Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(95)

Elena set her fork down. His words made sense, but her heart still ached to think she’d been culpable in any way.

“We are not barbaric or any more bigoted than the human race. Sadly, as you saw today, we are more violent, as necessitated by nature itself. We deal with long, sometimes overly long lifespans, which alters our outlook as well.”

Yeah. Stefan had said almost the same thing.

“The Time Folder is wise. And far more neutral than most. He will keep you safe.”

“What about you?” Elena recalled how he looked all covered in blood and feared he was a representative of the darker, more violent side of the Underveil.

The door at the far end of the hall burst open, and Elena jumped to her feet. Claude stumbled in, looking around frantically. “Where are they?”

He was in his slayer uniform still, but clean-shaven with his hair slicked back from his face, making his gold eyes even more prominent.

The vampire nodded to the man standing near the door at the other end of the room, and he exited. “Please sit down and join us, Claude.”

He remained just inside the room. “No…no. I was told they were here. I…”

“Daddy!” a little boy shrieked as he sprinted through the door where the man had disappeared. He jumped up into his father’s tight embrace, no fear whatsoever of not being caught. “Come see Mommy and Sasha. We have a huuuuuuge room with the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. Mommy says we can all stay there together.”

Claude approached the head of the table. “I don’t even know what to say. I never thought I’d see any of them again. Thank you.”

“Go be with your family. Thanks aren’t necessary. Just be ready to fight for Nikolai Itzov when the time comes.”

He set his son down. “Absolutely.” The little boy tugged him by the hand furiously toward the door. “How? How did you know where to find them? You can’t read Slayer’s minds.”

“I was captive at that fortress for quite a while. You have several friends among the shifter guards. They worry about your family. You must be a good man to warrant such concern. Go.”

Claude, eyes bright with unshed tears, allowed his son to lead him from the room.

Completely surprised, Elena returned to her seat. “Your important task was to get his family?”

“An elite force had already been dispatched to execute them all. ‘Big, Bad Vlad’ couldn’t let that happen.”

She smiled at the name she’d called him in her rant. “What is your name, really?”

“Oddly, my real name is Vladimir Dalca. Please call me Vlad.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“No, if I ever did such a thing as shitting someone, that is not what I’m doing right now.”

It was hard to believe such an act of kindness after the horrors she’d seen. He hadn’t even told Claude what he was doing. Maybe he was right and she needed to judge this world differently. But now that he’d returned, it was time to get back to business. “I need to go get Nik.”

“I know.”

“I don’t have a plan. I don’t think I’m strong or smart enough to do it without help.”

“You are highly intelligent, Elena Arcos. You simply are not familiar enough with our world to navigate it successfully yet.” He sat back in his chair considering her. “You have mentioned that you see visions of the future. What is the catalyst? Sex or blood?”

“Blood.”

“Well, that’s a relief in more ways than one.”

That made no sense at all.

He took her hand. Surprisingly, his was not cold like a corpse, just cooler than she was. He chuckled. “I do metabolize. My heart beats and pumps blood, albeit much more slowly than a human’s. The movies are all fictional.” He patted her hand.

“Now what?”

“Well, now you need a vision. I’m relieved it’s blood induced because although you are highly appealing, you are bound to another, and he’d kill me if he survives were we to have…an encounter, regardless of my intentions.”

“Yeah, besides, you’re old enough to be my great-great-grandfather.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “No. Nikolai is old enough to be your great-great-grandfather. I’m off the chart. And you are lucky to have a blood catalyst. Nothing kills the mood better than a doomsday vision.”

Now it was her turn to laugh. “So who do I bite? Let’s get this done.”

He nodded to the woman at the end of the table, and she approached. Elena looked into her warm, calm, brown eyes. No fear at all. “So, I got power from Nik, Ricardo, and Fee. What will I get now?”

“Only enough energy to teleport and hopefully a vision of what to do when you arrive.”

She stood, and the woman smiled, tipping her neck. It should have felt awkward or wrong, but it didn’t. She just detached herself emotionally and bit down. The woman was silent. Her blood almost tasteless. When Elena pulled away, there was no wild buzz of power like she’d had before, only a warm hum. She closed her eyes and waited for the vision. Nothing at first, then only two brief images: She was biting Vlad. And then she was studying a picture of the area where Nik was being held. Her eyes shot open and met his.

“I was afraid of this. Uzana as much as warned me—something about sharing Kool-Aid and not making you wacko.”