I hesitate, but my need to protect my sire rears its ugly, annoying head. “Don’t. CK, don’t do it. He isn’t worth it.”
“I won’t let him hurt you again. Don’t make his case for him, Aefre. Not this time.”
At this point, both Cole and Devon have joined us on the balcony, watching in horror at the scene playing out in front of them.
“As I told her, I am only here to offer my congratulations,” Lance chokes out. “And maybe ask for a seat on the new council for the Eastern European section,” he adds as a carefully planned afterthought. “After all, it should stay in the family, no?”
“You are not her family. You are not my family,” CK bellows at him. “Not after what you did.”
“Constantine, let him go.”
With a howl of frustration, he gives one final shove and lets him go, saying, “Don’t make a move or you will regret it.” He moves back to me but stays in front of me.
“Thank you, Sister,” Lance says. “I knew we could forget the past after all this time.”
“Forget? Forget? Forget what you did to me? Oh no. I will never forget. I don’t stop him for you, dear Brother, I do it to save him from having to kill his own charge. I won’t put him through that pain,” I spit at him with such a loathing that I never even had for Gregor.
“Well, either way I am grateful. Think about my offer. You know what I can bring to the table and you know that it will be a coup. I look forward to hearing from you. Soon.” And he blinks out, leaving me shaking and wanting to puke.
“Brother?” Cole asks. “Is he one of your siblings?”
“I take it that was Lance,” Devon adds and turns on CK. “What the fuck? Why do you continue to let him live after what he did to her?”
“Because I won’t let him kill his own charge,” I repeat forcefully. “Don’t turn on him, Devon. He does as I ask him.”
“But why?” he looks mournful. “Why would you be so merciful? If I could kill him myself I would.”
“Neither of you gets to make that decision. Killing your own bloodline is like killing yourself. I should know. I will not have Constantine be put through that because of me.”
“You are always trying to protect him. He should be the one protecting you,” Devon yells at us both.
“And do you not protect me?” I ask him earnestly, causing him to falter in his anger, having no defense. “I will destroy him myself. I assure you now that I have the capabilities, he will pay for his actions.”
“How so?” Devon asks as CK just stares at me, unable to comment.
“I don’t know yet, but I have a feeling my trusty sword will make an appearance,” I seethe. He steps back at the hatred emanating from me.
Cole, looking bewildered, catches my eyes. “What is going on, Liv?”
I sigh. “Remember that worse thing you didn’t really want to know about?”
He nods warily, remembering the conversation in my office after the Gregor revelation.
“Well, that is my worse.”
“What did he do to you?”
“What didn’t he do?” CK suddenly comes back to life.
“What did he do to you?” Cole repeats.
I take in a deep breath. “Follow me,” I say, leaving them to trail in my wake as I head downstairs.
Pausing briefly to pour a Scotch – who cares it’s early morning – I stop and stand in front of the stained-glass window in my office. They all look up at it quizzically. It is a rather gory scene, as Cole once pointed out, of a woman lying on an altar in a dungeon, split apart and bleeding out. Very much the martyr scenario, only in this case it was torture and the woman on the altar is me.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
Castle Black, Transylvania, 1262 – Lucretia