“Sorted out the details,” CK says.
“I see,” I say, moving around to stand behind my desk, putting the big block of wood in between them and me. “And no one thought to tell me of your plans, because…?”
“Because you are a hypocrite,” Devon suddenly snaps at me, to my utter shock.
“How dare you,” I hiss back at him. “How dare you take my husband and turn him into a killer.”
“I didn’t turn him into a killer, Liv. You did, when you turned him,” he retorts, and it is like a smack in the face. “You stand there on your soapbox, preaching piety when you are one of the most vicious creatures I have ever come across. We are Vampires, we Hunt, we drink, we kill. It’s what we do. You taught me that. You, Queen of the Vampires, of The Underworld. The only Vampire in the history of Vampires that absolutely has to feed on humans twice a day and even that you rebuff. All of a sudden you decided to become all moral and that everyone else should fall in line. That we should suppress ourselves because it’s what you want. What you want. It always comes back to what you want.”
“Enough,” CK says to him. “She is your sire and your Queen, and you will respect her.”
Devon turns to him and then back to me, where I am just standing stock still under the tirade of my charge. “Yes, enough. Enough is enough. I have my own charge now and I am going to show her the way. Our way. If she chooses to indulge, then I will revel in it,” he says, arms wide as he turns in a circle coming back to face me. “I will show her the way and she can decide. You should do the same with your own instead of making the decision for him.” He stalks out, slamming the door behind him and I lose my shock at his words and turn my fury back to my sire. I am shaking as he has stepped up, vocally, about taking Jess on as his charge. I am devastated. I have lost him. And he has let me know in a really horrible way.
“How many?” I ask, my heart breaking.
“Six in total,” CK says carefully.
I nod and look to Cole. “How many are you responsible for?”
“Two,” he says and my heart breaks even more.
“Two,” I repeat softly. “And the clean up?” I choke on the words.
“Taken care of,” CK says.
“Liv,” Sebastian starts, but I hold my hand up to quiet him.
I put my hands on my desk to steady me. “The fact that you took my husband, my charge, out Hunting without my knowledge is unforgivable, but that aside, a carnage on the scale of which you have conducted, in a country not our own that we have arrived in less than twenty-four hours ago, is dangerous and irresponsible and puts us all at risk. How could you?” I ask this to CK specifically.
“Liv, listen to me,” Sebastian says again. “They weren’t just six random people we picked out of a crowd.”
“’Bastian,” CK warns, as I shift my steely gaze to my sibling and fellow Fae-pire.
“No, she needs to know,” he says. “We can stand here and be berated, and maybe we deserve it for not telling her what we were doing, but we sure as hell don’t deserve it for why we did it.”
I look back to Cole, who is looking like he wants to die under my callous gaze. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Don’t blame him,” Sebastian says to me.
“Stay out of it,” I tell him. I am surprised he came to Cole’s defense. I don’t think they have said two words to each other since they met.
“No,” he steps forward. “Livvie, did you speak to Cade yesterday?”
I frown at him and ask, “Cade? What does he have to do with any of this?”
“Nico and Cade were in Italy finding out what the Hunters were up to with regard to you,” Sebastian says.
“Yes, I know that. I sent them,” I snap at him.
“And?”
“And, yes I spoke to him yesterday. He said that there was a team of Assassins already in London…” I trail off and look at each one in turn as understanding dawns on me. “A team of six,” I say quietly and they all nod, relieved that I have figured it out and no further explanation is required. “I see, so I am guessing Nico gave you the heads up and you decided to take it upon yourselves to take out the team before they took out you. Is that it?”
“In a nutshell,” CK says. “Look, Aefre, we are well aware of your disapproval, and while I have to disagree with his methods, your boy is right. You cannot expect us to be something we are not. Your choice is admirable and while we don’t understand it fully, we respect it. You asked me the other week to take you Hunting so you could kill. I knew you weren’t in your right frame of mind and I refused, because I know you. I knew it was something you would regret, and I respected your choice. You need to respect ours and not deny your new charge to be who he wants to be. If he decides he doesn’t want to Hunt and kill for his own reasons, then fair enough. But you will not rake him over the coals about this. I won’t allow it.” He emphasizes his point with a stern finger to my desk. “And furthermore, nor will you think that you are better than we are for abstaining. I, quite frankly, think it is absurd. Especially under your personal circumstances that Devon quite succinctly pointed out. I taught you to Hunt and you taught Devon. You should offer your new charge the same courtesy.”
I flush with anger and shame under his Initial Vampire-like reprimand but keep my mouth shut. Pointedly, in a very tight, grim line. Yes, I remember how he taught me to Hunt, the heavy-handed brute. I, at least, went easier on Devon. His defense of Cole is also quite staggering, but I think that is only because he sees him as a charge now. A new member of the race he helped create. But I can’t argue with any of it now that it has been so neatly laid out in front of me. Twice. I have been a pious hypocrite expecting every Vampire to be like me and take my moral standings on Hunting and killing.
He sees that he has got through to me and says softly, “We should have told you what we were planning. For that I am sorry. It was a shock to you and maybe had you had more time to process it, it wouldn’t look as bad as it does.”