“She’s cute. Though a touch weak considering her lineage.” An odd little smile tugged at Vitus’s lips as he ran his eyes down my body with an invasive gaze. “You’re getting soft in your old age, Father. Someone so ill-suited for this life never should have been given the gift of eternity. You didn’t used to be this kind.” Vitus’s gaze slid to Thomas. “Or is it because you felt the need to indulge your son after what you did to his last yearling?”
“Is that all you came over here to say?” Ahrun asked with a boredom that made Vitus’s expression congeal a tiny bit. “If I cared for your opinion, I would have asked for it.”
Vitus faltered before his smile returned, brightening to an unnatural degree. “My apologies, Father. I had just hoped to share what others are saying about the family.”
I was sure he had nothing to do those rumors.
Not.
The silence lengthened as Ahrun stared at Vitus. His face blank. An observer in front of a predictable play.
A flicker of movement over Vitus’s shoulder attracted my attention to a trio of enforcers. One of whom I recognized from his visit to Columbus a few months ago, when Vitus had tried to use the council as an execution squad.
Unlike last time, the man didn’t acknowledge Liam’s presence with a flicker of an eyelash.
And here I’d been under the impression he and Liam were buddies. I guessed such things as camaraderie and loyalty to your fellow soldier were transient when taking orders from an organization like theirs.
Whatever his and Liam’s past, he was on Vitus’s side right now.
Or at least giving the appearance of it.
Ahrun uncrossed his legs, the motion containing a lazy threat as he straightened in his seat. “As interesting as this has been, I must make one thing clear. I don’t recognize having a child such as you. I am not your father. I trust you won’t refer to me as such again.”
The disdain in Ahrun’s face as he regarded the person he’d once raised would have flayed flesh from my bones if I’d ever seen a similar look in my father’s eyes aimed at me.
Vitus’s amiable façade dropped, a fury every bit as glacial as Ahrun’s breaking through his careful mask. He whipped around and stalked away, two of the enforcers gliding after him silently.
Liam’s friend broke off, heading up the stairs into the upper levels.
“That was unwise,” Thomas observed.
“Perhaps.” There was something sad in Ahrun’s expression as he returned his attention to the pit. “Honestly, I don’t know where I went wrong with that boy. Time hasn’t changed him. He’s as foolish and short-sighted as he was back then.”
“I, for one, am glad for his predictability,” Nathan quipped from behind us.
One side of Thomas’s lips tugged up as Nathan’s comment lightened the mood somewhat. “As tempting as it is to face them head on, we’re here for something else tonight. Let’s not startle the prey in the grass, shall we?”
Ahrun cut Thomas a hard look. “This would be so much simpler if you’d just challenge him and be done with it.”
Humor touched the corner of Thomas’s eyes. “And as I’ve told you, I’m quite content with what I currently have. I don’t wish to deal with the headache that comes with being on the council. Leave me my simple pleasures, Father.”
Ahrun harrumphed, his gaze moving to Liam. “What about you? You’re more than capable of replacing him.”
“No.”
Liam’s response was simple. Direct. To the point. Leaving no room for negotiation.
I should try that the next time Thomas tried to get me to do something I didn’t want to.
The sensation of a gaze on me made me realize Ahrun was staring at me with a look of speculation that didn’t bode well for me.
Thomas rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Leave Aileen alone. It’s centuries too soon.”
“Maybe one day.” Ahrun’s voice took on a distant quality. As if he wasn’t fully here but rather somewhere far away. In a different time and place entirely.
Liam and Thomas traded a look, having an entire conversation in the span of a second.
Ahrun blinked, the moment breaking.
