Savannah

Great, now I was on trial. "Am I going to be back home in a few days?"

"I do not know. If all goes well, yes. I am trying to convince them that we have much to learn from you still. I have spent the last few months pleading your case to them."

He'd argued with the council...for me? Shocked, I blurted out, "Why would you do that?"

"Because you are my daughter. Why would I not try to protect you?" He said it simply, as if the answer was obvious.

"I...didn't realize you cared." I stared down at my hands in my lap. "I mean, all those volleyball games and basketball games...I asked you to come watch me play, but you never did. So I thought..." I lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.

"I was trying to minimize the council's spying upon you. Everything I see, they see. If you had begun to show vampire or magical abilities early in life, I did not want them to see it."

So all this time, he had been protecting me.

Except that still didn't explain his threatening Mom and Nanna on the council's behalf. Unless... "At the restaurant today, you said elder vampires can command younger ones. Can the council command you?"

"Yes."

"Even completely against your will?"

"Yes."

"So when you passed on their threat to hurt Nanna and Mom if I didn't stop dancing...?"

"That was at their command."

My throat tightened. "What if I had refused to go with you today?"

"I am under command to bring you to them one way or another. If you had refused, I would have been forced to drug you. It would have hurt me greatly to do so. You are and always will be my child. But a command from the council is unbreakable and cannot be ignored."

I had to look away and blink fast as my eyes burned. I'd always thought he cared more about the council than me, that everything he did for them had been done willingly to earn their approval again. But if they had forced him to do it instead...

He was as much at their mercy as I was. And everything I'd thought about my father was wrong. Did I know him at all?

I had to take a few seconds to clear my throat before I could speak again. "So why don't they just command every vampire to follow the rules? Then they wouldn't have to worry about settling vamp problems or dealing with rule breakers."

"They like us to feel as if we have free will."

And yet the council could order vampires around like puppets if they chose, even as tools to be used against their own children.

I remembered everything I had accused him of, all the times I'd refused to speak to him. Telling him he was no longer my dad. My hands shook. I pressed them against my knees to hold them still and forced myself to look at him. "Dad, I'm really sorry I made things harder for you with the council. And for giving you so much grief. Thank you for trying to protect me."

He nodded. Leaning forward, he rested a hand over one of mine. "I may be old, but there are still human emotions left within me. I am only sorry you thought otherwise of me."

In that moment, a heaviness inside that I'd long grown used to slowly began to lift, loosening the pressure on my chest. My dad cared about me. He'd fought the council for me. He was trying to help me now.

After a minute, he squeezed my hand then leaned back in his seat again.

I sat back, too, trying to smooth out the tangled mess of thoughts and emotions inside my head. So much was changing. It was definitely reassuring to know I wasn't alone here, that I had someone on my side to help me out. But it still didn't solve my biggest problem. How could I-we-convince the council that I wasn't a threat to them? And what would happen if we failed?

"Dad, are you still allowed to tell me the truth?"

"If I cannot, I am allowed not to answer you."

That would have to be good enough. "How much trouble am I in?"

"I convinced them before your birth that it was better to let you live and learn from you. But they only agreed because you were not magically trained, you stayed away from the Clann and you did not have the bloodlust. You did not pose an immediate threat to them."

And now I did.

They'd allowed me to live before. Now it seemed they might change their mind about that.

My mouth went dry, and I desperately reached for something else to think about. "So, um, you never told me where your...our...type of vampires come from exactly."

He sighed. "There are many different theories about our origins. We are not a race that has traditionally valued our own history. However, I have done my own research and found that we actually predate Adam and Eve's descendants."

Huh?

He told me then about Lillith, Adam's true first wife who ended up rebelling against God and becoming a demoness, as well as the mother of our race of vampires. She'd also gone around killing babies and seducing men in their sleep.

