Chapter 97

“It’s so good to meet you formally,” she said, pulling her mask and hood down.

She looked just like the woman who had been in that photo, Candida, except her eyes were a dark brown. They were probably twins, but I didn’t ask.

Did that mean that twins ran in Candido’s family? My face heated at the thought of a pair of twins in my arms with his eyes and my hair. Would they be gold wolves too? I didn’t know, but the thought warmed me.

Vanessa smiled and wrapped her arms around me. “Candida would have loved you.”

She pulled back and cupped my face. “She’d have stuffed you full and probably ripped your father a new one, too, but she would have loved you.”

I almost laughed at the thought because it would be exactly what he deserved. It was comforting to think that Candido’s mother would have liked me. I didn’t know much about her, but she sounded like quite the character.

“If I can entrust you with one more mission?” Vanessa said with a wry smile and a glance at Candido. “Do not let ‘Dido give you any blood.”

Candido let out a frustrated sound. “Aunt Van’—”

“He has no sense of self-preservation,” she said primly. “He’s strained himself enough with all the fanfare and the running and the shifting these past few weeks. He should have still been on bedrest when you went careening over the edge of that cliff. Don’t let him fool you.”

“I am fine.”

She rolled her eyes. “Drinking coffee to stay awake is not the same as getting rest… It’s the exact opposite.”

Candido set his jaw, but he said nothing. It was as close to pouting as I knew he could get.

Vanessa turned back to me. “He needs rest, and maybe he’ll listen to his mate since he won’t listen to his aunt.”

I looked up at Candido, who looked absolutely unapologetic. It was kind of adorable seeing him like this. Candido never talked about his family. I didn’t know if he had a decent relationship with his brother or father before they were murdered or not, but now, I wanted to know.

I looked back at Vanessa. “I’ll do my best… could we speak to Claire first?”

Vanessa nodded and led us away from the room. The Blue Moon compound was large, and it reminded me a lot of the inside of the Estate. The columns and the motifs that ran along the crown molding and baseboards were all the same. I wondered if that had been intentional or just happenstance.

When we reached another door a few minutes later, Vanessa knocked. A few moments later, Claire opened the door.

Her eyes widened. Tears welled in my eyes, and I threw my arms around her. She squeezed me close. The past few weeks seemed to settle on me with an almost crushing weight, knocking the air out of me. Between finding out that she and Francium were mates and now felt like a lifetime.

I had barely been making my peace with her death when Vanessa had shown me the photo of Claire, alive and with Francium. I hadn’t realized how much despair had welled up in me at the thought that we’d never make brownies together or go to class together again.

But she was here and it wasn’t because I had been strong enough to save her, but because I had been angry enough, desperate enough, to take this crazy mission and wander into the New Moon’s capital alone.

“I’m… I’m really sorry, Claire. I should have been able to save you. I didn’t—” I choked on the words. I didn’t know how many times I would have to say it, but I didn’t think I would ever say it enough. “And after everything… I still don’t know what to say or how to make it right… I’m so sorry.”

“I tried to eat you,” Claire said with a little chuckle into my shoulder. “I think we’re more than even.”

I laughed and pulled back. Her lips twitched.

“I’m still a little fuzzy on everything that’s happened,” she frowned. “I remember… some things from before. And Francium. The pills, but there’s—” she gasped, and her eyes went wide. “My dad! My mom! Are they—”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Candido said, cutting her off. “Once you’re… stable.”

She winced but nodded. “Of course.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, “Stable?”

Claire’s lips twitched. “After I can go… more than an hour without feeding is what he means.”

“Preferably more than a few hours, but yes,” Candido said. “Your parents only know that… your body is missing and that the police are searching for it.”

She grimaced and shuddered. I took her head.

She shook her head. “It’s just a lot to come to terms with… being dead essentially, but not?”

Her lips twitched, and she tilted her head as she placed a hand on her chest. “I can… still feel my wolf instincts, but they feel far away.”

“It will get better,” Vanessa said easily. “Eventually, the Thirst will be softer, but until then…”

She nodded. “I understand. I don’t want to accidentally try to eat anyone.”

She grinned at me. “Even if they’d probably taste like chocolate.”

I wrinkled my nose. “That’s not funny.”

She grimaced. “Sorry… that was pretty grim, right?”

“A little,” I said and shrugged. “But… it’ll be funny one day.”

“I hope so,” she looked at Candido. “What should I do next?”

“Focus on getting stable,” Candido said. “There will be a lot of changes in Full Moon in light of everything.”

She frowned but nodded, dropping her gaze. “Will you… Will you execute me, Your Majesty?”

Candido reached out to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She seemed tense under his touch, but she didn’t pull away.

“You did not ask to be turned… nor was it your fault. You are still Allen’s daughter and the next Secretary of State of Full Moon in my eyes.”

Her eyes watered, and she nodded with a little trembling smile. “Thank you.”

I felt a bit of relief. If she were anyone else, there was a chance that Candido would have executed her, but I was glad that Candido would make an exception… Especially since there was so much about vampires that we might not know. I was pretty sure that they didn’t have a copy of the vampire book.

I wasn’t even sure how accurate any of the books were at this point. I didn’t have a reason to doubt it, but I felt like there was more to the history of werewolves and vampires than was ever officially recorded.

“You’ll need more rest,” Vanessa said, checking her watch. “And to feed. Blood will be brought to you soon.”

She grimaced. “Will I ever get to eat regular food again?”

“Of course,” Vanessa said. “The older you are, the more powerful you are, and the easier it will be to ignore hunger in favor of regular food.”

“We can make brownies,” I said.

Claire smiled and nodded. “That sounds great. I… can’t even remember the taste of brownies anymore.”

Someone came with a large cart piled with bags of blood, and Claire flushed as they pushed it into her room. Her eyes flashed with light as it rolled past. She went still, and her hands twitched, but her face was twisted with disgust.

“Will I… really need that much?” Claire asked, still staring at the bags of blood.

“From what we’ve heard from Hedy, you drank from a vampire prince,” Vanessa said. “And several vampires of varying ages, so yes.”

“Francium… said something about that…” Claire nodded and stepped back as her eyes flashed again. “Then I should… get to that and get some rest.”

She looked at me and grinned. “We’ll be partners in crime again soon, I promise.”

I nodded and hugged her again before letting her retreat into her room.

“Now that that’s done,” Vanessa waved us off. “You two can go get back in bed and rest yourselves.”

“What about Francium?” Candido asked. “Where is he?”

She scoffed. “He’s a fountain of information, forthcoming, apologetic, and young. It would hardly be fair to try to kill him, given his circumstances. We’ll wake you when we have enough information to make it worth it.”

“But—” I took Candido’s hand and yawned, leaning into him with a small pout.

“Can we go to bed?” I asked and rubbed my eyes. I felt him turn to me and start to cave. “I… I’d really like some rest and… I’d like you near.”

I looked up at him with big wide eyes.