Kates continued, "You're wondering what I was up to, but the truth is that I went on a mission for your boyfriend." She clasped a hand on Roane's shoulder, or she tried to. He moved away at the last moment and Kates' hand fell back to her side. She laughed. "He wanted me to find Lucan and I did!"
Silence met the last bomb she dropped.
I waited a beat. "You what?"
"I found Lucan."
My eyes shot to Roane. "She what?"
He'd been studying me with narrowed eyes and now he moved forward. "Kates, go with Gregory. He'll take you to a room. You can settle down for the night. I'm sure you're tired."
"Not really. I'm amped up. Mind if I hit the club instead?"
"There are vampires down there."
Kates me an incredulous look. "You know they're my forte."
"No killing and no screwing," Roane warned. "They've pledged their allegiance to me. I don't want any of them upset that a slayer is in their midst."
"You know I can't kill. I've followed the decree." Kates didn't seem to mind that she was being hurried out of the room. Just as she disappeared through the door, she looked back and winked at me. I relaxed as I saw the same Kates from before.
When the door shut, the mood wasn't the same. I wanted to smash his bones now, not jump them. "You sent her to find your brother?"
"I did."
"And when were you going to tell me this?"
"I wasn't." He didn't seem guilt-ridden by that answer.
I wanted to hurt him. Bad. "What else should you tell me? Anything else that you had my best friend do for you?"
He hesitated, but then answered emotionless, "Blue. I knew your sponsor wasn't being honest with you and I
knew she was only trying to get close to Kates to try and control you. I told Kates about Blue, that she's working for Jacith and was sent by him. Her job was to report back to him when you became the Immortal. Kates was
supposed to try and get information from Blue, not the other way around. When it wasn't working and when I knew Lucan had gone to the Mori for protection, I sent her to him. I can't get to him there. They're too strong for me, but she could. She's human and he loves her."
I sucked in my breath. "I thought no one knew I was the Immortal. I didn't think Jacith knew about me."
"There was a prophecy about an empath who would become the Immortal. Jacith doesn't believe in it. He doesn't think the thread-holder can become something more, but he sent her anyways. You know this. You know that Blue worked for him and that she had been picked for you."
I did, but I hadn't realized the extent of her betrayal. Or that Jacith knew about me.
"Davy, you knew when Kates had kidnapped Blue that time. She knew about you then. She knew you were the Immortal. You were in her head. You heard her talk about Jacith. He sent her to you."
"Stop." I held my hands over my ears. I didn't want to hear about another person who had lied to me and betrayed me.
"I'm sorry that I never told you. I didn't want you to get mixed up in all that deceit. I hoped not to involve you and then when I found out Lucan went to the Mori, it seemed like the perfect timing. Kates said that she couldn't get any information from Blue without raising more suspicion. She worried that Blue would start to piece everything together. Blue still thinks you're merely a thread-holder. I want her to keep thinking that. I don't want her to raise Jacith's concerns. He thinks he's only sending an army to find the thread-holder. He doesn't think you're an actual threat. That time will come. It's coming soon. I didn't want to fight Lucan and Jacith at the same time so I moved first. I needed someone to get close to my brother. Kates fit the bill. I knew he'd let her get close."
Jacith, Jacith, Jacith. Everything was about this guy and I was starting to hate him. I gritted my teeth.
"I needed to know what Lucan is planning. He didn't just go away. He went somewhere to wait for his next attempt at you. I'm not stupid. I know my brother and I know he has every intention of getting your power. I needed to know what to expect from him so that I could bring the fight to him. I have to take him out first, at least before Jacith comes to us. You understand, right? Tell me you understand."
Did I? Well, I had to. It made sense. That was the problem. So many lies. So much deception. And Roane acted like none of it was personal. It was all business to him, but it wasn't to me. Kates was my best friend. She had lied to me. Roane had lied to me. Blue had lied to me. And this Jacith person had been manipulating me since I'd been born. Everything about this war was personal to me.
"Davy?"
"Stop!" He reached for my arm, but I backed away. "Just stop. I can't. She's my best friend and you sent her away to a lunatic. She's my best friend, Roane! She could've been killed. Lucan could've killed her."