I thought of all the times I'd kissed Tristan in our shared dreams, unknowingly draining him of energy and life. I winced. "This Lillith sounds like a real role model for women. Did she eventually die?"

"No. She is still alive, sleeping deep beneath the Sumerian desert somewhere and awaiting the day she can seek final revenge on God."

Talk about not being able to choose the family we're born into. "Wow. Sorry I asked." I leaned back in my seat again, my stomach more knotted than it had ever been before, my head swirling with way too much information. I could definitely have lived without ever knowing about my blood ties to Lillith.

At least I knew one thing...Dad actually cared about me, after all.

He chuckled and reopened his paper. "You look tired. We have a few hours before our arrival. You should try to get some sleep."

Nodding, I reclined my chair and tried to relax.

When I came to in the plane, now dim except for a reading light above Dad, he closed and folded his newspaper then turned up the general lights. "Good, you are awake. We will be landing shortly."

Immediately, my heart began to race. Soon I would meet the control freaks who'd managed to reach out across an entire ocean and screw up my life. I wished they were on another planet instead of just another continent.

I wished Tristan could be here with me somehow. Or at least that I could know he was safe somewhere.

The plane stopped at the farthest hangar of the airport. A car with dark-tinted windows waited for us a few yards away. Once we were in the backseat, Dad held up a long, black satin scarf. A blindfold. "I apologize, but the council insists that this is necessary for their safety."

"Uh, okay." I held my head still while he tied the blindfold over my eyes then checked the edges to be sure I couldn't see out.

"Your hands may remain free as long as you do not touch the blindfold."

The car eased forward, and we were on our way. Great. My first time in Paris, and I wouldn't get to see a thing. Not even the Eiffel Tower.

It seemed we turned a lot, surely more than was actually necessary for the half-hour drive. Maybe they were trying to confuse me. I could have told them not to bother. I frequently got lost even with a map and a compass.

Then the car stopped.

Dad exited first then held on to my forearm to guide me from the car and beyond. I had a fleeting sense of a breeze ruffling the tiny hairs on my arms. Then a heavy-sounding door groaned open. We walked forward, and the breeze died away, replaced by chilly, moldy-smelling air.

We walked for what seemed like a long time, although it might have been only a couple minutes. The path had a wet-sounding hard floor and too many turns to count much less remember. We also went through a series of clanking metal doors others opened and closed for us. I sensed the guards we passed, the loss of sight making my emotional radar ramp into overdrive. Most of the guards projected boredom or mild curiosity. But none of them ever said anything. They must be using that vampire ESP stuff.

Dad stopped suddenly. Holding his mouth close to my ear, he breathed out in a rapid whisper, "I must warn you. In the beginning, the bloodlust is most often triggered by strong emotions. When you truly give yourself to the vampire side, only then will you find complete control over your needs. It takes fledgling vampires months to learn how to let go of their emotions in order to regain control. Some never do. But you must learn how to do this. Today. The council will have a surprise waiting for you to test your control. I am sorry, I did not know before we got on the plane, and then I could not safely warn you. So whatever you do, stay calm."

A surprise? What kind of surprise would make me want to just surrender to the vamp within? And wasn't that backward anyways? Wasn't it the vampire genes inside me that were causing the bloodlust? How could giving in to that side actually help me regain control over the bloodlust?

It didn't make any sense. And a tiny part of me had to wonder if this was some kind of trick to force me to finish the change into becoming a full vampire.

But if I couldn't trust my dad, I would have no one on my side here. I had to trust him.

With a frown, I nodded.

We started walking again in silence for a few more minutes, then paused one last time. Dad must have had to wait for permission to continue. With every second that passed, my nervousness cranked up another notch.

Finally, a loud, metallic groan signaled the opening of yet another door. We walked forward three steps, the sound of our footsteps becoming muffled on something soft and dry. Dad tugged on my forearm to stop me. I couldn't hear anyone nearby, not even breathing or heartbeats to signal we were with others now. But I could feel their emotions projected across my skin. They were nervous, angry, a little worried, but mostly afraid.

