Chapter Twenty-Five
Keryth
“ C an I please go with you today?”
I glanced up from my phone to find Trayben already dressed with his backpack hanging by his side, staring at me with a small, hopeful grin.
“You guys are supposed to stay home and do your schoolwork.”
His grin dropped. “I know, I just…” He bit his lip and sort of bounced on his toes. “Please, Ker? We’ve been stuck in the house for two weeks, and I’m dying. I need to get out. And I can do my schoolwork just as easily at your office as I can here. Plus, we’ll be safe there. Please?” He started fidgeting even more, and my brow furrowed in concern. Why was he so antsy?
I mean, I knew the kids had been stuck in the house, but they’d been kept busy. This seemed… like more than the normal I-need-to-get-out-of-the-house stuff.
Was this a vampire thing?
“Um… just… hold on a sec.” I turned away from Tray, although I didn’t really know why, and asked in my head, “Anton?”
“Yes, my darling?”
“Um, Tray’s asking to go to work with me, and he seems really antsy. Like way more than I’ve ever seen him. I’m a little worried about him.”
“Alright, let me come down and speak with him.”
“Thank you.”
I turned around just in time to see Anton appear right beside Tray. I blinked. Okay, so… I knew he didn’t actually teleport, but damn, he moved so fast, it looked like he did.
“What’s wrong, my child?”
Tray didn’t jump at Anton’s sudden appearance, but he did sigh, looking defeated. “I want to get out of the house. I thought that maybe I could go with Ker to his work for the day.”
Anton watched as the teenager shifted around and wiggled his fingers unconsciously. “Are you hungry?”
“No.”
“Do you feel alright?”
“Yes.” When Anton raised a brow, Tray sighed again. “I am fine. I just… I feel like I need to move around or something. I… don’t really know how to explain it.”
“You need to hunt.”
Tray jerked back as if he’d hit him. “What? Ew, no.”
I couldn’t agree more with the ew , but I kept my mouth shut. I might’ve been one of Tray’s sires, but I had no idea about vampire… anything.
Anton crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s a natural part of being a vampire. It’s actually a good sign. It means you can probably start trying other blood.”
“I… um, okay, but… you really want me to go out and hunt? Like, actually hunt? Um… humans?” Tray’s voice rose an octave on that last word.
“We don’t hunt the same way we did when I was a youngling. Now, we go to vampire bars and other establishments where the humans go to be fed on.”
Well, that was slightly better than pushing Tray out the door and telling him to go find a human to eat. Gross .
Tray swallowed thickly. “I… um, okay. Can we… can we do that?”
Anton nodded. “Yes. But we’ll take your four older siblings with us so we have backup, and you won’t go anywhere alone. We can’t go until tomorrow night because Phae won’t be home until then.”
“Where is he?” I asked since this was news to me.
“Staying at a friend’s house.”
“Why? Does he not like us being here?” That came out of my mouth before I could think better of it.
Anton shot me a curious look. “Why in the world would you think that? No, of course not. He simply didn’t want to bring his human friend home with the girls here.”
I stared at him. What was wrong with us meeting his friends?
He snorted. “My darling, he’s with a human donor. He’s staying the night because he sometimes likes to, uh, have fun while he eats…”
My mouth opened into an O.
Tray took one look at my face and burst out laughing. “Wow, Ker, you’d think you’d never heard of someone having—” He cut himself off, and I saw why a moment later when Saranor walked into the kitchen.
She mumbled a hello and waved at us, walked into the pantry, grabbed a box of cereal, then went about making herself breakfast. Since she was okay for the moment, I waved Anton and Tray over into the family room so we could finish our conversation.
“Okay, so you’re taking Tray to a vampire place tomorrow night. I’m… not sure how I feel about that, considering everything going on. I want you all to be safe. What if someone sees you? Or attacks you? Or—”
“Would you feel better if I asked Tan to come with us?” Anton asked.
Giving that some thought, I slowly nodded. A witch would be able to throw a shield over the top of my family the very second a threat made itself known. And Tan was good at fighting and keeping people safe. That was part of his job, after all. “Yes, actually.”
“Alright. We’ll ask him.”
“Thank you.” I hummed. “Actually, I can talk to him at work today. I’m pretty sure he’s coming into the office, but if he doesn’t, I’ll give him a call.”
Tray cleared his throat. “I really appreciate this, guys, but can I still go with Ker today? I… I don’t think I can wait in the house until tomorrow night.”
Anton looked at me. “I’m okay with it, if you are?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
He nodded. “Sure. You’ll still have to take another escort to and from the office, but it’s fine if you go with him.” Tray whooped, and Anton added, “As long as you get your schoolwork done.”
Tray grinned at him. “I will, I promise!”
He gave Anton a quick hug, then gave me one before running into the kitchen and giving Saranor a hug. She grumbled at him but allowed it, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at him.
