The feeling I was fighting to suppress was new and unwelcome. Betrayal—and oddly enough, hurt. I hadn't realized Connor held that power over me.
"You're fired," I said in a flat voice.
His gaze swung toward me as Thomas looked on with faint interest.
"You should know—Thomas is very good at making you think something that isn't true," Connor advised, fixing Thomas with another unfriendly stare. "I didn't tell him about your adventure."
Cold amusement touched Thomas's features. "You should have."
"It was handled," Connor said with no emotion. "Showing up here to damage my relationship with my sister isn't likely to make me feel any more charitable toward you. This is the type of behavior that drove me away."
“It wasn’t handled,” Thomas corrected. “I had to clean up your mess. You missed two humans. They could have become a problem later on if they hadn’t been dealt with.”
I stiffened. “And how did you deal with them?”
Please don’t say you killed them.
Thomas didn’t look away from Connor. “Get whatever you’re thinking out of your mind. I’m not a monster. I compelled those with any memory of you to forget you were ever there.” As if an afterthought, he tacked on, “You may thank me at any time.”
I grimaced, wanting to do the exact opposite. But, as much as I hated using compulsion on humans, Thomas had effectively handled what could have turned into a disaster.
“Thank you,” I forced out.
Not that it mattered, since neither of them looked away from the other, their postures rigid. I glanced between the two, hoping their showdown didn't end up damaging any more of my belongings.
After a beat, Thomas relaxed, his shoulders loosening.
I raised an eyebrow. I was surprised. I'd really thought there'd be a lot more back and forth. Maybe a few threats. Definitely some raised voices.
There was none of that.
I'd have to take notes from Connor to see how he did it. I could use some tips for the next time Thomas started in on his interference.
Thomas finally moved away from the photo he'd been studying, taking a spot in the center of the room.
"You can't blame me for taking such drastic action. Until now, I wasn't aware you had any sort of relationship with my youngest." The glance he sent me was cool. "She has shown an unrivaled stubbornness when it comes to the rest of our kind."
I smirked at him. Glad I wasn't the only one who found our standoffs a pain in the ass.
"What are you doing here this early, anyway?" Thomas asked Connor. "The enforcer's said you didn't come home last night."
I went still, all former levity disappearing as Thomas went directly for the one topic of conversation I preferred to avoid.
"I live here now," Connor said.
I made a sound of dismay, fighting the urge to bury my face in my palms as Thomas stared at his oldest for several long seconds.
"He doesn't live here," I said, jumping in for damage control.
Thomas's attention swung to me, a frozen expression that was hard to categorize on his face
"He doesn't," I promised.
Connor's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "I do. You let me stay here last night. Don't you remember?"
He reached for my forehead as if to check my temperature. "You haven't had blood yet this evening. We should remedy that."
I batted his hand away. "That was for a night, not forever. I didn't want him driving back to the Gargoyle in daylight."
