Calliope rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me regret this, Sigvard. She is important. Too important to play these games with. You need to protect her better. Especially considering…” She cast a glance towards me and then back to the Tribunal leader.
I didn’t like being talked about when I was sitting right here. I may have been hurt, but my ears worked just fine.
“Don’t keep her long,” the Oracle threatened, and turned back towards the house.
Sig watched the immortal go, not bothering to hide his smile now, looking quite pleased with himself for how irritated he’d made her. “She hasn’t changed. ”
“Why won’t she invite you in?”
“She’s a little mad at me still. ”
“Still?”
“I said something to her during the Italian Renaissance, and I gather she’s still annoyed about it. ”
“What could you possibly have said to make her mad for more than four hundred years?”
He sat next to me, leaning back in the chair and looking up at the sky. “Who knows? To an immortal four hundred years isn’t that long. Calliope is much older than I am, but she’s still a woman, and even immortal women are capable of holding irrational grudges. ”
“What did you say?”
He smiled at me. “I told her I didn’t love her. ”
I stared at him, trying to process the meaning, but I couldn’t grasp the enormity of the two oldest, most powerful beings I’d ever met having once been a couple. “Oh,” was all I said. “Why did you tell Brigit I was going to be her liaison with the council? You have to be a warden to be a liaison to baby vamps. ”
“You were promoted. ”
“I’m not a vampire. ”
“You are many things, Secret. ”
We stared at each other. He’d combed his blond hair back so I could see nothing but his glacier-blue eyes.
“You know. ”
“Yes,” he replied. “I know everything. ”
“And the others?”
“Daria and Juan Carlos cannot know the truth. Not ever. ”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Thank you. ”
“I’ve given you this position because the rest of the council cares very little about the daily lives of wardens. When you just worked for us, you were constantly drawing attention to yourself. ” He sighed. “If you are one of us, you will stop being considered an outsider, and it will be less likely for you to fall under serious scrutiny. ”
“And that starts with me babysitting Miss Vampire USA?”
“She is a vampire because of you. ”
“I didn’t make her. ”
“Did you not? Really. ” Sig arched a loaded eyebrow at me. “If you hadn’t taken Peyton’s fang, or killed his rogue spawn without permission, would Miss Stewart be a vampire today? It may be ripples in a pond, Secret, but your actions have their consequences. ”
I looked at the stars so I didn’t have to admit he was right. “Brigit isn’t why you’re here. And I doubt you came to check on my health. ”
“This is true. ”
“So, what? Why come across dimensions just to get me out of bed?”