The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next few minutes are unadulterated chaos. Bogdan manages to keep Tegan from escaping, but with Leo's quickly deteriorating state, we end up needing her help. He's unconscious and rapidly losing blood. Even his pulse is slowing. Bogdan's red eyes sear me as I suggest letting her go.

"She'll kill you, human," he mutters. "Out of the question."

"We need her help!"

Tegan defiantly stares ahead. Even though she's a Secondary, she has the same sense of pride as vampires. She's not angry that she's being held captive. She's angry she slipped up enough to get in that predicament in the first place.

Bogdan shakes his head. "Enough."

Leo is curled into a small heap beside me. I've switched out the clothing in front of his stomach – twice. His paleness takes on a sickly hue, and I know he doesn't have much longer. Bogdan's made it clear time and time again that he doesn't care whether Leo lives or dies, but I do.

And I know if the roles were reversed, he'd be doing all he could to save me. I push myself away from Leo and go to the duffle bag. The picture of Archer Robbins has fallen just a foot beside it, and I hastily swipe it up before walking over to Tegan.

Her dark eyes glower with every step I take, but my need to help outweighs my fear. Bogdan grunts when I've gotten close enough, and my feet come to a stop of their own accord. I would just say it's because I'm used to listening to him, but I know it's more than that. Bogdan and I are connected in a way that's hard to explain.

I sigh and hold the picture up, high enough that it catches the light...and Tegan's attention.

"We're not lying about the picture," I say, hating the tremor in my voice. "We really are...or were...looking for you and the rest of the Secondary population."

Tegan's terrifying gaze scours over the picture. She studies it in silence. Then her eyes flicker over to Bogdan.

"Archer Robbins," she says.

"Yes," I breathe out. "Did you know him?"

She shakes her head a single time. "No, only heard of him. But you know him."

I frown in confusion, turning the picture to face me again. I study the face I've stared at more times than I can count. I almost feel like I do know him. He looks like Bogdan, but not quite. Not really. Then I shake my head.

"I don't know him."

Tegan sighs impatiently and nods her head towards Bogdan. "Yes you do. It's him."

"No it's not. The nose is different. The eyes – "

"When a Secondary changes, it's not like when a human changes," Tegan responds flatly. "Humans look identical. But because the Secondary already has the blood of a vampire flowing through them, when they change and become fully vampire, their human...imperfections...are modified. They look the same, but different."

Bogdan stiffens a few feet beside me. This is news to him, too. I swallow hard and look at the picture again. My heart beats funny staring at the picture of a man for so long I believed was Bogdan's family. But come to find out...it's been him all along.

"Why...why would he have a picture of himself?" I ask quietly.

"Practice of war," Tegan replies simply. "Even though Secondaries are powerful, we're not immune to the loss of memories when we change, either. So before we helped during the first war, we were told to bring a picture of ourselves to carry on us. That way if we died...or changed, we would have our own piece of identification for someone to find."