Vail was unsurprised when Victoria answered his question with the declaration that she would fight back if she had to return to her family’s manor. He had known her long enough now to be familiar with her stubborn spirit. Part of him was relieved to hear that she hadn’t been broken by her trials yet, but another part of him was worried that her efforts wouldn’t be enough to stop Spencer. After all, vampires were the species at the top of the food chain. Hunting down and feeding on humans was what they were built to do. The Order had been founded to fight back against them, and they were arguably successful, but Lady Crest wasn’t a formal member of their ranks. She didn’t have the tricks or the training it took to fend off one of his kind.

As she explained that ‘fight’ really meant ‘flee to Scotland,’ he pulled back from her just enough to meet her gaze with a contemplative expression. Her mention of the Saint named Ray meant little to him. He was possessive, but he wasn’t completely controlling. The Wynters had been unapologetically pursuing her blood, but he didn’t think every man she encountered was someone he should be concerned about. Unless he suspected her new friend was after her too, he wouldn’t fret over her involvement with him. Instead, it was the detail of her leave from England that captured his attention.

Objectively, it sounded like the best decision. Her home was no longer safe, and his father would never allow her to continue seeking refuge in the Hygrace once she was healthy again. However, he was well beyond the point of objectivity. If she went away, he didn’t know what he would do. The thought of losing her was painful, but his family was planted in London. Even though he was going against Peter’s wishes by choosing to be with her, voluntarily separating himself from the rest of the Hygrace clan was practically unthinkable. He felt like he was being torn in two, tugged one way by his fledgling feelings for Victoria and another by his bond with his family. He wished there was a way for him to have both, so he wouldn’t have to give up either.

For a long moment, Vail said nothing. The wheels of his mind spun in fruitless circles as he tried to think of a way to hold onto everything that was important to him. It seemed impossible. If he left the city to be with a human, he was certain his father would disown him. In the same manner, he couldn’t keep her here because his family would never support his decision to involve himself romantically with a woman of a lesser species. He buried his face into her neck, letting out a frustrated exhale. The common denominator in both cases was that she was a human. If she had been a member of the Macey clan or even the Goddings or the Jewels, Peter would have been far less combative—

Suddenly, he furrowed his brows as another thought came to him. He hadn’t dredged up the memory in decades, but when he was still alive, Reginald had told him that their ancestors had originally populated Europe by transforming humans [i]into[/i] vampires. The concept seemed outlandish to the Hygrace heir, but supposedly it was factual. Perhaps, if the ritual was still doable today, there was a way to keep Victoria from fleeing England after all. His kind didn’t drink the blood of their own, so the Wynters would lose interest in hunting her down, and his father couldn’t protest their budding relationship if she became a vampire.

With an ember of hope burning in his chest, Lord Hygrace regarded Victoria with new resolution. “What if you didn’t have to leave?” he asked slowly, studying her blue eyes in the bright afternoon light. “If there was a way for you to stay here… with me… what lengths would you go to do it?”