Crave (Harlequin Teen)

race that has traditionally valued our own history. However, I have done my own research and found that we actually predate Adam and Eve’s descendants.”
    Huh?
    He told me then about Lillith, Adam’s true first wife who ended up rebelling against God and becoming a demoness, as well as the mother of our race of vampires. She’d also gone around killing babies and seducing men in their sleep.
    I thought of all the times I’d kissed Tristan in our shared dreams, unknowingly draining him of energy and life. I winced. “This Lillith sounds like a real role model for women. Did she eventually die?”
    “No. She is still alive, sleeping deep beneath the Sumerian desert somewhere and awaiting the day she can seek final revenge on God.”
    Talk about not being able to choose the family we’re born into. “Wow. Sorry I asked.” I leaned back in my seat again, my stomach more knotted than it had ever been before, my head swirling with way too much information. I could definitely have lived without ever knowing about my blood ties to Lillith.
    At least I knew one thing…Dad actually cared about me, after all.
    He chuckled and reopened his paper. “You look tired. We have a few hours before our arrival. You should try to get some sleep.”
    Nodding, I reclined my chair and tried to relax.
    When I came to in the plane, now dim except for a reading light above Dad, he closed and folded his newspaper then turned up the general lights. “Good, you are awake. We will be landing shortly.”
    Immediately, my heart began to race. Soon I would meet the control freaks who’d managed to reach out across an entire ocean and screw up my life. I wished they were on another planet instead of just another continent.
    I wished Tristan could be here with me somehow. Or at least that I could know he was safe somewhere.
    The plane stopped at the farthest hangar of the airport. A car with dark-tinted windows waited for us a few yards away. Once we were in the backseat, Dad held up a long, black satin scarf. A blindfold. “I apologize, but the council insists that this is necessary for their safety.”
    “Uh, okay.” I held my head still while he tied the blindfold over my eyes then checked the edges to be sure I couldn’t see out.
    “Your hands may remain free as long as you do not touch the blindfold.”
    The car eased forward, and we were on our way. Great. My first time in Paris, and I wouldn’t get to see a thing. Not even the Eiffel Tower.
    It seemed we turned a lot, surely more than was actually necessary for the half-hour drive. Maybe they were trying to confuse me. I could have told them not to bother. I frequently got lost even with a map and a compass.
    Then the car stopped.
    Dad exited first then held on to my forearm to guide me from the car and beyond. I had a fleeting sense of a breeze ruffling the tiny hairs on my arms. Then a heavy-sounding door groaned open. We walked forward, and the breeze died away, replaced by chilly, moldy-smelling air.
    We walked for what seemed like a long time, although it might have been only a couple minutes. The path had a wet-sounding hard floor and too many turns to count much less remember. We also went through a series of clanking metal doors others opened and closed for us. I sensed the guards we passed, the loss of sight making my emotional radar ramp into overdrive. Most of the guards projected boredom or mild curiosity. But none of them ever said anything. They must be using that vampire ESP stuff.
    Dad stopped suddenly. Holding his mouth close to my ear, he breathed out in a rapid whisper, “I must warn you. In the beginning, the bloodlust is most often triggered by strong emotions. When you truly give yourself to the vampire side, only then will you find complete control over your needs. It takes fledgling vampires months to learn how to let go of their emotions in order to regain control. Some never do. But you must learn how to do this. Today. The council will have a surprise waiting for you to test your control. I am sorry, I did not know before we got on the plane, and then I could not safely warn you. So whatever you do, stay calm.”
    A surprise? What kind of surprise would make me want to just surrender to the vamp within? And wasn’t that backward anyways? Wasn’t it the vampire genes inside me that were causing the bloodlust? How could giving in to that side actually help me regain control over the bloodlust?
    It didn’t make any sense. And a tiny part of me had