“You were robbed of precious time with them. Unforgivable.”
She sipped her coffee, considering him. “So why exactly haven’t you become an Ancestral?”
He shrugged, adding more syrup to his waffles. “For the simple reason that power corrupts, especially vampires. You have to understand, I’m Daniel’s son. I’m like him in more respects than Adrien is, and more than Marius ever was. I fear that I’d become like him—that instead of helping my world, I’d become the asset to Daniel he’s been hoping for all these years. You don’t know how much it plagues my mind.”
“Lucian, I don’t think you see yourself clearly at all. You could never be that man.”
His brows rose and his lips parted. “I’ll always be grateful that you’ve said that to me. But I want to change the subject just a little, something for you to think about. When the day comes that I take you back to Santa Fe, you’ll have the option of having your memories stripped. You won’t remember a thing. Your human specialists will call it selective amnesia because of what you’ve been through. I can do that for you, if you want.”
Claire sat back in her chair, pondering his offer. Her gaze drifted back to the bed, to being with him. She’d lost the past two years, and yes, she wished her life had unfolded in a different way. But would she truly want to forget that she’d cared for Josh, or that she’d seen Lucian through a terrible bout of blood-madness, or that she’d had the most amazing sex of her life with him?
What was the measure of a life except all the combined memories, good and bad? She was a social worker by profession, which meant she’d seen a lot of bad stuff touch the lives of other people. They often had to keep enduring child or spousal abuse, or the chaos of alcoholic parents, or drug-addicted family members who kept stripping a household to the bones financially.
Not a single human she knew had the power to get rid of their memories forever.
Why should her experience be any different?
“You’re thinking about this really hard, aren’t you?”
She shifted her gaze back to him. “You felt that from the chains?”
But he nodded in the direction of her lap.
Glancing down, she saw that her legs were crossed and so were her arms. She smiled. Body language really didn’t lie. “I was thinking about whether or not it would be truly wise to let all these memories go. I’m not sure I want to go that far.”
“It would be a difficult judgment call, that’s for sure. But it’s available if you want it.”
“Thanks.” She thought about picking up her fork again, but the remainder of her omelet had grown cold and she was no longer hungry.
He wiped his mouth with his napkin and glanced at her plate. “Are you done? If so, we can head to Rumy’s.”
“I am. Just give me a sec.” She took time to brush her teeth, which prompted him to do the same.
Then, like any old couple, he held the door for her.
But just as she would have crossed the threshold, she looked up at him, grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him down to her. Kissing him once on the lips, she said, “You’re a good man, Lucian, one of the best I’ve ever known. Don’t you forget that.”
She saw the doubt that flickered through his eyes, but rather than let him argue the point, she headed back up the hall in the direction of Rumy’s office.
Once there, Rumy seemed oddly nervous, this time grazing the tips of his fangs with his index finger.
“What’s going on?” Lucian asked. “You look like a mouse staring down a snake.”
Rumy sighed heavily, turned around, then picked something up off his desk. Claire saw that it appeared to be a display board covered in green velvet.
“What is this?” Lucian scowled, but Claire could feel through their shared chains that his heart rate had jumped a notch. He must already have an idea what they were looking at.
“Gabriel had these delivered about two hours ago. They’re for you and Claire—but only if you want them. He said to tell you no pressure.”
Claire drew up beside Lucian and watched as Rumy lifted back the velvet cover. Mounted on another piece of velvet were two sets of elegant silver chains, each made up of two rows of interlocking loops.
“Hell the f**k no.” Lucian crossed his arms over his chest and glared.
“Are these the double blood-chains?” Claire was so intrigued.
“Yep, and only Ancestrals can wear them—and their partners of course. They also have the ability to jump-start Ancestral power. Gabriel had them made up special for Lucian and for you, if you want them. So what do you say?”
Lucian snorted. “For starters, I’d rather be hung upside down and zapped with Tasers for the next century than put these on.”
But Rumy smiled ruefully. “Okay, but tell me how you really feel.”
Claire wasn’t surprised at Lucian’s response, since he’d told her of his reservations so recently. But she’d probably never get a chance to see this kind of blood-chain again, so she drew close. Power vibrated through her, even called to her from the chains. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of reaching out and touching one of the links. The next thing she knew, she was flying backward.
* * *
Lucian felt power surge through him from the double-chain the moment Claire made contact. He crossed to her quickly and picked her up in his arms. She was out cold again.
She was breathing steadily, however, so he could at least relax about that. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the sudden burst of power had stopped her heart.
Claire?
Nothing returned.
Yep, out cold.
Though he had little enough experience with blood-chains, he still didn’t understand why Claire touching them would have resulted in such a swift, unexpected power boost. Even his chain sang with new energy and power flowed through his bones—an addictive, dangerous kind of power, the kind that lived in Daniel. What the hell had Gabriel been thinking to tempt him like this?
Of course, the double-chain meant exactly what Rumy had said: If Lucian put it on, he’d become an Ancestral, something Gabriel had wanted him to do for a long time. Gabriel, an Ancestral in his own right, had been a surrogate father to him and to his brothers when they’d escaped Daniel’s house all those centuries ago. Lucian respected him, but he couldn’t take this step.
Claire came around slowly, her eyes opening as she turned toward him. “What happened? And why do I feel so good? Like I’ve been drinking or something.” Absently, she plucked at his shirt just above his right pec.