“I know,” I said. “It feels like I’ve cut off a limb. Like we’ve lost a chunk of our lives.”
He nodded solemnly in response. We sat for a moment in silence.
“Mom and Dad are probably worried sick,” he said. “I just wish I could talk to Uncle Alan.”
I swallowed a hard lump in my throat.
“I did,” I confessed and relayed the brief exchange. His eyes widened. “It was… disappointing.”
“How so?”
I avoided his eyes, suddenly afraid that he would think I had made the wrong choice. “He offered to let me and you return to the Bureau but didn’t say what would happen to the rest of the team or the vampires. Said he would forget about this misunderstanding if we came quietly.”
He frowned. “He offered us an out? I wish I could’ve spoken to him.” His eyes fell to the ground as he shook his head. “Even if just to tell him he’s mad if he thought I’d come back if Gina wasn’t included in that deal. Honestly, though, I wouldn’t have accepted it either without an immediate explanation for those blueprints that didn’t include an admission of mass murder.”
I was surprised when he pulled me into a sudden hug.
“You did the right thing,” he reassured me. “And I believe what you’re saying and what those plans say. I’m with you in this until the end, whatever that looks like.”
I hugged him back, tears beginning to fall before I could stop them. “Thanks,” I whispered, my voice thick. After a minute, I pulled away, wiping my damp cheeks. “I need to sleep, and so do you.”
We went to bed weary, unsure of what tomorrow would hold but secure in the knowledge that we would face it together.
Chapter Six
The night was cold but manageable once we got a fire started with the wood that had been left behind. Our growling stomachs in the morning were an entirely different matter. Zach groaned as he padded out into the main cavern, limping and leaning on Gina.
“Everyone looks well-rested,” he announced with a touch of dark sarcasm.
I looked around and decided he was right. The journey had tired the vampires. Some of them had yet to emerge from their nooks. Sike yawned as he spoke to Dorian on the other side of the cavern. Bryce scrubbed at his weary eyes. My brother’s usually sun-kissed face was paling by the day. Our Bureau uniforms were becoming stained and tattered. We looked like hell. No, worse. I sighed and dragged a hand through my greasy, stringy hair. The timed hot showers in the trial facility seemed like paradise now.
“We’ve got to find food,” I said. “All of us.”
“Why do the vampires have to feed?” Zach asked. “You guys just fed.”
“Despite the blood we drank in combat, we’re all still weak from six weeks of starvation during the trial,” Dorian explained, ruffling his own slightly grimy hair. “We have to stay fed to be able to fight at full strength, especially since I imagine we’ll be expending lots of energy in the next few days. Certainly, far more than we were at the trial facility.”
Gina helped Zach rest on one of the dirty mattresses covered in slightly damp blankets that currently served as a bed. She and I then joined the vampires who had been close enough to hear our discussion, my stomach flipping with nerves as we drew closer. Several of the newer vampires looked more unfriendly than usual this morning. They needed to feed. Dorian glanced at me for a brief second, and a slight burn rose in my chest. I wasn’t sure whether it was from anxiety or because Dorian was only a few feet from me.
“We need to venture somewhere far enough from this place that nobody could link us back here,” Dorian said gravely. “If someone catches us…”
He didn’t finish his sentence—maybe he was too tired—but we didn’t need him to. By now, we all knew the risk. I crossed my arms, trying to ignore the pain and pay attention. Being close to Dorian didn’t help my focus. Even hungry and grim, I had to fight the urge to trace the lines of his face with my fingertips. I wanted nothing more than to press feather-light kisses to the shadowed swirls of his cheekbones and along the line of his jaw.
A sudden chesty cough from Gina broke the spell my own mind had cast on me. After glancing at her to see if she was all right and becoming slightly concerned by the red rims around her dull eyes, I tuned back into the conversation. My team needed supplies.
“On our way back, we can scout for any human presence around the mountain,” Dorian was saying. “If we break into two groups, one can venture out for food, and one can scrounge whatever other supplies they can from the mountain.”
“I’ll stay here for the scrounging,” Bryce volunteered. “Was always told I had a particular talent for it when I was a lad.”
“I’ll stay too,” Rhome said. The way his eyes continually drifted to the hideout entrance, as if he were hoping to see Kreya and the children walk in at any moment, ensured no one questioned his choice.
“Good man,” Bryce said, clapping the older vampire on the shoulder. “Now, if you’ll allow me to air some of my thoughts…”
The two of them stepped to the side, scraps of conversation occasionally reaching our larger group, regarding how to warm the human bodies at night, how to wash the rank clothes that now bordered on a health risk, and what useful items might have been abandoned in the ski resort.
I felt grateful for Bryce and Rhome. Their eagerness emanated a lighthearted feeling of purpose into the room. I drew myself up straight. We were roughing it now, but everyone was determined to make it work. Even Dorian moved with new energy, the shadows beneath his eyes beginning to lighten.
“The resort seems to have been closed for some time, but there might be some blankets, cushions, or clothes left behind,” Sike said. “Maybe even some couch cushions or something.”
“Anything that could work as a layer against the cold is vital for us humans,” Gina said, sniffing and wiping her nose on her sleeve. “One night in those clammy blankets, even with a fire, and I’m at risk of a head cold. Zach needs the best chance we can give him to fight off any potential infection from his wound. We need to get warm and stay warm.”
“The cold doesn’t really affect vampires,” Dorian said, “so we’re more than willing to give you humans the bulk of the blankets and warm clothing.”
“That’s good,” I said, “but our top priority is food and fuel for a fire. Maybe even medicine or first-aid supplies if we’re lucky.”
The venturing-out group made a plan. Gina, Dorian, Laini, several of the new vampires, and I would set out on the food mission. We had manpower and actual superpowers in the group. As we organized ourselves, I felt my legs lighten, eager to get back to work. It was a familiar sensation, as though I was about to suit up for a mission.
The redbills had settled closer toward the exit, razor-sharp beaks preening their dark feathers as they fluffed up against the chill. We found them, and they hopped up eagerly to walk with us. I purposefully took a step toward Dorian’s redbill. The colossal creature stiffened slightly and then lashed out with an offended chirp.
“Perhaps you should take that one,” he suggested, looking in the direction of Bravi’s bill.