Afraid...of me?

The door clanged shut behind us, and Dad removed the blindfold.

Stay calm, I reminded myself, working to keep my breathing even.

I slowly opened my eyes, squinting a bit at the bright light in the room.

The council seemed to like the color red. The cement-block walls were bathed in it, and nine council members sat at a long, half-round table draped in a crimson-and-gold cloth.

"Honorable council, may I present my biological daughter, Savannah Colbert."

The members stared at me with faces like stone. But their emotions betrayed them, intensifying until I nearly gasped from their overwhelming flood of fear and curiosity.

"You have tested her, Michael?" the vampire in the center asked. His skin was as smooth and white as marble. His eyes, so light they appeared solid white except for their ebony pupils, never left me.

"I have."

Silence filled the room while they apparently read his mind for his report. I focused on not fidgeting.

"May I respectfully request that the council consider further discussing these deliberations out loud?" Dad said. "This would allow Savannah to follow the proceedings and elaborate on her abilities in her own words."

Yep, just as I'd guessed. They had been talking about me behind my back...right in front of me. The exact opposite of what the Brat Twins did to me in history class. Talk about annoying.

Another long pause, then the center councilman nodded. "We agree. Savannah, were you ever magically trained?"

"No. Even when it would have been helpful, my grandmother and mother refused. They promised everyone that they wouldn't." Thank goodness for it, too.

"Michael, you were not aware before that she has the bloodlust?" the council leader said.

"No, Caravass. I became aware of it when you did."

A ripple of alarm projected from the council.

"However, my memories today should have shown that Savannah was tested and is in firm control over it," Dad added.

"With regular human blood," Caravass corrected. "The watchers' report showed that she has no such control with regard to Clann blood. This is cause for great alarm. She cannot be allowed to violate our peace treaty with the Clann nor expose us to the world at large. If she cannot be controlled, she is a danger to our entire society."

"No, I'm not." I couldn't believe I'd had the nerve to speak up. No doubt any one of them could snap my neck before I even saw them leave their seats.

Caravass stared into my eyes. "How can you be sure of this?"

"Because I've been alone with a Clann descendant a lot over the last six months. I've had plenty opportunity to..." Feed? Drink from him? What was the right term? "...to bite him. But I haven't."

"Admirable control," Caravass said. "And yet you lost a little of that control when you actually saw and smelled his blood recently, did you not?"

I gulped. Just talking about it made the memory of that taste flood my mouth. "Yes. But that was my first time to ever feel the bloodlust. Now that I know what it feels like, I know I can control my reaction to it. And it's not like I actually bit him or anything."

"We desire proof. If you really believe you have complete control now, you will voluntarily agree to our test." Caravass waved a hand, and a guard at the right wall pressed a button. A smooth section of the wall slid away into a recessed pocket, revealing a window into what looked like a police interrogation room.

Handcuffed to a metal chair in the center of the otherwise empty, gray room sat Tristan, unconscious.

Against my will, I sucked in a sharp breath through my nose. Tristan. What had they done to him? Was he okay?

Dad might have warned me that Tristan was the surprise. The Clann would go crazy over this. I'd probably get blamed for it, too. Then again, if I'd never given in to the temptation to date him, he wouldn't be here in the first place. So I guessed it was my fault, after all.

"It is clear already that you do not have complete control around this witch boy," Caravass said.

"I'm half human. I care about him," I admitted in a whisper, tearing my gaze away from Tristan's drooping head.

"Emotions are a sign of a lack of control," a pinch-faced councilwoman hissed. "We cannot afford to risk our entire society on a girl who cannot control her emotions."

"Especially when the cause for that loss of control is a Clann member," Caravass agreed.

Their collective fear rose, nearly suffocating me.

What a bunch of hypocrites! They weren't even going to give me a chance to prove myself. I had to say something. "Why don't you try me."

