“Who told you about Allison’s powers?” My voice is calm, but much like the eye of a hurricane, it’s deceptive.
Rao shrinks into the couch.
“Answer me,” I shout.
He’s still cowering when he finally answers, “I don’t know. Bogdan never told me.”
Anger pulses through my body, and I fist my hands. I should just kill him dead right here. Instead, I change tactics. “Why does Bogdan want my whole family dead?”
“Because he thinks you’re becoming too powerful. Too many people listen to what you say.”
As they should. “What do you get out of betraying me and helping him?”
“He promised me I’d sit by his side when he took over the entire vampire community.”
I laugh. “And you believed him?”
Rao shrugs. “Turn me back. I can help you.”
“Help me how?” I’m trying to process everything Rao just told me, wondering if it’s true. A man afraid for his life will say anything.
Rao begs for over thirty minutes about how he can help me, but I scoff at the thought. How can a mortal help me take down the biggest threat to my way of life? I tune him out after a while, more concerned with who betrayed me.
I stare at Rao, wondering what I should do with him.
Should I let him go? He’s no use to me. Or should I take his help against Bogdan?
Twenty
Allison
* * *
I open my eyes, and darkness is all I see. “Am I dead?” I ask when I hear someone breathing next to me.
“No,” Lina’s voice sounds through the stillness.
She flips on the lamp, and I squint my eyes against the light.
“What time is it?” I sit up, my head still groggy from my nap. It takes me a minute to focus on what day it is, and what all happened before I fell asleep. “Where’s Draven?”
“He’s fine. You’ve only been asleep for about an hour.” Lina smiles at me. “Phenomenal work on Rao down there.”
I swing my legs from the bed and stand. “Did it work? Is he no longer a vampire?”
Lina nods. “It did. They’re still deciding what they’re going to do with him.”
I study my hands, not believing I possess this power. “I’m sorry,” I tell her.
She rises from her chair and brushes the hair from my face. “Why are you sorry?”
I shrug. “I know every vampire in the world will be worried I’ll turn them.”
“You don’t understand. Many vampires don’t want this affliction.”
“I know. I would never force my power on anyone.”
Lina runs a hand down my arm. “I never asked to be a vampire.”