The return journey to the Hygrace manor was uneventful for Vail. He made it back to his family’s territory without incident and even arrived at his bedroom without being stopped and questioned by any of his relatives. Even though he’d already come up with an excuse to explain away the floral perfume that clung to his skin, he was relieved that he didn’t have to use it before he retreated to the sanctuary of his private quarters for the night. Attempting to dodge a potential argument with Peter, he remained behind the closed door, occupying his time by reading more of the book he had found in the archive until his concentration was broken by a quiet knock.

He permitted the visitor to enter, silently praying that it wasn’t his father, and then raised a brow bemusedly as his mother stepped into the room. She looked worn with tired eyes and skin that was slightly paler than usual, and her clothes were spattered with flecks of blood—not her own, Vail determined when he pinpointed the scent as human. “What are you still doing up?” he queried, setting his book aside to give her his full attention. Like the rest of their family, Katherine had adjusted to a daylight schedule, so he had thought she would be sleeping until sunrise.

“A new refugee arrived after you left,” she sighed, closing the door behind her.

“Oh?” Vail mused, his hazel eyes drifting quizzically down to her stained clothes.

Katherine followed his gaze and shook her head sourly. “It belongs to a servant,” she answered his unspoken question. “Erasmus forgot himself and bit the poor girl. I had to separate them before she fainted from shock.”

Vail nodded thoughtfully. It was rare for one of his relatives to prey upon the humans who served them, but he suspected he knew why his cousin had done so. Even though the other Hygraces had laughed in his face about the threat of the Wynters, Erasmus must have secretly taken the warning to heart. If the cowardly vampire thought his life was in danger, he would have stopped leaving the premises to feed altogether until his bloodlust had grown so unbearable that he’d snapped. His cousin’s mistake would be difficult for the rest of the family to recover from—anytime this happened, the servants became terrified of the vampire clan they served—but Vail was smugly pleased that his only potential competition for his inheritance had slipped up so royally. If there was ever a chance that Peter would have willed the Hygrace estate to Erasmus, it was gone now.

“Does any of this have to do with me?” he asked as his mother sat down in the chair across from him. As much as he enjoyed hearing that his relative had tripped over his own two feet, he didn’t believe Katherine had come to his room just to tell him that news.

“No,” she confessed, her eyes wandering down and up his frame. “I just had a suspicion that I wanted to confirm.” A knowing expression took over her eternally youthful features. “You came back awfully late tonight.”

“I went out to hunt,” Vail shrugged nonchalantly. It was technically true, since he [i]had[/i] fed on Victoria’s blood when he’d visited the Crest manor. He just left out the detail that he’d done so whilst sitting with her in a bathtub.

“Mhm,” Katherine seemed unconvinced. Her gaze was tinted with both concern and disapproval as she went on, “Vail, I think it would be best if you stop seeing that human, at least until you’ve given someone else a chance. Peter has been in communication with Sylvia’s father, and they’ve arranged for the two of you to begin courting tomorrow afternoon.”

“Why am I only hearing about this now?” Vail narrowed his eyes, feeling blind-sided by the reveal.

“Peter knows you wouldn’t have agreed to it while you’re still obsessed with the Crest girl,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Keeping the arrangement from you was for your own good. I’m only telling you now so that you can behave with dignity when Lady Sylvia arrives tomorrow.” She rose gracefully from her seat and smoothed down her bloodied skirt. “You should get some sleep while you can. Your father will be by tomorrow at noon to wake you for the outing. Goodnight, Vail.” She bowed her head to him curtly and strode back to the door, leaving her son to process the news alone.