Dad stiffened. "I respectfully suggest that the test be kept within reason so as not to start another war with the Clann. Kidnapping their future leader could possibly already be construed as a violation of the treaty. It might be unwise to risk further provoking them."

Provoke the Clann further how...by killing Tristan?

The council hesitated, and I couldn't breathe.

"Agreed," Caravass said. "We will keep him alive for this test."

And afterward?

One step at a time, Sav, I told myself.

A guard outside the council chamber opened the vaultlike metal door behind me, and the inner guard stepped away from the window to lead me out. In silence, he turned to the left down a dim corridor that seemed to stretch forever in either direction. If I could get Tristan free, which way would we need to go? The place had seemed like a labyrinth on the way in.

We'd figure that out when the time came. If it did. First, I'd try to do what I should have been doing for months now; I would follow the rules.

After a few steps, the guard turned to the left again at a rectangular metal door. He reached under his jacket, withdrew a ring of keys on a chain and unlocked it. Then he stepped inside.

I followed him into the interrogation room. My gaze immediately snapped to Tristan, who was still knocked out. Part of me wanted to run over to him immediately. The other half of me was distracted by the emotions I kept sensing from the room we'd just left. On this side, the window looked like a mirror. I couldn't see my audience of judges. Yet I could almost pinpoint each council member's location through their anger, fear, worry and curiosity.

They were on the move for less than a second. Then the council stopped again by the window, gathering in a tight half circle only a few feet away. Probably so they could see me better when I failed their test.

The guard's face looked bored, as if to say this was nothing personal. Which was a lie. This was totally personal. And all my fault.

He reached inside his inner jacket pocket and took out two items...a syringe and a scalpel. The clear plastic protectors on the blade and needle made loud snicks as he removed them. The harsh fluorescent light overhead glinted off the needle and made the syringe's yellow contents glow.

I gulped, the air rushing in and out of my lungs in noisy gusts I couldn't hide within the silence of the cold cement room.

The guard stepped closer to us. My thigh muscles tensed, the instinct to fight pulsing through me, and the guard's eyes grew cautious. He knew I was desperate. But that didn't make me stupid. The guard was both a vampire and big, built like a linebacker beneath his badly fitted suit. And even if I could somehow fight him off, my audience of judges would step in to stop me.

Think straight, Sav, I told myself while I struggled to breathe. Time for logic, not emotion.

Okay. So we were in deep this time. But we weren't totally doomed. Yet. The council had promised that I had only to pass one test, and then Tristan could go free.

An innocent boy who wouldn't even be here if I hadn't fallen in love with him. My fault he was in danger. If I'd only broken up with him...

No, no time for guilt right now. I had to focus on passing this test, and then we could go home.

Just one test to pass.

A test I was genetically destined to fail.

"What are those for?" I murmured, keeping my voice calm as I nodded at the tools in the guard's hands.

"They are your test." His French accent was so thick I could barely understand him. Then he pressed the scalpel to Tristan's neck.

Should I trust the council's promise not to kill Tristan? I searched the emotions in the other room but didn't sense any deception.

Holding my breath and praying I was making the right decision, I took two steps back from Tristan, closed my eyes and tried to calm my crazed thoughts.

Tristan's breathing changed, quickened and grew shallow. He was waking up. I glanced down at him. A bead of blood now welled from a nick below his jawline then trickled down his neck. Metal rang out against the cement floor. The guard had dropped the scalpel. I turned in time to see him backing out of the room, his hand over his mouth and nose as he tucked the now empty syringe into his inner jacket pocket one-handed. He wasn't even going to stop long enough to pick up the scalpel? Or was it that he wouldn't be able to endure the smell of the blood on the blade?

Lovely. So even the council's own vampire guards couldn't withstand the smell of Clann blood for long. And yet the council expected me to pass this test?

Maybe not. Maybe they wanted me to fail.