Anton draped his arm across my shoulders. “He’s a really good kid.”
“He is.” I leaned into him. “I want to talk to you about this vampire club. Do you really think it’s appropriate for a seventeen-year-old? I know he needs to learn how to, um, hunt, but…”
He kissed my temple. “He’ll be fine. I’ll stay by his side the entire time, so nothing untoward will happen to him.”
I gave a nod. “I want to come.”
“Ker—”
“No, I… I’m his sire too. I should know things like this. I… I want to be able to help him.”
He paused for a beat, thinking. “Alright, my darling. We’ll have one of my other children stay home with the girls, then. I know Alsira and Gemma are old enough to watch the little ones, but I’d feel much better if they had someone here that can protect them.”
“I agree.”
“Good.”
I nodded, then thought better of it. “Actually, I could ask Oakley or Bel to come over and stay with them. I’m sure one of them won’t mind. Then all our vampires can come.”
He grinned at me.
“What?”
“You said our vampires .”
I opened my mouth, paused, then shrugged as my cheeks flamed. “Um, yeah, I guess I did.”
He pecked my lips. “They certainly are ours.”
I wasn’t sure I could claim his older children in that way, but every day, they felt more and more like family, so I gave him a nod.
“Asking Bel or Oakley is a good idea.”
I gave him a nod and leaned against him while I sent off a group text. It only took a couple of minutes for my phone to start buzzing.
Bel: Remi and I can come over!
Me: Thank you!
Oakley: If Bel has the girls covered, can I tag along to this vamp bar?
To Anton, I said, “Bel and Remi will come over. Do you mind if Oakley comes with us to the bar?”
“I don’t mind at all.”
I sent him a smile and kissed his cheek before giving Oakley the okay.
“How are you feeling?” Jed asked Tray as he and Beshiro walked us out of my work building. It was ridiculous that we needed to take this extra step, but I was all for staying safe.
Plus, I was tired after working all day and constantly checking on Tray. He’d been fine and stayed busy with schoolwork throughout the morning. After lunch, he’d helped Remi out around the office, which was cute and sweet.
“I’m alright. Still feeling kinda antsy,” Tray replied.
“That’s not unusual. You’ll be fine after we go out tomorrow night,” Beshiro said, giving Tray a little friendly push. “I can’t wait to take you. It’s going to be fun.”
I loved that these guys and Kat had really adopted Tray as their younger brother. For that matter, they treated my girls the same. Even Phaeron seemed to be warming up to the kids, if not to me.
Jed threw his arm around Tray, giving him a little squeezing shake. “It’s going to be so fun. I know you’re nervous, but I promise you’ll be fine. You know what you’re doing. You’ve had plenty of practice with Pops and Dad, so you’re all good.”
Tray laughed. “Yeah, but that’s them. It’s weird to ask to do that with a stranger.”
Jed kept his arm around him as we walked out of my work building, through the building’s wards, and out into the dark night. “These people like being bit, or at the very least, they want to be bit. Most of the time, they hand out bracelets at the door, so everyone who wants to be bit will have red, vampires will have blue, people who’re looking to become a blood donor will have purple, and so on. Those are just examples—I don’t know the actual colors for everything—so we’ll have to see what everything means when we arrive. But anyway, it won’t be as weird as you think. We’ll find someone to chat with, and then we’ll see where it goes. It’ll be great.”
“And you guys will help me, right?”
“Of course we will.” Beshiro shot him a smile. “That’s what big brothers are for.”
As we turned the corner, headed for the parking lot, I said, “I’ll be there too. I know I’m not a vampire, but you won’t be alone.”
Tray sent me a grateful smile before his brow furrowed, and all three vampires froze. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as tension filled the air.
“What is it?” I whispered.
Tray whispered back, “People. Surrounding us.”
“At least ten,” Jed said. “No, twelve.”
I didn’t think twice, I called on my magic, digging deep within me for the glamor part of it. Glamor wasn’t my strong suit, but I could get by. Quickly, I made duplicates of all four of us and spread them out. It wasn’t much of a defense, but if we could confuse them for even a few seconds, it could help.
As I pushed more power into my glamor-clones to make them more substantial, I reached for the golden cord connecting me to Anton. “Anton?”
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re surrounded. Jed said there’s twelve of them, but I can’t see them yet. We’re outside my work building.”
“I’m on my way. Get back inside and stay there.”
I grabbed Tray from Jed, pushing him behind me as I headed back toward the building. Before we could get there, someone dressed in all black with a balaclava on stepped in our path, blocking us from the door and the building’s wards. Fuck.
When I saw them raise a gun, I yelled, “Down!” And pulled Tray into a crouch with me.
Luckily, Jed and Beshiro both listened without hesitation, and the gunshot went over our heads.
