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“Yeah, what exactly did happen again?” Zoe asked over a mouthful to my right.
I glared at my sister then turned back to Em. “Sometimes people aren’t who you think they are.”
She chewed on her food as she thought about that.
“Shame,” Mama said, “he was the first vampire I liked.”
“You liked him?” My fork clattered against the plate as I gaped at her. “Maybe he glamoured you. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Mama frowning was a rare sight, but I did my best to ignore it. “I’m not looking forward to reporting in to the general in the morning. I’ll have to notify him that the new psychic was a ruse, and that the lieutenant went AWOL. Though the general probably won’t mind that. He never trusted Julian either.”
“I feel bad for Tabitha,” Zoe said, pushing away from the table. “From what you described when you filled us in, she was trapped in that life and didn’t deserve her fate.”
My stomach turned. “I wish I could go back in and rescue her. I should’ve ordered the major to release her.” I would have if Julian hadn’t whisked us out of there so fast. Damn vampire.
“Well, at some point, I believe they’ll all get their due,” Mama said, clearing the table with Zoe. I believe in Karma.”
“I like Karma,” Em said. “He changes for me and he’s always so soft.”
“You should see him roast a bad guy when he shifts into a dragon,” I said, waggling my eyebrows. It wasn’t the type of dinner conversation appropriate for most kids, but poor Em had already seen too much, both in her head and in reality.
Em giggled.
“Bedtime for me,” I announced, standing and stretching.
“It’s only eight!” Em’s offense at an early bedtime made me smile. I couldn’t wait to delve into training with her when things settled down.
“I feel like I’ve been up for forty-eight hours straight and have to be up at the crack of dawn for training with Daphne.”
Em pouted then shrugged. “Adults are weird. Aunt Zo, let’s watch a movie!”
Smiling, I left them to it and ducked into the safety of my personal space. I changed, brushed my teeth, and crawled under the covers, inhaling the faint scent of bergamot and cloves that clung the sheets and instantly relaxing.
My eyes snapped open. Why would Julian’s scent relax me? Ugh. I got up, grabbed my favorite vanilla lotion and slathered it on before climbing back in. That was better. I’d change the sheets tomorrow.
* * *
As predicted, the general seemed only mildly surprised about Julian leaving indefinitely. Tittwell, it seemed, was in trouble for sending me on the mission without his permission. I couldn’t help but be slightly happy that the imp was not in the general’s good graces for once.
“You will be taking over some of the lieutenant’s duties until I find a replacement as you are the most familiar with his day-to-day work,” he said, arms held behind his back as he looked out over the field of screens and scurrying, black-uniformed SHADE officers below his raised platform. “Unfortunately, you disappeared at a critical time. The vampires have always been finicky and, to be frank, less than upright in their dealings. I want a good relationship with this new sect leader. He said he sent vital information back with you from your last meeting.”
He turned back to me, expectantly, black tendrils of his aura reaching out like open hands. I bit my cheek, remembering the file Daphne had hidden. The closer he stepped, the more I was reminded of his unnatural size. Up close, he looked like he could’ve swallowed two of me whole.
“Sir, to be honest, I don’t know if I’m comfortable with Silas,” I said, deciding to be frank with the general. After all, he’d had Julian’s number all along, never really trusting him. Clearly our doubt was misplaced, and it was the general I should’ve trusted from the beginning. “In fact, I will not go back there unless someone from SHADE is with me.”
The enormous man’s eyebrows shot up, but otherwise, he stayed motionless. “I see. Well, then I shall personally accompany you this morning to the meeting he’s requested.”
Shock made me take a step back. The general himself was coming with me? He should be more than able to protect me if anyone on the island could.
“Tittwell, get the car,” the general barked, and from the shadowed corners, the creature jumped and scurried past, down the stairs and into the elevator, startling me. I hadn’t known he’d been listening.
The general took two steps closer to me, his imposing form looming over me. “I expect you to treat the new liaison with respect no matter your personal thoughts. If he gives us reason, I will take appropriate action, but that is my call. Am I clear?”
“Crystal,” I said. It was good to know he had my back.
The general gestured behind me to where the elevator had appeared, and I followed him down to the front, where the office manager, Gladys, glanced at us with her mismatched eyes, a worried expression on her typically stoic face. I didn’t have time to wonder, though, as the general ushered me outside where Tittwell waited, holding open the door to a stretched black Hummer. I hauled myself up and in the back alongside the general, glad I’d worn my boots that morning.
I wanted to ask more about the general’s thoughts on Silas and maybe even where he thought the missing children might be, but the entire drive, he kept his gaze fixed out the opposite window in silence. When we arrived, I hopped down and followed as he led the way up the steps and was welcomed in by Lydia.