Well, they were about to be disappointed. I could handle this. After all, hadn't I sat in a restaurant with Dad and a full cup of blood right in front of me without a problem?

Then the scent of Tristan's powerful blood wafted toward me from both his neck and the scalpel. Oh, so that's why the guard had left the scalpel...to make the test twice as hard. It was working, too. Tristan's blood smelled so much better than regular human blood. Better than anything I'd ever smelled, really.

My mouth watered, and I took a step toward him before I even had time to think.

"Savannah!" he slurred, sounding drunk. He fought to raise his head as he squinted at me. They must be keeping some drugs in his system so he wouldn't be able to use magic and escape. "Oh, man, they grabbed you, too. Are you okay?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out.

He smelled so good, even better than I'd remembered.

"Sav? You look a little strange."

"You smell great." My feet were shuffling me right over to him. Was that a bad thing? It seemed only natural at the moment.

His sleepy, little-boy smile contrasted with the blondish-brown stubble on his cheeks and around his mouth. I wanted to run my hands over it.

"Uh, okay, thanks. Now are you going to free me or what?" He flopped his hands to indicate the handcuffs.

Mmm, yes, I should free him. I could use that scalpel to pick the locks. Then he could get up and wrap his arms around me, and I could stand on tiptoe and lick the blood...

Blood? Oh, yuck. Whoa. Wait. What was I doing this close to him? Only a foot remained between us!

I stumbled backward until my hands found the cinder-block wall. I slid down the wall until my butt met the equally cold cement floor. But he wasn't safe enough yet. I could still crawl over to him. I pressed my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my shaking limbs.

Oh, crap. I was dangerous to him. This wasn't a dream or a nightmare. This was really me fighting my fully-awake self against the urge to drink Tristan's blood. And I didn't just want to drink a little. I wanted to drain him dry, to take every bit of his energy into me so I could keep him with me forever.

"Did they brainwash you or something?" he muttered, the words coming out more smoothly now. The drugs must be wearing off.

"No. I'm being tested."

"With what, the urge to free me?"

"It's okay. All I have to do is sit here and stay calm. Once the test is over, I'm sure they'll take you home. No one wants another war between the species."

"Species? What are you talking about? What species?"

"Ours. Yours and mine."

He stared at me. "You're making zero sense. Is this about last night?"

"A little, yes. Remember the watchers? They're with this...group. You could call them all one big family." A family of monsters. And I was one of them.

My feet slid forward as if they had a mind of their own. I dragged them back up against me.

"Vampires," he whispered.

I nodded and focused on trying not to breathe through my nose. But the room was small and the scent of his blood was rapidly filling the tiny space.

Whimpering, I pinched my nose shut with one hand, kept the other arm like a chain around my legs and closed my eyes. Ah, better. But pinching my nose shut trapped the smell inside me so that it filled me up, tickling at the insides of my nose and throat.

"Sav, what is going on?" If he'd been rude or angry, I could have ignored him. But I couldn't block out that warm, low voice when it softly pleaded with me.

I had to tell him the truth.

"I'm half vampire." My voice came out flat, as dead as I felt inside, but it couldn't be helped. "My father is an incubus, a demon-vampire hybrid that can drink blood or drain you with a kiss. Apparently I can, too. It's the reason for my eyes changing color and the gaze daze. And why you feel weak after we kiss, and why we're drawn to each other...some sort of built-in suicidal attraction between the species." I looked at him, meeting his gaze, needing him to see the honesty in my next words. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before. I...I forgot about the draining-through-a-kiss thing. I thought as long as I never bit you, you'd be safe around me. I should have told you anyway, but I just wanted you to keep liking me."

I expected to find shock and horror in his eyes. Instead, I found...warmth. Caring. Impossible. He should at least be a little bit surprised. How many people heard their girlfriends announce that they were half vampire?

"You already knew, didn't you?" I whispered. "You knew and never told me?"