With trembling fingers, I shoved my hands onto the ground and reached for my magic again. Jed and Beshiro attacked, moving too fast for me to track as they used claws and swords and fangs.
I might not have been able to fight, but that didn’t make me helpless, and there was no way in hell I was about to let anything happen to my kid.
There was a large tree in a patch of grass beside the sidewalk near the street, and its roots went deep under the pavement. My magic grabbed onto that tree, onto its roots, and I pushed . I pushed everything I had into it, and those roots grew by inches, then feet, and then they were so long and taking up so much space that there was nowhere for them to go but up.
So I pushed again.
Roots shot from the sidewalk, charged with my magic and breaking through the concrete like it was only paper. Taking aim, I pushed the roots at the man with the gun, wrapping a branch around his wrist and squeezing until he dropped the weapon. As soon as it was gone, I wrapped his entire body up with roots.
But there were still plenty of roots left, and my magic was thrumming in my veins.
So I wrapped Tray and me in a shield of roots, leaving an opening for me to see out of. Then I grabbed the next attacker, enclosing him before he could do much more than scream.
The next one tried to chop the roots with his sword, but my magic was too strong and wouldn’t allow any harm to come to the nice tree that was lending us aid. Soon, that assailant was wrapped up as well.
By the time I captured the seventh one in my roots, Jed and Beshiro had killed the other five. The ones left alive were groaning, and one was yelling obscenities and telling me to let him go or else, but I ignored them all and simply slid a root over the top of his mouth, turning his yells to mumbles. That seemed to shut the other ones up.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed Tray, who was still squatting beside me. He came easily into my arms, and I fell on my ass, breathing deeply. I had never done anything like that before.
Tray looked at me with wide eyes. “Holy shit, Ker. You’re a secret badass.”
Despite everything, that made me snort. “No, I’m not.”
He waved his hand around at… everything. “What the hell do you call this?”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t about to let them take one of my kids.”
Tray’s eyes looked a little wet at that, and after a brief pause, he flung himself at me, hugging me tight and burying his face in my neck. “I love you, Ker.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
Jed let out a whistle as he came to sit near us. Without releasing my kid, I gently opened up my root shield, letting them sink back into the ground. The sidewalk was cracked and filled with holes, which made me grimace, but I didn’t regret what I’d done, not when it kept everyone safe.
Jed scooted closer to us and rubbed Tray’s back, offering me a smile. “He’s right, Ker, you are a badass.”
I snorted, and Beshiro joined our little group, saying, “It’s true. Super impressive.”
“Thanks.” I patted one of the roots near me and murmured, “Thank you for your help.”
I felt the tree’s pleasure at my gratitude. Many people didn’t think plants had feelings, and while they didn’t feel things in the same way we did, they absolutely had emotions and appreciated being spoken to, complimented, and thanked for a job well done.
With a deep breath of relief, I held Tray even tighter to me as we waited for Anton and the authorities to arrive. Surely someone would’ve called for help. The street wasn’t super crowded, but there were people about. Plus, we were close enough to my work that I was sure Remi would be here any second.
As if he heard my thoughts, Remi came rushing down the sidewalk, yelling, “Are you okay?”
“We’re fine!” I called back. “No one’s injured.” I glanced at Jed and Beshiro to make sure. “Wait, are you injured?”
Jed grinned, shaking his head, and Beshiro shrugged. “I had a small cut on my arm, but it’s healed already.”
“Do you need blood? You can feed from me.” I offered without hesitation. I didn’t want him hurting when I could easily help.
His eyes widened. “You offer your blood so freely?”
“Um, yeah…? Of course I do.”
He shook his head as if in disbelief. “Thank you for your kind offer, Keryth, but I’m alright.”
“You’re sure?”
He smiled. “I’m sure.”
I gave him a nod. “If you change your mind, I’m right here.”
“Thank you.”
Remi dropped beside us and wrapped his large frame around Tray and me, hugging us. “Holy shit. I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner. They knew exactly where our camera view ended. I didn’t know anything was wrong until I felt something smack against the wards. Are you alright?”
“We’re fine.”
Tray nodded at the root-encased assailants. “Ker caught some of them, obviously, and my brothers killed the others.”
Despite the situation, I was glad to hear him refer to Jed and Beshiro as his brothers, and from the pleased looks on their faces, the two of them were just as happy.
“I have others on the way. I was the only one left in the office,” Remi went on as he released us, but he didn’t stand. “Tan and Garrick are on their way. Did you call Anton?”
“I talked to him. He’s pissed and on his way.”
Jed made a noise in his throat. “These hunters are going to wish we’d killed them by the time Dad’s done with them. They attacked three of his children and his viramore. He’s going to lose it.”
I winced because I had no doubt that was true.
Before I could respond, a cloud of smoke surrounded all of us, blocking out all light and making me gasp.