Roman rubbed his chin while Greggor rolled his shoulder. Damn, but the girl knew how to fight. Strong too. Stronger than any new turn should be. It had to be the ravager's blood. It magnified her magic as well. She'd nearly killed them all with the massive earthquake and windstorm. She won no favors with that little display, either. Terrified didn't even begin to describe his people right now. They wanted her dead.

He wouldn't kill her. Not yet.

"Well, that went well."

Biggest understatement ever. Neither of them thought she'd try to kill herself after finding out about the ravager blood coursing through her. She'd been very precise too. It made him wonder if she'd ever tried something like that before. Not many people knew to slice up the vein instead of across it.

"We need to make sure she's not left alone. Another repeat performance and she won't survive."

"Who do you trust to watch her?" Greggor groaned a bit when his shoulder finally shifted in place. Roman bit back a grin remembering how Greggor had gone flying through the air with just a small push from the girl.

"You and Lucern. Keep Delia away at all costs." His sister would do anything necessary to protect her people from a perceived threat. The girl fit the bill.

"Roman, even if she's not dangerous...she might not be willing to help us. What then?"

He cracked his knuckles. The question was one of many that steamrolled his thoughts since the moment he'd seen her running from the ravagers. He admired her bravery. Her beauty haunted him. She'd gotten under his skin a bit, truth be told. Not something he'd admit to anyone, but there it was. The thought of putting her down unsettled him.

Greggor was right. He couldn't force her to help him gain back his rightful place as heir to the throne of the vampire clans. His uncle collected power, enough to keep Roman from attacking outright. With the girl's power magnified, he stood a shot of getting close to the bastard. If she refused...not an option.

"I'm her ruler. She'll do as she's told." He hoped.

Greggor barked out a laugh. "Like that worked? She's more likely to kick a puppy than be ordered around by you."

The baleful look Roman tossed his brother's way would have sent most men running, but Greggor only laughed. It irked Roman that the man was right. She'd told him exactly what she thought of his commands. No one dared disobey him. Except this slip of a girl. He respected her for it. It took guts to stand up to him. Not that he'd admit that out loud.

"You might try being nice to her instead of acting like the Lord of the Castle."

"Why would I do that? I'm not nice."

"God's truth, that."

Roman shoved his brother, careful to keep from hurting his shoulder.

"I'm serious, Roman. If you want her to help us, she needs to trust us, to feel like she has a reason to help us." Greggor bent down and added another log to the fire. "Her world just collapsed around her, everything she loved destroyed. Her family tossed her to the bloodsuckers, monsters. Can you imagine how abandoned she must feel? All I'm saying is show her that won't happen here. Give her a reason to fight for us."

"And how am I supposed to do that when most everyone outside this tent wants her dead?"

"Not my problem." Greggor stuck his hands in his pocket, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "You're the Chieftain. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Out!" Roman pointed to the entrance. Any more lip from Greggor and he'd beat his ass.

Greggor walked away, his laughter trailing behind him.

Once alone, Roman sat. Exhaustion crawled through him. The need to feed ate at him after giving the girl so much blood, but he ignored it. He rolled his head, trying to ease some of the tension in his neck. It had been a long few days. His gaze traveled to the girl. She murmured in her sleep, restless. She looked so young, so helpless. As hard as he'd been on her, he felt for her plight. It wasn't an easy thing to wake up to. His parents hadn't tossed him to the wolves, but they'd been taken from him just the same. They had the loss of their parents in common in an unorthodox, roundabout way.

How was he supposed to get her to trust him? Roman wasn't a nice person. He couldn't afford to be. He loved his family and showed them the best way he knew how, but nice? Greggor must be daft to suggest such a thing. Not that he couldn't be nice, but in order to keep the peace he needed to show his people he wasn't weak. Nice equaled weak. A lesson he learned the night his family died and one he wouldn't soon forget.

This girl felt like a gift dropped into his lap. He couldn't get near his uncle. The man surrounded himself with guards. Elite forces trained in the arcane. Roman had searched extensively, but a person gifted in magic wasn't that easy to find anymore. Magic seemed to be dying out in their sector for reasons unknown. Except in this girl. He'd never seen anyone take command of the earth like she had.

