Glancing around the table at everyone, he took a seat. “Where are the Elders?”
“This is Circle business,” I said.
“Then why are you here?”
I’d been removed from the Circle, or so he thought. In reality, I’d allowed him to think he had the power to remove me. Gave him a win. Threw him a bone, as Jakob put it.
I ignored his taunt and got straight to the point because we didn’t have time for games. I was his queen, and he would obey me. “As you all know—”
“I asked you a question,” he said, refusing to let go of his delusions of authority.
Samuel must have lost his patience, because he stood up and gave his brother a vicious look. “That’s enough! She’s your queen! She owes you no explanation!”
Jakob grinned at me discreetly from across the table when I sat there stoically and allowed my uncle to put his brother in his place. But I thought Olivia was going to lose the battle with that laugh threatening to burst from her mouth.
For the first time ever, I saw a flash of fear in Cabot’s eyes. His chest heaved, but he backed down while holding Samuel’s glare for a moment. Rebecca sat through the admonishment, looking almost as shocked as her husband. I felt zero sympathy for either of them.
“As I was saying, you all know that Samuel has been fighting vampires in Edinburg for the past few years. But what you don’t know is that those vampires are far worse than common Night Walkers, and now they’re here in New York.”
Cabot insisted on dismissing me and turned to his brother. “What makes them worse?”
Samuel glanced at me, but I nodded for him to continue. Cabot would know soon enough that his condescendence would be ending very soon.
“What Morgan is saying is that we’ve been fighting a line of ancient Mesopotamian vampires that are the blood source of every other vampire on the planet, including the Night Walkers. They’re called Caspians. They’ve been invading Europe for a century and now the United Kingdom. Edinburg has been under attack for over a decade. We know they’ve been lying low in the States for a while now, but they’re beginning to make their move.” He glanced at me with solidarity in his eyes. “As Morgan said, they’re already here.”
Rebecca examined her fingernails. “What makes you think that?”
I thought it wise not to mention that my father was one of them, the notorious Reaper that was nothing more than a legend. “Because they’re killing Flyers.”
She huffed and crossed her arms. “A few Flyers getting offed doesn’t prove anything.”
Without responding to her callous remark, I motioned for Samuel to continue.
He went straight for the jugular, so to speak. “We call ourselves the Order, and we hunt Caspians. Katherine was head of the New York chapter, and now Morgan had taken the helm.”
“Katherine?” Cabot’s voice dropped an octave like it always did when he was angry. “You two were working together to form your own hunting team behind my back?”
“Not just any team,” Samuel said. “A superior team. That’s not an insult, Cabot. Just a fact. Caspians are much more lethal than anything the Circle has ever faced. Now that they’re here in numbers, it’ll take both our teams to fight them. I’ll check to see if we can spare some of the Scotland team as well.”
Cabot stood up and looked at Jakob, who seemed unaffected by it all. “Did you know about this?”
Jakob held Cabot’s stare but didn’t answer.
Then Cabot looked at the twins. “I suppose the two of you have been splitting alliances too.” They were Samuel’s kids, and they had exceptional powers. Of course they were fighting with their father.
“Christ! You’re all a bunch of traitors!”
“Sit down,” I said. “This isn’t about taking sides. Samuel is just trying to keep you—”
“Keep me what?” He walked up on me so fast I threw up my power hand and sent him flying backward. He hit the wall so hard it busted his lip. I’d done the same to Rebecca not long ago, and I was getting tired of my own family attacking me.
When he climbed to his feet, I stood up. “Samuel was trying to keep you safe because he knows you’re not exceptional enough to go up against the Caspians.” I glanced at Rebecca. “Neither is your wife.” She didn’t dare reply, and even though Cabot had a humiliated look on his face, he knew I was right. “I know it’s hard for you to believe, but none of us want to see you get killed.”
“Killed!” He scoffed and ran his sleeve over his mouth to wipe the blood away. “What’s so goddamn dangerous about them?”
Samuel picked up his phone and sent a text. “I’ll let you see for yourself.”
The elevator door opened a couple of minutes later, and Edward walked into chambers.
Samuel greeted him with a firm nod before looking around the table. “I’d like you all to meet one of the foremost authorities on the Caspian dynasty.”
Cabot stared at my driver, whom he thought he’d fired. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Not at all. Edward is a member of the Order. He’s also a Caspian by birth, which makes him a valuable asset to the team.”
The laugh coming out of Cabot’s mouth was filled with animus. “He doesn’t work here anymore, so you can have him.” He shot Edward a malicious grin. “So you’re a vampire. You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now.”
I wanted to remind my uncle that he had no authority to fire my driver, let alone to try to kill him. But he was already down, and another blow to his ego would probably send him over the edge. I was just happy that Edward no longer needed a front to stay close to me. And if he insisted on continuing to drive me, he was welcome to do that. Paid handsomely of course.
“Edward is here to answer your question,” Samuel said.
Rebecca looked Edward up and down and huffed. “This ought to be interesting.”
