“You couldn’t have heard me say that to Caroline.”
Unless he was clinging to the roof of the car like a bat, there was no way he could have eavesdropped. Right?
“As for the why—we know why,” Ahrun said, ignoring my statement to level a pointed look on the other two.
Liam shook his head at his father, his expression stubborn. “We don’t. Not for sure.”
“My dear boy, you’ve seen enough of these to recognize the signs. They’re planning a coup—and it’s our family they hope to put on the chopping block.”
“I thought you took care of that,” I said uneasily.
“I did, but it seems they were left unsatisfied with the way I handled things. Vitus has been whispering in people’s ears. They’ve been listening.” Ahrun’s glance at Thomas and Liam held a note of wistfulness. “Honestly, it would be simpler to do away with the old and build something entirely new.”
He was talking about the complete extermination of the council, I realized with a sense of horror.
Ahrun rolled his eyes at his sons’ flat expressions. “Of course, I won’t go that route since I already promised we’d try things your way. I’m just saying it would be easier on everyone.” To me, “They’re so sensitive.”
I could see why. What Ahrun was suggesting would result in a bloodbath the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the dark ages. Any attempt to clean house would have to extend far beyond the council members themselves. It’d include all those loyal to them. Their yearlings and all those they’d changed over the years. Any administrators or secretaries. Then there were the enforcers. Most of whom were acquaintances of Liam’s. He’d served with them. Trained with them. I had a feeling he called a few of them friends.
That’s if their actions didn’t spark a war among vampires.
Some masters would fight for more territory and power in the vacuum the council’s absence would leave.
Others, because they would see it as their best hope of survival.
The violence wouldn’t stop with just vampires either. It would spill into other species as well. Each group trying to take advantage of the chaos to claim a bigger piece of the pie.
“We’ve been over this already,” Thomas said tiredly. “This isn’t the old world. You can’t handle things in the same way. This era is too interconnected. A war on that scale would draw notice from humans.”
That was something no one wanted. As weak as they were, humans had the advantage of numbers. They were also a skittish lot with a tendency to overreact. Who was to say some idiot wouldn’t lob a nuke at a city or country, never realizing the supes they were so scared of were also right in their backyard.
“Yes, yes. So you’ve explained. That’s why I decided to give you a chance to handle this with that diplomacy you’re so fond of.” Ahrun’s head tilted as the affability drained from his features, leaving behind the deadly vampire that was so feared by the majority of the world. “As long as they don’t cross my bottom line, that is. I won’t hold myself back if that happens.”
The dark tone in his voice was chilling. Made all the more so due to how serious Thomas and Liam’s faces were. Like they’d witnessed such a thing before.
Ahrun smiled in a lightning-fast shift back to his role of genial patriarch.
It was too late though. I’d seen far enough beneath the mask to know that the vampire in front of me could never be considered safe or harmless.
“But I trust it won’t come to that,” Ahrun murmured.
Hiding my shaking hands, I spoke into the resulting silence. “As interesting as all that was—” I meant scary “—it doesn’t explain why you wanted me here.”
Compared to the rest of them, I was the weak link in a line that allowed Ahrun to draw power from the number of descendants he and his progeny had made. I would be the first person to be targeted if somebody was planning a coup.
Ahrun’s features held amusement as he lifted an arrogant eyebrow at me. “Weren’t you coming anyway?”
I flushed. “You couldn’t have known that.”
“Are you sure?”
I wasn’t certain of anything when it came to this vampire. He made Liam and Thomas look like open books.
“Either way, it’s too late to send you home.” Thomas tilted the glass he held before lifting it to take a sip. “Too many witnesses saw your spectacle last night.”
Spectacle? Hardly.
It was nothing more than dancing. Maybe some gambling. And a whole lot of drunken foolery.
