In the next scene I heard screaming first.
So much screaming.
It was my mother. She was hovering over me. “There’s too much blood!”
“Not enough blood,” Bannick said in a bored tone. “He needs to be bit a few more times.”
The vampire glanced at my mother with green cool eyes and then continued attacking my small body.
I screamed at the top of my lungs as he took more blood.
“Stop.” Bannick held out his hand. “Gadreel, come here, won’t you?”
Gadreel stepped forward and then moved to his knees.
Bannick held a silver dagger in front of him. “If you ever fall, my brother, know that you will still exist in the next life stronger than before.”
Gadreel peeled back his hood.
I wanted to turn away.
I wanted to run.
His eyes were ice blue.
His face matched mine exactly.
His hair was black with streaks of red, but other than that, he was an identical twin.
He smirked like he could see me.
I gripped the wall with my hands, clawed at it to keep from collapsing, and then Bannick shoved the blade into Gadreel’s heart as silver blood spewed from the gaping hole onto the sharp weapon.
He held out the blade to my body and slowly dripped silver blood onto each bite wound, allowing the vampire to seal the blood in.
My small body convulsed as I moaned in despair.
It hurt.
Like being reborn.
Fire in my blood.
Ice in my brain.
A headache that refused to go away.
And a pulsing in my gums that begged me to ask for more.
Kill for more.
So confused.
My dark eyes darted toward my parents. The trust was broken. Gone. In its place only fear.
Fear that I’d somehow not been good enough. Strong enough.
And they’d do something so abysmal in order to make me…