Something like cautious hope settled on his features.
I fiddled with my ear, not quite looking at him. Explaining myself wasn’t something I did easily. Every instinct told me to dig in and battle it out, but if I wanted to change the paradigm between us, I needed to start somewhere.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to jump to do what you want. Being stuck here would kill my business. Even if you don't care about that, I do."
"Businesses can be rebuilt," he said.
"Maybe so, but this is mine. It's something I'm proud of. For the first time I feel like I have a place. Somewhere to belong."
His gaze flickered. He looked away.
Seeing I was getting to him, I pressed my argument. "This evening proves I'm not safe here anyways. It's only a matter of time before they find a way to get me. I need to meet them head on if I want to have a chance of surviving. That means finding out why they're after me in the first place."
And why the scraps of shadows had added themselves to my marks.
Silence reigned as Thomas considered my words.
"I agree with her." Sofia rose from her chair, gliding to join me before the desk. "A visit to the barrow might be in order. Who better to know a Fae's weaknesses than other Fae?"
Thomas clasped his hands in front of him. "They've been resistant until now to our delegations."
Sofia nodded at me. "Perhaps circumstances have changed."
Thomas looked torn. “Fine. Arrange a delegation for tomorrow night."
Sofia's lips tilted up. "As you wish."
Relief made my stomach flutter.
Despite any protest from me, Thomas had the power and resources to enforce his will. If I hadn't managed to appeal to his common sense, I could have been looking at house arrest for the foreseeable future.
The mood in the room changed as Thomas aimed a dazzling look at Sofia. "Thank you, Matriarch. As always, your insight has been beneficial. Now, we have a few family matters to discuss. I will see you tomorrow night."
Sofia inclined her head at the obvious dismissal, her knowing gaze catching mine as she paused beside me. "Well played, little vampire."
Her skirts swished as she prowled toward the door, closing it softly behind her.
As soon as it was shut, Thomas sighed and sat back in his chair, his gaze moving to Liam. There was a darkness in it that said we weren't entirely out of danger yet.
"I expected better of you,deartháir," Thomas said.
Liam seemed amused. "I don't know why. This is no worse than the time you incited a full council member to put a bounty on your head. I seem to remember you not being so quick to tell our master then."
Discomfort flashed across Thomas's face as he bent a hard look on Liam.
Liam smirked, not at all cowed.
Thomas sighed as he looked at the two of us. "I know it's hard to believe but I have your best interests in mind. I cannot help you navigate the dangerous straits when you continue to hide things from me."
I started to speak, but Connor got there first. "Perhaps if you didn't have a need to control every little thing, we wouldn't be so quick to keep things to ourselves."
There was a wealth of repressed anger in that statement.
It occurred to me—with us still being in the hot seat and all—that angering Thomas with what sounded like old grievances was not the best tactic.
I made bug eyes at Liam. His lips twitched but he made no move to interfere.
Anger, hot and blistering, its roots embedded in the past, built in Thomas's expression.
