Chapter 13

ROSE

When we got home, the twins Aric, Angus, and Aleesha were lounging around in wait. They practically attacked us for the blood.

We emptied our bags onto the table, and I took them back downstairs, carrying Eleanor with me. I set her in her room with her drawing paper and quickly put away the bags.

When I headed back up to the cathedral, everyone had already drained at least two baggies. They were leaning over the table, eyes bright red and squeezing every drop out of their baggies.

Their faces showed their utter disgust, but their thirst was stronger than their will. Demetrius glanced up at me and chucked me a bag. I grabbed it and moved next to him.

The blood scent filled the room, and my eyes flashed bright red. I tore the plug off the bag with my fangs and squeezed it, pouring the cold blood down my throat.

My body immediately revolted at the cold, disgusting blood. I took in a deep breath, pushing the slimy stuff down.

“How old is this stuff?” I asked, almost choking.

“Old. It tastes like plastic,” Angus replied, licking his lips and dropping his empty baggy on the table.

“It’s rancid,” Aric agreed. Ignoring his own words, he pulled another plug and slowly started emptying another bag.

My body shook slightly, my muscles tensing. I brought the baggie back to my lips and finished it off.

After we’d all had five baggies each, Demetrius and I brought the others down into the storage room. I heard Angus and Aleesha leaving, so I felt safe to leave Eleanor in her room alone a little longer.

Demetrius found all of our old wine bottles. They’d been recycled during the years, and they’d rarely contained any wine.

I popped open the other baggies, and clenching my jaw together, I poured them into the wine bottles, filling each one.

“When are you going to tell her?” Demetrius asked, suddenly handing me an empty bottle. I glanced up at him curiously. His expression was serious.

“Tell who what?” I asked, filling the bottle with blood.

“Eleanor. Tell her that she was adopted, that she’s human, and that we’re vampires. Every human knows they’re adopted by the time they’re four!”

I stopped the top of the bottle with a cork and gazed at him.

“You think I should tell her now?”

“I think she deserves to know. Honestly, she’s not a stupid kid. She’ll guess eventually.”

“But I’ve raised her like a human. She knows she’s human.”

“But she doesn’t know that we aren’t,” he paused, handing me another bottle. I filled it slowly.

“She asked to listen to your heartbeat today, Rose. What will she ask next time? She’s already five.”

I blinked at him, then nodded. “You’re right. She deserves to know, now.”

He nodded. “Oh, and another thing. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.”

I took another bottle and nodded. “What?”

“Let her get hurt. Let her bleed,” I blinked at him in surprise.

“Excuse me?” He pursed his lips and nodded to himself.

“She’s never been hurt. She’s never had a paper cut or a scraped knee. Can you imagine her pain when she does get hurt one day? When you can’t be there by her side? Excruciating.

“She won’t understand. Also, I was thinking, if you get used to the smell of her blood, it won’t make you so thirsty in the future.”

“Are you telling me I could grow immune to her blood?” I asked suspiciously. Demetrius shrugged.

“I don’t know if it’ll work. Hell, no one’s tried before. But it might,” he answered simply.

“Do you want me to push her or something? I couldn’t do that, Demetrius.”

“No! Of course not. Just the next time she falls off the table, or trips or whatever, don’t catch her. Also, she should probably get sick.”

“She’s already vaccinated.”

“I know, but it’s healthier to get chickenpox when you’re a child.”

I blinked at him, then smiled slowly. “You’ve really been thinking about this, haven’t you? Thinking about Eleanor.”

Demetrius smiled shyly. “I guess I want her to live normally when she leaves us.”

I nodded slowly. “I’m glad. Thank you. I might buy her a bike. That’s the perfect way to get hurt when you’re young.”

Demetrius chuckled lightly. “For her sixth birthday,” he agreed. I nodded, slowly smiling.

Eleanor was painting when I got back to her room. Her whole wall was covered in bloody red butterflies. I paused, staring at her working, humming to herself.

I couldn’t decide to be happy or angry. I settled on happy.

“Eleanor.” She turned around rapidly and scowled at me.

