Page 33 of Saved by the Vampire Goddess (Dark Wine Vampires #1)

Chapter thirty-three

Valroy

Titus’s home—Moments later

E velina pushes me away. “You’re drunk.”

The alcohol has burned off already, and only a little of the painkiller remains, so I’m stone-cold sober, and know my heart. I love her.

“Evelina—”

“Not now. Feed on Samuel again, a half-pint, no more. You’ll need it. We have to hike to the exit point.”

I’m not arguing with her. Not now. But later? We’ll have this out when we’re back at the ark. “Why not take the car?”

“Oh fer crying out loud.” She shakes her head. “The owner may have reported it stolen, and your imperial guards could be searching for it as we speak. Does the car have any anti-theft tech they could track?”

“I don’t know. We have so little thievery here. There’s no place to trade stolen cars—too easy to get caught.”

She bites her lower lip as she considers my words, and it takes all my restraint not to replace her teeth with mine.

Releasing her lip, she nods. “The car’s battery is a few electrons shy of dead, so we won’t get far in it anyway. We might have to abandon the darn thing in the poverty zone, and someone might report seeing a rich man’s car. Best to leave the contraption in Titus’s garage where no one will see it.”

That makes sense. “Agreed.” Then another idea occurs to me. “Why don’t we stay? We can run the government together. There’s a power vacuum right now—”

“You’re still stoned and not thinkin’ straight.” She tsks . “We have to deliver the football to the Lux. And they’d never let a vampire stay in charge of a mortal-only dome. No guardrails. We’d change everyone we loved to prevent their deaths and then eat our way through the mortals.”

“Just like you did.” I lean into her. “You changed me.”

Her eyes tear and she swipes at them, then scoffs. “Enough of that. Now feed.”

I lean into her neck.

She grabs my shoulders and pivots me around. “Samuel, not me. Half a pint.”

She whooshes from the kitchen and returns with enough coats for everyone.

I release the poor servant. “Where did you get those?”

“Titus’s closet.” She sticks them in our two backpacks and then guides Samuel, who woozily stumbles, but she steadies him.

I follow them into the receiving room.

Evelina motions Titus to stand. My best friend is clear-eyed now. He stiffens and gives Evelina a wide berth.

She helps Samuel take his place on the couch and stares into his eyes. “If you’re questioned, tell them we drugged you and you don’t know our plans.”

“That’s not good enough. The dead emperor’s men will torture him,” Titus mumbles, wiping his still-oozing bloody nose with his sleeve.

It smells delicious .

Evelina rolls her eyes but adjusts Samuel’s memory. “The genii have a message only for the ears of the empress. The genii have judged the emperor unworthy and they appoint the empress in his place. Diana’s temple will confirm.” She glares at Titus. “Is that good enough?”

I grab Titus’s arm. “I think she’s given Samuel sufficient details to satisfy the Imperator.”

Titus nods and steps back.

She locks eyes with Samuel and snaps her fingers. “Sleep.”

He falls over on the couch.

“All right, everyone.” Evelina motions for us to gather around her. “We’re walking to the dome’s edge, and then—”

“I’m staying here,” Titus says.

I was afraid of this. Leaving all this wealth and status for an unknown future… It’s against all his training. I would know. I’m the one who trained him.

“No one’s staying,” Evelina drawls. “Ya can’t. The empress can’t protect you. Samuel can get away with it because he’s a servant. But you escaped the emperor’s guards, and given your history with Maliff, it’ll be too easy for them to reframe the story that you murdered him. They might know about Valroy now, and they might have even announced he killed Maliff at the shitstorm of a party, but it won’t matter. He’ll be long gone, and it’ll be easier to give you to the mob to appease them.”

She’s right, and I grip Titus’s shoulder.

He flinches. “The skin has scarred over, but I’m still sore.”

His flogging. The lack of mercy from the imperial class is baked into the system and affirms my decision. I loosen my grip on his shoulder. “You must come with us. They’ll hang you for murder if you don’t, and Tina would never forgive me. Besides, I can’t let anything more happen to you on my account. Please. I promise you, a good life awaits.”

“Valroy—” He cuts a look at Evelina, sighs, and then scrubs a hand over his forehead. “Very well. Let’s go.”

I grab Evelina’s arm. “Can we heal Titus first? Th-the bleeding is—”

“Distracting?”

That’s an understatement. “Yeah. That.”

Evelina narrows her gaze, considering Titus’s puffy, bloody nose. “You feed him.”

“M-me?” I stammer.

“Your blood will work, and it’s good practice. But don’t mesmerize him—you can’t risk Renfielding him.” She grips my arm and raises my wrist to my mouth. “Go ahead. Bite. This is something ya need to learn.”

I recoil. Isn’t it wrong to feed my blood to my friend?

She pushes my wrist against my lips, closing the gap. “Go on. We don’t got all night.”

I open wide and puncture a vein with my fangs, then offer Titus my bloody wrist. He pulls away.

