Revelations (Belle Morte Book 2)

Chapter Three

Renie

It didn't take me long to find my way out of the north wing – all I had to do was follow the faint sound of heartbeats.

I hardly cut an imposing figure in my black pyjamas, but the two donors I encountered pressed themselves against the wall as I stormed past, staring at me with huge eyes and open mouths. I didn't know what rumours were flying around about Edmond and me. I didn't know if anyone actually knew what had happened, though I suspected they did, judging by the stares of those donors. I was an anomaly in this House, something that should never have happened, and I could only imagine what everyone was saying about me. But I didn't care.

I sharply rounded a corner and a young donor coming from the opposite direction almost walked into me. Her eyes widened and she took an involuntary step backwards. Her heartbeat was a hammering noise in my ears, inviting my eyes to the shape of her throat, the veins that ran beneath her skin. With a jolt of horror, I realised I was thirsty. I wanted to bite this girl – bite her and drink her blood.

She shrank back even more, and I wondered what I looked like to her. Were my eyes glowing red? Could she see my fangs? It was safe to say I hadn't mastered the art of vampire inscrutability yet, so the donor would be able to see how angry I was.

I wanted to snap at her not to look at me like that. Since I was a pretty girl, I was no stranger to being stared at, but this was different. I didn't like being looked at like I was some sort of freak. I didn't like that as the girl's heart beat faster, the scent of her blood filled the air, tempting me.

Pushing past her, I hurried down the corridor. Was this how it would always be? Would I feel that temptation every time I was around a human being? Or would the urge to bite and drink fade with time?

When I reached Ysanne's office, I didn't knock like I usually did. Instead I marched straight in.

There'd been no guarantee she would even be here, and I was relieved to see her sitting behind her polished black desk. I don't know what I'd have done if she hadn't been there. I would still have looked for her, but the anger would have built and built inside until it choked me.

Ysanne lifted one blonde eyebrow as she saw me, the only sign that I had caught her by surprise. Considering how impassive she usually was, the lifted eyebrow was probably the Ysanne equivalent of jumping out of her skin. I couldn't help a tiny glimmer of satisfaction that she couldn't hear my heartbeat anymore, and therefore wouldn't know when I was coming.

"Renie. To what do I owe this pleasure?" The weary note in her voice suggested she knew exactly why I was here.

"You're punishing Edmond for saving my life?" I said, my voice trembling.

"No, I am punishing him for breaking the rules," Ysanne said.

Was that how she saw the world? As rules to be upheld? Was there no room for compassion or humanity?

"The turning of humans is a very serious offence. When the Council banded together to create the donor system as you know it, we agreed that creating new vampires would be an emergency-only situation," Ysanne said.

"It was an emergency. I was dying!"

Ysanne simply looked at me. "To vampires who have lived hundreds of years, and to the fragile balance that exists between humans and vampires, the life of a single human girl is not worth much."

She rose to her feet, placing her palms flat on the desktop. I had experienced firsthand the power in those pale, elegant hands. Ysanne hadn't held back from hurting me when I had been human, and there was nothing to suggest she would hold back now I was capable of weathering more serious damage. Maybe I should tread carefully, but it was hard to think clearly through the rage and desperation clouding my brain.