“Unfortunately, I didn’t stay long enough in my family’s manor to look for it,” Vail shook his head at Victoria’s question. Thoughts of the tome had crossed his mind since then, and a part of him regretted not taking the time to pick it up before he left England. However, in the moment, it just hadn’t been a priority. He’d stumbled upon the wreckage of Mikael’s attack and had been concerned about his family’s wellbeing above everything else. Since then, he hadn’t had any opportunities to return for the book either. He’d been busy trying to mold his family clan into some kind of order and waiting for Victoria to wake up from her transformative slumber.

If possible, he still would have liked to go back to find it, but the trip didn’t seem feasible. Now that Lady Crest had awoken, someone would need to teach her how to adapt to her life as a vampire, and he felt like that role belonged to him as both the one who had turned her and the one who would—hopefully soon—marry her. Additionally, his clan was nowhere near ready to get by without him. For their sakes too, he needed to remain in Scotland for at least a while longer.

The dinner they enjoyed was delicious, and Vail savored the taste of the food and the blood that had been provided for the nonhuman guests. Once he’d cleared his plate, he sat back in his seat and glanced at Victoria, who still hadn’t touched her own glass. It seemed like she still hadn’t warmed to the thought of drinking the blood of the people she’d once belonged to. He was just about to offer her a word of encouragement, hoping that she would try it at least one more time now that her appetite for a mortal meal had been whetted. However, before he could even say a word, he blinked in surprise as she picked up the glass on her own and drank the whole thing.

“Not so bad, is it?” he mused lightly, leaning over to brush a kiss against her cheek. He was incredibly pleased to see her take such an important step in overcoming her aversion to blood. If she’d fought against her new instinct to feed on it, she could have become a danger to herself and to the humans around her, so it was better that she voluntarily drank from the glass that her mother had offered her that night. He also hoped that now that she’d tasted it, she would be less opposed to learning to hunt and feed like the rest of their kind did after dark.

At the end of dinner, Vail rose from his seat to join the rest in the lounge for conversation and drinks, pleasantly full on the rich food Diana had so generously provided them. After spending the last week in a constant state of worry for Victoria, it was nice to return to something a little more normal. He waited for her to get up from the table as well, only to quirk a brow when she chose to invite Sylvia onto the terrace instead.

“Oh? Of course,” Sylvia grinned, flashing her pearly fangs. Walking around the table, she slipped her arm through Lady Crest’s and shot her ex-fiancé a wink. “Sorry, Vail. Looks like she’s mine tonight.”

He rolled his eyes. “Just for the evening… I’d like her back after that.”

“We’ll see,” Sylvie teased, giving her new friend’s arm a tug to lead her away.

“Good luck with her, Victoria,” Vail said flatly, though a smile still pulled at his lip. “I’ll find you later.” He’d been hoping to have her to himself soon, since he’d spent the last week wondering if she would even survive her transformation, but he supposed he could stand to share her a little longer. For now, he headed off to the lounge with the other men, idly curious about what Lady Crest had called Sylvia aside to discuss.