Two more days passed, and Vail became certain he couldn’t obey Peter’s wishes even if he wanted to. After going over half a week without seeing Victoria, all he could think about was tasting her blood again. He longed to have just a drop to stave off his incessant cravings, but he still hadn’t heard a whisper from her. No letters had come in nor any other form of communication to tell him when and where to meet her next. He was beginning to wonder if he would hear from her at all.

Of course, Peter was quite pleased with the lack of word from the Crest heiress. The Hygrace leader seemed to think it meant she had given up on “seducing him,” as he believed was her intention. Since Vail had come home with no news of the Order after their last encounter, it only made sense for him to suspect something else was going on. He still didn’t know the extent of his son’s transgresses though. As far as he was aware, their meetings had been harmless; just talk and nothing more. Vail was careful to keep him from realizing just how far they had actually gone.

Despite the silence from Victoria, Peter had not wavered on his decision to make Vail marry Sylvia. In fact, Edison had just written back with his approval for the arrangement earlier that day. His haste made it clear that he was excited about giving his daughter’s hand to the heir of the Hygraces and forming an alliance with the most powerful clan in the nation.

Peter insisted that the two should begin courting right away.

Vail argued that he needed to readjust to a daylight schedule before he could court anyone.

With the new development, he was beginning to feel trapped between his responsibility to his family and his insatiable desire for Lady Crest. He felt tense with apprehension, knowing which path he wanted to take but unsure if it was still possible to follow. It had been quite a while since he’d heard anything from Victoria, and he didn’t know if he ever would again. She had told him not to go after her too; said it was too dangerous. Perhaps she had decided not to reach out to him anymore? He doubted that. Everything she had said and done the last time they’d met suggested otherwise. She probably just hadn’t had an opportunity to sneak out again.

He tried to distract himself from his thoughts about her by playing a game of chess against himself—after learning it was a pastime she enjoyed, he had decided to start practicing again—but found that it wasn’t easy to stop imagining feeding on her blood. His mouth watered just thinking about it. Though he wasn’t having the physical withdrawals he usually suffered from when he went too long without satisfying his bloodlust, the mental cravings were nearly worse. They consumed his mind, leaving little room for anything else. It was hard for him to focus on the game.

His eyes wandered to the window as he considered disregarding her warning and coming to find her in spite of the danger. He knew it was a bad idea. According to Victoria, the Crest manor was crawling with Saints. However, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without feeding on her again. He ran his tongue across his fangs, weighing his options. Perhaps he could go to the taverns and find someone else to prey on until he heard back from Victoria. It was a decent idea, but he knew it wouldn’t stop him from craving what he was really after: [i]her[/i] blood. No one else’s could compare.

He leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Was he really going to risk his life to have her yet again? He was starting to question his sanity. There was no reason for a vampire to get so attached to a human. Yet he still found himself putting on a coat.

[i]I’ll just stop by quickly,[/i] he reasoned as he crept silently down the stairs. As long as he didn’t linger, it was unlikely for the Saints to realize he was even there, right? It was a good enough excuse to convince him to venture into the night, giving in to his addiction as he sought out Lady Crest.