“No! Go away! This is a surprise!” she screeched, rushing toward me, holding her hand out in front of her. I caught her just before she ran into my legs.

“But Eleanor, they’re beautiful,” I gushed.

“No! Mother, just go away! They were going to be a surprise!” she hollered, shoving her weight against me. I took a step back, nodding.

“Fine. I’m leaving.” I moved into the living room.

She scowled at me, her lips puckered up, her eyes blinking. I hadn’t realized she was so close to tears. I didn’t have time to reassure her before she slammed the door in my face.

“She’s turning into a teenager sooner than I’d expected,” Aric murmured from the sofa behind me. I glanced at him and rolled my eyes.

“Thank you, Aric,” I answered sarcastically.

He shrugged one shoulder and gave me a cocky grin. “Just pointing out the facts,” he answered.

“Aric!”

He winked at me, then turned to slouch out of the room. I watched him leave, then crossed my arms tightly over my chest.

I could hear Eleanor singing in her room, but it wasn’t happy singing. She sounded pretty pissed. I leaned against the wall, confused about what to do next.

I was going to leave the room when my gaze crossed the book lying on the coffee table. I’d seen Demetrius reading it but had never bothered finding out what it was about.

I picked it up, my eyes widening. It was about raising children. Demetrius had seriously been thinking about Eleanor, enough to buy a book.

There was a bookmark in the five-year-olds section. I started reading and almost immediately started worrying.

“Demetrius,” I breathed, biting down on my bottom lip. Five seconds later, he was standing in front of me, looking confused.

“What is it?” he glanced at the book in my hand, then looked embarrassed.

“It’s Eleanor!” I handed him the book and moved to lean over his shoulder.

“What about her? What’s wrong?”

“She doesn’t have any social skills! She’s five. She doesn’t have any friends!” I ran my fingers through my hair restlessly.

“Rose, calm down.” Demetrius smiled, setting the book down and grabbing my shoulder.

He forced my chin up so our eyes could meet. “I was reading this book only to help with the guidelines. You’ve decided to raise a human child like a human. But she’s not being raised by humans.

“She’s being raised by an elite family of pure-blood vampires. Her life is not normal, so don’t expect her to be normal. You don’t have to buy her a television or send her to school.

“She’ll get social skills from here. You’ll teach her everything she’ll ever learn in school here. Honestly, she’s not going to have a normal childhood.

“The best thing you can do for her is to keep her alive and happy. Rose, she may be human, but her family is vampire. She’s going to accept that, live with it, and have a long, happy life.

“But she will never be a normal child.”

I nodded in agreement and smiled. “You’re right, but don’t you think she’ll want company her age?”

“What are you going to do, Rose, kidnap a bunch of five-year-olds?” Aleesha entered the room gracefully, followed by her daughter.

I had heard them moving above but had been too concentrated on Demetrius’s words to notice they’d moved downstairs.

“Stay out of this, Aleesha,” Demetrius hissed. Aleesha flipped her slick raven hair and smiled sweetly at him.

“Of course, sorry. I was just here to say hello to my niece. I haven’t seen her all night!” The fake niceness in her voice was nauseating.

“Well, unfortunately for you, we’re here, and I’m not letting you near my daughter.” I rounded on her, feeling my eyes flash. Aleesha rolled her eyes at me.

“I should have known. I apologize.” She turned on her heel.

Eloise grinned and disappeared in front of her.

“But I’ll be back,” Aleesha breathed before following.

I glared at the dark tunnel behind her.

Demetrius gripped my shoulders and hugged me tightly.

“Hey, don’t worry about Eleanor. She has you and me to protect her. She’s the safest kid on earth.” He kissed the base of my neck.

I sighed and leaned back into him. “Thank you, Demetrius. I have no idea what I’d do without you.”

He chuckled deeply and held me tighter.

Eleanor decided to give me the silent treatment until I suggested we make her favorite chocolate cookies.

She immediately forgot her room painting, and we spent the rest of the night making her cookies.

Then, while she read me one of her picture books, I made her dinner.

She ate, chatting with me and Demetrius, who had joined us. Soon after, the twins appeared, with Eloise gossiping about the latest scandal of our prince Alexander.