Evelina lets out a loud snort. “Come on, Titus. You keep bleeding like that and our boy’s gonna start sucking on your nose. Ya don’t want that now, do ya?”

Titus cringes.

I slap my wrist to his mouth and hold the back of his head. “Please, Titus. Swallow. She knows what she’s doing.”

Weird does not begin to describe the sensation as he sucks on my skin.

After a few swallows, Evelina stops him. “Take some of the blood with your finger and smear it on your nose. It’ll help.”

While he does that, Tina runs off and returns with a towel. She wipes the blood from my arm, where the two puncture marks are already closing, then blots Titus’s nose.

Evelina hands Titus and Tina each a backpack to carry. She pulls the suitcase behind her.

“I can help?” I ask.

“You’re still healing. We got this.” Then she rushes us out the door, and the map on her handheld guides the way to the dome’s edge.

She’s right. My leg and back throb with each step. The painkillers are wearing off, but I tough it out, refusing to be the one to slow us down.

When we leave the royal ring, the difference is immediate. Middle-class homes are smaller, and many are falling into disrepair. Same for their shopping districts, which could use some flowers and a bit of paint.

Tina walks at my side, hidden from view by my daylight bracelet. Titus and Evelina walk under the protection of her bracelet, and the chain keeps our two bubbles within overlapping distance.

I no longer need the leash to keep me from attacking mortals. Something has changed, and I can’t put my finger on it.

We cross an indefinable line from the middle class to the poor ring. The differences are subtle at first. Homes more run-down, yards in need of tending. But then come the crowded, built-out lots.

When we dodge around the alleyways where the homeless take refuge, some are sleeping on the sidewalk, and Tina balks. “We can’t go further.”

“It’s the only way to the outside,” I whisper.

“But it’s not safe. Nanny told me they’re thieves and killers. They’ll rob us and cut our throats if we enter their ring without a guard.”

I heard similar stories from my parents. They blamed the poor for being lazy and violent. “I’ll keep you safe. But you have nothing to fear. They can’t see you, and even if they could, they’re too afraid to attack us.”

Seeing all the poverty and suffering as we hike to the dome’s edge cuts through me deeply. I had all the advantages bestowed upon me by my parents—who did little to earn their own wealth. Before the Collapse, my grandparents owned a Royal Value Tires franchise, selling the corporation’s tires on consignment. When the dome fell, they hoarded all the stock at the store and stole from the art museum, colluding with Klienet the First to split the spoils with him.

To honor my father’s parents, my dad flipped Royal and Value to splice together my name: Valroy.

We were always so condescending toward the poor. It’s easier to act that way when we didn’t live with the truth right in front of our noses. The poor had no education or opportunities open to them. The imperials grasped and stashed whatever we could when the domes fell, refusing to share our resources equally.

My short time with Evelina has shown me another way to live. The meaninglessness of my prior life—supporting myself entirely through inherited wealth, using my parents’ capital to make myself richer—was an empty way to live. Some things are more important than possessions and money.

And seeing the decaying homes we pass, the crowded conditions, and the homeless begging for scraps makes me wish I’d done better while I still lived in New Rome.

I limp into the industrial zone. The pain in my leg hasn’t let up the entire journey. Despite Evelina’s assurance that I’ll heal, I’m having my doubts, and can’t wait to reach the ark. I sidle up close to her. “Do you think anyone found the portal opener where you hid it?”

“Hush.” She shoos me away. “You’ll upset the others.”

I breathe out a sigh when she unlatches the utility box and the handheld device is still inside.

She sweeps up the opener and turns to me. “Need help with your coat? You look like you’re in a world of hurt.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the offer.”

She removes our coats from the backpack Tina carried and holds out mine.

I slide in one arm, then the other. Every movement sends flames down my back muscles. “Titus, please help Tina.”

“Of course.”

Everyone finishes donning their coats, then Evelina raises the device, and I stop her. Tina’s still getting zipped up.

I tug Tina’s collar closer to her neck and pat her shoulder. “I have to warn you. The weather outside is freezing cold. Ice-cube cold. Evelina will get the snowmobile going, and once it’s running, I’ll guide you two into the trailer. You’ll be protected back there.”

I signal Evelina, and she pushes the button, creating the opening in the dome. A harsh winter wind blows our way. Brrr . My warning wasn’t an understatement.

Evelina does most of the work. She whooshes around, finds the snowmobile, clears the snowdrifts off it, and rotates the key to start the engine.

My sister and my friend have never experienced a night blizzard before. I keep a tight grip on each of them and fight the wind, herding them to the rear of the trailer. With a helping hand from me and Titus, Tina crawls in, and Titus follows after her. Lowering the hatch, I lock them in.

Evelina points the device at the hole, and it closes.

I climb on behind her, tightening my arms around her waist.

Tina is safe, and I’ve paid my debt to Titus.

Now I have forever to convince Evelina I love her.