Demetrius waited through the week, expecting a visit from Carlton to inform him about whatever would be taking place in another week. He never came. The man focused on teaching while at school and all but ignored the boy around the guard tower on the nights he was there. It was hard to take it for anything other than wilful avoidance. He was freezing him out, forcefully creating the distance he demanded. Each time Demetrius walked through the guard tower, he got the distinct feeling that he was the only one in the dark about what would apparently be a massive undertaking of an operation. It was his greatest irritant. No one would’ve known there was anything to be looked into without his careful research. None of them would’ve been any wiser to the vampire, unregistered and living in plain sight with at least one questionable child. It was his chance discovery that set things in motion and now they sought to separate him from his work. Were it no
The night had come. Demetrius was stripped of his guard duty for the evening and placed on ‘standby’, but Cassidy had been called in for the project no one was allowed to tell him about.All he could do was ask his sister to do her best to protect Jamie and to keep her own guard up. The prince’s guards had a reputation for being ruthless. It wasn’t unheard of for them to sacrifice those below them in the heat of a job gone wrong and from what he’d read…there was a lot that could go wrong.Demetrius paced the floor of his living room; back and forth he made anxious strides. Every muscle in his body wanted to run through the front door and head for Jamie’s but he knew the place would be crawling with guardians. His own house was under careful surveillance. While Cassidy hadn’t been able to divulge the details of the mission, she shared what she’d heard of Carlton posting guardians outside.It had been a while
“Cassidy!” Demetrius moved toward his sister, but a pair of guardians stepped up to block his path. “Get out of my way.”“You’re wasting precious time. Have you ever seen a clandestyne dissolve? Nasty business, I suspect. Alexiel’s become partial to punishments that deter the wider public with the greatest efficacy and the alchemy unit’s come up with a new solution. Don’t make her the first; she’ll scream, and I’ll make you watch.”Demetrius growled, heat rising through his body in the all too familiar way it did before a hunt, before everything went blank, before a more feral side took hold. His eyes flickered to red, the boy only barely managing to suppress it. His body began to shake, each cell joining the open rebellion against his self-control. His canines descended in tandem with his tail, his ears popping out a moment later. The boy fought to retain his composure but the terror in his sister
It took some effort, but Demetrius managed to tear his eyes from hers before they managed to drown him in their terror. He planted a soft, lingering atop her head, fighting back the moisture that threatened to obscure his vision.“I’m…so sorry,” he whispered.Jamie pulled away from him so she could return her gaze to his. Her eyes searched his, hoping for answers his lips hadn’t provided. “…For what?”Without response, Demetrius swept her off her feet and cradled her close. His grip was firm, unnecessarily so for a girl who had no hope of escaping now that he held her. Silently, he took her from the room and up the corridor from which he’d come.“No, we can’t go that way—that’s where he is—Demetrius! Wait! Listen—it’s dangerous!” The girl tried to wiggle her out of his arms, finding she had very little room to budge. “Demetrius! Stop! I told you w
The lights in the observation deck went off, leaving them to bask in the light from the theatre below. A small team of alchemists walked in, led by a mage Demetrius had seen only once before when he’d accompanied Xavier to the Central Bureau. They each wore a grave expression, treating the matter as something sacred.Jamie struggled up until the moment a central line was put into her arm, and a pale lavender solution injected; she barely blinked after.A second liquid was injected through the line, a sickly grey that resembled cement. The four turned to look up into the observation deck, awaiting a signal that was given a moment later by Yarrow. Each nodded confirmation then the mage walked to the raised platform. The alchemists stood by the door.The mage raised a hand toward Jamie. Swirls of brilliant light escaped his palm, pouring into the girl. This went on for a time before the man lowered his hand and looked to the tower.“Try again,&rd
“I don’t care!”It was the angriest any of them had ever seen their mother. Analiese Finley raged, having mixed success at restraining a savagery that kept forcing itself to the fore. It was a struggle for her to return her eyes to their murky blue each time they flashed red. Her attention was for their father—her indignation, her animosity, her venom.The woman crossed the room to sit between him and his sister, forcefully pulling them to her so that their heads rested on either shoulder.“I don’t care about the prince; I don’t care about the realm—I especially don’t care about your damned pride!” she spat. “Our daughter was nearly dissolved in what amounts to experimental acid tonight and your son is crying. Does that mean nothing to you? Do you not see what a mistake your misguided ambitions are?”“Analiese…” their father took a step cl
Demetrius wasted away in his room. Days melted into nights then days again with the boy flat on his back staring up at the ceiling. It had been a while since he attended school and a while since he let himself out into the world. Even the most recent hunt was avoided. The boy couldn’t bear to eat; he could barely manage the occasional trip downstairs to assure his mother he was still breathing. His failures—despite the insistence of his mother—weighed on him like an anchor pulling him down into the deep ocean where he could be drowned by an overwhelming sense of guilt and inadequacy. Everyone made it seem like such a small matter, something he should’ve been able to shrug off and keep moving. The fact that he couldn’t was yet another crippling blow and for each day he remained in bed, the feelings intensified. It’d been over a week since he last laid eyes on Jamie. His sudden and unorthodox resignation meant he was no longer entitled to information. He couldn’t deman
When he woke next, it was to sunlight bathing him in its warmth. Demetrius’ eyes fluttered open, even the lids feeling fatigued from the lack of energy. There was a particular source of warmth by his neck, soft fur pressing against him. The boy couldn’t say when Cassidy had arrived or why she’d done nothing more than curl up by him and go to sleep herself, but he was glad for the peace. There were already enough people who would lose their minds walking into the scene of Jamie lying shirtless next to him with a hand flung across his chest while she slumbered. The serenity of the early afternoon enticed him to remain in his state of lethargy. What he would give to capture the moment and set it into a perpetual loop. The world around him had begun to move quickly; moments like these helped to ground him and return the sense of well-being he’d lost somewhere in his misguided pursuit for power and recognition. Next to him, Jamie stirred. Her breathing grew