But how to get her on his side?

He stretched out on the ground and rolled over so he could watch her. At least she hadn't woken up insane as he'd feared. The ravager blood was a wildcard. Roman had been half afraid she'd wake up trying to kill anything and everything in her line of sight. Thankfully, she'd been like any other normal turn. Confused and scared, but not manic. Once his people saw she posed no danger, he hoped they'd accept her. He needed them to make her feel like a part of the clan or he had no hope of succeeding.

She moaned in her sleep, and he found himself staring at her. She'd been beautiful before, but now she looked ethereal. So beautiful it was scary. When he'd held her earlier, he'd wanted to bring her back to camp instead of returning her to her father. The inclination had nothing to do with her gifts, but everything to do with her. She'd struck a chord in him he'd never felt before. Roman found himself wanting to protect her, to make sure she was safe. It was part of what drove him now. Yes, her ability to help reclaim his throne played a part in keeping her alive, but it also had everything to do with the way she made him feel. These feelings unsettled him.

Truth be told, he should kill her now, because of how he felt. Emotions derailed plans. He yawned. He'd think about killing her tomorrow. After a few hours of sleep, he'd be thinking more clearly.

***

Katyia came awake slowly, her senses lulled by the cocoon of heat surrounding her. Her body ached everywhere. The urge to stretch stirred, but honestly, she was just too tired to move. Hunger gnawed at her belly. How long ago had she eaten? Yesterday morning? She'd gone to her friend's, but left before lunch. She'd needed to get home and changed for her mother's ball. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, or tried to. Her hands were pretty much unmovable. What? Katyia tried to sit up, but the arms wrapped around her prevented any movement. A leg thrown haphazardly over hers stifled any attempt to move.

Where was she and who was this person? Her brain scrambled to remember yesterday, but it seemed to only want to focus on her hunger. It growled, and the need to eat clawed at her throat. A salty, sweet smell hit her nose and she breathed deeply. It smelled delicious and she was so very hungry. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and she sucked in a breath, hissing at the unexpected pain. She let her tongue rove over her teeth and found two very sharp, elongated teeth protruding.

Memories from yesterday bombarded her. She remembered the ravager attack, the barbarians who took her home, and her mother...her mother had sent her to the monsters. Olivia had her minions incapacitate her and deliver her to the vampires. Katyia had seen Olivia's true colors, seen how much she resented—no how much she hated Katyia. A single tear slipped free, trailing down her cheek and onto the shoulder beneath her. How could Olivia do this to her? But then how could her father do it? She'd thought last night her father had sent her here, but that wasn't the case.

While Ivan hadn't been the one to do the actual deed, he wasn't exactly innocent either. He condoned it by declaring to their people the act had been approved by him. He hadn't come to see her, to explain, to apologize, to promise vengeance for what Oliva had done. Instead, he'd taken the coward's way out and gone along with it. Weak. That was what the brute had called her father. She'd defended him, but his actions proved her wrong. He was weak. He'd proven it by allowing his treacherous wife's actions to go unpunished.

Ivan might be weak, but Katyia wasn't. If it was the last thing she did, Olivia would pay.

Her stomach cramped again, this time so hard it made her gasp. She needed food in a bad way. That salty scent wafted up again and she turned her head, following it. Warm skin met her nose and her tongue darted out, licking the flesh. Flavors, so many flavors...she couldn't identify them all, but she needed...she needed...

She found herself flipped over, her hands pinned above her faster than she could blink. Icy blue eyes met her startled ones. The brute. Her eyes narrowed. The man was such a bully. "Let me go."

His nostrils flared. "Not likely, little one. I need to make sure you will not harm yourself."

Harm herself? What was he going on about now? "Why would you think that?"

"You don't remember last night?"

His voice sounded rough with sleep and sent shivers racing along her skin. Last night? She frowned, thinking. The memory hit her with the strength of one of her brother's punches during her training sessions. The ravager...her turning. She had ravager blood in her. Her breathing sped up, the panic creeping back in. She'd tried to kill herself last night. That much she remembered, but they hadn't let her die. How could they not honor her wishes?

"Calm yourself." The harsh command brought her focus back to the man on top of her, forcing the panic back a little. "You need to stay calm."

