Free Blood Wyne by Yasmine Galenorn Page B

daughters of Blood Wyne, in all imaginable ways.”
    I slowly inched back into my chair. She’d turned her own children? A sick feeling hit the pit of my stomach. “Were you in danger? Or did she just decide to turn all of you into vampires with her?”
    Roman picked up his cigarillo, considered it for a moment, then pinched it out. “Blood Wyne was . . . a possessive mother. After her transformation, she waited very little time before attacking us. All eight of us—she ordered the guards to hold us down and then fed on us until we were near death. Of course, at that point she forced us to drink from her veins. I’m lucky. I was the oldest. But my sister and brother, twins . . . they were only twelve years old.”
    He sounded almost sad, and a mist covered his eyes. “They live forever locked in prepuberty. They turned on her, ran away together. I last heard of them five hundred years ago, when they terrorized and destroyed a village in France.”
    “Why? Why would she do that to her own children?” I couldn’t imagine someone loving her children and deciding to turn them into monsters.
    “She wanted to build an empire that would last an eternity. She wanted to keep us with her forever, and for all intents and purposes, she managed to accomplish her mission. At least in terms of life span. But we left home, instead of helping her create the kingdom she desired. Others took care of that desire—vampires who craved the same sense of power. Over the years, she accrued a kingdom, and her children . . . we eventually went back to her, but only on our terms.”
    “All of you?”
    He paused, then said, “Two of my brothers now hang on her skirts. If we’d stayed together from the beginning, we’d rule the world by now. The rest of us agreed to be her emissaries, to help her rule but not from the heart of the throne. She was angry, but finally agreed. She wanted her rule to be visible, but she had to settle for a more sinister existence, ruling from the shadows, letting the mortals go about their business.”
    “You chose to forgo letting people know about you.”
    A nod. “We knew that if we allowed her desire to rule logic and reason, a war would be waged against all vampires. The times were not so progressive as they are now. We would be destroyed unless we rampaged across the land and ruled by terror. I’d had enough rampaging while I still lived. I’d rather not repeat the experience. There are times when conquerors are necessary for the world, but I am no longer a warrior, save for when I must take up arms again. I prefer to strike a balance between ends of the spectrum.”
    I gazed at him. Aligning myself with Roman was a smart move in many ways. On the other hand, I’d certainly draw more attention to myself, and some vampires were not going to like it. Wade, in particular. But he was as good as dead if I didn’t do what Roman wanted me to. As angry as he’d made me, I couldn’t just let him die.
    And, I had to admit: The thought of Terrance being permanently removed from the picture dangled like a juicy, bloody carrot. He was crazed, dangerous, and I had a personal grudge against the man.
    Roman possessed enormous power, and it said something for his nature that he hadn’t used it to terrorize the city. He outclassed Dredge by far, but Dredge had used his power like a hammer. Roman wore it like a cloak.
    I licked my lips. My fangs had descended when he pulled me onto his lap and they had stayed down. Roman was delicious, and deadly, and all of those wonderful things that made power seductive. In the end, I made my decision based on instinct.
    “I’ll help you as long as it doesn’t interfere with what my sisters and I are doing. Our work always takes priority.”
    I wasn’t about to tell him about the demons, but I had a feeling he already knew. Vampires were cagey, and one as old as Roman didn’t make it this long without holding info over the powerful and influential members of society.
    I also