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“You’ve got that right,” I said under my breath, but loud enough they all heard it. “Thank God. ”
“God? You think God had anything to do with an abomination like you?” Her anger was palpable. I could only imagine what she felt, but from what I knew of her history, I could piece some of it together. I was a living, breathing reminder of her first love, of a more innocent time, and of his death. I reminded her of him with the color of my hair and the infection in my blood. Everything about me assaulted Mercy McQueen with memories she didn’t want, and it made her blind and weak with fury.
Apparently my mother’s greatest weakness was me, but not in the way of most mothers. It wasn’t her love for me that made her weak; it was her hatred.
“I think…” I faked a gasp for air, “…that God tested you and you failed. ” I laughed, short and merciless.
No one else seemed to see the humor.
“If you don’t finish her soon, I’ll do the job for you,” Mercy said to Peyton.
“That won’t be necessary. ” His words were polite, but his tone was full of loaded threats. Mercy’s face, the beautiful face genetics had seen fit to pass on to me, understood what was
unspoken, and she sat next to Marcus.
“Good dog,” I said. It almost sent her barreling across the room at me, but Marcus grabbed hold of her and kept her in a sitting position.
“Ah…” Peyton shifted his focus back to me. “There is still a little of the Secret I know and love in there. ”
“Secret,” Mercy huffed, her tone incredulous. “What kind of name is Secret? Who names someone that?”
“You. You told Grandmere, in your letter. ”
“I did not tell her to name you Secret. ”
“You said keep her secret. Grandmere couldn’t think of anything else so she took it literally. ” The sentence was rather full, so I coughed at the end for several seconds, then moaned.
“That batty old witch. ”
“Like you could have done better. ”
“I was going to name you Harmony. ”
I laughed so loud it took them all aback. Even Peyton’s expression was quizzical. “I think Secret suits me a little better when you really think about it. ”
“I don’t think about it. I don’t think about you. He’s right. No one will miss you when you die, not even your mother. ”
“I have no mother. ”
“I wish that was true. ”
“As touching as this familial bonding session is,” Peyton interrupted, rolling his eyes, “the junior Miss McQueen and I have some unfinished business to attend to, and I’d rather like to get it underway while she’s still plucky enough to really enjoy it. ”
“You bit me once. ” I fixed my eyes on his. “I hope you remember it well, because it won’t happen again. ” A note of challenge hardened my words, and I counted on him rising to the dare.
“You seem very sure of that. ”
“Doesn’t really matter what I think, does it?”
I was no longer faking my pain, but no one seemed to notice. Tension was simmering to a boil between me and the redheaded vampire. To an outside viewer I looked profoundly outmatched, and my death should have seemed certain.
But I had learned a long time ago at the hands of this same vampire, no death is one hundred percent certain. Not until it’s all over and someone’s a pile of ash, or someone else no longer has a pulse.
And I was counting on still having a pulse when this was all said and done.
As for Peyton, I no longer cared what the Tribunal wanted. He would die tonight.
“You think you can kill me?” I said with a defiant sneer. “I’d like to see you try. ”