How could he tell her to calm down? Didn't he realize what this meant? Those things, they were a part of her now. How could she survive that knowledge? The monsters who'd brutally murdered her family? Who'd murdered so many people over the years. How could he expect her to take news like that calmly?

"I know it's a shock, but you have to control your fear." He leaned down, his face coming closer. His scent hit her again and she shuddered as hunger rolled through her. He smelled like food, and the thirst drove the panic away. She tried to move, to get closer, but he shook his head. Katyia hissed at him, her teeth bared. Food. Hunger drove her. She bucked, nearly throwing him off.

Katyia's eyes drifted to the beating pulse near the base of his neck where it met the shoulder. That wonderful scent seemed to be stronger there. She wanted to taste it, to run her tongue over it, feel the rapid beat against her lips...to sink her teeth into it...what? She shook her head, shocked and a little disgusted. What was happening to her?

"Be still." The brute shifted, his grip on her hands tightening. "You're hungry, I know, but I am not food."

It took a moment for his words to sink in. She was a vampire now. She had to drink blood from the living. Vampires were dead, weren't they?

Monster. The word kept running through her head like the lyrics of a bad song that wouldn't go away. They'd turned her into a monster who survived off the death of others. She felt like crying, like screaming, but she stayed silent. Feeling sorry for herself wouldn't help her right now. Her death meant the lives of so many others. She had to find a way to get him to leave, so she could finish what she started last night. There was no way she would live like this, with the blood of two monsters running through her, turning her into an abomination.

Footsteps sounded outside, and then bright light blinded her, but it was the smell that came in with the wind that made her buck up, throwing the brute off her and lunging. Her hands wrapped around something warm, but the scent of fear pulled a snarl from her as her teeth sank into the flesh, tearing and ripping, needing to taste the intoxicating concoction. She sighed when the blood spilled into her mouth, blanketing her tongue. It was so wonderful. Her stomach growled its approval as she drank, ignoring the hands trying to pry her away from this delicacy.

The sticky sweetness bathed her throat, easing the burning ache she'd woken with. The headiness of the rich liquid sent her into spasms of pleasure. Nothing had ever tasted so good...and then it was gone. She opened her mouth, noises akin to a dog growling over his bone erupting from her. How dared they?

"What were you thinking, bringing her someone with the sweet sickness in their blood?" the brute roared, his words finally making it through her bloodlust. Her eyes snapped to the man on the ground. He lay there, white and unmoving, a massive gash on the side of his neck. Blood trickled out of the wound, staining the white shirt he wore.

Nausea rose up. She'd done that to him? She'd attacked him, killed him? Oh God, oh God, oh God. The brute's arms tightened. She needed to go, to leave, to run, to...die. She refused to spend a lifetime killing others to survive herself. Monster. She was not a monster.

"Calm yourself," he demanded as the man was picked up and carried out.

"I killed him!" Her voice sounded hysterical even to her.

"Nay, he's not dead...yet."

"But..."

"He's nearly dead," the brute clarified. "He'll be healed in moments."

"By turning him?" she snarled, angry that she'd been the one to force this life on someone else.

"No. Our blood heals as well."

"Heals?" What was he going on about? Vampires were not creatures who healed. They took lives.

"Yes." His voice rumbled through her as he spoke. "We will give him just enough blood to stop him from dying. He'll wake up in a few days, a little more than when he went to sleep. The effects of our blood take some time to wear off."

"I...I didn't know you could do that." Confusion made her hesitant. Maybe she didn't have to kill anyone.

"Your bloodlust is stronger than any new turn I've seen, stronger than any vampire I've come across. The ravager blood has made it thus, I think. We need to teach you to control it."

Bloodlust. He's said something about that last night to Gavin. "What is this bloodlust?"

"If I let you go, will you stay calm?" He sounded unsure this time. Fear tinged his scent. Was the brute afraid of her? Or afraid she'd try to harm herself again?

"I'm not going to try to commit suicide, if that's what you're thinking." At least not where they could stop her.

He released her, but his body remained tense, ready to tackle her if necessary. "Sit by the fire." Once she complied, he walked to the opening of the tent and spoke with someone. Food? He'd said something about food. Her gaze swept the bloody spot on the floor and she grimaced. She didn't need to do that again any time soon.

