“You’re part of this family, young lady, and your mother would never forgive me if I left you unprotected, especially now,” Mom told Lucy sternly.
“Yes, ma’am.” My mother was the only person on the planet who was able to get that meek tone out of Lucy. No one else would have even known it existed. I dropped into the chair next to her and stole a sip of her juice. I tried not to imagine what it would be like to drink blood instead. My stomach tilted.
“This is unacceptable,” Aunt Hyacinth fumed. “The Drake family has a good and honorable name. They’ve no right to do this. We’re on the council.”
“Let’s go straight to the Helios-Ra headquarters,” Quinn added, his expression hard. “I can clear this up.”
“As if your temper has ever helped us.” Logan snorted.
“Careful, little brother.”
They were all talking over each other until my mother cleared her throat.
“Boys.”
Silence fell, reluctantly but quickly. Dad switched off his phone. There were lines around his mouth I’d never seen before. “The boy was right. Bounty’s been set.” Mom cursed. “Why?” she asked.
“That may take a while to figure out. There’ve been a few disappearances, rumors that don’t make sense. I’ve got people on it.” He leaned down on the counter, his fists clenched. “I’ve put a call in to Hart and to Lady Natasha.”
“Natasha?” Aunt Hyacinth frowned. “Is that wise? She exiled us all.”
“I know.” Hart was the head of the Helios-Ra and not a fan of Lady Natasha. “Until we know more, no one leaves this property alone. Solange, you don’t leave at all.”
“Why am I the only one under house arrest? That’s so unfair.”
“Solange, you know why.”
“I know how to take care of myself.” I gritted my teeth.
“Yes, you do. But you know as well as I do that you’re not at your full strength.”
“But I feel fine.” I was so tired of saying it over and over again. I already felt trapped, smothered. I’d chew off my own foot like an animal caught in a leg trap if they didn’t give me some space.
“Sol,” Nicholas said softly. “Please.”
I hissed out a frustrated breath. When I looked at my mom, I made sure my chin was up, my gaze steady. “I still get to go to my shed.” If they tried to keep me from the kiln and my pottery wheel, I’d be insane by my birthday. Mom must have seen my desperation.
“Agreed.”
I let out another breath. “Okay.”
Dad’s phone rang again. He listened quietly before motioning to Sebastian and Connor. “Your uncle Geoffrey is on his way. And your aunt Ruby’s arriving; go on and help her inside.” The fact that Ruby had been persuaded to leave her house for ours spoke volumes as to the seriousness of the situation. Dad touched Mom’s hand, his mouth tight. “We’ll figure this out,” he promised before sending us all up to our respective bedrooms.
“Are you okay?” Lucy asked me as we got ready for bed. She started by taking off the pounds of silver jewelry she always wore—proving that it’s only a myth that vampires can’t tolerate silver.
“I’m fine, it’s everyone else who’s losing it,” I muttered.
She snorted. “Big surprise. You’re the baby sister and you know how your brothers get.”
I rolled my eyes. “What’s it like being an only child?”
“How would I know? Your brothers harass me just as much as they harass you.”
“True.”
Lucy waited until we’d changed into our pajamas before speaking again. She wore a long black cotton nightgown that looked like a sundress, and I wore my favorite flannel pj bottoms and a T-shirt. Out of the two of us, she always looked like the one who should be turning into a vampire. I sighed.
“Sol,” she said. “I never saw Nicholas’s bloodchange, or Logan’s. I was banned from the house, remember?”
“I remember,” I said softly. I hadn’t been kicked out of the house, but I certainly hadn’t been welcomed on the third floor, where all my brothers slept. I’d heard the unnatural silence and seen my parents’ pale, worried faces as they took shifts sitting with Logan and then Nicholas the next year. With my other brothers I’d been too young to really know what was happening, and my parents had sent me off for slumber parties at Lucy’s. Her mother had fussed over me and fed me chocolate, which made Lucy cranky since she only ever got to eat carob. I hadn’t really understood it then.
I understood it now.
“So . . . what really happens?” Lucy pressed. “I know you get sick, but is it as bad as all that?”
It really was.
“No, it’s fine,” I lied as we climbed into our respective beds. “I mean, it’s not fun or anything, but you know the Drakes. We love a good overprotective melodrama.” Yup, totally lying.
And I could tell Lucy wasn’t really buying it. She opened her mouth to ask me another question. A soft knock at the door interrupted her. She shot me a glare like I’d orchestrated it.
“Sol, it’s me,” Nicholas murmured from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?”
“Sure,” I said as Lucy sat up suddenly and smoothed her hair. I blinked at her.
Since when did she care what she looked like for any of my brothers? The door didn’t make a sound on its hinges as Nicholas slipped inside. He was wearing his black pants but no shirt, like he’d been interrupted changing. Clearly something was up.