Page 121 of Mage Massacres

“What the fuck?” I hissed. “Why didn’t you warn me sooner?”

“That was sooner. I can kick the next door in if you’d like?”

I rubbed my hand over my jaw, at a loss for words as she stalked through the doorway. Metal dripped from overhead, landing on her shoulder and running down her arm. She barely paid the burning liquid any attention, simply wiping it away and shaking it off her fingers.

Sloane’s anger swirled unstably, a dangerous tornado of fury touching the ground, ready for destruction. But she held it at bay, her eyes locked on mine as we paused to listen.

Councilman Brown’s raised voice filled the silence, contempt heavy in his nasal tone. “Pick a side, Sean. We know where everyone stands, except for you.”

“We shouldn’t be having this discussion without Nate here,” Councilman Dunne argued.

Gary Brown and Sean Dunne had regularly disagreed during meetings. This was nothing new, but it also didn’t sound like the topic was budgeting.

“Nathaniel is gone,” Gary shouted before lowering his voice to a more respectable volume. “He’s surrendered the House of Vampyre to his spawn, and the guild will be next. A decision needs to be made before we’re all at the mercy of a child.”

Sloane’s gaze bounced between me and the door. “I’m going to kill him.”

“What he said isn’t a good enough reason to kill him here.” I shrugged, grabbing her hand as I grinned at her. “Give it a couple of weeks. Then we’ll come back for him. I don’t like him either.”

“How do you know Nate is gone?” Councilwoman Steward asked. “His email said he was going on holiday and wouldn’t be back until July. He went through all the appropriate channels for time off. And even if he hadn’t, that hardly warrants an uprising such as this.”

“I agree with Marsha,” Councilwoman Squiers stated. “It was time for Nate and Amelia’s daughter to step into her role. I imagine she would have been ready to become the High Priestess sooner if her mother had been around to teach her. I don’t see any issues with giving her more time to adjust.”

“None of us took the time to teach her, so how could we complain?” Marsha queried. “She may be a child when compared to our ages, but from what I’ve seen, she’s grown up to be a capable leader.”

Gary scoffed. “She’s a murderous brat who isn’t capable of leading vampires, much less mages.”

“That’s what Annette called me yesterday,” Sloane mentioned.

“The vampires are doing fine. You didn’t answer Marsha’s question,” Sean called out to Gary. “How do you know that Nate is gone?”

Councilman Rickard spoke up, his unconcerned voice grating on every one of my nerves. “Gary and I met with Alric yesterday over a few pints. He told us that he’d gotten word of Nathaniel’s death.”

Rage stormed over Sloane’s face, her eyes tinting black as she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. I cupped my hands over her cheeks, forcing her to focus on me.

“You have to calm down to get this done,” I told her. “We can’t rush in. We have to be strategic and show them that we’re not worried.”

“I’m not worried about this, Palmer.” Her tone was hushed as she leaned into my touch. “I was just remembering how the people in that room looked down on me for not taking their approved path. I’m trying to let go of my resentment before we go in, but my demon side isn’t so keen on that kind of forgiveness.”

I rested my forehead against hers, smiling at my mate. “I don’t think that’s the demon, Love. That’s the angel. Vengeance can come, but let’s take it one day at a time, yeah?”

She huffed out a laugh, her forgotten blazer landing in her hand. “Ready?”

I tipped my chin, turning the handle on the door as I answered, “As long as I’m with you.”

Her grin widened at the sight before us. Shocked expressions greeted our late arrival, but this seemed to be an element my mate was comfortable in.

“I see you’ve started without us,” Sloane stated politely. “I would apologize for being delayed, but it was Hell getting up here. Did you know the elevators aren’t working?”

“They were working fine when Marsha and I came in,” Sean responded, the first to collect himself. “We’re happy that you two were able to join us. The meeting hasn’t begun.”

“Good. We have a few adjustments to make to the assessment that Nate and I put together last month,” I announced.

Sloane pulled the blue folders from Nate’s office to her outstretched hands, dropping them in the center of the table as she took his seat.

“Such as?” Councilman Rickard prompted as I pulled my chair out.

“Well, the elevator, for starters.”