I Deserved It

My breathing came in ragged chunks. "Is it because we are no longer human?" I wanted out of my room. Out of this conversation with Gabe, and the whole thing.

The desire to bolt took over.

For the briefest of moments, I went to the window, desperate to be anywhere but here.

"That's part of it. But there's more. See," he hesitated.

I studied his reflection in the glass, but I didn't turn.

"My father fell in love with a human, and with that love came many children. The vampire queen made an extra effort to capture and change their offspring into vampires. Sons and daughters with chayot blood make even more exceptional vampires than a regular human does. The vampire queen favored them over all others, and she nearly got them all."

I thought about the vampires I'd seen in the castle.

Were they Gabe's relatives?

I didn't ask. Didn't move.

I was a vampire - the enemy.

I wouldn't give him any information.

"The queen brought this war upon herself. It's my father's life work to finish