Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 29

 Anna was shocked that Rhys did not drive to a run-down motel outside of the city like he normally does. Instead, he drove up to the front of a fancy hotel. He made Drew get out with him, and they went inside to get a couple of rooms. Calvin excused himself from the cramped car so that he could smoke a cigarette.

Once they were in the car alone, Huxley tapped Anna's shoulder. She turned in her seat to face Huxley.

"What the hell was that?" Huxley asked.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Don't act all coy," he said. "You want to fight the Nightingales? Number one: you have only been a vampire for two weeks. Number two: you are a Nightingale. I think you are forgetting about that. Especially number two!"

"I know." Anna sighed. "I guess my views on things have shifted."

"I don't think you realize how hard this may be on you. Rhys is afraid of you being killed, but I do not think that is your biggest worry. What if you come face-to-face with Jonathan? What if you are the one who has to kill him? Do you think you are prepared for that?"

She did not want her brother to die, but she did not want any of this to be happening to her.

"I just have to think about what Jonathan would do if he discovered I was a vampire," Anna said. "He would kill me. We were never close but our relationship will never be the same again."

"You have to tell Rhys you're a Nightingale," Huxley said. "He's going to find out."

"I will," she said. "I just have to find the perfect opportunity."

"And what if that never comes? You know, Rhys is not the easiest to talk to. I don't think you'll be able to casually slip that into a conversation. He will be mad the longer you keep it from him-"

Anna shook her head. She could not listen to Huxley. She knew he was right, and she wanted to get the topic off of her.

"How come you never told me about Lucia before?" Anna asked.

Huxley's eyes grew wide and he leaned back. He was clearly shocked by her question. Anna bit down on her lip and regretted asking.

"How do you know about Lucia?" Huxley asked.

"Rhys was telling me a bit about Hannah and he mentioned her."

Huxley closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked out the window, hoping that Rhys and Drew would be coming out with the hotel keys, but they were still in the lobby.

"I did not know what I was doing when I started drinking Lucia's blood," he said. "Hannah tried to save me, but unfortunately she did it right before an explosion. It killed both of us. Lucia enslaved me, so becoming a vampire was sorta relieving. It cleared my mind."

"You are glad you became a vampire?" Anna asked.

"The eternal life thing I'm not crazy about, but it is nice to not be completely ruled by someone."

"Why would Rhys try to do that to me then?"

Huxley furrowed his brows and shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Rhys was feeding me his blood," she said. "He told me that a newborn vampire can survive off of vampire blood for a week."

"That's not true," he said. "I don't know why he would tell you that."

Anna's heart sunk in her chest. She had been toppled over in pain, and Rhys was providing her with relief. She only did it because she did not want to kill anyone. If she knew it would make her obedient she would have stayed in pain.