The brute sat, close enough to her that she couldn't leap to freedom, but still managed to keep his distance. He regarded her with hooded eyes.

"Why did you stop me last night?" she asked, her voice low.

"Why did you try to harm yourself?" he countered.

"Ravagers." The word didn't come easily. "You said I'm part ravager."

"Yes, we suspected the blood bonded to your DNA as our virus mutated it. We weren't sure until you woke up."

"What made you think...?"

"You are ten times stronger than a new turn, and your magic almost ripped this camp apart when you found out about the bonding. And your bloodlust." He paused, listening. Another pair of footsteps reached her ears. Only one this time.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Greggor stepped in, flourishing a tray of food, which he set in front of her. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I brought several things."

Katyia glanced between the two men. They were so different. Not just in looks, but demeanor as well. Greggor seemed boyish, charming. The brute was all hard stone, unforgiving. The two were friends, of that she was sure. How anyone could tolerate the brute was beyond her, though.

"Thank you." She managed to remember her manners. Her grandmother would have a fit if she thought Katyia was ignoring her upbringing, even in this situation. Strange how thoughts like that swam to the surface, when the mind was being tortured by so much.

"How is my brother treating you this morning?" Greggor handed another plate to the brute, took one for himself, and sat across from her.

His brother? The shock must have shown on her face, because he laughed. "Yes, he's my brother. I'm Greggor, this is Roman, and you are?"

"Katyia." She looked down at the plate and picked up a slice of bacon. He'd brought her eggs, bacon, and some fruit as well as a chunk of bread. "My name is Katyia."

Greggor smiled. "Well, Katyia, it is nice to know your name at last."

The brute grunted. She saw him pick up his plate out of the corner of her eye. Roman. The name suited him. She thought of the Roman soldiers of old, stoic, hard, unforgiving. Yes, the name suited the man.

She sniffed the bacon. The smell hadn't changed, so she took a small bite. The wonderful taste of bacon tantalized her tongue. She shoved the whole piece in her mouth, starving. Who knew vampires ate real food?

"Slow down," Roman barked at her. "You'll be sick."

She shot him a disdainful look and gobbled another piece. Bacon was her one weakness. Get near her bacon, and people could lose a hand.

"I bet you're full of questions." Greggor sipped at the flask he held.

She nodded, swallowing. He handed her his flask. Water. She drank greedily, not caring if it was bad manners or not. She couldn't shake this thirsty feeling.

"Thirsty much?" Greggor's brow raced toward his hairline.

"It's her bloodlust." Roman's voice was quiet, but full of anger. He sounded mad at her for something she hadn't asked for.

"Hmmm."

"What are you hmming about?" she demanded, riled up.

"Have you fed yet?" Greggor asked instead of answering her. She winced and looked away. Not something she wanted to be reminded of.

"Aaron brought her someone with the sweet sickness in his blood."

Greggor let out a long whistle. "I bet that didn't go well."

"You could say that." Roman put his plate down.

"Did she kill him?" Greggor sounded more curious than upset or shocked.

"No." Roman leaned back, stretching his arms above his head. "Not to say she wouldn't have. She was on him as soon as his scent hit her."

"Something to work on controlling." Greggor nodded and turned his attention back to Katyia. "Don't feel bad about it. A newborn has an insatiable thirst for blood when they awaken. It will be some time before you gain control of it. Eventually, the need to feed all the time will lessen."

"It will?" Hope sprang up. "How soon?"

"It's different for every new turn. The changes your body goes through take time, and it needs the blood to make those changes. Why, we don't know, but as your change comes to a stop, the need for blood isn't as bad. Most of us only feed a few times a week."

"You don't have to...feed...all the time?"

"Newborns will need to feed several times a day for the first few weeks as your body finishes its change. Once you've gone through most of it, your need for blood will not be as strong."

"Why do vampires need blood at all? Once the change is complete?"

"Blood is for us like air is to humans. They need it to breathe, to make their bodies function. Without air, their lungs would stop working and they'd die. It is the same for us with blood. Our bodies need it to keep functioning."

"It's not that we don't need it every day." Roman picked up the conversation. "We do, but we've trained ourselves to go without it."

