Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
“Great, then you won’t have a problem repaying that kindness by simply testing Annika to see if her power is manifesting with the elements.” Olivia hiked a brow at him.
“This is getting good.” I turned fully to watch the show.
“Not helping,” Dagon said my way before looking back at Olivia. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m far more comfortable killing other vampires than I am teaching them—testing them, whatever. I’m a hunter for a reason.” He shrugged.
“True,” I added, nodding. “He’s not a people person.”
“A people person?” Olivia fired back. “Come on, surely he can just test her to see how she needs to be trained.”
“Have you ever tried to push an elephant off its ass when it’s decided to sit?” Talon asked, turning to watch with me.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Ransom asked.
“You’d have better luck getting the elephant to move than you would getting Dagon to do something he doesn't want to.” Talon bit into the muffin.
Olivia stared at him.
“What? I’m just trying to help you save some time.”
“Shut up, Eric Northman,” Olivia replied.
“Who is Eric Northman?” Talon asked me, his brow furrowing.
“Vampire from that one series we watched. You remember. Blonde. Tall. Vicious.” I gave him a once-over. “She’s not too far off, really.”
“Look, if you want your niece tested, then find a Revealer,” Dagon said. “I’m not your guy.”
“A Revealer?” Olivia shook her head.
“They were vampires in our time whose power was to detect the power of others,” Zachariah answered.
“Like you.” Olivia grinned. “You can do that, right?’
“No.” He shook his head, a horrified look on his face. “I wouldn't know what her power was until I absorbed it, and by then she’d be dead, and I’m not sure that’s what you’re going for.”
Olivia blinked.
“Alek, do something,” Ransom pled.
The king’s phone rang. “Oh, look at that,” Alek said, swiping to answer the phone. “A reason not to involve myself in the sibling squabble.” He lifted the phone to his ear and stepped away to take the call.
“What if we contacted the teachers at—” Avianna started, the princess stepping into the kitchen with Hawke not far behind.
“Absolutely not,” Olivia turned on her friend. “We both hated that place, and I’m not about to sentence Annika to that relic of a school. I promised my sister I’d have Annika trained—”
“Sounds like you made a promise you couldn’t keep.” Dagon shrugged.
Olivia’s mouth dropped open.
“And that’s the end of this conversation.” Ransom wrapped his arm around his mate’s ribs and pulled her backward. “I can’t have you stressing yourself out while you murder him.”
Alek came back to the counter, all traces of amusement wiped off his face.
“Time for the meeting?” Zachariah asked.
“We need to go. There’s been an attack.”
The suburban house was a bloodbath.
Every member of the family had been slaughtered, shot in their beds while sleeping. There was something about the scent in the house that made my hackles rise, my instincts urging me to get the fuck out. It wasn’t death. I’d become accustomed to that over the centuries.
Eight of us swept the property, then met in the spotless living room of the home where Patrick O’Flannery, the human emissary to the Conclave, waited with two members of his own council.
“Thank you for coming,” he finished telling Alek as we filed in.
Zachariah stood with Saint and Dagon, who’d paused their hunt for Samuel at the king’s request for their presence, and Talon and I moved to their sides. All of us were quiet.
Finding four dead children didn’t exactly lend itself to chatting.
“Of course,” Alek answered Patrick as Benedict held the front door open.
Corbin, one of the assassin trainees, ran out of the house, and the sounds of vomiting reached my ears a few seconds later. Couldn't blame the kid.
“What’s happened here is an obvious tragedy,” Alek said, “but would the human authorities be better equipped to investigate the murder of a human family?”
I shifted my weight, ignoring the call of my instincts to vacate the premises.
“That’s the thing.” Patrick’s jaw flexed as he took a plastic bag out of his pocket and pulled apart the zipper. “We found these shell casings and thought you might recognize—”
“Night thistle,” I said as the scent permeated the room. “The scent is muted by the bodies.” It was one of the few things that could kill us.
Patrick nodded. “The Sons did this.”
Alek paled. “Could you zip that up?”
Patrick did so, then handed the bag to one of his men. “We were tipped off by a council member who stopped by earlier for an appointment.”
“These humans were on the council?” Zachariah’s brow furrowed.
“No. He’s an auto-parts dealer,” Benedict said, running a hand down his face. “His name was Harold. He was the one hunting down the parts on the sixty-four-and-a-half Mustang I’ve been working on. I met with him a few—” His mouth slackened and his gaze flew to Alek. “Is this our fault?”