Born in Chains (Men in Chains #1)(26)
Author: Caris Roane

Sebastien nodded. “The long black hooded robes have become his signature.”

“Yes, they have.”

Lily turned to glance at Adrien over her shoulder. “Silas again. What’s his main deal?”

“He keeps dozens of our young male vampires worked up about human intrusions into our world, while he profits from selling human drugs to vampire dealers in just about every system on earth. He’s one of my least favorite things, a complete hypocrite.”

“But I take it he wants more than just the profit from selling drugs.”

“Like Daniel, he’s after control.”

Lily shifted her gaze back to Sebastien. “Do you agree?”

Sebastien stepped back into the room. “Absolutely.” He sat down in a winged chair near tall bookshelves and settled his gaze on Adrien. “Just think about what I’ve said. If you embraced your Ancestral calling, you’d be able to make a difference, I know it.” He lifted a hand. “I won’t argue with you, not tonight. But please consider the possibility that there’s something else here.” He glanced from Adrien to Lily and back. “Fate has brought you to Lily and she to you.”

“I don’t believe in fate.” Adrien flared his nostrils, slinging his hands behind his back.

“Whether you believe it or not, I’m going to tell you a truth right now that I think you won’t want to hear.” He gestured to the chain at Adrien’s neck. “These blood-chains that you’ve got have very little to do with your drive toward Lily.”

“You’re wrong about that.”

Sebastien shook his head. “My wife and I donned blood-chains once, hoping to improve our marriage. All they did was increase the hostility we felt for each other. I almost died getting rid of the chains but would have preferred death to keeping them.”

“That can’t be true.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” But he smiled, if wearily.

Adrien backed down. “No. You always speak the truth.”

Lily met Adrien’s gaze. “But this can’t be true. I couldn’t possibly be experiencing these kinds of things on my own.” She whirled back to Sebastien. “You must be mistaken.”

“Sorry, the chains don’t lie or mislead.” He rose from his chair. “And now, I have a good friend to bury. I suggest you head north before Silas finds out about the vault.”

For a long moment, Adrien couldn’t move. His gaze was glued to Lily as he tried to process what Sebastien had just told him. What did his profound drive toward the human mean, then?

In the end, he made a choice to ignore Sebastien’s revelations, at least for the present. Besides, soon enough he’d come to the end of this line, then he and Lily could go their separate ways.

“You’re right, we should get going. And Sebastien, I’m sorry we can’t stay to help out with this.”

“My people are coming. I’m not alone. Try to gather the support you need and think about what I told you. You have an extraordinary lineage. If I had half your power and even a quarter of your natural ability, Adrien—my God, what I could have accomplished on behalf of our world.”

Adrien met and held his gaze, willing him to understand his thoughts. That the latent power he kept in check, those so-called natural abilities he possessed, belonged in hell and nowhere else.

He held his arm out to Lily. Accustomed to the drill, she stepped into him and slid an arm around his neck. This kind of proximity because of the way they had to travel wasn’t helping his profound desire for her, but it was still the best way of traveling with altered flight.

The moment she planted her foot on top of his, he inclined his head to Sebastien and put them both in motion, gliding upward and passing easily through the house and into the night air.

He’d half expected Lily to speak to him while traveling, to contact him telepathically and discuss what Sebastien had said. Instead she remained silent.

If what Sebastien had shared was accurate, then Adrien had to face a hard fact about his desire for Lily: He’d never experienced such a powerful reaction to a woman, any woman, in the entire course of his four centuries.

But what did it mean? He’d known dozens of women over the decades, and had loved two or three of them, but he’d never felt a desire for a deeper commitment. He held back of course, just as his brothers did, since they each feared and mistrusted their parentage. Yet when he reviewed his loves, they seemed mild in comparison with his reactions to Lily. Even before she’d come into the cave, he’d thought, She’s here. She’s mine. And that was well before he’d worn the blood-chain.

Are we in any danger, being airborne like this?

Finally, she spoke to his mind, addressing a subject he could respond to, but she wouldn’t like the answer. Because we’re traveling like slugs, yeah, we’re in danger. Hopefully, though, anyone watching for us would be checking the southern routes out of Paris.

In the direction of Lake Como and The Erotic Passage?

Yep. Rumy’s business is known to be a hotbed of information, any kind you could possibly want. Most of the club’s workers would have heard something about the weapon over the years.

Do you think anything in the vault will be of value?

Only one way to find out, but I need to prepare you for something else, Lily. No human has been allowed to visit the Trevayne system in a long time. I don’t know if Kiernan told you this, but a large number of our cavern systems don’t allow humans inside. Most interactions with your kind have ended badly for the vampire world.

You’re saying I won’t be welcomed.

Only an Ancestral like Sebastien could have given us access like this, so I’m asking that you be respectful despite how you feel about my kind.

Of course I will. I’m not a barbarian.

No, that you’re not. I apologize if I offended you.

Apology accepted.

* * *

Lily didn’t blame Adrien for not trusting her. If she’d been in his shoes she would have done and said the same kinds of things. After at least an hour of travel, and as he dropped down to earth, she glanced around and saw a barren rise of hills amid a fertile area, except that the air looked as it had on top of Sebastien’s roof, like it moved in waves.

Another disguise.

A stream flowed nearby and a chill filled the air. She wondered where the caves were and why vampires would still choose to live in caves when many, like Adrien, had apartments and homes.

She watched the stream, the trees on the opposite side. The wind flowed along the waterway.