“If we believe what he and Lucian have said.”
“Do you think they’re working together, independently of our mother?”
“It’s possible.”
“But it doesn’t seem that way?”
You shook your head. “No, it doesn’t.”
“If Seneser is lying,” I began again, “it would mean that Azrael is a god of his word, and Mater enjoys tormenting you for no reason. Does that seem more believable to you?”
“No,” you said, dejected.
That was good. It meant you weren’t in denial.
“So, we have this opportunity to rescue Mater, and it might be our only chance. You’ve told me before she has influence over the other Grigori. Wouldn’t we be in a better position to defeat Azrael if we had her powerful allies on our side?”
“There is no defeating Azrael,” you said with infuriating certainty. “These beings have powers we cannot even comprehend. And access to realms where we cannot traverse.”
“But if we do nothing, you’ll always be under his thumb,” I argued. “And sooner or later, so will I.”
You sat down at the edge of our bed and ran your fingers through your long hair. I dropped down to my knees and made another appeal. “If we get caught, we can say it was a humanitarian effort, that she was being denied bloodmeals.”
“If we’re given the opportunity to argue our case,” you said with a sigh. “If this goes badly, they’ll separate us, Vincent. They’ll torture you—mind, body, and soul—for lifetimes. They’ll…” Your shoulders dropped as you let out a miserable groan. “They’ll break you, my darling, and I can’t endure it again.”
Again. You’d been through this twice already. Because ofhim.
“He’ll do that to me anyway. Because he can. It’s only a matter of time, Henri. Our best option is to take a stand, and this is our chance.”
Your eyes focused in front of you and you said with steely determination, “My answer is still no.”
You were so goddamned stubborn. Trying to persuade you was like banging my fists against a cinderblock wall. So, I would make this easy for you.
“I’m going with Lucian and Seneser to free our mother,” I said with all the conviction I could muster. “Are you coming with me or not?”
You glowered at me for a long moment, and I almost took back my words. Until at last, you shook your head miserably. “That’s not a choice, Vincent.”
Maybe not, but it wasn’t me who’d backed us into this corner.
WHILE WE WERE ARGUINGin the bedroom, Lucian and Seneser had mapped out a mission plan, including a list of supplies, which they shared with us. The most alarming item on the list was “a few humans.”
“What are the humans for?” I asked. It seemed like they’d only attract attention and make things more complicated.
Lucian glanced at you like I was an idiot, then shot me a condescending look.
“For feeding?” he said with exaggerated patience.
“And to give as an offering,” Seneser added. “Ashur, Lena’s guard, is less likely to mistreat us if we can offer him a blood sacrifice.”
“No,” I said, and they both looked at me questioningly. “I want to rescue our mother, but I’m not going to kill people to do it. We can bring blood, in bags or bottles, but we’re not dragging innocent people into this.”
Lucian argued with me about it, telling me how the blood wouldn’t last more than a few days without refrigeration and that we needed living beings to replenish our blood supply. But I told them both flat-out, I wasn’t joining them if they planned on killing people.
“This is only the beginning of our partnership,” you said, “and we all have things where we’re unwilling to compromise. Vincent will not take human life. That’s his rule, and I doubt it will change. So, if your plans are to include him, you’ll need to honor his condition.”
I shot you a suspicious look and wondered if you were trying to sabotage our mission before it even began. You’d still not committed to joining us, but I was hoping you’d come around.
“And what are you unwilling to compromise on, Henri?” Lucian challenged.
