“Essentially,” the vampire began to explain, running his claws through his silky black hair and shifting in his seat a bit to get more comfortable. No doubt, we’d be here for a long time. “My bloodline is mixed with mages of old. Something passed down from generation to generation is extremely potent magic, much more powerful than vampires typically have access to.”

“As you know, all humans can learn magic, but some have a high natural affinity to it. This was ...