He flinched. "Emily and I guessed."

"How long?"

"When the bracelet nearly killed you."

"And you knew about the draining-kiss ability, too?"

He nodded.

He'd known for months. Months I'd spent feeling guilty for not telling him. And all that time, while I'd been kissing him, unaware that I was draining him, he'd known...and hadn't cared.

"Are you an idiot?" My arm loosened from around my knees. "How could you keep seeing me? Kissing me?" I rose up on my knees, so furious the cement didn't even hurt. "Do you have some kind of a death wish? Do you want to die?" I was nearly shouting now. And the angrier I became, the more irresistible he smelled.

From the other room came a heightened mixture of fear and the faintest hint of smugness. Oh, crap. I was giving them exactly what they wanted, losing control right before their eyes. Moaning, I pinched my nose shut again. Dad was right, emotions might make me more human, but they also definitely made the bloodlust worse. Calm, I had to stay calm. I sat back down against the wall.

"I didn't say anything because I love you. I didn't want you to run away from me, from us." The sadness in his voice created an echoing ache in my stomach.

He loved me. Even though he knew I was a dangerous monster.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to bite him, slap him or kiss him. "Do you know why we're in here? Why they kidnapped you? Because you are my test. There's a reason why the vampires are the Clann's worst enemy. That blood running down your neck is the ultimate test for me. You're the son of the Clann's most powerful family. They know you're like an addiction for me, the one person I'll crave above all others, even other descendants."

"Well, same here," he growled. "It doesn't matter what you are. Don't you have any idea how much I love you? How much I've always loved you? And I always will, no matter who or what you come from. So what if you take some of my energy when we kiss? Don't you get it? It's worth it to me, just to be with you."

He made craving someone sound romantic, like a symptom of love. The need I felt for his blood right now was anything but romantic. How could it be romantic to want to kill some one? A sharp laugh escaped me. "What we have here isn't love. It's just the monster's drive for survival."

He cursed and jerked at the cuffs, the tendons in his neck standing out. "Damn it, you're not a monster!" The blood dripped a little faster toward the collar of his shirt.

Oh, God. I couldn't do this anymore. His words, his voice and the furious ache within it, were ripping me apart. I couldn't talk to him, love him, want to hold him and want to drain him dry all at the same time. This wasn't love. Love was that sweet glow of warmth I'd always felt for him even when we were little kids. This was bloodlust. And it was threatening to destroy what little humanity I had left.

Maybe that humanity was the problem. According to Dad, there was only one way to end the torture here. Regain control over my emotions.

But could I really trust a former council member's advice?

"Sav, whatever you're thinking, don't do it," he murmured. "Don't pull away from me. I don't care what they said. You know what we have is real."

I gave him a sad smile, my decision made. "I'm so sorry, Tristan. For everything. But I promise it'll be over soon."

Then I closed my eyes.

I am an Ice Princess, I thought, reaching for that mask. The cold within answered, eagerly seeping over my face. But this time, it didn't stop there. Instead, it kept going, tightening my scalp, creeping down my neck and torso, spreading goose bumps along my arms and legs.

Oh, no. I'd gone too far, let it take over too much. I was drowning in the cold now, going numb from head to toe.

But then I realized...that numbing effect was exactly what I needed right now. Because if I was numb, then I wasn't having to battle the bloodlust. Or any other emotion. And that meant I was in control, not the bloodlust.

So I gave up, gave in to the vampire side that had been waiting there for me all along. I embraced that numbing cold, hugging it to me, using it to kill the emotions that had been wrecking my self-control and fueling the burning need for Tristan's blood.

Only then, encased in that imaginary block of ice, did the bloodlust finally fade away, along with all other feelings. And at last, I could safely meet his eyes again.

"I love you." His voice was a terrible combination of pleading and defeat. But it couldn't reach me now. I was safe behind the wall of ice.

