Chosen by Blood by Virna Depaul Page A

thinking that anyone could read your mind or make you do things against your will didn’t exactly promote feelings of security. In that way, Knox understood why most humans feared them.
    To his surprise, his mother’s eyes flickered with pain and skittered away at his joke, but not before Knox saw the truth in them. He sucked in a breath. “You can’t . . .”
    Once more meeting his gaze, she shook her head, confirming that in just a few days, she’d indeed lost her power to read minds. “How . . .”
    “A friend offered her permission for me to try and—and I couldn’t.”
    Pity came first. “Mother, I’m sorry.” Although she’d long ago lost the ability to teleport, reading minds was one of the first skills a vamp developed. That she’d lost that power must be humiliating. Gently, he squeezed her hand.
    Anger swiftly followed. “Damn them,” Knox growled. When his mother moved away, he stood and paced in front of her while raking his hands through his hair. “Damn them all for creating that filthy vaccine.”
    “They were scared, Knox. They didn’t know—”
    “They knew,” he roared, immediately feeling ashamed when she winced. Bending on one knee in front of her, he took her hands in his. “They knew, Mother,” he said quietly. “Their whole purpose in creating the vaccine was to eliminate our food supply, which would naturally eliminate us—our strength, and thus any threat we posed.”
    “They did what they thought they needed to do to protect themselves. Kyle—the FBI—has committed significant resources to finding a cure.”
    “That doesn’t mean they’ll succeed.” Knox sighed and straightened. He’d have to tell her about the antidote and his agreement with Mahone at some point, but he had to take care. He didn’t want to raise her hopes for a cure—both for herself and Zeph, as well as the clan she loved—until he knew more. “Mother, yesterday I met with—” His words came to an abrupt stop when he saw the caramels on the cherry side table. He stiffened, walked toward the table, and picked up the small box.
    Felicia had been here.
    In disbelief, he turned to his mother, who raised her chin defiantly.
    “She came the day after you left for France,” she said softly.
    Picking up one of the candies, Knox shook his head. She’d been in this very room, yet he hadn’t sensed her. Hadn’t smelled her. Perhaps his own powers were dwindling faster than he’d thought. “How did she get inside the Dome without my approval?”
    His mother lifted an imperious brow. “You may rule it, Knox, but only with my permission. I am still the Queen of this clan. I’m allowed to have visitors.”
    “You’re allowed to, yes,” Knox gritted. “I’m quite aware that it’s only because of my strength that I rule.”
    “You rule because you carry royal blood. Because you are my eldest heir, a descendent of the first vampires to walk the earth. You rule because of your inner strength as well as your physical strength.”
    “But it’s the physical strength that makes the clan tolerate my rule, even if that strength is a result of sharing the blood of a traitor.”
    His mother gasped, but at which part of his statement he wasn’t sure. Holding up a hand to forestall her protest, Knox carefully replaced the box, but pocketed the single piece of candy. “But that doesn’t explain why you’d keep news of her visit from me.”
    “You were gone.”
    “Which is the only reason she came.”
    His mother’s gaze remained steady on his, but only for a few seconds. She looked away. “She asked me not to tell you.”
    His lips flattened. His anger was swift and automatic. Before he could stop himself, he said, “ And of course, your loyalty lies with her, a human, rather than with me?”
    His mother’s eyes rounded with hurt before they narrowed. She pointed toward her door. Both of them pretended not to see her arm shaking with the effort to hold it up. “Don’t forget you’re