“If one of your vamps touches Sylvie, I won’t care what you tolerate.”
“I assure you,” Faraday said. “Our students, staff, and friends will have no reason to act against you.”
Faraday closed the door, and Riggs ripped off his jacket, tossing it on the bed.
I spread my arms, spinning a slow circle to take in the room. It looked like the sort of place an eighteenth-century writer would give her left kidney to come to and compose a masterpiece. There was beautiful wood everywhere from the moldings around the ceiling to the endless bookshelves and the huge bed in the center of it all. It was like a house all on its own, and I suddenly felt less worried about sharing it with Riggs.
“Isn’t this gorgeous?” I asked.
“Sure,” Riggs said. He sank into a claw-footed chair, curling his lip as he took it all in. “When you use your powers to oppress, manipulate, and kill humans for endless generations, you can afford some nice decorations.”
I crossed my arms. “Would you give them a chance? I realize I know basically nothing, here. But if these rebels are opposing the Coven, doesn’t that at least give you something in common?”
“These fuckers took my sister. A vamp is a vamp, and I don’t particularly care what their political affiliation is.”
“Yeah,” I said, suddenly feeling my bright excitement dim. “And my sister is one of them too. Just when I start thinking you might not be so bad you talk about them like they’re animals again. It’s ugly. You know that, right?” I was breathing hard and hadn’t realized how much I was already bottling up my thoughts on his vampire hatred after less than a week.
“You’ve known vampires exist for six days. Give it some time, then try to tell me I should go easier on them. Deal?”
“Yeah, deal. Asshole,” I murmured under my breath. “I’m going to take a shower.”
Riggs waved his hand dismissively. He was slumped in the chair with his legs spread and his chin resting on his fist.
Good, I thought. The man seriously needed a brooding session. I just hoped he’d use some of that dark energy to think about what an insufferable ass he was being.
24
Riggs
I waited for Sylvie to sleep and for morning to come before I quietly left our room. One advantage of being in vamp hell was that their world shut down at the crack of dawn. Some of the most powerful vamps could move around during the day, but it was rare enough that I could afford to trust a locked door to keep Sylvie safe for an hour or two.
Felix met me in the smoking room, which was a tapestry-lined room full of armchairs, thick rugs, and forest green walls.
He was sitting in one of the chairs looking exhausted. Felix was a big bastard, and he was as reliable as my old truck. If you told him to get something done, he’d do it. It might not happen as fast as you’d like or with as much finesse, but he’d make it happen.
Sure enough, he’d found a way to keep Maisey safe, but I still wasn’t sure I liked where it led us.
“This is a shit fest,” I grumbled. I was wandering around the room, restlessly yanking on things and prodding decorations. Being in their world felt deeply wrong, and I couldn’t manage to just sit and relax yet. My body was on full alert, and I could practically feel my wolf prowling inside me, just as alert.
“It could be worse. All things considered, this might just be the safest place for those girls when the cleaners are after them.”
“Worse than staying in a mansion full of vamps? How, exactly?”
“I’ve worked with these vampires a few times now while you’ve been wallowing, Riggs. Before, I only ever saw them as the enemy. But get to know them, and they’re people. Just people.”
I made a dismissive sound. “You’re welcome to kiss their asses. Doesn’t mean I will. All I care about is keeping Sylvie safe. Her sister too,” I added, but I doubted I was fooling anyone with my true motivations by now.
“Maisey is doing well,” Felix said. “She is strong, like Vladimir said. She only drinks exactly as much as they tell her to. She doesn’t give in to the urges. They say most vampires in her state would’ve gone feral already. And more still wouldn’t be able to control their thirst enough to ease back to sanity.”
I grunted. “What do you know about this Prince?”
Felix shrugged. “There’s not much to know. He’s young, but somehow they say he’s almost as powerful as the elder vampires. He made a few moves against the Coven and quickly gathered a following. They treat him like royalty and his parents back him.”
“What does he want?”
“You know what he wants. The rebels are just trying to co-exist. No more Coven bullshit about dominance or in-fighting over whether vampires should hide from humans.”