“Lucas Scott.” Theo kept his voice assured and steady.
“Uncle Theo.” Lucas matched the tone. Lips pressed in a flat line, vivid eyes locked on Theo, Lucas couldn’t have exuded his hate any more clearly.
I rubbed my forehead, willing away the headache. “Put your knife down, Theo. He won’t hurt you. He thinks you’re going to kill him.”
Theo’s shoulders relaxed. “What’s going on, Sophia? Are you okay? The quarantine house?—”
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’m…fine.”
Theo’s brow creased at my hesitation. “Why is he here?”
I bit my lip. “We had nowhere else to go.”
“I’ve had people searching.” His voice roughened. “Where were you?”
“When they— When—” I scowled at my own incoherency and straightened my shoulders. “I was captured. I ended up a prisoner.”
Alarm sharpened Theo’s dark eyes. His gaze whipped to Lucas. “You’rein charge of the prisoners, are you not? What happened?”
Lucas launched into the story without hesitation or inflection, appearing unfazed—almostbored—but the claw of his fingers on my hand told me he’d nearly reached his limit of what he could tolerate tonight.
“He didwhat?” Theo’s posture straightened when Lucas explained about my back.
Tears filled my eyes again, and I wondered when I’d run out.
Lucas bent toward me and murmured, “Will you show him?”
I turned, letting Lucas lift my shirt.
Theo cursed, his tone dripping with hatred. “What then? What did you do?”
“I killed them.”
My shirt dropped, and silence followed. I leaned into Lucas’s side.
“You killed…who?” Theo asked.
“The five other Blood Colonels currently in this territory. Though I didn’t actuallyseeMiller?—”
“He was as good as dead, Luke,” I said.
Scratching his eyebrow, Theo opened his mouth for several seconds before he said, “You—you did this—all this—for her?”
“Yes.”
Theo’s eyes sought mine. “And you brought him here, why?”
“He can’t go back. You swore him exoneration if I continued to help you, and I did. I’m requesting asylum on his behalf.”
Lucas turned, sending incredulity and outrage my way. “Please tell me that’s not true.”
I ignored him.
“Can he not ask for asylum himself?” Theo asked.
“He won’t.” I threw a scowl at Lucas. “He’s a fool who doesn’t think he deserves it.”
Theo exhaled. “Maybe he’s right.”