Why had I fought my vampire side for so long? Emotions were the real danger, hurting me, distracting me, making me lose control. The cold was a sweet relief, offering me peace and calm.

I sat back against the wall, which seemed warmer than me now, laid my cheek against my knees and stared at the rusted metal door. "Don't worry. They'll come back soon to free us."

Both disappointment and relief floated from the council through the glass window. And yet still they waited. For my self-control to crack?

I closed my eyes and drifted on waves of numbing cold inside. It was strange, like how swimming in a winter ocean might feel after the first shocking sting went away. Did dying of hypothermia feel like this? Was it a comforting relief from the pain, a near-blissful release all on its own even before death approached? If so, maybe it wasn't such a bad way to go. Part of me, deep down, said a crucial piece of me was dying. But the rest of me was wonderfully numb.

I even felt brave enough to take a short breath through my nose. Tristan's blood still smelled good, yet it couldn't get through the ice to trigger any emotions. I lifted my head and smiled. I'd done it. I'd beaten the test, withstood the temptation to kill the boy I loved...and all I'd had to do was stop fighting what I already was.

That sniff must have been what they were waiting for, because after another minute or two the door opened and the guard returned, still holding his wrist over his nose. He looked at me. This time, he couldn't seem to keep his face emotionless, his silver eyes wide with disbelief. "They are ready for you now."

Without looking at Tristan, I rolled up to my feet.

As I reentered the council chamber, that empty calm came with me, bringing clearer thoughts and understanding. I realized I wasn't afraid of the council anymore. Why should I be? Wasn't I one of them now, or nearly so? And wasn't that exactly what I'd always wanted, to truly belong somewhere? I nearly laughed out loud. How stupid of me, to always want what I couldn't have, when all along I'd had an entire world to fit in among if I just stopped fighting what I was. I had never been normal, never would be normal. I was a vampire in the making. There was no point denying it, and nothing I could do about it. So maybe it was time for me to learn to live with it.

"Impressive," Caravass said upon my return.

I dipped my chin in acknowledgment of the compliment. Ah, so lovely not to feel afraid anymore while facing the council. And now that I no longer had my own feelings clouding up my mind, I was free to concentrate on their emotions instead. The overwhelming majority of which was relief. But why were they so relieved? Because I'd passed their test and proved I wouldn't endanger their peace treaty?

Were they really that afraid of what I might do?

As the council returned my stare, I tried to imagine myself in their position. What must it be like, to be in charge of an international world of immortals, each one strong and blood-thirsty...? To know that my eternity would be spent trying to keep such a society secret from the world around us and at peace with the equally powerful Clann...? And then to be faced with such a mixed creature as myself, one that could potentially help or ruin us all...?

They must have wanted to avoid possible disaster and simply kill me as soon as I was born, if not before my birth. Yet they had agreed to let me live and see how I would turn out. And how had I repaid such a monumental risk on their part? I had threatened to expose them to the human world, secretly dated the future leader of the Clann for months and refused to even give them direct updates about the changes I had gone through.

Their methods were definitely medieval at times. They never should have kidnapped Tristan. But then again, we shouldn't have run around breaking the rules for months, either. So maybe Dad wasn't the only vampire I had misunderstood.

"We have reached our decision," Caravass said. "You do seem to have the bloodlust under control. For now. So you are free to go, but under a few conditions."

I raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"You must be taught the vampire rules and ways by your father."

"Of course." I would need all the help I could get.

"You will return here every six months to undergo testing. We want to stay abreast of your developments as a vampire, as well as monitor your magical power."

Now both my eyebrows went up. "Testing?"

One corner of Caravass's mouth tightened. "We will not be using a descendant for future tests."

I gave a single nod in agreement.

"And you must stop seeing the witch boy outside of school." Caravass tilted his head toward the still-uncovered window.

From the corner of my eye, I snuck a peek at Tristan, his shoulders slumped, his eyes dark and haunted. I looked away again.

