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“Did Zan tell you to follow me?”
Amusement danced in her eyes. “He knew I would have anyway. This city isn’t safe for you to wander off.”
I bristled. “You don’t have to pretend like you care about me.”
“Who’s pretending? I like you.” She paused. “You should be flattered. I don’t like a lot of people.”
“You’re nice to everyone.”
“I am,” she agreed. “And I’d rip most of their throats out without a second thought. But not you.”
“Well, thanks. I think,” I mumbled, tossing the cloth onto the table.
She sighed. “Kali. You are a human living in a world of monsters. You need to be more careful. No going off alone.”
“Why does it matter?” I shot back, my voice shrill. “I’d rather take my chances than be with Zan.”
She tsked. “That’s your anger talking.”
I flew to my feet, grabbing the necklace. “You know what this means. You knew. Amaros wants Shadows with his blood. And Zan wants to use me to do it. I won’t. I will never get pregnant by a vampire.” I spat the word out with pure venom.
She eyed me thoughtfully as she crossed her arms. “That’s what Amaros wants, yes.”
I scoffed. “No offense, but I can’t trust you either. You’re with them. You’ve known this whole time.”
She laughed. “No offense taken. I understand. But I think you need to look at the facts.”
“Like what?” I bit out.
“Zan put that necklace on you when he thought you were a vampire.” Her lips tipped up in a smile. “He’s lied for you to his father. Something he, nor the twins, ever do.”
“Yeah, well, I lied for him too.” I scoffed, shaking my head. “I didn’t tell the Clovers that his blood healed me. Fuck, I slept with him instead of alerting anyone that he’d escaped when my group had him.” I snapped my mouth shut, remembering who I was talking to. Gia might be friendly, but she was a vampire, and she was close to the Kanes.
She didn’t appear surprised by my words. “Why did you lie for him?”
I swallowed thickly. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe because you trust him?”
“Absolutely not,” I retorted.
She chuckled. “Okay. Then maybe you care for him. At least enough that you want him to stay alive.”
“Obviously there’s something wrong with me,” I muttered grudgingly. “Because I shouldn’t care at all.”
“He shouldn’t either.” Her smile was full of secrets, and I narrowed my eyes. “But he does. Enough that up until tonight, he hadn’t spoken a word about you to his father.”
My stomach clenched. “I don’t want to be a part of any of this.”
“I know,” she said gently. “But we can’t change that. You’re here to stay.”
I glowered at her. “Is this talk supposed to be helpful?”
“I’m just saying you should talk to Zan,” she said slowly. “Let him explain. Amaros wanted you to hear the most horrid details to scare you. He’s a cruel vampire who finds pleasure in other’s pain. Zan has been keeping you safe since you got to this city. He’s saved your life. Give him a chance to make this better.”
“Can he make it better?” I asked in a small voice. “Can he promise me that I’ll never be forced to carry his child? Or that his father won’t kill me?”
“No, he can’t,” she said bluntly, without apology. “But it’s better than you trying to run away and make this all worse on yourself.”
