Dark Seduction (Vampire Royals of New York #2) - Sarah Piper Page 0,42
the adjacent chair, shaking his head. “More enemies. It’s endless.”
“Let’s not forget about the grays,” Dorian said.
“Grays?” Gabriel glanced up from the flames that had so far captured his attention. “As in, vampire grays? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Cole Diamante and his associates are tracking a band of them in the area,” Dorian said. “Now that he’s come back into the fold, Cole has assured me he and the wolves will back us. But yes, the presence of the grays concerns me. After so many years without a sighting, the timing is quite suspect.”
“Duchanes,” Gabriel said.
Dorian nodded. “Chernikov has promised to update me on anything he learns about House Duchanes or other vampires looking to ally with demons against the crown. He’ll also keep an eye on Rogozin and the dark witches.”
“And what will that juicy bit of intel cost us?” Malcolm asked.
“Weekend access in Manhattan for his underlings, with certain restrictions in place.”
Malcolm nodded. “Annoying, but tolerable.”
Dorian took a long pull from his scotch, steeling himself for the rest of the story. “He also wants the Mother of Lost Souls.”
“Does he now?” Malcolm laughed. “Excellent! Just ask him to kindly point us to its location, and he’s welcome to it.”
Dorian, Aiden, and Colin exchanged a loaded glance.
“We’ve… already located it,” Dorian said. “And no, he’s not welcome to it, nor to the demonic text that came along with it.”
Gabriel and Malcolm remained silent as Dorian, Colin, and Aiden took turns filling them in on their various findings and theories—not just about the statue and the demonic book, but about the details Colin had shared with Dorian last night before the attack.
Father’s alleged cure for vampirism and other so-called supernatural ailments.
“So you’re telling me there’s a way to wipe supernaturals from the face of the earth?” Gabriel asked, his voice low and menacing. “And we’re sitting on the bloody instruction manual?”
“I’ve yet to locate the precise instructions, if that’s what you wish to call them,” Colin said. “But yes, I believe Father’s journals contain such information—along with a great deal of other highly sensitive data that could become quite dangerous in the wrong hands.”
“Then why are we still standing here, jacking off?” Gabriel shot to his feet. “We need to get down to the crypts and burn it. All of it.”
“I’m no sentimentalist,” Aiden said, “but I would advise against it.”
Gabriel wheeled on him, his deadly cold eyes shooting daggers of pure ice. “And I would advise against advising the royal family unless such advisement is specifically requested, which it wasn’t. Furthermore—”
“Sit down, Gabriel,” Colin said, his face stern and commanding, his eyes alight with an anger Dorian had never seen in the typically genteel vampire. “And for once in your immortal life, shut your bloody mouth. Please.”
“Thank you,” Aiden said. “Bloody hell, this family. Perhaps I should’ve taken my chances and stayed in England. Not that you lot could’ve survived as long without me.”
Dorian raised his glass, offering a nod of thanks to his dear friend.
“Aiden is as much a part of the royal family as any of us,” Colin continued. “I, for one, appreciate his advice. And in this case, I happen to agree with him. But even if I didn’t, I would welcome his thoughts. So, if you’ve got a problem with rational discourse, Gabriel, kindly excuse yourself from this meeting.”
All of them were stunned into momentary silence by Colin’s uncharacteristic outburst.
For a moment, Gabriel seethed, and Dorian thought he might take Colin’s advice and storm out of the room.
But then he finally nodded, sinking back into his chair with an aggrieved grunt.
“Aiden,” Dorian said, sharing a quick smile and a wink with his best mate, “please continue.”
“Thank you, Colin. Dorian.” Aiden cleared his throat. “As I was saying, I wouldn’t be so quick to destroy the evidence, so to speak. For one thing, we don’t know if there are other copies, or if anyone else was working on the research with your father. He was a secretive man—perhaps he had associates in every country round the globe. If this information were to find its way into the wrong hands through other means, the last thing I’d want is for House Redthorne to be in the dark.”
“I understand your position,” Gabriel said, albeit grudgingly. “But if Father truly died from this so-called cure, what’s to stop our enemies from weaponizing it?”
“Nothing,” Aiden said. “Which is why—in my humble, non-royal, unsolicited opinion, of course—I feel we’ve got the advantage here, and we need to hold onto it. If