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Talon snarled. “She isnotjust a thr—” He broke off and muttered a curse. “You’re right. Both of you. The woman’s dead to me.”
A knock on the outer door interrupted us. Cain answered it while I shut the bedroom door. It was Prosper, asking to speak with me.
“In private,” he added with a glance at Talon and Cain.
I hesitated, aware of Twilight asleep and vulnerable behind the closed door.
“It’s important,” said Prosper.
“Come in, then.” I nodded for Talon and Cain to leave us alone.
Prosper had recovered from the challenge, but an inner weariness clung to him like a thin gray fog. “Your mate is okay?”
“She’s fine.”
“That’s good.” He drew in a breath. “I’m requesting a leave of absence from the syndicate.”
I considered him. To be honest, I’d been considering how best to handle Prosper without offending him. On the other hand, I liked having the man where I could see him.
“You swore an oath of loyalty to me,” I reminded him softly.
He stiffened. “And I meant it. I was loyal to your father. I will be loyal to you.”
“Then why?”
“I’m…tired. I want to go north, find a place where there aren’t so many people. I’ve given hundreds of years of my life to the Maritime Syndicate.”
“You’ll return to the Mi’kmaq?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I’ll visit, maybe spend a few weeks with the elders in my old village. But I’m not of them anymore. So, do I have your permission?”
His face was expressionless, but it had to grate that he had to ask my permission.
“You do,” I told him. “But Lilith Island is your home. You’re welcome to return at any time.”
“Thank you.” His brown eyes warmed slightly. “But for now, this is better for both of us. You need to set your own stamp on the syndicate.”
“That’s what Twilight says.”
He nodded. “She’s good for you,” he volunteered to my surprise.
I glanced at the closed bedroom door. “I know.”
“I didn’t let Jules out of his apartment,” he said abruptly. “It was Clarisse. But I swear I didn’t know until right before the challenge when Matthew told me. They meant Jules to kill Twilight. They told him she was special to you and that he could find her in the garden suite. My guess is they did it to force you to slay your own sire.”
My mouth flattened. “I figured it was something like that. And if I’d staked Jules to save a thrall, I would’ve lost the hierarchy’s respect.”
“But Twilight got Jules instead.” Prosper shook his head. “If I’d known those sonuvabitches had set you up, I’d never have issued the challenge. Only a coward hides behind a thrall. If they wanted you and Jules gone, they should’ve challenged you both themselves. The syndicate’s better with them in their final graves.”
I smiled coldly. “Saved me the trouble.”
“There is that.” His answering smile held a hint of his usual self. “By the way, Donald would like a transfer off-island, too. I suggest you agree. I’m not saying you can’t trust him—you can. But with your father in his final grave, he’d prefer to work for the syndicate in another capacity.”
I nodded, unsurprised. Other than my father, Donald was the closest thing Prosper had to a friend in the syndicate. “I could use a good man in Quebec City.”
“Fleur’s coven?”
“Yes. Did you know they’re trafficking in blood slaves?”
