Poor kid. I had a feeling he’d never had a chance to be anything but Vitus’s dog. He’d probably been brain washed from the moment Vitus took him in. Every interaction designed to instill hatred in Vitus’s enemies and loyalty to his master.
Seeing my expression, Liam’s lips tilted up on one side. “Pitying him would be a mistake,mo chuisle.He is every bit a monster.”
I was sure he was, but that made the situation no less tragic.
“You don’t talk about your sire often,” I said, changing the subject.
“That is because my feelings for my creator are complicated.”
I pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “I guess we have a lot in common.”
I wasn’t certain my relationship with Thomas would ever be anything but prickly. Then again, eternity was a very long time. The years tended to soften even the harshest of blows.
“At one time I considered him both a father figure and brother,” Liam said.
“What changed?”
“He did. Or maybe it was me.” Liam stared up at the ceiling. “Once, I considered him my hero. The way I was raised, we respected strength more than intelligence. Ahrun showed me you could have both and that it didn’t make you weaker.”
“That sounds like a good thing.”
Liam nodded. “It was. He was my confidante. Wiser than anyone I’d ever met. He understood the parts of me that had always felt out of sync with the rest of the world. He was the one who guided me onto the path of an enforcer.”
I waited as Liam fell silent again, sorting through his thoughts.
“Watching the man I knew fade away in front of me was difficult,” Liam confessed. “I was almost grateful when he disappeared because it meant I wouldn’t have to be the one who slayed him.”
I lifted my head from Liam’s chest with a sense of dread.
“That was the agreement we made,” Liam said, sounding lost. “If he devolved, I would be the one to end him. He thought I was the only one who could.”
I understood now why his feelings for Ahrun were complicated. The idea that he might one day have to destroy his sire, a man he respected and loved, with his own hands, was heartbreaking. I didn’t know how I would respond if someone as close to me as Ahrun had been to Liam asked the same. Maybe betrayed? Resigned?
“I’m so sorry, Liam,” I whispered.
He didn’t respond, instead changing the subject. “Ahrun’s death leaves Thomas on shaky ground. Right now, few are willing to challenge Ahrun’s successor.”
“If Vitus’s issue is with your sire, why target you and Thomas?”
“That’s something I’ve never been able to figure out.” Liam’s face was serious. “All I know is that Vitus wishes to see the both of us dead. And now that you and Connor are here—”
He pressed his lips together, his expression telling me everything I needed to know.
“They’ll come for us too,” I finished for him.
His nod was all the confirmation I needed.
eight
Afterthatdireprediction,neither of us were in the mood for further conversation. It wasn’t long until my drowsiness got the better of me and the rise and fall of Liam’s chest under my cheek lulled me back to sleep.
Hours later I woke to find my bed empty; Liam long gone. The hazy memory of a whispered goodbye and a kiss on the forehead had me smiling.
If this was how Liam planned to balance us living in separate residences, sign me up.
I rolled onto my back, stretching as I did. The gentle pull of my muscles a reminder of my daytime activities. When I finished, I nestled into my crazy comfortable bed, making a note to figure out the brand before I moved out.
Better yet, maybe Thomas would let me take the bed with me. The mattress was even more delightful than the one in the Gargoyle. Firm in all the right places with just enough give to cushion my bones.
