Over the course of the next few days, Vail remained in the Hygrace manor to finish healing from the wounds he’d received from the Saint’s gun and Victoria’s dagger. The speed of his recovery was remarkable, even to him. Even though feeding on humans always helped encourage the process, he’d never experienced something like this. The morning after he’d drank the Lady’s blood, the laceration in his right leg had faded to a mere line of discolored skin, and the hole in his shoulder had closed up as well. It would only take two more days before both scars disappeared completely.

Throughout his time at home, Vail noticed that he was slowly reverting to a nocturnal rhythm as well. He continued to wake later in the day until he saw few hours of daylight before night fell. It was the more natural cycle for his kind, since they thrived and hunted in the darkness, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to continue it forever. His family had switched to waking in the morning for the purpose of being seen out and about during the day. It was another method of protection, since the Order seemed to believe vampires couldn’t handle standing in direct sunlight. While their fair skin [i]was[/i] more prone to burning in prolonged exposure, it was easy to simply put on a tailcoat to cover the limbs and wander the town for an hour or so before returning to the manor.

Vail had a bit of a pass to sleep during the day now though. Since he’d been identified by a Saint, there was no reason for him to continue feigning being human. The Order likely knew who to look for, so the next best thing was to wait for them to either forget about him completely or sit back until the current generation died off, as he had done once in the past. He was content either way. After all, waking at night didn’t necessarily mean he would be any more restricted than he was before. He was still free to come and go from the manor once the sun went down. He just had to watch his back a little more closely while the Saints were keeping a lookout for him. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was manageable.

Of course, just because he could leave didn’t mean he was going to.

Now that he’d fed recently enough to stave off the withdrawals, Vail decided there was no more reason to risk his neck by venturing into the city. Instead, he spent most of his waking hours in his room with the curtains drawn, so no one outside would notice the constant flicker of candlelight coming from his window each night, reading or painting or practicing any other quiet activities while his family slept. He found the time to be peaceful, enjoying the silence and the comfort of his own company. However, though it was mostly good, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from occasionally drifting to something else: The Lady Victoria.

Despite the fact that his cravings were gone, he couldn’t get her out of his head—or more specifically, her blood. Every time he thought about it, his mouth watered. It was like a drug that he couldn’t get enough of. The vitality he’d experienced after tasting a mere trickle of the stuff was like nothing he’d ever felt before. As dangerous as it was to hunt down the same target twice, he wanted more of it. He wanted to feel the high of drinking the sweet blood that flowed through her veins, just ripe for the taking. It was practically consuming.

Letting out a sigh, Vail set down the paintbrush in his hand. Only a week had passed since the night he’d preyed on Victoria, but with each day, the temptation to seek her out again grew stronger. He knew it was a bad idea. She’d only allowed him to feed on her once, [i]and[/i] she was involved with a member of the Wynter clan. If her soon-to-be husband discovered that there was someone else drinking the Lady’s piquant blood before he could, he would surely be furious. Vail didn’t want to instigate a fight between their families by stepping on Spencer’s toes.

However, knowing that she was about to become the prey of another vampire made him bristle with annoyance. Even though he’d known from the start that she was to wed a Wynter and that he shouldn’t have even dined on her in the first place, there was a jealousy blooming inside of him that wouldn’t allow him to sit idly by and watch someone else have her instead. Knowing that [i]someone else[/i] was a member of his family’s rival clan just made it all the more unbearable.

Suddenly restless, Vail stood up from his easel to pace the edge of the room. As bad of an idea as it was, he itched to go out and look for the Lady again. He was sure he would find her if he tried. The last two times they had crossed paths was because she had been trying to learn more about her father. He doubted she had stopped since then. All he had to do was pick up her trail, stop her before she went home… [i]and then what?[/i]

He ran a hand through his hair. It was a terrible idea. Completely awful. He wasn’t even thirsty for more blood yet, so there was no reason to hunt her down after just a week. He should just stay in the manor until he [i]needed[/i] to go out to satisfy his urge to feed. It was the right way to go about the situation.

Despite his reasoning, he found himself putting on a tailcoat.

[i]I’ll just walk around for a little while,[/i] he decided. If he burned off his excess energy, he would surely be able to put Victoria out of his mind, right? With no better plan, he headed out of the mansion and into the dark city streets, trying to convince himself that he would stay away from the Lady if he saw her.