Page 76 of Those That Defy the Realm

Claire and I freeze.

“Us?” Claire asks at the same time that I say, “Vampires?”

Rory takes the article from under my fingers. “This is an advert from the continent. It's incredibly coded but it’s encouraging vampires to send their kids away from the fighting. It lists the orphanage where Claire’s and my parents were placed as babies.”

She picks up another typed document, putting it to the top. “This is the registry of names they submitted to the authorities once the war was over. I couldn’t make much sense of it for ages, and even the authorities' archives weren’t giving me much else to go on. However, as we were moving stuff back into the renovated office, I found a box of stuff we’d saved from Adicious’s paperwork.” She draws our attention to a handwritten list of sorts. “This is a list of names on intake to the orphanage.”

Claire and I flick between the two. I immediately start recognising patterns in the names. Furthermore, I spot several surnames on the handwritten sheet that I know to be from vampires whose families perished in the war.

“These are our parents,” Claire says, her finger scrolling over four names on the official document. I focus in on them before switching back to the written one.

The names changed but the initials didn't. And all four names Claire highlighted on the registry have vampiric family names on the written sheet.

My eyes go wide as I look to Rory. My heart backflips and tries to vacate my chest altogether. The dots are all laid out in front of me, but I don’t have the capacity to trust what I’m seeing. I’m hanging on a precipice.

Rory’s slight nod of confirmation is all I need for my entire body to drop several degrees. I’m glad I’m sitting down because there is no way my legs would hold me upright right now.

“I don’t get it,” Claire says, lifting her eyes from the documents and flicking between all of us.

Antares downs the last mouthful of his drink and joins us in leaning over the table. He points to the names on the handwritten sheet. “These are children of vampires from the continent. When the fighting got pretty intense, when they knew the war was going to be lost, they made a last-ditch attempt to save their kids. All of these names were the names of your parents, before the orphanage changed them to hide their identities.”

For once Antares has some tact as he gently explains what I’ve figured out and what Rory seems unable to voice.

“What does that mean?” Claire asks, still confused.

Moving my arm to wrap it behind my female, giving her the support for the realisation she’s about to have. Maybe I need the reassurance of her warm body as well.

“It means you’re like me,” Rory replies, her voice gentle. “Your parents were born of vampires. So, technically you’re a vampire too.”

Claire’s head snaps to me, what she’s looking for I can’t tell. Confirmation? Denial? My acceptance of the evidence before us? Her face cycles through so many emotions but the shock is undeniable. Her heart rate is accelerating rapidly, as is her breathing.

“Sweetheart.” I bring my hand to her face, and gently brush her cheek, keeping her eyes on mine. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“Is this real?” Her voice comes out barely above a whisper.

“It looks like it.”

“I checked it in all ways that I can. And I used my own lineage to test against yours,” Rory says. She moves off the sofa opposite and comes to crouch beside my female. “I also ran this evidence past Theodora as she was the one who put me onto the path.”

“Ash’s mother?” Claire twists in my grasp so I drop my hand from her face.

“Yeah. She helped me access the vampire documents from the continent and the ferry records. I think she had a hunch which is why she pushed me to pursue this.”

My mind whirls as I realise what Ash’s mother was trying to do. Since she’d found out her son was in love with a human, she’d been trying to find a way for him, for us, to keep her forever; for our forever. I don’t know whether to commend the female for her hunch or be annoyed at her meddling.

“So…” Claire breaks my thoughts. “I can be turned into a vampire?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure you can.” Rory offers her best friend a small smile. I note the slight spark in her eyes. The ignition of excitement.

It triggers an image in my head. One where our future has shifted. And suddenly the impact of this news allows a very different path, centuries expand in front of all three of us. Together. Without having to say goodbye to Claire as her human life comes to an end.

“Does Ash know?” Claire snaps me out of my dreaming.

“No, I asked Theodora not to tell him until you knew,” Rory responds. “I can get her to tell him if you want. Sorry he’s not here, this does impact all three of you.”

Rory looks to me to see how I’m taking the news. I lean forward and grab the papers once more, looking over the same names and seeing the patterns still there in black and white. With Rory’s turning as well, it all adds up.

“Why did Adicious have this? Do you think this is how he knew to target you?” I ask Rory, my eyes also just noticing the little notes in a different script.