“There is a cure, and somehow, even you, know about it?”
Rath looks around again. “Even Cyrus knows about it. Though he’s forbidden its further use.”
I blink again, shaking my head.
“There’s a lot of history here, Sevan,” Rath says. “You may not want all the answers to your current questions. It’s safer for a lot of people you may someday come to care about if you don’t know everything. But there is a cure, and I’m sure it’s what you want for your brother right now.”
“Yes!” I say, getting annoyed. “Yes, it’s what I want. Obviously!”
Rath lets out a slow little breath through his nose and looks away from me. “I hope you want it bad enough to go where you must to obtain it.”
My blood chills as I think of the possibilities. But I know, I’d go anywhere to get my brother this cure. “Where?”
Rath looks back and meets my eyes, and I see it in his own: he’s not exactly thrilled about it either. “The House of Conrath.”
Chapter 7
It’s a twenty-two hour drive from The Strip to Silent Bend, Mississippi.
It’s a long-ass drive. But not near freaking long enough.
The moment it is dark outside, Rath and I load Eshan into the backseat of Cyrus’ convertible. The House of Valdez packs our bags in the trunk, and say good riddance.
I take Eshan’s phone and text our parents, pretending to be him. I make up some story about going to meet some girl he met online. I apologize for worrying them, but promise I’m safe and that I’ll be back in a few days.
I didn’t know if it’s true. But it’s something.
After the message sends, I shut his phone off completely so they can’t call or track him.
What a freaking mess.
We take off into the night, with nine hours until Eshan will wake up.
I grip the steering wheel as we drive, rocketing through the night on a cross-country trip.
We could have flown. We could have chartered a private jet and arrived in Mississippi before Eshan even woke up and could cause a problem.
But I’m about to meet my birth mother for the first time. I’m about to look the woman who toyed with Cyrus’ heart in the eye for the first time. I’m about to face this family Cyrus has told me so much and so little about.
And I’m not freaking ready.
I would have delayed this day for weeks. Months. Maybe even years.
But for Eshan, for my baby brother, I’ll face one of my greatest fears.
“I think you should call her,” I say as we cross the border of Arizona into New Mexico. “I wouldn’t want this sprung on me. She deserves to have a little bit of time to prepare.”
I look over at Rath. He’s always so serious. Right now is no different.
He pulls out his cell phone and clicks on a name. He holds it up to his ear, and waits as it rings.
“Rath?” a female voice answers. She sounds panicked. “Holy hell, it’s been forever since you checked in. I almost sent Anna to come looking for you. Is everything alright?”
“It is, Alivia,” he says, and his eyes slide over to mine.
Goosebumps wash over my skin.
That’s her. I can hear her voice.
My birth mother.
“Things have indeed happened over the past month,” Rath continues. “Nothing went as planned. I…” he hesitates. “I failed you, Alivia. And your worst fear, indeed, came to pass.”
“She is…” I hear Alivia trail off. I even hear her swallow once. “I always knew, but… Was it Cyrus? Did he find her?”
My heart cracks. Because the fear and concern I hear in Alivia Ryan Conrath’s voice is so genuine. I think back on all the things Cyrus has said about her, all the bad things I’ve heard. But what she says…
It’s how I imagine my mom sounding.
“Yes,” Rath confirms for Alivia. “But he has returned to Roter Himmel.”
I hear a soft cry come through on the phone. She doesn’t say anything.
“Alivia, Logan is with me,” Rath moves on. “Her adopted brother was turned. He needs the cure. We’re on our way to Silent Bend now.”
Silence. We’re met with absolute silence.
The sound of a breath. Quietly, as if from farther away, I hear a male voice. “Alivia?” it asks with concern.
“How soon will you get here?” she finally finds her voice.
Rath looks out at the dark road ahead of us. “We’re driving. We were in Las Vegas, at the House of Valdez. We will drive straight through the nights. So it should be two nights from now.”
Another long moment of silence. And then a little huff of a laugh. “After all this time. I’m going to meet her in two days?”
I feel it more than see it. The little smile that forms on Rath’s lips. “After all this time.”
Another breathy laugh comes through the phone. “How…how much of the family do you think she wants to meet?”
Rath looks over at me, and I’m pretty sure all of my internal organs disappear. I keep my eyes fixed on the road ahead of us.
I consider that for a moment. How much of the family? What does that mean? She’s my mother. That’s all there is.
But that’s not true. Cyrus has talked about my cousin. And her mother. And there’s my mother’s husband.
It’s something you should know about the House of Conrath. We’re a family here in the House of Valdez. But not like they are. They’re family. The loyalty in that House? I’ve never seen anything quite like it. They’ve died for each other. They’d do it again. All of them.
I take a deep breath. I lift my chin just a little. “Might as well get it all over with in one go,” I say quietly.
Rath does another one of those smiles that is barely even there. “All of them,” he responds to Alivia.
Chapter 8
We roll into Albuquerque just before the sun begins to rise. Rath checks into a hotel, getting two rooms. When he returns with keys, we park around back and I carry Eshan into one of the two.
“I can stay,” Rath says as he hesitates in the door, looking down at my brother on one of the two beds.
I shake my head. “You smell too human,” I say. “Things might be…different between us, but I won’t risk him hurting you. Let me deal with him until dark.”
Rath meets my eyes, and I can see he wants to argue. But he just nods.
He reaches into his pocket and removes another one of those darts. “If he gets too difficult to handle, you can use another one of these. I have just one more. It won’t cover our entire journey back, but it will help.”
I take it, careful not to prick myself. “Thank you. I can manage.”
He gives a little nod, and walks out the door, to the next room over.
Almost as if on cue, the moment I close and lock the door, Eshan’s right foot twitches.
I cross to the insulated bag lying next to the door. The House of Valdez gave me a cooler with six bags of donated blood before we left. I pull one out now.
I sit on the edge of the bed, looking down at my brother. His eyelids twitch once. His hand curls into a little fist.
And with a gasp, he sits up, his yellow eyes flying open. His fangs lengthen, and he goes to leap out of the bed.
I slam my hand against his chest, pushing him back down. I shove the blood bag toward him. One sniff, and he can smell what it is. His instincts take over, and he bites into it. He sucks hard, his eyes sliding closed and a little moan draws over his lips.
A streak of blood slips down his chin.
I watch him as he drinks. I try not to feel sick. I try to keep the horror from my face. I try to remember that I’ve dealt with this before, on dozens of occasions.
But all I can see is my baby brother drinking human blood.
When he’s sucked it dry, he flops back on the bed, dropping the blood bag. His motions are very slow. He wipes at the blood on his chin, looking at it smeared on his fingers.
His hand shakes.
“Eshan,” I say quietly.
As if he forgot or didn’t realize I was here, he startles, his eyes jerking to me. He scrambles back, curling in on himself against the headboard.
“Lo…Logan?” he says, eyeing me with fear. “What’s going on? What happened to me? To you?”