“Who’s Leonardo?” I ask, feeling a tightening in my chest.
Draven swallows hard. “Lina’s husband. Simon’s father. He was working in the field, and I found him there. I attacked.” I cover my mouth as he casts his gaze to the ground and tells how he drank him dry. “I… I killed him. I couldn’t understand what had happened to me.”
My heart pumps at an alarming rate as he looks up at the heavens and screams his anguish at a God who abandoned him. “Lina found me over his body.” A tear glistens on his cheek. “I attacked her, sucking her blood but just before she was drained dry I came to my senses and stopped. But it was too late. It changed her. Into a savage like me.”
I can barely find my voice, witnessing the anguish on Draven’s face. “And Simon?”
“I changed him too,” he whispers. “I didn’t want Lina to live an eternity without her son.”
“And you want me to use my power to change them back.”
He nods, and my blood runs cold.
“But not you?”
“No. It will take eternity to pay back my sins,” he whispers.
I go to him, cradling his face in my palms. “Draven, none of that is your fault. You didn’t know. I’ll change them back, but you don’t deserve a life alone. You deserve a life full of all the wonders you can imagine.”
“Well, there’s one little problem,” Simon sneers. “I don’t want to be human.” His gaze lands on Draven, and for a moment, regret settles in his eyes. “So… I’ve made sure you can’t do that.”
I immediately recoil as Bogdan and a few men march toward me. Draven swoops out his arm, pushing me behind him. Rao is at the rear of the pack, and I grip Draven’s jacket when they step closer. All of them hold weapons, and I see the onyx-tipped arrows on the end of the crossbows in their hands.
“God at the family drama,” Bogdan says, filling up the entire space with his disdain.
“At least we have family,” I sass back.
“Let’s kill her,” Rao sneers, coming to stand next to Bogdan. “And then, let’s suck her dry.”
“Kill her?” Simon balks. “That’s not what you promised.”
Draven stiffens. “What did you do, Simon?”
Simon’s uncertain gaze bounces around the group of men back to Draven. “I… was tired of you bossing me around, treating me like I have no say in whether she makes me mortal. I’m over two centuries old. I’m not a child.”
Draven shakes his head. “I was protecting you. I’ve always looked out for you. You’re my family.”
“You were looking out for yourself. Your stupid council. For her.” Simon points at me. “I knew she’d do it for you, whether or not I wanted it. So when Rao said he had a way to stop her powers, I… set him free.”
“Fuck,” Draven mutters.
“Well, looks like Rao lied to you, fella,” Bogdan says. “You should really listen to your elders. It’s a hard lesson to learn, isn’t it? Not that I care about your mental well-being. I’m glad you’re so naive you believed it.” He aims his weapon at me, my forehead in the crosshairs of his arrow.
“Draven can’t save you now,” Rao says to me. “What? You think they wouldn’t turn me back into a vampire?”
“If I’m being honest, I don’t care.” I take a step back, hitting the tree trunk behind me. “It shows how stupid they were to turn you back.”
Rao’s eyes narrow. “Let me kill her,” he begs.
“No, we need her.” Bogdan tries to negotiate with him. “Don’t you see the value in what she can do?”
“Not really,” Rao sneers.
Rao bobs his head. “Stay back from her.” He looks at me like I’m a disgusting rat he never meant to touch. “I still think we should kill her. Cut the loose ends.”
“This ends tonight,” Draven says, low and so full of certainty a chill passes over me.
“Yes, it does.” Bogdan looks gleeful, like he can’t wait to rip Draven’s head off. I have no idea what Draven plans on doing to get us out of here when he’s outnumbered by these snakes waiting to strike, so I try to harness my power, call on the light, so I can battle the enemies all on my own.