I shivered at the morose subject. “I should warn you, she’s also dreaming I’ll find my own mate willing to let me change him at some point so I’ll have someone when she’s gone. But I’d never ask something so awful of someone I loved.”
Picking at his cuticle again, he nodded. “If you find someone who loves you, they might ask for it themselves at some point.” He glanced back up with a shy smile. “This really isn’t a first-date conversation.”
I grinned. “Aww, shucks. Your mama is gonna be so brokenhearted. You don’t want to commit to being my ‘for-evah lov-ah’ based on this one so-so date?” I waved a hand toward the window. “Don’t get me wrong. The setting is cool, and I like the company. But like you said, our first-date conversation has left a lot to be desired.”
Darcy snorted, then frowned as if an odd thought had occurred to him. “Back to the whole ‘big secret’ thing… why would helping your sister be a bad thing among the vamps?”
“I broke an ancient law forbidding the use of our blood to fix a damaged human. I didn’t know it existed, but I would’ve done it anyway. Also, fuck them for thinking Muriel or any other handi-capable people are damaged.”
Shaking my head, I pushed my old irritation aside to explain. “Remember how I said vamps are narcissists for the most part? Totally true. They only want to use their precious blood on people who fit what they see as the ideal for a vampire. If you’re not good-looking, healthy, and in the prime of your life… forget it. They don’t want you in their club.”
“Seriously? Awful. So how did you get caught?” He watched me, waiting for my answer as if he really cared.
For the first time in my life, I found myself wanting to open up and share all my secrets. I’d thought he was cute before, but his openness and consideration made me see him in a whole new light. Especially when he had every reason to hate me simply for what I was—yet had put his prejudices aside and welcomed me into his home. And now, here we were, becoming friends. I didn’t know whether this date would blossom into anything more, but having someone who cared enough to listen felt good.
“Basically, we got caught because I was stupid enough to feed her out in the open in our backyard. I didn’t realize vampires were living in the apartments looking down on us. But I guess we’d gotten too comfortable, and I let my guard down. Three of them were in our faces before the spit had dried on my wrist.” I shrugged with a rueful grin. “Like I said, our true natures are magnified when we change, and I guess I wasn’t always the sharpest tool in the shed.”
Darcy shook his head with a stubborn frown. “I’m going to have to call bullshit. Based on everything you’ve said, I’m guessing it’s been about two years now since you’ve been a vampire? Sorry, but I’ve been reading your books a lot longer. Nobody who writes like you do is what I’d call stupid. As for those jerks who busted you for helping your sister? Now they’re what I’d call some kind of stupid. If not plain ol’ assholish.” His expression softened, along with his voice. “I take it they turned you in?”
“Yep. One of them is a member of this territory’s vampiric president’s entourage. The other two seemed to be his lapdogs, probably hoping they’d get in with the president through him. They took off in a blur and left us to stew after telling us what the standard sentence was in a case like ours. They made their mistake warning me. They said they’d be back in an hour to let me know what time to turn ourselves in at the president’s mansion.”
Darcy grinned knowingly. “I’m guessing you were gone when they returned?”
“Ding ding ding. We have a winner. I had us packed and out the door in under five minutes—I scared Muriel. She didn’t truly understand how strong I was until I lifted her, her wheelchair, and our loaded bags and ran a hundred miles to the next city before stopping long enough to boost a car. We never kept the same vehicle longer than a day—it’s the only way we were able to last these past few months. I’ve kept my ear to the ground and listened for rumors of whether or not I was truly in danger. But at the same time, I was proactive and kept us on the move.”
“Since you and Muriel came here seeking sanctuary, I’m guessing you got your answer?”
I leaned back on my hands, stretching my legs out in front of me. “Yep. I heard a couple loser vamps talking in a bar in downtown Dallas. Apparently, there’s a reward for my capture, if you can believe it.”
Darcy smirked. “Aren’t you the one who said most vampires are narcissists? Failing to show up when the president summoned you would’ve been a slap in the face. Now he has to make an example of you or risk not looking like a perfect ruler. Don’t worry. They won’t find you here. Well, they’ll find your trail, maybe, but you disappeared once you entered our wards.”
“I carried her again, you know. I didn’t want to risk them hiring any shifters skilled at tracking. Keeping her off the ground made it a lot harder for anyone to pursue us from the last town, especially when I left several false trails leading away in different directions. I’m confident we weren’t followed, so we should be safe. Especially since you didn’t turn us away. But eventually, they will find where my trail ended, which might bring trouble to your door.”
“So? Let them come. I’ve got an arsenal of weapons. They might not be able to get in, but I’ll shoot through the wards if necessary. A silver bullet to the heart will take a vamp out. I invited you in, so you’re welcome to stay as long as you want… forever even. Sanctuary isn’t solely for humans who need protection from supes—it’s for anyone who needs safety behind its walls.”
I took in a deep breath, simply so I could blow it out with relief. “Thank you. And by the way, can I just say Muriel and I both appreciated the idea of turning a castle into a B&B, then actually naming it after the sanctuary you provide? I also liked it because—” I paused before I could finish the thought.
He hadn’t, had he?
He smiled shyly. If there’d been more light, I knew I’d have seen him blushing. “Yes, I totally named it after the homeless shelter in your book Sanctuary. And for the same reason—I wanted a simple name signifying what I was offering. A home for people who had nowhere else to go. Even the Breathnach sisters needed us. They were here to collect seeds from some of our flowers that aren’t available where they come from. The fae realm locked all the portals when the supernaturals came out to the world on our side. After the portal closed, they were being hunted by pretty much everything. Something to do with how their blood smells?”
“Oh, God. You don’t know the half of it, like cotton candy on a warm summer afternoon. The mix of sugar and sunshine is irresistible. Well, it is resistible to me because I would never hurt an innocent or forcibly take blood. But most supes, vamps especially, would have a hard time ignoring the call.” For an author, I sure was struggling to find properly descriptive language. I’d come close, but the allure of fae blood was hard to explain.
Darcy tilted his head, his eyes sparkling in the darkness as he studied me. Even with my preternatural vision, he was still drenched in shadows thanks to the heavy stone walls surrounding us in this intimate, circular space.