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Talon and Cain took seats on the couch facing me. Talon leaned forward, hands on his thighs.
“None of this is your fault,” he said. “We know that. Hell, everyone does. But if you don’t do something, the next death will be on your head.”
My stomach tightened. “I know.”
“And there’s Prosper,” Cain added. “He’ll never accept a demotion. If he doesn’t challenge you for primus, he’ll expect to be your lieutenant, and I’m betting he’ll arrange to have you slain within the year. Frankly, I’m surprised he let you live to adulthood.”
Talon drew an index finger across his throat. “If he causes any trouble, he goes.”
They weren’t saying anything I hadn’t considered myself. Still, it was one thing to think it, another to hear it stated aloud.
I massaged the bridge of my nose. How in Hades had things come to this?
Most vampires don’t survive for long after losing their mates. They either walked into the sun or shoved a stake into their own heart. But my father had clung to this world, consumed by his desire to avenge my mother before going to his own final grave.
And now it was too late. He was too far gone to realize how bad off he was.
I brought my hand down, squared my shoulders. This was what I’d been raised to do—take charge. Maybe my parents hadn’t foreseen things turning out in quite this way, but they were the ones who’d tried to beat the softness out of me. Or rather, my father had, but my mother had stood by and let it happen.
“Okay,” I said, “here’s how we’re going to handle it. If we keep a constant guard on Twilight, Jules might fixate on her.” I hadn’t forgotten his expression when he’d scented her last night in the foyer. “Plus, we need to give her some rope. If she’s a plant, sooner or later she’ll make a mistake. So call off the guards but keep an eye on her through the video cams.”
“Will do,” said Cain.
“And make sure she doesn’t get her hands on anything she could use as a weapon,” I said, “even a goddamned spoon. She’s liable to sharpen it into a dagger.”
“What about during the day?” asked Talon. “Should we have Jasper stick with her?”
“Jules is never up and moving until late in the evening, but just in case, have Jasper keep an eye on her anyway, especially if she leaves the castle. He doesn’t have to conceal himself—I want her to know he’s watching whenever she’s off the grounds. And she’s not to leave the island under any circumstances.”
Talon nodded. “I’ll let him know.”
“As for my father—” I instinctively lowered my voice even further—“I want you both to call one or two people—vampires you’re already friendly with so it doesn’t raise suspicion—and let it drop about Jules being blood mad. Cain, you can knock out the cameras in his section for a few minutes?”
“I can.”
“Good. We’ll wait a few nights, and then—” I lifted my hand, slashed it downward. “I help him into his final grave.”
11
TWILIGHT
Brien had left me with the female equivalent of blue balls. I felt itchy and out of sorts. I started back to my suite, then halted. My guard had disappeared.
Okay, then.
I turned right instead of left, figuring I’d see what the other thralls were up to. Anything was better than spending time alone with my thoughts.
Heels clicked on the stone floor and Eden came around the corner, her hourglass curves poured into a red bodycon dress. “There you are! I was coming to see if you were free.”
“Yep. I even lost my babysitter.”
“Oh, they’re always watching.” She tipped her head at the camera tucked into a metal torch.
“Yeah, I figured that. But—” I shrugged. Why tell her Brien had decreed that a guard was to be with me whenever I left my suite?
“So.” I flashed a big smile, partly for Eden, partly as a middle-finger-salute to anyone observing us. “What do you guys do around here for fun?”
“That’s why I came to get you.”
