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Why was it that Stasio had to fall for an assassin who would become a rogue that he and her friends would now have to save, and he would become her target? He smiled. Only he could get into this much of a mess without even trying.
They reached the parking lot where the van was and all piled in. Though Jasmine bared her teeth at Stasio as he pulled her inside with him.
“You don’t have to go with us,” Levka said as Ruric got behind the wheel.
“The assassins believe she’s with me and so she’s not safe on her own,” Stasio said.
“I’m safer with you, as much as I loathe to admit it. What did you do back there?” Jasmine asked Caitlin.
“I can control some elements like dust or dirt or sand. They had a good sand blasting anyway. It will follow them for a good twenty minutes, keeping them busy, and then the sand will drop to the ground, wherever they are,” Caitlin said.
“I thought you were a vampire.”
“I am.” Caitlin smiled. “And a witch.”
Levka warned Ruric, “Do not drive at hyper-speed.”
Arman said, “You should have let me drive. I would obey the speed limit.”
“And we would never have gotten anywhere safely,” Stasio said.
“Where are we going?” Jasmine asked.
“Scotland,” Levka said. “We have never caused any trouble there.”
Jasmine folded her arms. “I can’t believe you lied to me about being an assassin, Stasio.”
“You assumed I was. I never said I was with the Welsh League or that I was actually an assassin.”
“So tell me why are you considered a rogue here, besides letting me believe you were an assassin.” She still sounded furious. Her world as she’d known it had just been turned inside out.
“It all began with when we first had a League of Vampires in Wales,” Stasio said, “and the rules were not good.”
She groaned. “You told me you didn’t think all the rules were just. No one does. I didn’t think you could be considered a rogue for it.”
“Yes, but we sided with the group who wanted to change the rules and lost.”
Her mouth gaped.
“That was only the beginning.” Levka smiled.
“But that was the trouble we had with the Welsh League.” Stasio believed they should ease Jasmine into learning all they’d been up to, not overwhelm her with all the news right off the bat.
“You said something about Caitlin having difficulties. Don’t tell me she’s newly turned,” Jasmine said to Levka.
“Uh, yes, that was another situation.” Levka told her how that had all come about.
Jasmine scoffed. “I wondered when Stasio started to say it was something new. Newly turned vampire. Sure. Not bad blood. All of you are as old as me—except for Caitlin—and you should know better.”
“It’s not a matter of knowing better because we’re older but knowing when something isn’t right with the vampire rules.” Stasio didn’t know if he could ever convince Jasmine that the league was wrong in many ways and they were right, but he suspected he would die trying, if she stayed with them that long.
“So you became rogues.”
“Just because we didn’t have the power to overthrow the old regime in Wales, doesn’t mean we’re wrong and they’re right. Don’t tell me you’ve never wanted to right a wrong using your vampire strength and had you acted on the impulse, you would have been labelled a rogue.” Stasio really liked Jasmine, but he couldn’t believe she would be so set in obeying every rule that she couldn’t see a way to help someone in need and break a league rule in the process.
She shifted her chilling gaze on his to the window and stared out.
No one else was talking, all of them listening in on the conversation. Too much was at stake if she decided to give them up to save her own skin. He thought she could still claim she didn’t know he and the others were rogues. Which was the truth, and he wouldn’t blame her if she wanted out of this situation with them. She could say they forced her to go with them. He’d only done so because she seemed to be in shock at the time over the whole matter, and he was afraid they would turn on her and she would be defenseless.
