I spoke through my gritted teeth, “What do you want, Caron?”
“I would like you to come and meet the rest of the coven.”
“Not interested.” I shot down the glass of water.
“That’s a shame. Many of us would love to meet you. We’re not always related, but we are family. When you’re ready, we will be there for you.”
Family? Where the fuck were my family when I was being dragged from foster home to foster home. They stuck knives I my friend’s leg. Terrified me, I thought we were both going to die. That was no family, certainly not one I’d ever be interested in meeting.
I snorted.
“There is so much more we’d like to teach you,” Caron added as if that might change my mind. When I made no response she leaned in so close I could smell a pop of peppermint on her breath.
“You know, Amelia, there’s no such thing as a good vampire, they only ever do what serves their own purpose. They care about two things. Feeding, and themselves. They are narcissists in every sense of the word. They are not capable of love. If you think Karson cared for you, you’re fooling yourself.”
My anger simmered. My hands shook with rage. I wanted to punch her on the nose. To curtail the urge, I folded my arms across my chest. “You don’t know either of them. You, of all people, don’t get to judge them.”
She stared at me with pity of her face.Pity. I was not someone to be pitied, ever, and certainly not by her, of all people.
She clasped her hands together on the table in a praying motion. The sun glittered on her bangle, the light bouncing puppets off to the ground. “Have you heard the story about the lion and the fawn?”
“No.” And I didn’t want to.
She dropped her hands down and the bangle clanked on the wood of the table. “Once there was an African lioness who killed a doe. The doe had a young fawn. Instead of killing the fawn, the lioness took her in and mothered her like she was her own. She loved her and protected her from the other lions. When the fawn tried to get back to her herd, she would scare them away, rounding the fawn up and bringing her back. Eventually, the fawn weakened. She still needed milk to survive. Do you know what happened to the fawn?”
“Two monkeys, one whom wore extraordinarily bad makeup, stuck knives in her friend’s leg so she stayed with the lion.”
“Sarcasm is not a virtue, Amelia.”
“Neither is torture, and yet here we are.”
She ignored that comment and looked at me gravely. “The fawn died. She was slaughtered and eaten. Whether it was by the lioness or the pride, we don’t know. You see, if you play with apride of lions it’s only a matter of time before one of them gets hungry. Do you understand the gravity of what I’m saying?”
I rolled my eyes. “Sledgehammer subtle, Caron.”
“Good.” She stood up, leaning down, and said in a quiet voice, “Perhaps you should ask yourself why would a vampire ask you of all people, to come live with him? I can guarantee you the answer is not because he cares. I do hope we see you soon, Amelia.” She turned to walk away.
“Caron,” I called out.
She stopped and turned back a smile and an optimistic expression.
“You don’t get to call me Amelia.”
The smile evacuated her face.
“And if you ever hurt anyone I care about again you will get to see, firsthand, how my training is going.”
She looked like she’d just swallowed a lemon. She twisted her lips, and swallowed. She leaned into my ear. Again. “I understand your anger and, as such, I will allow you some concessions. I will do what I can to help you, but you are a witch and playing with vampires is treason. They only have so much patience, and I can only do so much to protect you. You would do well to remember that.” She spun and strode away, leaving me bubbling with anger watching after her.
Treason?
I thought of Ethan. He’d asked me to move in because I needed help and he’d helped me. That was what friends did. He didn’t even know what I was at the time.Ididn’t even know what I was. But the first time I’d used my powers there had been no surprise in his eyes, not even a skerrick. I rub at an ache in my head. Even if he had known, it still meant nothing.
“Good afternoon.” The happy sound of Georgie’s voice snapped my attention back.
Georgie stood with Sarah. Sarah wore a pair of ripped jeans and a white tank top. She still managed to look like she was ready for a fashion shoot. I felt uncomfortable meeting her again. A boil on my ass, uncomfortable. It was easier to hate someone from afar, make up stories about them in your head. It wasn’t so easy when you get to know them. I was secretly hoping to find something awful about her that would turn Karson off. Like she . . . Jesus, I realized there wasn’t much that would turn him off. She was physically stunning. I could only hope she was gay, or he turned her off with his acts of violence.
The chairs grated against the concrete as they sat down.