Cabot reached for his boot and pulled out a knife, reinforcing Samuel’s warning to me to never walk into a situation without a weapon. Apparently Cabot followed that rule. He was at Edward’s backside before any of us could leave our chairs, the knife pressed to Edward’s throat.
“Make sure you cut it off clean,” Edward said in a deceptively calm voice. “If you’re sloppy, you’re dead.” He smiled at me through clenched teeth and grabbed the pointed end of the knife pressed against his skin. “Here, let me show you.”
Samuel was the only person in the room without a horrified look on his face as Edward took control of the sharp blade still gripped in Cabot’s hand. He forced it into his own neck until it was embedded deep, the wound gushing with blood.
Cabot flew against the wall as Edward whipped around with the confiscated knife in his hand, his eyes coal black and the deep wound gaping like a bloody smile beneath his chin.
The sight of it brought on a hunger and a gnawing in the pit of my stomach. I had to close my eyes to stave off the heat I knew was rising up in them as if a flame were flickering inside my pupils.
“Mora!”
I opened them when I heard Jakob call my name. My hands were gripped so tightly around the arms of my chair that my knuckles had turned white and my fingernails had left scratches in the wood.
All eyes were on me, but they quickly turned to Rebecca when her chair scraped across the floor and nearly tipped over. She’d jumped up when Edward started stalking toward Cabot with the knife raised in the air. Ethan grabbed her arm to stop her from doing something stupid while I gave Samuel a questioning look. He was exceptionally calm as he shook his head, reassuring me that his brother was not about to die.
With his free hand, Edward pinned Cabot to the wall by his neck. “I told you not to be sloppy.” Then he dropped the knife and kicked it across the room. He felt his throat and rubbed the wound that was already starting to close. “If this was a real hunt, you would have been dead before the knife touched my skin.”
He released Cabot and took a step back, straightening his jacket before looking at me. “Call me when you need a ride
.” Then he gave Cabot a final glare before walking into the elevator to leave.
Samuel stood up and motioned for me, Jakob, and the twins to follow him out. “Joining forces doesn’t include going all commando on the Caspians,” he said to his brother, cocking a brow. “Unless you’d like a repeat of what just happened.”
“Then what the hell do you want from us?”
“For now, we need eyes on the park. Make yourselves known at night so the Caspians aren’t so comfortable helping themselves to a little Flyer magic. Just leave the engagement to the Order.”
When their little talk was over, I followed the others to the elevator. As I walked past Rebecca, she gave me a look that reminded me to always watch my back. I had a feeling one of us wouldn’t live to see another moon, and I intended to see it shining brightly with Hawk by my side.
Chapter 12
Jakob eyed me as I stepped into the elevator. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I’m just a little hungry.” I glanced at Samuel. “Do you think Cabot will cooperate?”
“Let’s hope so. My brother and I have our differences, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him from getting his head handed to him, even if I have to babysit him on the battlefield.”
Jakob groaned. “Which will put us all at risk.”
“Exactly.”
I was more concerned about my brother than Cabot. “And I’ll be watching out for Ethan. But something tells me he won’t be as eager as Cabot to play the hero. I could see it on his face when Edward went all Caspian back there.”
“What about Rebecca?” Jakob asked.
I spoke up after a moment of utter silence in the elevator. “I’ll be too busy watching my back to make sure it doesn’t fall against her blade.”
Samuel nodded. “Wise idea.”
The elevator door opened on the first floor, and we stepped out.
“So what now?” I asked.
The twins had already gotten off on their floor, and Jakob turned to head to his apartment, not far down the hallway from the lobby. “I think I’ll make myself something to eat. Care to join me?”
“Thanks, but I have a lunch date with Jules.” I hadn’t actually called her yet, but she’d left me several messages.
He looked at Samuel. “How about you, old friend? We could catch up?”
“It’s tempting, but I need to take another drive out to Brooklyn. Whoever bought that box has to be on someone’s security footage. It’s a long shot, but it’s all we have.”
“I thought none of them would cooperate?” I said. “Besides, the tapes on those cameras are usually overwritten fairly frequently.”
“Foster said he sold it within the past week, so there’s a chance the footage is still intact. There’s a pawnshop right next door, but it was closed when I went back out there. If anyone has a security camera, it’ll be them. I’m going to have a talk with the proprietor. If he doesn’t offer me the footage, I’ll take it.”
“All right. Call me if you find anything.”
I went back upstairs to call Jules. After agreeing to meet downtown near her shop, I headed for my bedroom to change clothes. As soon as I came back out into the living room, my phone rang.
“What did you do to the elevator?” Jakob said. “I press P, but the elevator won’t move.”
“Sorry about that. I forgot to mention I’ve finally done away with my open-door policy.” I was through with people walking in without an invitation.
“Good for you. May I come up?”
“I’ll give you the code for an emergency, but keep it to yourself. I don’t want anyone barging up here.”
I let him up and went to get something to drink. He walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. “Did you change your mind about cooking?”
“I wanted to catch you before you left to meet Jules.”
I knew that look on his face. “What’s on your mind, Jakob?”
