Justice and Noble turned to me, their eyes wide.
Shit.
The vampires chosenowto come down from the cliffs? I sighed. “Thank you, Simon. From now on, we patrol in teams of four. Noble, have Simon checked by a healer and then get an additional dozen guards to Dark Row ASAP.”
He nodded, and Noble escorted him to the guard at the door and then returned.
The second the door closed, I turned to my brothers. “We need to make sure our patrols here have sufficient numbers to withstand—”
“You don’t really think the rumors about vampire nobility being alive are true, right?” Noble asked.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, wishing there was some way to deny the reality facing us.
Justice cleared his throat. “I heard Uncle Declan speaking once about them. Something about a blood payment.”
I jerked my chin up and stared at my brother. “A payment? Of what?”
Because there was only one thing I knew they’d want, and if Declan was paying them in blood…
“Oh, Mother Mage.” Noble shook his head. “Don’t tell me—”
“Knock-knock.” My mother entered the room, holding a tray of food, and we all quieted. As she crossed the room, I noticed her features—even her frame—reflected a strain or tenseness, and I had an epiphany. Whatever horror we’d suffered under Declan, our mother had probably suffered far more. I should have killed him sooner—a lot sooner.
‘Don’t say anything to worry her,’I said to my brothers.‘She needs time.’
Probably a lot of it.
Her face brightened when she saw me. “How’s my new king? Any word on Nai?”
I shook my head, forcing a smile even as my heart sank. “Still working on it. I did get a message to her, I think, and Justice has a mage trying to break the protection spell on the portal.”
She nodded, setting down the tray. My brothers and I dug into the honey-baked ham, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns that were piled high on the platter but diminishing quickly.
My mom gave me a tremulous smile. “Honey, while you’re here, I need to talk to you about the main kitchen remodel.”
My shoulders tightened with fresh,additionaltension. “Kitchen remodel?”
She nodded. “Chuck has been asking for a remodel budget for a decade now, and I think—”
“Give me a list of what you and Chuck want as well as pricing, and we’ll get it done,” Noble said. “Rage has enough on his plate without having to worry about a kitchen remodel.”
‘Thanks.’I shot my brother a smile filled with relief and gratitude.‘That would’ve been the straw that broke my camel’s back.’
Mom smiled. “Will do, dear.”
After giving us all a kiss on the cheek, she left, and I felt both worse and better because she seemed to stand a little taller.
Was this really what my uncle had done all day? Because it was a lot harder than I thought it’d be. I was constantly putting out fires with barely any time to think about Nai or myself.
“I’ll handle the kitchen remodel,” Noble told me. “But I’d also like to hire an assistant.”
I nodded. “Done. Approved. Whatever you need.”
Justice and I met each other’s gazes.
“I need you to tell me everything you know about the vampire situation, preferablybeforewe get to Dark Row to check out where Kirkland was killed.”
Justice nodded. “We can talk on our way over. First, let’s go check in with Kalama.”
