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“Lawrence is a smart man. You should heed his advice more often.”
There’s so much truth in that statement. Law has always been cast aside as the clown of the family. The playboy, so to speak. My father never took him seriously, and to my absolute dismay, I realize I haven’t either. And why?
It was Lawrence who took the legend seriously and went looking. He didn’t ask for permission. He didn’t sit idly by, allowing someone else to do the work. He’s brave and much more cunning than anyone has ever given him credit for. I won’t underestimate him again.
“He’s angry with me right now. Marina too.”
She narrows her eyes. “What did you do?”
I suck my teeth to delay answering. “It’s what I didn’t do.”
She laughs. “Are you going to make me guess? I have all night, Julian.”
“I kept secrets. Big secrets.” I swipe at my temple, brushing back errant hairs. “Marcellus had Marina’s friend, and during Law’s party she was turned.”
Addy gasps, hand flying to her mouth. “Marcellus?”
I shake my head. “No. I believe it was one of his minions. He only ensured the change. It was that or death. It doesn’t matter. Either way, her friend is now a monster.”
“Look at me,” she commands, voice full of steel. I obey. “Am I a monster?”
“Of course not. I—”
She cuts off my words. “Is Lawrence a monster?”
“Addy, please.”
“No Julian. I’m speaking and you’re listening. You and I have fought those stereotypes our entire lives, because not all vampires are evil. If you don’t believe that, how is Marina—or any human—ever going to believe it?”
“You’re right.” It’s all I offer because there is nothing more to say.
“Then do what needs to be done and make things right.” She punctuates each word. “You owe it to Marina to be completely honest and to allow her to make decisions for herself.”
“What if she gets hurt?” I verbalize the one thing I fear above all else.
“Then it was her choice, and we’ll burn down cities to make those responsible pay.”
The fierceness in my best friend’s eyes lets me know I’m not alone in this. She’ll have my back until the end and for that, I’m grateful. But she’s right. I have amends to make.
Chapter Nine
I’ve been curled up in an overstuffed chair here in Julian’s library for the past hour, reading some forbidden love story and obsessing over the depressing parallels between the protagonists’ relationship and my own. The crux of their issues revolves around the secrets the hero has kept from the heroine, which only brings me back to the subject I’ve been trying desperately to block out of my mind.
Shannon’s no longer human.
That fact is sinking in and the terrible truth of it chills me bone deep. What has she become? It must be what I fear for Julian to keep such a secret. He’s told me about new bites and how out of control they are, but there’s still so much I don’t know.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t care as much as I should’ve until it hit home for me. As long as Julian had the situation mostly under control, I was able to live my life, pretending that world couldn’t touch mine. That I’d finally escaped it under Julian’s protection. Oh, the lies we tell ourselves in order to sleep at night. They never cease to bite us in the ass when we least expect it.
“There you are.” Julian’s masculine timbre pulls my attention toward the door. His hands are in his pockets and he rocks back and forth on his heels as though unsure what to even say. His sand-colored hair is mussed, as though he can’t keep his hands out of it—a nervous tic I’ve come to know as all Julian. The creases at the corners of his eyes tell of his uncertainty where I’m concerned.
My heart aches a bit, from the distance between us physically and metaphorically. The desire to go to him is so strong, I have to mentally refrain by reminding myself why we’re currently in this predicament.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he says, moving toward me.
I close my book, putting it to the side. “I’ve been here, reading.”
I don’t mention my trip to his father’s quarters. Or the discovery of the hidden room. It’s my secret for now, while I try to uncover why Maggie wanted me to find it in the first place. I recognize that I’m mad at Julian for keeping secrets and here I am doing the same thing, but at the moment it seems important to keep this to myself. It’s one more brick weighing me down.
