“They told you to take the Original’s blood and create a new vampire?” I asked.
Qwynn gave another half-hearted shrug, picking at invisible lint on the chair. “A worshiper told me to wake the Original to help build an army. But I figured…”
“You figured that the Original would have all the power over the vampires then, instead of you,” I finished for her in a flat, cold tone.
Galina crossed her arms and looked away in disgust. “You really are a selfish little idiot, aren’t you?”
“Why on earth would you think that was a good idea?” Fallon agreed.
“Because she’s a power-hungry ho,” Vivien finally piped up. Shaking off Bianca, she stepped forward. “Why are you here sharing all this? What do you want now?”
Vivien had a beat on Qwynn. I realized I should have asked that question first. Nothing came without a price in her world.
Qwynn’s chin set. “No one will speak to me. I am a pariah. I don’t wish to spend the rest of eternity as an outcast.”
“Bullshit,” Vivien said, getting in Qwynn’s face. “You want Grim. Or do you want me dead? Are you the one who set up the car bomb? Was it for him? Or were you trying to get me out of the way?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you really believe I’d dirty my hands like that?” She lifted her fingers to show off the long, elaborately bejeweled, manicured nails.
“If you don’t want your hands dirtied, then why would you be chosen to wake up the Original?” Bianca asked.
Fallon answered this time. “Because she is the only other one who knew where the Original was kept.”
Qwynn’s eyes slid to me. It was true. Between us there had been no secrets, or at least on my end there hadn’t been. So trapped in the opium-soaked dens, reveling between each other’s legs and mouths, I didn’t think of the consequences until it was too late.
Never in my wildest dreams did I consider she’d remember the system of how I moved the Original every ten years to keep the staff from getting suspicious. Her sights typically remained on her target, and she’d reel them in with her wiles. Going after Sekhmet required a far larger scheme, and that was not Qwynn’s style. At least when she’d been manipulated, Qwynn hadn’t been stupid enough to actually wake up the Original. And I’m sure the irony of her hand in creating my perfect mate rubbed salt in her wounds.
“Well shit,” Vivien said. “We need to move her. This ho could tell anyone where the Original is.”
I’d taken Vivien to see the Original to discover how she’d been made, but at that point I’d been certain I would kill the fiery sekhor. She wouldn’t be able to tell my secrets if she was dead. But now, I trusted her not to betray me. Just as I had trusted Qwynn.
I’d learned to rule over my romantic notions with an iron fist, but it did seem every time I let that grip slip, someone was ready to take advantage. Had I put too much faith in Vivien? Faith she’d come around to love me as I loved her?
Again, a sharp arrow pierced under my breast.
“Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter,” Qwynn hissed at Vivien, the aggravation finally getting to her.
“Maybe we should keep her locked up,” Vivien suggested. “Then when we find the Blade of Bane, we can just lop off her head so she can’t tell anyone.” I knew Vivien enough to know she was deliberately goading my ex.
“No need to be nasty,” Qwynn said, wrinkling her nose. “If Grim strengthened his spell, then I couldn’t get near the Original again. But he’s too busy fucking a blood-sucking whore like you.”
Something flashed in Galina’s eyes. “I’ve heard enough,” she said in a tone that commanded the room before all hell let loose.
So had I. “Get out,” I announced. When no one moved, I said, “Now. Everyone out.”
Qwynn stood, adjusting her dress, sure to run her hands over her curves, shooting daggers at Vivien with her eyes.
Galina and Bianca made a hasty exit, and Fallon used his broad body to usher Qwynn out of our lounge.
Only Vivien remained.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Strengthen the spell, as Qwynn suggested.”
“What can I do?” she asked.
“You can…” I paused, unsure of what to say. “Go downstairs and have a drink and do some dancing.”
