heart. “She….” His hesitation was noticeable, and I wondered what she had done, but when he continued, he simply said, “She stayed with me until I recovered, and when she got ready to leave, I wanted to beg her not to go, but of course she couldn’t stay, so instead I begged her to come back to me.”
“They don’t? We never see them again?”
“Of course we do. There aren’t very many of us. But usually it’s after a few years.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “The words were hardly out of my mouth before I realized she would never be able to return to me. I promised I’d keep what we’d done locked in my heart. ‘Do you think you can keep that a secret?’ Vidalia asked in the saddest voice I’d ever heard. ‘Do you think I can?’ She ran her fingers over my birthmark, then left me without saying another word. But I was going to prove to her how worthy of her I was. I’d never tell anyone, and she’d see that and come back to me. And I suppose I thought it wouldn’t matter. You see, before the Plague, we were a luxury reserved for only the royalty and the nobility.”
“But Dad told me sabors weren’t discovered until after the Plague.”
“No. We’ve been in existence for almost as long as vampyrs. There’s even a school of thought we were once the same species, but at some point we branched off.” He sighed. “So much of our history has been lost.”
“Okay, so before the Plague we were a luxury.” I was only just coming to terms with being a sabor. The thought I could have been born a vampyr—that didn’t bear thinking of.
“Yes. Sabors and their families belonged to the vampyr lords, and they were kept isolated on their estates. You have to remember those were feudal times, Ty. The vampyrs guarded their possessions ferociously, and their sabors most of all.”
So we were nothing more than possessions?
“What happened afterward?”
He went to the sink and ran the water for about a minute before taking a glass from the cabinet and filling it. “With the population of normals so depleted, we became a necessity. For the other vampyrs to survive, they had to drink from us. The rege had no choice but to permit it.”
“And you’re telling me we have to be virgins for our blood to be of any use to them.”
“Yes.” He brought the glass to his lips and took a long swallow.
“You said they don’t come to you anymore.” I had a sick feeling. This wasn’t going to end well. “What happened?”
“The next vampyr who came to me realized immediately what had happened. He….” Uncle Phil looked lost and as sick as I felt. He touched his throat, and now that he’d drawn attention to it, I could see his birthmark was more than just a birthmark. It was a scar.
“Uncle Phil, what did he do?”
“Nothing more than I deserved.”
It looked as if his throat had been—I closed my eyes, shutting out the sight. “How did you survive it?”
“I survived.”
“But it wasn’t your fault!”
“He was furious. They can only drink from a virgin, he told me. He demanded to know which vampyr had been my partner, but I refused to tell him. I could feel him trying to invade my mind. I had no idea that could be done. It… it was like being raped again.”
“ Again ?” Oh, Jesus, my poor uncle!
“My action, our action, resulted in there being one less sabor available to them. After that, vampyrs no longer came to me, and normal humans seemed to sense there was something different about me. They avoided me as well.”
“Did she ever come back to apologize?”
“Vampyrs never apologize. At any rate, even if she would have wanted to, that wasn’t possible.”
“Why?” I knew I shouldn’t ask, but if being a sabor was going to be my fate, I had to know.
“I wasn’t the only one who was punished. The rege knew which vampyr had taken my virginity. Her talisman was taken from her.”
I had no idea what the talisman was supposed to represent, but his tone was so
“They don’t? We never see them again?”
“Of course we do. There aren’t very many of us. But usually it’s after a few years.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “The words were hardly out of my mouth before I realized she would never be able to return to me. I promised I’d keep what we’d done locked in my heart. ‘Do you think you can keep that a secret?’ Vidalia asked in the saddest voice I’d ever heard. ‘Do you think I can?’ She ran her fingers over my birthmark, then left me without saying another word. But I was going to prove to her how worthy of her I was. I’d never tell anyone, and she’d see that and come back to me. And I suppose I thought it wouldn’t matter. You see, before the Plague, we were a luxury reserved for only the royalty and the nobility.”
“But Dad told me sabors weren’t discovered until after the Plague.”
“No. We’ve been in existence for almost as long as vampyrs. There’s even a school of thought we were once the same species, but at some point we branched off.” He sighed. “So much of our history has been lost.”
“Okay, so before the Plague we were a luxury.” I was only just coming to terms with being a sabor. The thought I could have been born a vampyr—that didn’t bear thinking of.
“Yes. Sabors and their families belonged to the vampyr lords, and they were kept isolated on their estates. You have to remember those were feudal times, Ty. The vampyrs guarded their possessions ferociously, and their sabors most of all.”
So we were nothing more than possessions?
“What happened afterward?”
He went to the sink and ran the water for about a minute before taking a glass from the cabinet and filling it. “With the population of normals so depleted, we became a necessity. For the other vampyrs to survive, they had to drink from us. The rege had no choice but to permit it.”
“And you’re telling me we have to be virgins for our blood to be of any use to them.”
“Yes.” He brought the glass to his lips and took a long swallow.
“You said they don’t come to you anymore.” I had a sick feeling. This wasn’t going to end well. “What happened?”
“The next vampyr who came to me realized immediately what had happened. He….” Uncle Phil looked lost and as sick as I felt. He touched his throat, and now that he’d drawn attention to it, I could see his birthmark was more than just a birthmark. It was a scar.
“Uncle Phil, what did he do?”
“Nothing more than I deserved.”
It looked as if his throat had been—I closed my eyes, shutting out the sight. “How did you survive it?”
“I survived.”
“But it wasn’t your fault!”
“He was furious. They can only drink from a virgin, he told me. He demanded to know which vampyr had been my partner, but I refused to tell him. I could feel him trying to invade my mind. I had no idea that could be done. It… it was like being raped again.”
“ Again ?” Oh, Jesus, my poor uncle!
“My action, our action, resulted in there being one less sabor available to them. After that, vampyrs no longer came to me, and normal humans seemed to sense there was something different about me. They avoided me as well.”
“Did she ever come back to apologize?”
“Vampyrs never apologize. At any rate, even if she would have wanted to, that wasn’t possible.”
“Why?” I knew I shouldn’t ask, but if being a sabor was going to be my fate, I had to know.
“I wasn’t the only one who was punished. The rege knew which vampyr had taken my virginity. Her talisman was taken from her.”
I had no idea what the talisman was supposed to represent, but his tone was so
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