"The only reason he has not destroyed us all is because of the drugs in his system at present," Caravass warned. "He is a danger to all within our world. You included."

Shouldn't that be the other way around? Weren't we vampires the danger? "So you still intend to let him live?" A tiny crack spread in the layers of imaginary ice that encased me.

"Your father has made a wise point. Harming this descendant would destroy the peace between ourselves and the Clann. But you must not be alone with him anymore. We cannot risk your losing control around him and single-handedly destroying the peace treaty."

I almost frowned, then stopped. No, I would not think about this. I already knew what needed to be done. "Agreed. But...may I have a few days to handle this in my own way?"

Silence filled the room as the council discussed telepathically. Then Caravass nodded. "Your father will keep you under close supervision until this is accomplished."

"Thank you."

"Meeting you has been...insightful." Caravass nodded at the guard, who opened the door for us again. "I hope to learn much from you and your developments over time."

I gave a short nod and followed Dad out of the chamber.

We waited in the dank hall as the guard entered the interrogation room. After a few minutes, he led Tristan out. Tristan's wrists were still cuffed behind his back, but he seemed less sluggish now and able to walk fine. I carefully avoided looking at his face.

Dad put a blindfold over his eyes, checking around the edges to be sure Tristan couldn't see. He repeated the procedure with me. But then Dad did something surprising. He grabbed my wrist, tugged me over a few feet and placed my hand over Tristan's. Tristan's fingers immediately laced and locked with mine.

Had Dad done this to keep Tristan calm and cooperative?

Dad walked behind us, using gentle nudges on our shoulders to guide us back out of the tunnels to the street. The entire time, Tristan's heated grip on my cold hand never loosened.

The vampire inside me wanted him to let go. His touch created too much warmth, steadily melting the chill within me as Dad shepherded us out. How could I stay safe and numb when his skin was so hot against mine, nearly burning me from the contact?

At the car, we paused in the darkness while Dad removed Tristan's cuffs. As soon as we got into the equally dark backseat of the car and could remove our blindfolds, Tristan gathered me to him in a fierce hug.

Dad sat in the front with the driver and raised a black privacy wall between the two halves of the car. Only a small light set into each door panel provided a dim glow as the car began to move forward. Oh, of course. Being a vampire, Dad would be able to hear us if I lost control.

"Are you okay?" Tristan's voice came out muffled in my hair.

"Yes. You?" I felt as if I'd stepped into a bonfire. The heat from his arms around me, his thigh against the side of mine, his chest like a wall of warmth against me, was too much for the chill inside me to withstand. He bent his head toward me, and I barely had the strength to turn away at the last second so his kiss landed on my cheek instead.

"We'd better not," I murmured, everything inside me aching to do the exact opposite.

He chuckled. "Oh, yeah. At least not till we find somewhere for me to recharge, huh?"

I tried to swallow down the growing lump in my throat, my eyes burning as badly as if someone had poured chemicals into them. I pressed my face against his chest, focusing on the steady beat of his heart beneath my cheek.

He must have felt the tears soak through his shirt, because he reached up to thumb away a few. "Were you scared?"

That I was going to kill him? "Yes, terrified." I still was. Thankfully the guard had cleaned the blood off Tristan's neck before releasing him, or I'd be too afraid to risk being alone with him even now. Though every second we were together, I was still tempted to kiss him and drain him even further. So even now, he wasn't safe. Maybe the council had been too lenient in allowing me a few more days with him.

"Don't worry, Sav, it's over now. I'm just glad they let us go without hurting you."

I nodded and pressed closer to him, enjoying his touch for as long as I could. Because he was right...it was over. At least for us. He just didn't know it yet. As soon as our plane touched down outside of Jacksonville, I would keep my promise and break up with the only boy I had ever loved.

Until then, I would just have to hold on to every last second we had together and pray that it would be enough.