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Vivian would have enjoyed this pose. It would have given her a great deal to make fun of because of how snotty it looked. And I really needed to stop thinking about Vivian. It hurt my heart.
Why couldn't I remember my actual mother, but I couldn't forget anything about that evil bitch?
Simon and Trenton moved across the room to stand behind my chair. A hand came down on each of my shoulders, one from each brother. Their show of support and protection.
They deserved as much from me in return. I could be strong for them, even if I was completely and utterly terrified.
"You cannot be upset with them, Adrian," I stated in a clear, calm voice that I was incredibly proud of. Even faced with this monster I could keep my shit together. "You’re the one who sent them to me, and if you’re upset with them now, perhaps you should blame yourself."
One of the hands on my shoulders squeezed gently, encouragingly.
Adrian shrieked in outrage before charging toward me. He ran into an invisible wall less than two feet in front of me. His body hit something that stopped him in his tracks, and he blew backwards. Adrian slammed into the wall across the room, between the windows, and he dropped to his knees.
He looked good there, almost as if he belonged on his knees in defeat before a woman. I couldn't even fathom how many he'd tortured and hurt in his time. Like Isobel. And there had to be others we didn't know about. I needed to find them and free them. Which, for the time being, meant I needed to play nice with Adrian.
Something I couldn't exactly do now that he'd actually tried to attack me. I knew he was capable of it, obviously, but I hadn't actually expected him to charge at me like that, and in my own home no less.
I cleared my throat and kept my ass sitting in my chair with Simon and Trenton at my back to protect me, otherwise I didn’t think I’d be able to stand without my legs giving out.
I could not believe he’d actually tried to attack me.
"Adrian—" I stopped to clear my throat again, because my voice came out almost too thick to understand. "I have no idea why you thought it was a good idea to do that, and obviously it didn't work out so well for you. I have no idea what's wrong with you, but I think we can all easily blame it on you being distressed and still in a grieving state. I might even be able to forgive you for it one day, but today is not that day. I believe my guardians asked you to leave, and I would like for you to as well seeing as I no longer feel safe with you being in my home."
Using the wall as a crutch, Adrian pulled himself up to his feet and swayed drunkenly. From somewhere inside his cape, he pulled out a handkerchief and mopped at his sweaty, bald head. I didn't know why he bothered when he skipped it the first time and just used his hand like the rest of us peasants.
"Merciful mother," he whined unattractively. "Child, I have no idea what came over me. I will forever be sorry that just happened, but I want you to know that I would never try to attack you, not a precious female. I was attempting to show these disgraceful witches that it's not okay to treat me in such a way. The Council will be hearing about this, and I'm sure you will receive a formal apology from all of us due to my behavior."
I didn't want a formal anything from the man, I just wanted him to get the heck out of my house and never come back. I could use Marcus as my in with the Council and skip over this douche altogether. Now why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?
"Be that as it may, I would still like for you to exit my home immediately."Don't let the door hit you and all of that jazz.
Adrian glared at me, letting the friendly mask he'd worn for all of two minutes slip entirely away from his face. "You had better watch your mouth, young lady. You're speaking to a member of the Council and you should be doing so with the respect that position deserves."
Wow. Upgraded from child to young lady. Maybe I should have felt special. Too bad all I felt was angry and scared. Not a good combination.
One of the bulbs in the standing lamp in the corner behind an armchair flickered before making a popping noise and going out. Adrian flinched and the hands on my shoulders tightened, this time not in encouragement, but as a reminder to keep myself under control. For now.
"I'll be looking forward to hearing from the Council and receiving their formal apology. Thank you for stopping by, I'll be seeing you." Hopefully this time he got the message and left.
His face twitched as he fought for control. He must have won, because his face smoothed out and a picture of serenity slid into place. His hands slid down, smoothing out the folds of his cape.
"You are correct, it seems as if my time here has come to an end." He smiled pleasantly at me and that was almost worse than his glare. "Just a heads-up, I'll be lodging a complaint about your guardians. I don't think they are fit to remain with you. In fact, I don't think they are fit to guard any female at this time. They should be stripped of their duties and locked up until we can figure out what to do with them. Now I understand why there are no others left and they've all died off or gone into hiding. In fact, I don't think you need a guardian at all. I'll be sharing my feelings with the others. And we'll be in touch."
My heart sank all the way down to my stomach as he grabbed hold of the edges of his cape and pulled the stupid thing tightly around himself. He flounced out of the room with his head held high and his nose stuck up in the air like he owned the joint and it had been his idea to leave in the first place.
I had never hated his guts more than in that moment. Mostly because I had never been so afraid of him before as I was now.
He'd tried to attack me and now he threatened to take things away from me.
And I couldn't let that happen.
Chapter Two
It’s Not Safe
"He's gone," Simon said from his place in front of the window. "Some young boy got out of the driver's seat and opened the back passenger door for him. He looked like he couldn't be any older than fifteen. What's wrong with that asshole that he needs a kid to open his door for him?"
Trenton cleared his throat pointedly.
