felix observes, analysing the data on a floating magickal display. “That’s not a coincidence. Her blood definitely has restorative properties for severed bonds.”

Luke turns to me, his expression grave. “We need to understand why.”

I nod, understanding that he wants to examine my blood more thoroughly. He takes a fresh sample, this time adding it to a strange crystalline device that projects an enlarged image onto the wall. Felix joins him, both men studying the swirling patterns with intense concentration, bonding weirdly over their nerdy desire to learn. It’s fucking adorable. I smile at Dante, who sits next to me, taking my hand and kissing it.

“Look at them,” he purrs. “So cute.”

“Aren’t they?” I reply with a teasing smile. “You okay?”

“Me? I’m fine. Are you?”

“Yes. This situation is unnerving and drives home how lucky we are not to have this looming over our heads. I’m glad I’ve found you.”

He grins. “Oh, the feeling is definitely mutual, ma reine.”

“There,” Felix points to a pulsing golden thread within the crimson, drawing our attention back to him. “That signature is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s almost like...”

“A template,” Luke finishes, his brow furrowed in concentration. “As if it contains a pattern that the severed bonds recognise.”

Dante stares at the projection, his expression puzzled. “But that’s impossible. Sire bonds are unique to each vampire pair. How could her blood possibly contain a universal template?”

Before Luke can respond, the laboratory door opens, and Dad strides in, regal in his tailored black suit. His ancient presence immediately dominates the room. His cold eyes sweep over the assembled group before settling on me.

“I see the testing has begun,” he observes, moving to examine the blood projection.

“Not time to waste,” Luke says.

Dad’s gaze lands on Dante, eyes narrowed before turning to Felix. His expression shifts to hostility, but then he frowns back at me, a query in his stare. “What you’re witnessing is not something to be taken lightly.”

“What exactly am I witnessing, Dad? Since you clearly know something about my blood that I don’t.”

He glares at Felix again.

“Oh, you can talk freely in front of them. I will just tell them anyway. Saves us all a bit of time.”

He grimaces, but he can see whatever thread is connecting me and Felix. He gave Luke and me his blessing for reasons known only to him, and he already wanted me with Dante. He has zero choice in the matter.

“It’s called Blood Rights. A rare ability discovered once before… until now.”

“Blood Rights?” I repeat, the term unfamiliar. “What does that mean?”

“It means, it appears, your blood carries the authority of the originals,” my father explains, his tone suggesting he’s discussing something completely ordinary rather than a revelation about my nature.

“It can temporarily replace severed sire bonds because it contains the primal template from which all vampire bonds derive,” Luke mutters, gazing at me in awe and surprise.

The casual way he drops this bombshell leaves me momentarily speechless.

“That’s not possible,” Felix interjects. “The primal template is theoretical at best. There’s no evidence?—”

“There is considerable evidence,” my father cuts him off coldly, “if one knows where to look. The Aragon family archives contain records dating back to the beginning.”

“The beginning of your line?” he asks, almost drooling at the thought of such history.

“Quite,” Dad clips out. “The Aragon line starts with the descendant of the First.”

Luke watches this exchange with narrowed eyes. “And you think Miss Aragon has these Blood Rights?”

“I’ve had my suspicions for centuries about an offspring of mine developing this gift. Who wouldn’t in my position? Your analysis, brief as it is, gives me reason to believe that Gaida has the Blood Rights.”

“You didn’t think it was relevant to tell me that I’m carrying some ancient bloodline power that might suddenly manifest?” I croak.

“Would it have changed anything?” Dad asks, his tone suggesting the question is rhetorical. “You needed to develop normally, without the burden of expectation.”

“Bullshit,” I snap, unafraid of his disapproval for perhaps the first time in my life. “I’ve been burdened with expectations my whole life. Why not make it worth my while? You kept this from me because knowledge is power, and you didn’t want to share it. You never do.”

A flicker of surprise crosses his face at my outburst. “Be that as it may,” he continues after a moment, “here we are now.”

“And where exactly is here ? What am I supposed to do apart from temporarily relieving feral vampires who have had their bonds severed?”

“There is still so much we don’t know. We know Blood Rights creates a temporary replacement for the sire bond. For what reason? That remains a mystery that hopefully now we can solve.”

“Solve? Like I’m a fucking problem?”

“Language, Gaida,” he chides.

Luke lets out a slight growl. “For once, I disagree. Miss Aragon is free to swear all she likes. This situation is, for lack of a more emphatic term, fucked up.”

Eyes wide with a slow smile spreading, I gaze at him in adoration. He is magnificent.

“I expect you to understand the power you carry and use it responsibly,” my father states, ignoring Luke’s outburst, his tone suggesting the conversation is approaching dangerous territory. “Until we learn more about it.”

“So you’re saying don’t give any more of my blood to the feral vampires, even though it could give them temporary relief?” I say bitterly.

Luke clears his throat, interrupting our tense exchange. “The immediate concern is the feral vampires and the continuing severances. If Gaida’s blood can stabilise them temporarily, it buys us time to investigate the cause.”

My father grimaces, and for the first time in my lifetime, I see him capitulate. “Very well. Small doses. We don’t know what her blood will do, nor how it will affect the ferals if we continue to administer it.”

I shake my head, all of this suddenly crashing down around me. “I need air. This is too much.”

“Gaida,” Dad says, but Luke intercepts.

“Let her go,” he says quietly. “She needs time to process.”

I exit without looking back, climbing the stairs out of the laboratory with quick, angry steps. To my surprise, Luke follows me, catching up easily with his longer stride.

“Gaida, wait.”

I stop but don’t turn around. “Did you know? Before today, did you know about these Blood Rights?”

He moves to stand before me, his blue eyes serious. “No. To me, you were a pureblood vampire from the oldest and most powerful bloodline. In retrospect, that should’ve been an indicator that there was more to you than meets the eye.”

I search his face for any sign of deception but find none. “And does this change how you see me?” The question escapes before I can stop it, vulnerability bleeding into my voice.

Something shifts in his expression, a softening, a crack in that perfect control. “It explains why I’ve never been able to resist you,” he says softly. “Even when every instinct told me I should.”

The admission steals my breath. For a moment, we stand there, poised on the edge of something new and terrifying.

“Luke—”

He interrupts, his voice regaining its professional edge, “This power makes you a target. We need to be extremely careful about who knows.”

The moment slips away, reality reasserting itself. I nod, understanding the warning beneath his words.

“Get some rest,” he advises. “Tomorrow will bring more questions and, hopefully, some answers.”

As I watch him walk away, I’m left wondering if the power in my blood is a gift or a curse and what else it will reveal before the week is out.