They settled in front of the fire, folding their long legs under their bodies and fluffing out their gowns. Aric was playing the organ above us.

He was playing something new he’d composed. I’d never heard it before.

It was sweet and powerful, and Eleanor was rocking slowly to its rhythm, grinning up at the second floor though she couldn’t see Aric.

Aleesha and Angus walked up the stairs, quickly entering the cathedral. Aleesha was wearing a soft pink sari with her raven curls pinned back with a silver comb.

She paused by the fireplace, holding Angus’s hand tightly. Her gaze crossed mine, and her expression turned hard, then her eyes slipped to Eleanor.

Her eyes flashed, her lips peeled back, but I was already on my feet. I stood in front of Eleanor, my fangs bared, hissing. Eleanor barely noticed she continued with her story to Demetrius.

Aric kept playing, and the girls kept gossiping. I held Aleesha’s gaze until she looked away into Angus’s eyes.

She let him lead her across the floor until they had their backs to me, picking out a blood-filled wine bottle.

I watched them warming it in the microwave. I kept my eyes on them until they disappeared downstairs again with their bottle.

When I sat down again, Eleanor complained that I hadn’t heard her story. I let her tell it to me again while Demetrius sent me reassuring smiles.

After Eleanor had taken a bath, I took her outside. The sun wasn’t quite up yet, so I exited with her. The ground was cold and icy. Autumn was rushing toward us, along with the cold, snowy wind.

I didn’t feel a difference on my bare skin. I was wearing a long thin sleeveless beige ruffled dress and no shoes.

Eleanor was dressed in black tights, a pair of small shiny black shoes, and an ivory-colored coat that she wrapped around her body tightly.

Her short glossy dark curls were pinned back, yet the wind ripped pieces out and scattered them across her face.

Her nose and cheeks were slightly pink from the cold, and she was shivering, but her wide grin and cries of contentment kept me from bringing her back in.

We played together on the ice until the sun started to come up slowly. I felt the air warming, and I sensed the light just on the other side of the mountain.

I moved to stand up, pushing my hair behind my ear. Eleanor scowled at me adorably.

“Are you going inside already? But we haven’t finished playing!” she complained.

I kneeled in front of her again, taking her cold hands in mine. She pouted at me. I softly grazed one hand across her cheek, moving a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Honey, there’s something you need to know about yourself.” I paused, taking in her puzzled and annoyed expression.

“I, uh, how do I say this…” Suddenly unsure, I ran my fingers through my hair restlessly. I heard Eleanor sigh impatiently.

“I found you,” I blurted, then glanced up to check her expression. It was purely curious.

“Huh?”

“Don’t say huh, darling. Say excuse me,” I replied instantly.

Eleanor nodded. “I beg your pardon?” she tried again. I smiled.

“Five years ago, I found you after an avalanche, and I brought you back here. I chose you, Eleanor. I loved you the second you stared into my eyes.

“I love you so much, my darling. Even though I’m not your birth mother, I am still your mother! And I love you so much. So, so much.”

Eleanor blinked at me a few times, then nodded. “You’re still Mother, right?” she asked in a very small voice, her bottom lip trembled. I pulled her into my arms and cradled her against my chest.

“I am your mother, Eleanor. I always will be.”

“I’m adopted,” she concluded.

“Yes. Yes, you are, but that doesn’t change anything. I still love you no matter what.”

Eleanor nodded, her expression slowly breaking into a smile. “I guess, if nothing changes, then it’s all right then,” she replied simply.

I stared at her for a few seconds, then grinned. “Of course.”

“Aric, and Phoenix and Venus. They look like you. And I don’t. My skin is darker,” she told me solemnly. She didn’t seem sad, just thoughtful.

“Yes, because you are human,” I answered truthfully.

Eleanor blinked at me, puzzled. “And because they are your real children.”

“You’re my real daughter, too, Eleanor. You are real.”

She nodded slowly. “I understand.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more, Mother.” She wrapped her small arms around my neck. I squeezed her against my chest, breathing in her sweet scent.

“I love you so, so much,” I breathed, kissing her cheeks.