AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because he’s a dhampir?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, exactly.” I nodded, surprised at how quickly she’d grasped the issue. However, as a slayer, she must’ve seen the inner workings of a number of vampire syndicates. “You guys look down on dhampirs.”
“Eden,” Talon warned.
“No,” said Twilight, “let her finish. I want to hear this.”
Brien was no longer frowning, but now his expression was unreadable, which was almost worse.
“Go on,” Twilight told me.
I sat a little straighter. “Right now every single enforcer in the Maritime Syndicate is a vampire, and your two lieutenants—” I spoke directly to Brien—“are also vampires. I get that you’re stronger and faster, but don’t brains count for anything? Not one dhampir has a rank higher than soldier.”
There was a short silence, then Talon said, “She’s right, you know.”
I slow-blinked. I hadn’t expected Talon to take my side, not with the way he felt about siring a dhampir child.
“The hierarchy decides these things,” Brien said. “Not me. Except for my lieutenants, of course.”
“But Adrian could hold his own against the less dominant vampires,” said Talon.
Brien lifted a brow. “Then why doesn’t he challenge them?”
Twilight leaned a hip on the desk. “Maybe he thinks it wouldn’t do any good. Even if he won, he wouldn’t necessarily be promoted. That’s up to the primus.”
“I don’t know,” said Brien. “The hierarchy exists for a reason, and if Adrian receives a promotion over a vampire, there will be hell to pay.”
“Then maybe,” Twilight muttered, “the vampires need to get over themselves.”
Brien turned his head to look at her. She smirked back.
“Tell me again why I mated with a slayer?” Brien asked the ceiling.
Her smirk deepened. “Because I think outside of the box.”
“There is that…” He turned back to us. “I’ll think about it, all right?”
“Thank you,” Talon said, and I echoed him.
Brien pulled Twilight onto his lap. “C’mere, you.”
Behind me, Talon said, “If we’re done here?”
“Get out,” Brien said without taking his gaze from his mate.
Talon helped me to my feet, and we exited the office. He shook his head, a smile on his lips.
“Those two,” he said, then sobered. “You did good,” he told me. He tucked a short strand of hair behind my ear. “I’ll bring it up again,” he added, low-voiced. “About the dhampirs.”
“You will?”
“Yes. That’s a promise.”
Cain emerged from the office next door. “What’s a promise?”
“Later,” Talon said with a glance at Diane.
Cain followed us out of the war room, closing the door behind him. He eyed my pregnant stomach but otherwise ignored me as if I were a rock or other unimportant, inanimate object.
