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"Good god, I can speak for myself, Liev." The man snapped gruffly. His voice was gravelly and raspy. He stepped closer and eyed me from head to toe. He rubbed his heavily stubbled cheek and let out a sigh. "She's my sister all right. If I had any doubts, they were gone once I saw her eyes. It's a marker."
I inched closer and extended my hand. "I'm Josie. I'm your sister."
He raised both eyebrows in agreement and ignored my outstretched hand. I dropped it and clenched it at my side. I didn't expect him to shower me with love, but I hadn't expected this level of detachment.
His narrow, heavy lidded eyes watched me as he dug in his pocket of his leather vest. He fished out a pack of cigarettes and tapped one out, sticking it between his lips. A flash of silver and a butane flame illuminated his face as he lit his cigarette, taking a deep draw. As he exhaled a stream of smoke into the night air, he glanced to Stefan behind me. "After all these years, I find I have a living sister that is mated to a member of the fucking Council I want dead. He kills our kind. He's a vampire executioner."
Stefan stiffened and I felt his anger and pain at his sharp words. They were cold and cut him like a knife. Stefan had been a pawn in my father's twisted game. He was a victim to my father's machinations and was much as a victim as the innocents he slaughtered.
"Only because he was ordered to do it. He only kills those found guilty by the Council that no longer really exists." I shot back sharply. It was true. The Council was broken. Stefan's hand on my shoulder instantly calmed me. "Who are you?"
He took another long drawl and flicked the cigarette away. Smoke streamed from his nostrils, hanging in the air between us. "Fletcher. Fletcher Ahearne."
His words stunned me. Another brother. "I thought Nikolaus and I were the only ones left." Instinctively, I blurred to his side and wrapped him in my arms. He stiffened underneath me at first, but relaxed against me after a moment. I felt his hand pat me on the shoulder awkwardly. He'd obviously had enough of my overactive emotions.
I pulled away slightly to stare into eyes that were so much like my own it frightened me. Were there more of us? Could there be?
"You're a vampire now. Did he change you?" Fletcher asked gruffly. "I've been this way for 228 years. Liev refuses to turn me. Says he doesn't want to be a maker."
"No, I did not change her. Our mutual exchanges triggered the change. We are bonded." Stefan took a cautious step closer and raised his hands in a non-defensive gesture. "I am nearly 1,000 years old and I have only two progenies. Most vampires do not want anyone beholden to them."
"You killed you own kind," Fletcher grunted. His eyes tightened into slits.
"I did. Not by my choice. The Board and Council are corrupt and I was appointed to do a job. It was kill those found guilty or die myself," Stefan replied calmly. "I can see the future, but I cannot change the past. Your future can go two ways. This is your sister before you. She has an older sibling…your brother. You can trust us or choose not to. That is your decision. For Josephine's sake, I hope you are worth the trouble."
Fletcher's eyes flickered between Stefan and me. He turned and started to walk away, only to spin around and face us both again. "Trusting people can get you killed, man."
Stefan wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. He placed a kiss against my temple. "You are correct. It can also save your life."
Fletcher closed his eyes and raised his face to the sky. The moon illuminated his sharp features for a moment before it slipped behind a cloud, casting shadows over his face.
"Liev, what the fuck? What are we supposed to do?" Fletcher asked. He closed his eyes and both of his hands clutched his hair. He dropped to his knees at our feet.
Liev stood and walked to my brother's side. "That's what we have to decide. It's time, Fletcher. We knew it would come. She's more powerful than I imagined she'd be."
Sudden anger flared inside of me, unfurling and warming me from head to toe. My teeth ground together and when I spoke, my voice didn't sound like my own. "You knew when I was a child that I had at least one sibling, yet you kept him from me? Did my uncle know about Fletcher?"
Liev's eyes widened as he sensed my sudden anger. "I did, but he didn't know. No one knew. Kian knew of your whereabouts and I couldn't risk him finding out about Fletcher. He was being hunted."
My breathing became shallow as I battled my anger. The glare I shot him was filled with venom. "So it was fine for Kian to come after me but not Fletcher? What kind of fucked up reality do you live in?"
"Josephine. You have to control your anger. You could kill them both." Stefan’s mind voice was soft. He continued to lovingly hold me, attempting to ease my building fury.
It wasn't working.
"It wasn't like that. I had no choice." Liev pleaded his case. He had wrapped an arm around Fletcher's shoulders. "He's like my son and your uncle was protecting you. He knew one day you'd have a mate."
"My uncle was killed by Kian, you fool. My uncle and my aunt were murdered because of me. I was alone and on the run for years. And you still didn't fucking care enough to tell me. You came to their funeral. You consoled me and paid your respects. You knew I was alone," I spat angrily. "You could have helped me. You had my brother. You helped him but left me on my own anyway?”
I broke free of Stefan and my shield unleashed on the forest. Like a hurricane, it uprooted trees and snapped them in half like brittle twigs. The wind howled around us as my fury dissipated and I could once again control it.
I crumpled to the ground, my shoulders shaking with sobs. Stefan was at my side instantly and I reached for him, clinging to him desperately. He spoke softly to me, but I couldn't understand the words. I could only feel his arms holding me and his hands stroking my hair. I wasn't sure how long we sat like that until I heard Fletcher's long whistle and awed voice.
"Holy fucking hell."
Pulling my head from the comfort of Stefan's chest, I looked at my brother. He had stood and was taking in the scene around him with a look of admiration. The smell of fresh timber and turned over earth was heavy in the air. He looked at Liev for a moment and then he glanced back at me. I saw the familiar gleam of anger flicker across his face. He was going to snap...and it was going to be soon.
"You knew about her and you didn't tell me?" Fletcher screamed. His ferocity matched my own. "You left her to her own devices after I told you what he was capable of. She’s my blood, Liev."
