Penance ↠ Volturi Kings {2} ✓

012

"Hugo," I said, after the two of us had spent most of the night in relative silence. I had been reading his comic books at a human pace, enjoying the only form of entertainment the castle seemed to hold.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up from the Iron Man comic he was reading.

"How often do we get to feed around here?" I asked. A portion of my brain was always acutely aware of the thirst burning in my throat. It had only gotten worse as the night progressed.

Hugo tapped his chin. "Depends. Brand new vampires like you they feed about once every two weeks. They say it allows you to learn better control. If you can control yourself when your eyes are black then you can control yourself any time. It's awful, though. I'm nearly out of the newborn phase, though, so they let me feed about once a week. Still only one human, though. Never more. Not enough to make the thirst go away."

"Two weeks," I muttered. The human Caesar had tossed me when I finished the change was the only blood I would get for two weeks. No wonder those in my control training had been willing to fight tooth and nail for even a drop of blood from the two humans used there.

"You'll get through it," he said confidently. "The first two weeks are the worst. After that it gets better."

"Because you don't need to feed as much, or because you get used to it?" I asked.

Hugo frowned. "I guess because you get used to it."

"Great," I said, staring blankly at the Batman comic in my hands. So not only would I have to deal with the painful effects of the mate bond, but constant thirst as well.

Super.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you," Hugo said, laying flat on the floor with his legs on his couch. "My control training is at five, so you'll have a bit of free time until seven. Yours isn't until nine, right?"

"I think so," I said, slightly uncertain.

"It's at nine," Hugo said confidently. "The beginner's control training is always at nine."

I recalled my first session of control training with a grimace. "They call that beginner's?"

"Si, there's usually no blood in the open air. But sometimes someone will slip," Hugo said. "Is that what happened your first session?"

"Yes. One of the others started drinking while they were, erm, restraining me. He lost his head for it," I said.

Hugo grinned. "You lost some limbs then, si? Don't worry, it happens to all of us. It's no fun, though."

"So I've learned," I deadpanned. Hugo giggled, and I smiled at him. "What is your control training like?"

"I'm in the advanced group, since I've been a vampire for longer now. Eight months, I think? Maybe a little longer," Hugo said thoughtfully, furrowing his brow in thought.

"But the advanced training?" I prompted.

"Ah, right. It's gruesome. They want blood in open air, lots, but need the humans alive. Stale blood isn't as appealing. So Doyle's figured out how to gut them in just the right way so they stay living a while. It's lucky they're unconscious for it," Hugo said, wincing. Disgust churned in my stomach.

"How do they keep them unconscious? Do they drug them?" I asked. I wasn't yet familiar enough with the scent of blood to detect anything unnatural that may be within it.

Hugo shrugged. "No lo sé. Caesar said that I could smell it in their blood if I tried, so I guess so. But I've never been able to. Maybe it's because I've never smelled any other blood than what they bring us."