James’s response to his declaration was pleasantly mixed to Vail. It was vaguely accusative, not enough to raise hackles, but he’d grown so used to his family’s poor reactions that he didn’t mind the confusion in the half-breed’s voice. It was better than scorn. Although, he did raise a brow when James brought up the way vampires looked down on humans. If he wasn’t mistaken, Victoria’s brother was the product of an affair between a human and a vampire, so he should know better than anyone that there were times when the immortals laid their vanity aside to take up mortal lovers. Of course, the majority still looked down on him for taking interest in Lady Crest, but he had realized that there had been plenty of other cases before him. Otherwise there wouldn’t have been a need for the strict rules against getting involved with humans in the first place.

“I’ve never shared that belief,” he asserted calmly. “Our kind may be physically superior, but I can’t name a single vampire who has come up with a world-changing invention or who has been resilient enough to overcome an obstacle against all odds. Humans’ tenacity is admirable, no matter what the rest of our kind thinks about them.” He pointedly ignored the inquiry about his interest in Victoria’s blood. It would have been a lie to say that her unique condition hadn’t been a factor in his initial fascination with her, but he had a feeling that if he admitted that, James would be inclined to distrust him. The half-breed was surprisingly protective of a woman he had just met minutes ago. In Vail’s opinion, his quickness to protect her was rather presumptuous. James hadn’t been part of his sister’s life at all before now, so he didn’t know who her allies or her enemies were. If he snapped at the throat of everyone who got close to her, he would be more of a hinderance than an asset to her.

However, the half-vampire’s confrontational demeanor was replaced with polite congeniality as soon as Victoria explained that Vail wasn’t a threat. Lord Hygrace fought the urge to roll his eyes. The Moncourier heir’s youth was evident in his hotheadedness. He was quick to jump to conclusions and seemed eager to prove himself. The qualities reminded him a bit of himself when he was still just a fledgling adjusting to his place in the world. James struck him as reckless, but as long as he didn’t let his temper get in the way of their plans—and wasn’t too proud to take orders from someone with more experience—he would be a useful addition to their ranks.

At least he appeared to have enough foresight not to take up his sister’s offer of strengthening the clan with her blood. Vail casted her a sideways glance. It was a generous but risky gift. Opening one of her veins in front of so many vampires could easily instigate a frenzy, and even if they didn’t kill each other in their desperation to drink from her neck, he knew from experience just how addicting her blood could be. She didn’t understand the position she would be putting herself in by voluntarily letting a whole family have a taste of the same substance that kept him coming back every few days for more. The less other vampires fed from her, the better.

Once Lady Crest was strong enough to stand on her own, the Hygrace stood at her side in wait for her to part ways with her brother. “I’ve brought a pair,” he informed her when she advised him to wear gloves, glancing down at his hands. Enough time had passed that the red marks on his palms had disappeared, leaving his pale skin just as flawless as it had been when he’d first arrived. Gloves would help to avoid injuring himself again, but even close proximity to silver could be painful. It was the reason why he’d injured his shoulder in Gerald’s basement through his jacket and why he needed a rag in addition to a glove to hold a silver gun in his hand. The metal was extremely effective when purified and used as a weapon against his kind. However, her armor wouldn’t hurt him as long as he didn’t get close enough to touch it, so he decided it wasn’t an important enough issue to bring up.

Trailing after Victoria as she assisted the Saints in making preparations, he helped with what he could to hasten the process. As the hours passed, he kept closer to the shaded areas outside and preferred to offer his aid indoors, where the sun wouldn’t beat down on his head as constantly. He could only tolerate standing in direct sunlight for so long before it started to wear him down. While the heat caused humans to sweat, it sapped the energy from vampires with prolonged exposure, and he didn’t want to show up to the fight against the Wynters already exhausted before the battle began.

So, when Victoria returned to her room to pack up her things, he reclined languidly on a chair with his head tilted back against the backrest and his eyes closed as he recovered from the strain of assisting the Saints with their duties for the duration of the morning. Although he didn’t nap, he paid little attention to what she was doing until he heard the jostling of metal plates. Cracking one hazel eye open, he watched her put on a set of armor that would protect her against the Wynter clan. In the confines of her bedroom, the powerful scent of silver was nearly eye-watering, so he got up from his seat and opened a window to let some fresh air in.

“Jesus, Victoria, if you’re going out with that much silver on your body, I hardly think you’ll need my protection,” he shook his head, leaning his shoulders against the wall as he kept his distance from the dangerous suit. The remark was only somewhat serious, since he still intended to stay close to her until the fighting was over, but an amused smile played on his lip and he looked her up and down. “You look like a regular vampire slayer.”