Broken (The Captive #5.5)(27)

When he'd been caught, the vampire had professed that the children's blood was the most magnificent and strengthening thing he'd ever tasted. The king had already put the vampire down by the time the humans had banded together and attacked the village that the vampire had resided in. Twenty more vampires had been killed by the mob and the fire that had spread through the town. After that the king had ordered all vampires out of Germany for the next fifty years. It would still be another forty years before any vampire could establish residency there again.

There were even vampires like her that preferred to feed from animals. It may not taste as good but to her it was far easier than going to the clubs she found so repulsive, or hunting and killing an innocent human in order to cover her tracks.

Camille stopped in front of the door to a larger hut that housed the orphaned children. Each town had one such hut and the King, Council she reminded herself with a shake of her head, paid vampires within the village to watch over the children and provide animals for them to feed from. There was nothing more perilous than a starving vampire child that couldn't control itself.

The giggling laughter of the children drifted from inside, Genny couldn't help but smile at the joyful sound. "Be careful," Camille said to her.

"I'll be back before sunset," Genny promised her.

Camille hurried to the door; Genny watched her slip inside before disappearing into the forest.

***

"Where are you off to?"

Atticus turned at the sound of Merle's voice behind him; his cousin strode across the ground toward him. Beside him, Drago snorted and dropped his head in an attempt to get at the grass beneath his hooves. "For a ride."

Merle lifted his head to the mellow rain falling around them. "You've been going for a lot of rides lately."

"It's better than being trapped within that manor. You can at least retreat to your ship where you can escape the ever cheerful brothers within," Atticus replied sarcastically. "I am not so fortunate."

Merle snickered as he folded his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. "Why don't you come to the club with me? It's been awhile since we went together."

Atticus almost sneered at the suggestion but he forced his face to remain impassive. "Not today."

"I've never heard you turn down the club even once before we returned to England, this is the third time now." Merle's eyes were shrewd as he assessed him from head to toe. "What are you keeping from me cousin?"

Atticus forced a smile; he shifted his hold on Drago's reins when the horse attempted to grab at the grass again. Drago snorted his displeasure into Atticus's shoulder and stomped at the ground. "I'm just enjoying nature."

"Since when?"

Since Genny appeared in it, but he didn't say that out loud. "Since it gets me out of that manor," he replied with a laugh.

Merle smirked as he folded his arms over his chest. "You've met a woman or you've found a woman. Tell me, who is she?"

Atticus shook his head. "Merle…"

"It's the girl from that day, the blond," he announced with a laugh. "I thought you felt she was a little too young but it all makes sense now! All your trips into the woods, the secretiveness, the fact that you've been turning the serving women away, it's all crystal clear! If I had someone that beautiful in my bed, I'd be doing the same. But then I'd never leave my bed!"

"It's not the blond," Atticus told him.

"Then who and where did you meet her?"

Atticus looked at Drago but even the horse was staring at him as if he was waiting for an answer too. If Genny had been any other woman he would have told Merle about her long ago, but she wasn't any other woman. Relationships between villagers and the aristocrats weren't unheard of but they were never anything serious, nor could they ever be. Any children born of such unions weren't acknowledged, the aristocrats married amongst each other and the villagers remained with other villagers. It wasn't that fact that kept him from saying anything to Merle though, Merle would never tell anyone else about her. It was because she was special and he wasn't ready to share that yet.

The smile faded from Merle's face. "Atticus what is going on?"

"Nothing I'd like to talk about right now."

"Wait!" Merle grabbed hold of his arm when he went to turn away. "Atticus this is me you're talking to. We've always told each other everything. You saved my life when we got drunk and I fell off of my horse and onto my sword."

Atticus laughed as he recalled that particular incident. Now, it wouldn't have been a mortal wound to Merle. At the time though he'd only been fourteen and he hadn't been able to heal himself as fast as he was bleeding out. Atticus had staunched the wound to the best of his ability with dirt and leaves before leaving to hunt down a human for his cousin to feed on. The woman hadn't survived as Merle had been beyond control and needed more blood than he normally required. Afterward, Atticus had been the one to dispose of the body in a nearby lake. No one else knew about the accident, and though Atticus regretted the loss of the woman's life, he would do it again if it meant saving Merle.

The most time they'd spent apart was the first month of his life, before Merle had been born. Both of them had been handed over to the care of their nursemaids and placed in a nursery the moment they'd been born. At four they'd been moved from the nursery and into a large room that they had shared because they refused to be separated.