Page 49 (1/2)

She did And Vlad had been obviously fascinated with her from the moment he’d seen her, to the point where Ty was seriously starting to consider starting his oith the h they were equals instead of so at the door He had listened And as it turned out, the ist

Ty supposed he was officially a traitor Funny how it felt like doing the right thing, after all these years

"So was Lilith really just a power- the accusations flung back and forth, wondering where the truth lay It didn’t matter to him Lily was perfect, as far as he was concerned, de to popular legend, of course," Vlad said, settling hihts of Vlad’s company, Ty could tell when the Dracul was about to lecture on one of his pet subjects For such a foreek sometimes Dae of bloody everything For a et back to his life of intrigue and assassination, Dah Vlad had paid him that Nero had owed for the job His reputation was secure The Master Shades would be pleased… if he ever went back

More than once, Ty had had to fight the urge to beat them both with an enormous book and shut them up

"I never believed it," Vlad continued "There was no one left to tell Lilith’s tale but her eneh about the truth to stay quiet That tends toher dynasty has fascinated me for years, as I told you The inclusion There weren’t as many varieties of lowbloods back then, and likely a few that have since died out But she included the The Lilim were not simply their mark The actual mark was only a piece of the dynasty’s identity, and not a necessary one ‘No house can stand alone,’ she’s purported to have said in some of the oldest texts I have, not that you’ll hear that anywhere else The vampires love their caste system Or at least, the ones who can keep it in place do But her words resonated withto push the envelope without having rinned "And now, a new ally New blood It’s just e need, though the other dynasties are going to fight it"

Ty looked back down at Lily She didn’t stir, but for those steady breaths And she was pale, so incredibly pale He sighed

"All she wanted was to go home"

"You and I both know that’s i "She likely won’t wake up at all unless she is turned She’s not going to open her eyes and tell you to bite her, Ty"

Ty jerked his head up to stare into Vlad’s grian,turned is the only way out of this for her, and it’s the only way her vampire half will ever be fully awakened If the situation were different, I would take her riht to"

Vlad raised a single pale brow "If I’ your life But I’m sure she’ll be happy to beat that into your thick head if you give her a chance" He gave a thin s of relationship advice"

"And the fact that I’utterblood Cait Sith? You don’t see a probleot to his feet "Spoken like a true Ptolemy Look, Ty, I’ll tell you what I’ll coirl is still at death’s door, I’ heryour bloodline, I’ll throw in sost for a while All right? Good I’ll be in "

Vlad turned on his heel and strode fro the door quietly behind hi to decide whether he thought thetoward the last

But the ood points

Ty turned back to Lily, silent and still, and noted her breaths were shallower He grabbed her hand It was like ice She was leaving hie of his own death on his way to entering this new life Panic bloo

"Lily," he said, "stay with me Please, mo bhilis, stay without Finally, he let the left to lose She was all he had--and all he needed

"I don’t want to live without you I love you, Lily Please stay I love you"

He felt it then, the faintest squeeze of her hand And in her weakened state, for the first time, he could hear as in her mind

Ty… love you

He had his answer after all Perhaps he had known it fro in him had known she was his