"Why?"

"Survival." Roman looked her in the eyes. "Too many running around with bites would eventually be noticeable. Back in the old days, we hid what we were by training ourselves to feed only when it was too much to bear, and we kept the hunters away. Plus, bleeding a human dry daily will kill them. It takes time for blood levels to rebuild. Killing off your food source is irresponsible."

"I see." There was so much that didn't add up to what she knew about vampires, or thought she knew. "You can walk in the sunlight too, I see?"

That pulled another laugh from Greggor. "There is much you probably think you know that is pure myth. We can walk in the light of day, eat garlic, wear crosses, and eat real food."

"It's just that..."

"You thought we were soulless dead creatures of darkness, damned for all eternity?" Greggor winked at her.

She nodded, her mind racing.

"First, we aren't dead, despite popular belief." This earned a snort from Roman. "The virus combines with our DNA. It does change us, but we don't die. We have souls, feelings, we bleed. We just also need blood to survive."

"What happens if you don't drink blood?"

"Not something you want to attempt, Katyia. It's painful. Your body shuts down, the virus consuming every last ounce of blood remaining until there's nothing left."

"Will you die?" Maybe it was as simple as refusing to consume blood.

"No." Roman's voice was harsh. "You will not die. It is the curse of our vampire blood. You will live, but you will waste away to almost nothing, feeling nothing but the burn of the thirst driving you insane."

"Greggor just said we needed it to survive, but you're saying we don't need it to live? Which is it?" Irritation bled through, but she didn't care. She was irritated.

"I didn't explain it well," Greggor said ruefully. "While our bodies won't die from lack of blood, we do need blood to function normally. Katyia, you aren't thinking of trying this, are you?"

She looked down, unable to meet Greggor's eyes. She was considering it.

A sigh erupted from the brute. "You will not harm yourself. I command it."

He commanded it? Her irritation was quickly turning to anger. "Command me, do you? Just who do you think you are to command me? I'm the daughter of the Regent. No one commands me."

Roman blinked and she almost laughed at the indignation on his face. Almost.

"I am the head of this clan, their ruler. You will obey me because I am now your ruler."

"That line work often, does it?" She raised a brow questioningly.

His nostrils flared, but before he could say anything, Greggor asked a question. "Why do you wish to die?"

"Because of the ravager blood." The words slipped out. She hadn't meant to say anything, but they fell off her lips unbidden. Dammit.

"But why?" Greggor pressed. "Why would that be cause to end your life?"

"Because they killed my family. I want no part of the demons that murdered my mother and my baby brother. The thought of that blood running through my veins makes me sick. I cannot live like this."

"Your family?" Greggor pursed his lips. "I don't understand."

"I am the bastard daughter of the Regent." Bitterness tainted her words. "I came to live at the manor after ravagers attacked us. I survived, but my mother and my brother didn't."

"That explains it," Roman said, bringing her attention back to him.

"Explains what?"

"Why you're here and the others are not. The Regent sacrificed you instead of his legitimate children."

"My father didn't send me here, but he didn't stop it either." She sighed and told them everything she remembered from last night. "Instead of coming to find me, he just accepted it. He's as guilty as Olivia."

"You are going to let your stepmother win, then?" Roman asked, contempt in his voice.

"What?"

"If you kill yourself, she wins. You give her what she wants without her ever having to lift a finger, and she never has to worry about retribution."

That gave her pause. She did want Olivia to pay. The need to do the woman physical harm raged as hotly as Katyia's thirst. Did she want to end her existence? Yes. But not before she made her mother pay for what she'd done.

The question now became could she live with what she herself had become long enough to deal out some well-earned revenge?

The answer was easy.

"She has to be accountable for this. They both do. For all of this."

"All of this?" Greggor asked, his voice hesitant.

"For sacrificing our people." Her voice hardened. "They never asked for volunteers, never explained anything until after it was all said and done. That is wrong. Reprehensible. Our people are not stupid. Some may not have the same education others do, but they understand more than I think anyone gives them credit for. If Father had explained the situation, had called upon them to help him protect their families, who's to say what might have happened? He took the coward's way out. His people are not going to trust him anymore. How could they when he snuck in like a thief in the henhouse, and ripped members of their family away from them?"

