Chapter
One
“Iquit.”
Ethan smirked at me. “You can’t quit.”
My fists clenched at my sides at the surety in his tone. “Oh? How about I bite the shit out of each of you, drain your blood, then set the building on fire and leave your bodies inside for your mothers to discover?”
Soren and Ben blinked, their expressions changing from smug to wary in a heartbeat.
“Gods, Moira,” Ethan muttered. “Can you tone it down?”
“No. I cannottone it down. You jerks have been running me ragged for months now, and I’m over it. There is no junior council because Iamthe junior council. You’ve appointed no one and sent me out to do all your crappy errands.”
I suspected Ethan was spearheading this nonsense, too. Ever since I started dating Cernunnos, he’d kept me so busy I barely got to lie my head down before popping up to go off to some other hellhole to do the Lord’s business. I had zero time for myself, let alone spending any time with Cernunnos. That wasn’t even counting the tea shop I now owned in name only because Iwas never home and forcing Evie to hire a new helper because I also had zero time to pop into her shop.
All in all, the Lords sucked, and I was done with their nonsense.
“We can’t be in more than one place at once, which is why we need a representative,” Ethan said. “And for some reason, our people like you.”
The sarcasm of the last part of his statement was not lost on me. “At least your people have one likable person in leadership,” I shot back.
Ethan bared his teeth.
“Moira,” Ben interrupted, giving Ethan a meaningful look I took to mean,please shut up. “What are your thoughts on managing this council better?”
I liked Ben, but in this, the poor guy didn’t have a clue.
“I don’t manage this council at all. I’m merely the lackey. If you’d like to have a council, you need more people. If you want representatives, you need at least three for each territory. Not one for everywhere. Please consider this my in-person two-week notice. After this, you’ll need to find someone else.”
Ethan leaned forward. “You’re under contract.”
I met his midnight gaze. “And you have abused my time and effort. I’m sure if you thoroughly read my contract, you’ll see I am well within my rights to walk away.” I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “The notice is a courtesy I am not required to provide. Do not push me.”
I nodded and turned to leave the room. As I was reaching for the door handle, Ethan spoke up. “What about a raise?”
What an ass. I was a vampire. If an immortal being didn’t know how to save and invest, they’d be cast out of the vampire club. If they had one of those. I liked money. I especially liked the feel of it as I handed it over the counter to receive somethingshiny in return. But I didn’t need more of it if I still had to put up with the same bullshit.
“Not interested.”
Ethan snorted. “I know you’re eyeing a piece from Ari’s store.”
I slowly turned. My heart thumped in my chest. “Spying on me now, Ethan? How very unbecoming of a Lord.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “I keep tabs on everyone who works for me.”
“Including their jewelry wants?”
Soren and the other Lords looked down at the table or anywhere else but at me.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Moira,” Ethan snapped. “I know everything about my employees.”
But I hadn’t missed the slight widening of his eyes when I called him out about it. “Hmm. Then maybe you should add the matching piece. My ring size is 6.”
Without another word, I walked out of the room.
Ass. I didn’t bother waiting around for the Lord’s meeting to end. Coffee waited just around the corner, and I needed to head to my shop and stop in at Evie’s to see how the new hire was doing. I was in between assignments right now, after just ending the last one yesterday. None had been as ridiculous as Soren’s run-in with the witches, nor had I seen my mother since I’d stabbed her with a spear, though I wasn’t foolish enough to believe she was done with me.
