Chapter 82

ELEANOR

The whole room seemed to get a little colder when she stepped inside. I twisted in Aric’s arms and took her in.

She was everything I ever expected a vampire to look like, and at the same time, she was so much more.

She was tall, her thin body looked frail at first, but her muscles and power radiated through her thin skin. Her hair was white, like clouds or snow. It hung like a thick curtain down to her waist.

Her skin was almost as white as her hair. Her lashes and brows disappeared completely. Her eyes were blue, but such a pale blue they almost looked white as well.

Her face was flawless, and she looked like she was sixty and sixteen at the same time. Her skin was smooth, pulled taut over her high cheekbones.

Only her lips, red with blood, dribbling down her chin, were bright red.

As she called David and me forward, I was in awe of her presence. I was afraid. Her eyes twinkled, her fangs were bared, but she was strangely comforting.

Aphro-fucking-dite. Four thousand years must have taken their toll on her mind. I could only shake my head. How many other people was I going to be the spitting image of?

“Excuse me?”

“Romulus?” David asked, frowning.

I glanced up at him and shook my head slowly. Elizabeth stepped forward slowly, moving to stand next to Diana. I was pissed she’d come back, but I let her draw closer.

“Romulus,” Elizabeth murmured. She was gazing at David. I stepped in front of him, baring my fangs, warning her. But her expression was soft, like she was in pain.

She glanced at me, then back at David. “He was, for lack of another word, my ward.”

I stared at her. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

Diana grinned at David, flashing her pearly fangs.

“The family resemblance was always so strong. Generation after generation. Though you two are much darker than they were. Still, it always astounds me.” She nodded to herself.

“Please,” Aric stepped forward, his hand tender on the small of my back. “Please explain. Do you know what Eleanor is? Is David the same?” he asked.

I stared at Diana, eager for an answer. She smiled at us both.

“Of course, I do! I remember well,” she smiled. “You are purebloods, of course.” She grinned at David. “You aren’t a pureblood yet. But you will be when you turn, of course.”

David glanced down at me, his eyes wide.

I frowned at the ancient being. I couldn’t tell if she was being cryptic on purpose or if she’d been away from other creatures so long that she had forgotten how to communicate correctly in public.

“But…” I paused when her gaze met mine. “Purebloods are pure-blooded. They can’t be turned from humans. That’s the part we don’t understand.”

“They can be if they’re dormant,” she replied smartly, smacking her bloodied lips.

“Dormant? Dormant purebloods?” My voice was thick with emotion.

“Yes, your bloodline, the one you share with your brother and the one that dates all the way back to Romulus, are dormant purebloods. That’s why you were so intoxicating to us as humans.

Purebloods are drawn to you. It’s very hard to fight the tie you have over us. Some are pushed to drain you. Others”—she smiled sweetly—“have extremely strong urges to keep you safe, raise you, love you.”

As she spoke, I glanced at Mother, who was following the conversation. Her gaze met mine, and her expression held so much love. I felt awash with emotion.

I felt Aric’s hand tighten against my hip, and I realized he had been the same: drawn to protect me, even as a child, while Aleesha and Elizabeth had been pushed to destroy me without really knowing why.

That’s when Elizabeth heaved a sob, and I watched as the two-thousand-year-old vampire crumpled to the ground in tears. Diana smiled down at her, then looked up at me.

“Dear Elizabeth had a child like you,” she told me. “Romulus. He is your ancestor. Thought very much far removed. All the same, every generation, you all look so alike.

“I assume you are also the spitting image of your family, are you not?”

I glanced at David, and he nodded vehemently. We had recognized each other physically before we realized we were siblings.

“Yes, Gab—Eleanor looks just like our mother,” David supplied.

Diana nodded. “Of course. Just like you look like Romulus did. Doesn’t he, Elizabeth? Is that why you took him? I suppose it is why you’re not dead.

“You see, children, Elizabeth loved this Roman child very much, I assume in the same way dear Rose has loved you. I knew. So did her mother.”

Diana grinned at Elizabeth, who was still weeping for the boy who died 1500 years ago.

“How does the dormant pureblood work?” Aric asked, his hand against my hip, his thumb rubbing my bare skin lightly.

Diana beamed at him.

“Dormant purebloods are descendants from extinct pureblood lines, a way to keep the balance in nature. But they are very much humans until they are turned, then they automatically become purebloods.”

She looked at David and me. “Your bloodline has not been turned for thousands of years, so you continued as humans. Only today does that change.”

“Are there others like us?” I asked. “Other dormant purebloods?”

Diana nodded. “Yes, I assume there are. Though, I haven’t met any in my whole life. That I know of, well except for Romulus, but until I saw you, dear boy, I wasn’t certain.

“I believe they must be very rare. But there have been other pureblood extinctions in our ranks over the last ten thousand years.”

“What were you saying about Myrtle? Aphrodite?” Aric asked.

“Of course, Myrtle!” She grinned at me. “She was my close friend growing up. We would go on many hunting trips together. Dear child, have you noticed any special glowing recently?”

“Glowing? Like when I get angry?” I asked, getting excited.

She grinned at me. “Yes! Oh, how exciting! Venus, thank you for bringing me. This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time!” The ancient vampire giggled and clapped her hands like a toddler.

“Diana, please,” Aric pushed. I could feel he was getting annoyed. “What do you know about the glowing?”

“Don’t you know?” Diana asked him, then scanned the room slowly while we all shook our heads. Then her eyes widened, and she laughed out loud.

“I thought that was why you were going to rip his head off.” She gestured to the king, still kneeling, watching everyone with a heavy scowl on his face.

“What don’t we know?” Aric growled, finally losing his temper. Diana’s gaze swiveled back to mine.

“It’s obvious now that these two, Romulus included, are descendants from the extinct Troy family. As such, they are the true heirs to the throne.

“The royal family glows when they get angry, it makes them more powerful. When this child gets angry, she could destroy us all if she liked. Decimate human towns. That was an angry Troy hobby.”

“What the fuck?” Alexander snarled from his position on the floor.

I could barely comprehend Diana’s words. She stepped toward me, cupping my cheek in her hand.

“Myrtle was a good friend, but she was reckless. She started the fight between the Night family and the Troy family.

“It was her pride at seeing her son choose someone unsuitable for him over her wishes. Helen was beautiful, but she was too bloodthirsty. The Troys didn’t want her, and the Nights resented that.

“It caused the downfall of Myrtle’s entire family. I remember,” she glanced at the king.

“I remember when the Night family took the throne. But they never had that glow, you know. You do, child. So now it’s time. Kill him and take back your throne.”