Page 29 of Blood Legacy (Eternal Descent (MistHallow Academy) #1)
29
GAIDA
“Me?”
I try to process what Luke is saying as I stand between Dante and Felix, both of them tense beside me.
“You are causing this,” Luke clarifies, his eyes fixed on mine. “The Blood Rights is something that has been dormant in your bloodline for millennia, waiting for the right combination of genetics and circumstance to manifest. It’s not something being done to you, it’s something you’re doing, albeit unconsciously.”
“That’s impossible,” I protest, even as a chill runs through me. “How could I be severing sire bonds without knowing it?”
Luke traces his fingers over the ancient text. “According to this, the Blood Rights don’t just restore bonds, they can break them too. It’s a natural balancing of power. As your abilities awaken, they’re disrupting existing bonds within your proximity.”
Felix steps closer to the pedestal, squinting at the text. “So she’s inadvertently causing vampires to lose their sire bonds and go feral?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Luke confirms grimly. “Her emerging power is seeking dominance in her territory. It’s breaking weaker bonds to establish her own authority.”
“Look, I know I’m not the nicest vampire to have ever lived, but I would never?—”
“It’s not conscious,” Luke interrupts, his grim expression softening slightly. “It’s instinctual, primal. The vampire equivalent of an alpha wolf dispersing rivals from their territory.”
“Rivals? I don’t find Victor, Melody or Eliza a rival. If anything, I don’t even think about them.”
“That’s part of what makes it so dangerous,” Dante interjects, his voice tight with concern. “You’re not deliberately targeting them. Your power is acting autonomously, seeking to establish dominance in the vampire hierarchy.”
I back away from the pedestal, suddenly feeling like I’m contaminating the air around me. “So I’m what? Some kind of vampire plague? Breaking sire bonds wherever I go?”
“Not exactly,” Luke says, closing the book with careful reverence. “According to this text, the manifestation has stages. First comes the breaking of bonds, then the ability to form temporary replacements. Eventually, you’ll gain full control over the power.”
“How long is ‘eventually’?” I demand, panic rising in my throat. “Because I can’t just walk around campus shattering people’s sire bonds while I wait to figure this out!”
Felix moves to my side, his presence steady and calming. “Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves here.” He turns to Luke. “Is this targeting the weakest links? Or something else? Will it spread out, and is this just ground zero?”
“The opposite to weak. The strongest.”
“Strongest?” I frown. “How does that work?”
“Also explain why you’re okay,” Dante mutters, staring at Luke as if he might turn feral at any moment. Which I suppose he might.
“The Blood Rights are seeking out the strongest bonds because these are the most loyal to their sires. It wants that loyalty for itself.”
“Fuck,” I gasp. The horror of the situation dawns on me fully. My presence is dangerous to the vampire community, breaking the most sacred of bonds without my knowledge or consent. I’m like a walking supernatural disaster.
Felix’s academic mind is ticking over. “If the Blood Rights are seeking the strongest bonds, then those who are most devoted to their sires are paradoxically the most vulnerable. That explains why young, loyal vampires like Victor and Eliza were affected first.”
“So what do I do?” I ask, a desperate edge to my voice. “Lock myself away until I learn to control this? I can’t keep breaking bonds and then temporarily fixing them. It’s cruel.”
“There might be another way,” Luke says slowly, his eyes returning to the book. “According to this, the Blood Rights can be channelled. Directed. If you learn to focus the power, you could potentially stop the random severances.”
“And how exactly do I learn to control a power I didn’t even know I had until today?” I demand.
“It’s Blood Magick at its core. You are already in Advanced Blood Magick, but maybe it’s time you levelled up to Master Blood Magick?” Dante asks before Luke can reply. “My dad is a Master in Blood Magick, and he is pretty badass with anything to do with it.”
“Even age-old weird fuckery like this?” I snap.
“Maybe not exactly this, but who knows? If your dad knew vaguely about this shit, then you can bet your last pair of lacy knickers that my dad does too.”
My cheeks heat up at the mention of my underwear. Not because I’m shy, but because suddenly a damn good fuck feels like it might calm me down.
“That would stand to reason,” Luke says, clearing his throat as he clearly tries not to think about my lacy underwear. “It would make sense that all the ancient families have been sitting on this, hoping their offspring will develop this gift.”
“Gift? Are you fucking joking with me? This isn’t a gift.”
“Actually, it is,” he says, looking at me seriously. “The ancient vampires, the very firsts, believed that those who had the Blood Rights would be gods among us, capable of remoulding vampire society as they saw fit.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “What, by breaking ancient bonds and driving people insane?”
“By creating new, stronger bonds. By rebuilding vampire society on their own terms.” Luke’s eyes hold mine with startling intensity. “The text speaks of a vampire who could end the old hierarchies and forge something new. A Sovereign.”
Felix nods along like he’s getting all of this. Makes one of us. “It’s essentially revolutionary.”
“More like terrifying,” I mutter, feeling the weight of this revelation crushing down on me. “I never asked for this power.”
“Few who are meant to lead ever do,” Luke says quietly.
Dante’s hand finds mine, squeezing gently. “We’ll figure this out. Between the four of us, we’ll find a way to help you control this.”
I look between them, these three powerful men who’ve somehow become central to my existence. “And what if I can’t control it? What if it keeps spreading?”
“Then we deal with that when it happens,” Felix says firmly. “One step at a time.”
Luke gives me a look that screams he isn’t saying something.
“What is it?” I ask in dread.
“What if this power isn’t meant to be controlled?”
“I don’t know why you would say that. It can’t be allowed to run amok.”
“I didn’t say that, did I?” His eyes bore into mine, and a cold, hard certainty hits me.
“You mean this is supposed to happen?”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“Why now?”
“Evolution of the species,” Felix says.
“Yes and no,” Luke counteracts. “This has nothing to do with some cosmic plan or the vampire species growing stagnant. There is a deeper, darker meaning behind all of this.”
“And let me guess, you have no idea what that is.”
He smiles. “Not yet. But I will.” He picks up the book and tucks it under his arm. “Shall we?” He gestures to the exit.
“Can you lead us out of here with those Guardian things attacking us?” I ask.
“Seeing as they belong to me, yes, I believe I can.”
We follow Luke silently through the twisting corridors of the hidden library, the shadow guardians parting like smoke before him. Their hollow eyes track our movements, but they make no move to attack with the Headmaster leading our procession.
“So what happens next?” I finally ask, breaking the tense silence. “Am I supposed to just go back to classes while we wait for more vampires to lose their sire bonds?”
“For now, yes,” Luke says without turning around. “We keep this contained. The fewer people who know about your Blood Rights, the better.”
“That’s your plan? Business as usual?” My voice rises with incredulity.
Luke stops abruptly, turning to face me. The ancient book is clutched tightly against his chest, his knuckles white. “Would you prefer I announce to the academy that one of our students is inadvertently severing sire bonds? How do you think that would go over?”
“He’s right,” Felix says quietly. “If word gets out about what you can do, you’ll have every vampire faction fighting either to control you or eliminate you.”
“Fantastic,” I mutter. “So I just keep my head down while accidentally destroying people’s lives?”
Dante drapes an arm around my shoulders but has nothing to say. What can any of them say that will make this any better?