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“Answer him,” Talon ordered under his breath, and I realized Brien had asked how I was doing.
“I’m good, thank you.” I stretched my lips in a smile that probably didn’t fool any of them.
Brien dipped his chin in acknowledgment. His dark blond hair was pulled back in a short ponytail, his lean face surfer-boy handsome. A man who’d been born a pureblood vampire and a prince, he wore his new position as primus easily, as comfortable in a ten-thousand-dollar suit as in a T-shirt and jeans.
Grovel, Talon had told me. Humbling myself wasn’t easy, but I was determined to do it—and not because of Talon. I owed both Twilight and Brien an apology.
I squared my shoulders. “If I may speak…?”
“Go ahead,” Brien said.
Okay. My heart banged against my chest. I had to get this right.
I wiped my sweaty palms on my skirt and let the words spill out.
“Before we go any further, I want to apologize. To you both, but especially to Twilight. I’m sorry.” I met her eyes. “I never did anything like that before—I want you both to know that. That’s not an excuse, by the way. There’s no excuse for what I did—breaking the syndicate’s trust like that, and especially, for spying on you. I’m sorry for that, and I’m especially sorry if it put you in—in any danger.”
To my humiliation, my voice cracked. I dug my teeth into my lower lip, willing myself not to cry. That would be the final straw, breaking down in front of Twilight.
Talon’s hand returned to my lower back in silent support. I hadn’t expected that. My heart squeezed. If only we really had a relationship like that, one where he had my back, no matter what.
One where he loved me like I loved him. No matter what.
Twilight tilted her head like an inquisitive robin. She’d been pretty as a human, but as a vampire, she was breath-taking. Her skin shimmered like the inside of a shell, her dark eyes were luminous, her lips a rosy red.
“Why did you do it?” she asked.
I shook my head. “That’s not important. I knew it was wrong, and I did it anyway.”
“Mm.” Her gaze dropped to my swollen belly, her look knowing.
Shortly before I’d left the island, Twilight had found me crying in the bathroom of the Bite Club, the castle’s dance club. I hadn’t told her why, but she must’ve realized that was around the time I’d found out I was carrying Talon’s child.
My lower back was aching from standing too long. I shifted my weight and brought my hands to my sacrum. Talon’s large palm went right to where it hurt the most, massaging the tightness.
“Jesus.” Twilight pointed to the armchair in front of the desk. “Let her sit already.”
“Thank you.” Talon helped me lower myself to the leather seat.
The new prima folded her toned arms over her candy-pink bodice. “Here’s what I think, Eden. Nothing you did harmed me personally. I was here under false pretenses myself.” She and Brien shared a look. “So as far as I’m concerned, we’re good, although I appreciate the apology.”
I swallowed, nodded. “Thank you.”
“But that’s only me,” she said. “There’s still Brien and Talon.”
Talon put his hands on my shoulders. “We’re good. She apologized to me, too.”
My mind flashed to me on my knees, taking him into my mouth, and my face heated.
Twilight’s gaze flicked to my cheeks. I had a feeling she guessed exactly what form my apology had taken.
Brien leaned back in his chair, and she rested a hand on his shoulder, like one of those scary power couples from Suits or Succession.
“We let you into our castle,” he said. “You were a third-year thrall, someone I believed we could trust. Talon made you his favorite. I suppose we should be grateful they didn’t ask you to do anything more damaging. Or did they?”
“No!” I straightened. “That’s all I agreed to—make friends with Twilight and report on what she did. And I passed one note for them. That’s it. I swear that’s all.”
Talon’s grip tightened on my shoulders. I wasn’t sure if he was protecting me or making sure I stayed put.