"The magic that protects this sector is failing." Roman shifted, his pose relaxed, but she could read the readiness in his muscles to spring if necessary. Maybe a response to her heightened agitation? Did he think she'd attack them? Well, she might, truthfully. They were starting to smell awfully good. She pushed that thought back and ate several forkfuls of eggs to try to stop the rising thirst. It helped a bit. Kept the need from overwhelming her. Maybe that was why they still ate food? To lessen the stress on their bodies surviving on only blood would cause? There was so much she still didn't know about her new way of life.

"Yes. It's why I was out so far away from the manor yesterday. I was testing the limits. Father said it's why he employed you, to help maintain the perimeter."

"And what did you find, little one?" Roman leaned toward her, his body invading her personal space. She caught a whiff of him and fought to keep from lunging at him.

"It's barely holding together close to the village. It's going to fail soon. All of it."

"Is there a way to prevent it?" Greggor brought her attention back to him.

"Yes." Katyia nodded, eating more of her eggs to try to quell the urge to sink her teeth into the man next to her. She didn't want to think about that. She remembered what he tasted like. The memory alone sent a shiver through her, and not all because of her thirst. "When a new Regent passes the test of the First Regent, his or her magic is used to strengthen the ward protecting the sector. As a Regent grows older, their power wanes. At least in most cases. The first few Regents' power was immeasurable, maintaining the ward long after their time as Regent was over."

"This trial is supposed to take place soon?" Roman asked, his eyes thoughtful.

"Yes, especially with the ward failing so badly. Nicolette is not looking forward to it, but she's been groomed to be the new Regent since she was a small child."

"Is her magic strong enough to hold the ward?" Roman craned his neck, looking past Greggor and outside. She tried to see what he was staring at so hard, but failed. There were just people milling around.

"I don't know." She clenched a fist, her thoughts returning to why Olivia had thrown her to the wolves. "Father told me Nicolette couldn't sense the failing magic."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Yes, it is," she told Greggor. "If my sister can't sense the difference, I fear she will fail the trials. In our sector, each new Regent has to pass a set of tests designed by the First Regent. She had this test put in place to ensure whomever took over would be strong enough to hold the wards. My father can't keep the wards up much longer. His magic grows weaker every day."

"Did your father know your sister's magic wasn't as strong as yours?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

Roman pursed his lips. "Because I overheard them talking last night. It was just a moment, but it sounded like they were arguing about you taking your sister's place."

Katyia's face paled. No wonder Olivia went off the deep end. If her father decided to have Katyia do the test and essentially take Nicolette's role as the future Regent, then Olivia would have done anything to prevent it. At least now it made some sense to her.

"When are the trials supposed to take place?" Greggor started cleaning up plates, moving them back onto the tray he'd brought them in on.

"A little less than two weeks from now."

"Then when it's time, you will go and take your sister's place." Roman cracked his knuckles, his expression calculating.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Those blue, blue eyes pierced her and she forced herself not to look away. How someone's eyes could cause so many things to clench in delicious ways inside of her made her a little nervous.

"Obviously, because I'm now a vampire." She swallowed the last of her water and handed the flask to Greggor.

"Are you not still the daughter of the Regent? Do the people not know you?"

"Well, of course, but none of that matters now."

"Is your magic not stronger now?" he continued, and she growled, frustrated. Why would he not understand?

"Don't you see why Olivia gave me to your group? She knows they will never let me back. People are scared of you. The stories we've heard, grown up on. There is no way they will allow a vampire to rule them."

"They will." His eyes hardened. "If you pass the test, they will have no choice but to accept you."

She let out a long, long sigh. Was the brute always this dense? Or did he have an ulterior motive to wanting her to become Regent?

"Why do you care so much?" she asked. "What does it matter to you? If the ward fails, then your employment as border patrol will become permanent. Why should you care what happens?"

"Because I need your help." The statement came out harsh, his eyes clouding over with determination. "If I help you protect your people, I expect you to help mine."

A hiss came from the doorway and they all turned to see a woman standing there, her expression feral. "Why haven't you killed the abomination yet?"

Well, that didn't sound promising, Katyia thought. Nope, not promising at all.