by Alexia Purdy
The bed felt amazing, but my head was making it impossible to sleep. Rye had left me to rest after he’d brought me back to the sleeping quarters. I begged him to stay but he had refused, stating that he had some loose ends to tie up before resting. I let him go only after he told me exactly what Seraphin had meant by giving me blood. He was so reluctant that I almost had to rip it out of him, telling him that he would have to deal with me no matter where he went. He had rubbed his tired face, sighing as he sank onto the bed beside me.
“She’s right, April. They discovered this in the enemy hive. If blood is introduced to you or anyone from your family, you become stronger. A super human. You would have a vampire’s strengths but none of our weaknesses; you’d also be much more powerful than we could ever be….”
“Wait, what?” I stuttered, interrupting his words. No, no way.
“It’s true. There are no true humans left, only us hybrids, the wildling vampires and you, a type of super human and vampire hybrid. You don’t need blood to survive but if you do have it, you’ll become immensely strong and powerful, capable of killing a hybrid without breaking a sweat.” He stood up then, looking extremely concerned as he turned to walk away but he hesitated, making me feel breathless.
I had nothing to say to that. Was that what they had been doing with my mother’s and brother’s blood, finding out all about them and their uniqueness? Blood made us a rare breed indeed. But what if the hybrids fed off our blood? Would it help make them more powerful? I asked Rye this before he stepped out into the walkway toward the door.
He shook his head, shrugging. He seemed frustrated that he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer me. He didn’t seem to know. I had wanted to ask him what would happen to a feral that drank my blood but he had also seemed uneasy to answer that. If a vampire had my blood, it could mean a dozen things. It could make them just as powerful as me or be as useless as a placebo to them. Who knew? I was hoping the rival hive didn’t know or wasn’t planning on finding out.
I felt suddenly anxious to get going to save my family. Time was running out. It had taken so long to get this far. I prayed they were still okay, that they had been left plenty alone and not tampered with. If they had been, what would I find? What could I do about it? I was definitely not sure and decided to try not to think about it. Tomorrow I would confront it; tomorrow everything would be known.
But tonight, I had to rest, even though my mind was having none of that with the millions of questions running through it. I wanted it to be over; I wanted the normal life I had always thought I would have, a life of college, parties and homework. It didn’t seem like so much to ask for yet here I was, without any of them and without any hope for the future but a bleak darkness that enveloped everything it touched.
Rye had left without saying goodbye, uncertain as to what else to say. Might as well be that way, for I had nothing else to say either. I awaited the daylight like never before as I pulled the soft blanket up to my chin and curled onto my side, the pillow under my neck and over my arm. The texture of the wall was looking far more interesting than anything else. Closing my eyes, I willed the sleep to come. I had lost count of the days without my family. I had lost the time so easily, never noticing how it had flown by without a glance. I would make sure my family was safe and rescued tomorrow. If it took drinking a vat of blood, so be it. There was nothing left for me to fear now and I was done being nice. It was time to get to know myself better. How else could I really know? What would it possibly do?
If I was human, it would do nothing to me, maybe cause my stomach to churn and make me sick. Otherwise, if what Seraphin had said was true, maybe it would be the edge I needed to win this, maybe it would be the difference we needed to overtake the hive and find my family that much faster. In the morning, I would ask Rye for blood; I would drink it and see if it did anything. If it went well, I would be that much closer to my family. If not, I wasn’t opposed to puking it right back up.
My eyelids fluttered, growing heavy like weights had been sewn onto them as I fought to stay awake. It was late and I would have only a few hours of sleep at this rate if I didn’t stop my mind from racing. I let my eyelids close, savoring the darkness as it slipped into my mind and beckoned me to rest. Yes, I could rest. There was a chance the next sunrise would be my last. So, for the time being, I rested.
Chapter Twenty-Four