That would be because he is now serving as fertilizer, but they definitely don’t need to know that.
“Who was the whistleblower again?” I ask.
Joyce rolls her eyes. “As if you don’t know. Someone in your nest mysteriously leaves, and the council appears. Don’t be such a dumb blond, it’s not attractive.”
“God, Joyce, you’re giving me whiplash. Do you want to fuck me or see me burned in the sun? Neither is on the table, by the way.”
“This cun—” Joyce hiss, her fangs bared to me.
“I grow bored with this,” Magnus drawls. “Slayers aren’t built to lie in wait. With the amount of new vampires in town, there’s no way they could tame their beast enough to not attack.”
Unless they found their mate, that would trump everything. Fuck, I hate that I had to agree to Ember’s terms. I really was looking forward to gutting him and watching the life leave his eyes. Yes, I’m trying to be a better man for Ember, but a man still needs his hobbies.
“Perhaps the deputy of the area would agree to call on us if there are any future sightings. Warin wounded him enough that he did perish,” Beatrix says.
“Or maybe our gracious host is lying to us,” Joyce says.
Her ugly, comfortable shoes clack against the floor as she circles me.
“Maybe he’s hiding the Slayer. Just like he locks his witch in her little tower and we’re unable to access her,” Joyce says, and I hate how close to the facts she is.
“Why would he hide a Slayer, Joyce?” Sebastian asks, bored with all of this.
I can’t help but notice his hand is on Samantha’s shoulder.
“Same reason he hides his witch. Why we executed so many witches in Chicago all those years ago? Warin isn’t one of us, not really. You’ve been working with the witches again, haven’t you?” Joyce says, and I keep my face passive.
“It’s not illegal to fraternize with witches,” I say.
“He’s right. It’s odd, but it’s not forbidden by the council,” Sebastian says.
“It is still suspicious, no? A member of his nest comes crying to the council, telling us he needs our protection and that there’sa slayer his previous leader didn’t notify us of. He lives to tell the tale of being staked by a slayer and has his little live-in whore warded away in his bedroom.”
My jaw ticks and Sebastian looks like he wants to shut her down, but she’s talking too much sense.
“We will interview Ember again,” Sebastian says pragmatically.
Beatrix, Justin, and Magnus groan in irritation. I have to swallow down my fury of them being near her. Not after I’ve had her, not after this connection of ours has been solidified.
“Are you afraid of what we might find out?” Joyce taunts.
“Just worried that you might have a temper tantrum over how much she enjoys my company, is all.”
“Right. Go get her,” Joyce demands.
I jerk my head in a nod and head toward my bedroom, leaving Samantha and the council in my wake.
When I open the door, she’s in my bed, her pink hair splayed all over my pillows, her raccoon snuggled against her.
Fuck.
If I had a heart, it would be pulsating and racing over seeing her like this, alongside the nerves of deceiving the council. Ember is a brilliant witch, but lying directly in the faces of multiple old as fuck vampires will be a challenge.
I push her hair off her face and cup her face. When she stirs she presses her face against my palm and smiles.
“You’re back,” she says, blinking away sleep, and grabbing my wrist. “Good. I need you.”
“As much as I wish that’s why I was in here, we have a problem.”