“I just want to make sure you’re prepared for what’s to come. You’re barely out of your Night Walker training wheels, and now you’re being thrown into the ring with the likes of vampires few have ever had to face before. We’re all at risk.”
“Are you suggesting I tell him I’m out?”
“Of course not.”
I could see the frustration in his eyes. “Then what are you saying?”
“I’m worried about how you’ll react when you find yourself in the middle of all that blood. I saw how it triggered you when Edward slashed his throat. You don’t have it under control, Mora.”
Even the memory of seeing Edward’s blood running down his neck incited what I could only describe as a feeling of lust. If I lost control in the middle of a fight and Cabot or Rebecca saw it, it was over.
“Maybe it’s time I told the clan what I am.”
He cocked his head as if unsure he’d heard me correctly. “I know you’re smarter than that. If Cabot doesn’t try to sentence you to death, the Elders will.”
“So I’ve been told half a dozen times. But I am their queen. I have to have some authority over my own fate.”
“That’s true, but I’m pretty sure there are laws somewhere in all those dusty books in council chambers that would declare you a heretic. And you know what happens to heretics.”
I turned around to put my glass in the sink and stared at the drain. “You’re right, as usual.”
“I wish I wasn’t. But since we both know you’re in danger of being exposed, I’d suggest we figure it out before you find yourself in the middle of a bloodbath and announce to the world that you’re a vampire. A Caspian no less.”
“I’m a Winterborne first,” I said, turning around to face him.
He shook his head. “Not when blood flows and your instincts kick in. I’ve been thinking. It might be a good idea to feed before you hunt. Satisfy your cravings before they hit.” He hesitated as if pondering an idea. “I’d be happy to let you feed from me, but—”
“God no!”
His forehead tightened. “Why? What’s wrong with my blood?”
“Nothing. But it would feel wrong to feed from someone I look up to as a father.” How could I describe the erotic sensation of feeding without making us both uncomfortable? “Besides, we have no idea what will happen if I drink your blood. I’m not a sick bird like Hawk or the crow when you saved them. I’m half Caspian, and you’re an immortal.” If I’d already reached my majority, it might have been feasible. But drinking immortal blood before then would be like playing God. Fiddling with destiny. Russian roulette. I shook my head firmly. “No. it’s safer to stick with human blood.”
“Human blood is really the only kind that will sustain you anyway.”
Jakob was right. I needed to talk to Hawk. It was probably wise, if not imperative, to feed before hunting, but the blood den wasn’t practical. It was fine when I needed something to take the edge off, but there was usually little or no notice for a hunt, and I couldn’t just put everything on hold while I swung by there to get a little nip.
“There is someone you could ask.”
His eyes were sympathetic, and I quickly realized why he’d really come by to talk to me before I left for my lunch date with Jules. “Oh, no. I can’t ask her that.”
“Why not? She’s your best friend.”
I laughed, but there was nothing humorous about it. “She’d probably ghost me. Best friend or not, there’s only so much you can ask of a person.”
“Jules would walk through fire for you.”
I tried to imagine how that conversation would go. Jules had been there the night Jakob and Hawk told me I’d require blood occasionally. She’d also said to look elsewhere when I did. How could I ask to drink her blood? Feed from her? The idea was just as repulsive as the thought of feeding from Jakob. It just wasn’t right.
“Just think about it, Mora.”
As we drove downtown, I couldn’t help but glance at Edward’s neck from the back seat. That display in chambers had made us all aware of how d
angerous he could be if he decided to jump ship and return to his mother’s side of the family. The man was a beast.
“Do you ever feel guilty about working for the other side?” I asked.
He looked at me through the mirror, but his usual smile was gone. “There’s only one side—the one that kills Caspians.”
I glanced out the window, regretting opening my mouth. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid question.”
“Not really. People are betrayed all the time by those they trust. You have a right to question my mindset.”
“I wasn’t doing that. I was just curious.” And feeling a little awkward by the silence in the car.
He let out a long sigh. “In a way, I did betray you.”
“How so?”
His eyes had taken on a smoky look, like a man gazing at an attractive woman. “I lied to you about who I was.”
“That wasn’t a lie.” I looked away from his intense eyes. “I don’t think you had a choice. You were being loyal to my mother by watching out for me.”
The conversation lulled again.
“By the way, that was a pretty intense thing you did in chambers this morning.” I remembered what it had felt like when I slit my own throat the night I thought I was destined to be my father’s prisoner for eternity. Fortunately, my attempt to off myself didn’t work, and I was freed by Hawk and the crow moments later. “It must have been uncomfortable to do that.”
He smiled briefly and turned his eyes back to the road. “I felt more pleasure than pain.”
I asked him to drop me off a few blocks from the restaurant because I suddenly felt an overwhelming need to get out of the car. Ever since the night Hawk had taken me to the blood den, the simplest things brought on a carnal feeling in my gut, like Edward staring at me through the mirror. It was a vampire thing I had to get used to. I also needed some air before meeting Jules. I was considering asking her to do something so intimate it made me nauseous. What if she looked at me with disgust and got up and left? I’d never forgive myself.
Savage Sons (House of Winterborne Book 2) Page 10
