Margarida had taken another few steps closer to me, but she scowled back at her older brother.
“I’m afraid I agree,” I said. “It’s a sweet sentiment, Margarida, but my blood curdles at the thought of being related to such a Family.”
Killian suspiciously coughed again—probably to cover laughter—while Margarida looked crestfallen.
Amée merely looked icy—as was her custom—while her biological twin tried to adopt a similar expression but failed and looked afraid.
Amée and Auberi mirrored each other, each possessing radiant blonde hair and an extra paleness that I personally thought made them more closely resemble sickly Victorian children addled with arsenic poisoning than vampires.
Amée had her hair pulled back in a bun so tight it looked painful, and she was—shockingly—wearing a modern, navy-blue pantsuit and heels. Auberi was also in a navy-blue suit, which he had probably been forced into by Amée as she didn’t want Killian’s Drake Family to look down on them.
(For all their incompetence, all the snake-brats except for Margarida had something of a complex over Killian’s vastly superior minions in comparison to their own. Margarida was spared from this as she mostly cuddled her underlings and didn’t want anything more than for them to be ‘happy’. I said she wasn’t trouble. I never said she was apt.)
“Considine? A father-figure? Hah!” This came from somewhere behind the twins’ fainting couch where Baldwin was hiding, lying down on a couch so plush it engulfed him.
I scooped up Margarida’s right hand so I could pat it—if I didn’t showsomesign of affection she’d try to hug me—then sauntered up to the twins’ chosen settee so I could look over it and see Baldwin-the-broke.
He was dressed in Rococo fashion with breeches and white stockings, and an undecorated black jacket that was left open to display a lavish waistcoat. He’d even gone so far as to bring a white wig with tight curls, but it looked distinctly flat and sad from where he’d tossed it on an ottoman.
His real hair—a boring mix of blonde and brunette that matched his beige personality—was plastered to his forehead, and he wore his accustomed dour look that inspired me to make a mental note to call his Second later tonight and inquire just how much was in his bank account, so I would know the precise amount to drain.
“Hello, Baldwin. I must say I’m shocked to see you here—living off Auberi’s and Amée’s generosity, are you?”
Baldwin cranked his body into a sitting position, his scowl deepening. “I wouldn’t have to if it weren’t for you!”
“Please.” I made a show of getting out my cellphone and looking at the screen. “Your incompetence is hardly my fault.”
Baldwin stood up, his red eyes blazing. “You drained all of my accounts—investments and savings and lost itgambling!”
“Well, you should have had more in savings and then I wouldn’t have needed to drain it all for my wager.” That would have been enough to get Baldwin, but I couldn’t help acidly adding in the truth of the situation—something the Dracos children excelled at ignoring. “Or maybe you should have been more self-aware. Your Drache Family’s gambling habit—which you refused to address between your naps—was eventually going to put you in bankruptcy. I just hastened the effect.”
Baldwin sputtered, breaking off into shouts of old German that I couldn’t quite remember—I’d learned a great many languages over the centuries, but I never used any of the old ones so they’d slipped through the cracks of my memory.
I watched Baldwin turn red in the face with interest for a few moments until I realized he was just going to growl and postulate.
It’s unfortunate I promised Ambrose I’d watch his wretched family.
Ambrose—who had been my friend and brethren for millennium—had caught me in a moment of weak affection for him when he’d dragged the promise from me.
Now, having experienced this thankless task for centuries, if I had the chance to do it again, I’d tell my old friend to survive the death of his One and watch his offspring himself.
If I didn’t have to be responsible for this wretched Family, I could be amusing myself more with Jade, my naïve neighbor, who was a slayer and hilariously unaware that I—one of the oldest vampires still conscious—lived next door to her.
Or even better. If I hadn’t been forced into the guardianship of a bunch of snot-nosed vampire brats, I’d be sleeping just like every other world-weary vampire.
But no. Instead, I’m stuck here. Withthemas my punishment.
Baldwin started walking in a circle, gesturing emphatically. I pivoted so I faced Killian. “It looks like Baldwin is about to lose it like a mad werewolf. Surely he’ll ruin something in this room. Why don’t you call one of your underlings to knock him out and put us out of his misery?”
Killian raised an imperious eyebrow at me. “I amnottaking responsibility for Baldwin.”
“Why not?” I asked. “You’ve been relentlessly sending out your Drake vampires to look for me, when—as far as you know—I’m piously living in peace. Baldwin is annoying even when he’s merely breathing.”
Margarida scurried past me stretching her arms out and setting them on Baldwin’s shoulders. “Peace, Baldwin. Elder Maledictus is just concerned for you.”
I frowned. “What mistake did I make to lead you to that conclusion?”
Margarida ignored me and instead set about straightening Baldwin’s jacket for him when he quieted under her attention. “We need to focus. Don’t you remember why we’re here?”
