“But Sophia wouldn’t.”
I noticed how he didn’t mention Jabari.
“There has to be something we can do.”
“You’ve lost your chance. If you’d managed to track down a descendant or even the witch who cast the hex, we could have asked for a delay. You failed. Now we have to deal with the consequences.”
He stalked out of the room, leaving me glaring after him.
I followed, wanting to put my fist through one of the perfect walls. His words stung. I didn’t like failure. Though I wasn’t sure this could be classified as a failure, considering I’d had no intention of handing over the descendant if I’d managed to locate one.
I trailed behind him back into the ballroom, pushing past vampires not inclined to move out of a baby vamp’s way.
I made it to his side and stopped, horrified at the scene before me.
A woman, her hair in a ponytail and wearing an OSU sweatshirt, hung limply from Stephen’s grip. His face was buried in her neck. Blood dribbled down, staining the gray and blending into the scarlet letters of the O. She made a pained sound of fear, and her eyes rolled back and forth like a panicked horse.
He hadn’t put her under. Hadn’t used any of the compulsion I knew he was perfectly capable of.
The vampires around us watched silently. None moved to stop the feeding. Thomas watched with a look of distaste while Aidan seemed bored again. I was beginning to think boredom was his default look when he was unhappy with a situation.
Her struggles slowed and her arms went limp. Stephen’s tight grip was the only thing keeping her standing.
I moved forward. Liam caught me by the arm, his eyes giving me a warning. I jerked free. If he wasn’t going to do something, I would.
Surprisingly, he let me go.
I stopped a few steps from the pair. My strength was nothing compared to Stephen. I wouldn’t be able to break his hold without killing the girl. Physically, there was little I could do against him. If I pulled the gun, I might kill him but it would most likely result in my death as well as the girl’s.
“All Thomas needs to do is prove he can create a vampire?” I asked, my eyes on Jabari as I tilted my head at Thomas.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Stephen lift his head from the girl’s neck, his face bestial as he focused on me. The wounds on her neck were savage as if an animal had been gnawing on the flesh, not someone who just needed the blood in her veins.
“That is correct,” Jabari said.
I sighed. This hadn’t been in my plans. I did this and everything could change. It would give the vampires a legitimate hold on me and nothing I said would make a difference.
Thomas watched me with a cautious look.
Stephen dropped the girl. She flopped to the ground, her head thudding against the wood floor.
“What is this?” he asked, his voice a hiss.
I ignored him. “He proves he made a vampire and you appoint him and not Stevie as the next master of the Midwest.”
I needed to be sure this would have the outcome I wanted.
Jabari gave me a secretive smile and inclined his head.
My eyes went to Tse. His smile sent shivers down my back. Bloodthirsty and just a hint of cruelty. “Agreed.”
Sophia watched me, sizing me up and cataloging everything about me. This was no piece of fluff. There was a highly intelligent woman behind that teenage exterior. One with a razor sharp mind. Her red lips tilted up. “Agreed.”
Stephen reached for me. I stepped aside as Liam suddenly appeared between us, blocking Stephen’s attempt.
“Stop this,” Stephen said. “I am the master of the Midwest. You will do as I say or I will have you spend the next century praying for death.”
“You’re not the master yet, Stevie,” I said, shooting him a glare. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to count your chickens before they hatch?”
