“I’m glad you accepted.” He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “I would be even more grateful if you’d trust me with what you remember of the attack on your mother.”
He listened as she described a trinity of vampires who sounded remarkably like Vashti, Salem, and Raze.
“It wasn’t them,” he said quietly when she finished, having no doubt as to their innocence.
“I know that now. When I bit Vash—”
“Ah, yes. I won’t forget that.” He smiled inwardly, recal ing how infuriated Vashti had been at being bested by a fledgling. His second hadn’t fought back, of course, out of deference for his paternal feelings. Which only made it more concerning that she’d brought Lindsay to heal the Alpha. It seemed Vashti had been focused on the lycan’s health to the exclusion of every other consideration.
“Adrian searched through my mind and he concurs with my description, but says the memory is faulty. Too murky. More of an emotional impression than a photographic one.”
He settled in his chair again. “I’d see for myself if you hadn’t lost enough blood already. I could’ve looked when I drained you for the Change, but I didn’t want to personalize you. I know how cold that sounds.”
“I appreciate the truth.” One side of her mouth lifted. “Hot or cold.”
“But it doesn’t matter whether I see the memory myself or not. I believe you. I’l investigate and see what turns up.”
“I— Thank you, again. For obvious reasons, I’d love to know who they are.” She took a deep breath, then released it in a rush. She looked away quickly when he caught her gaze, but he’d seen how her eyes were shadowed and haunted.
“What else is troubling you, Lindsay?” he asked softly. “Wil you tel me?”
There was a long hesitation before she said, “I lost my father recently. The day before I met you. It’s hard, you know…feeling this way about someone else. Even though I know they’re Shadoe’s feelings—knowing doesn’t change how it affects me.”
Syre nodded grimly. “Yes, it feels somewhat disloyal, doesn’t it? I’m warring with the same thing. I don’t want a replacement for my daughter; I want her. But I can’t help the sense of affinity I feel for you. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in al my years on earth, it’s that certain events change our lives for a reason and that certain paths cross because they’re meant to. We don’t have to be enemies, Lindsay. Or even al ies. Perhaps you and I can just…be ourselves. Perhaps we can just accept that we have a bond and not fight it or try to analyze it. Perhaps we can even come to nurture it, if we decide we want to.”
A knock came to the door a second before it opened and Vash stepped in. “Syre, I— Oh. Sorry.”
Lindsay’s mouth twisted rueful y.
“It’s al right, Vashti,” he said. “What do you need?”
“I’d like a word. Elijah wants to see you, Lindsay.”
“Okay.” Pushing to her feet, she moved to pass Syre and paused abreast of him.
He glanced up at her and was startled when she bent down and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. She left without another word.
Syre was glad Vashti had enough to say on her own. It was many moments later before his throat loosened enough for him to speak again.
CHAPTER 11
It was on a rooftop under the light of the moon that the phone cal was made.
“Someone f**ked up,” he said without preamble. “Adrian arrived almost two hours earlier than I was told to expect him.”
There was a short pause. “Has he discovered that you’re stil alive?”
“No. I had the interior of the house taken care of. There’s nothing of me to be found in there.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“The hel there isn’t!” Agitation forced his wings to unfurl and stretch, casting a massive shadow on the lawn below. “If he’s got any of his brain left, he’l figure out someone’s been staying there.”
“I’m not prepared to say that’s a problem.”
“Because you want the shit to hit the fan. It’s what you’ve been working for al these centuries.” He heard the familiar creaking of Syre’s desk chair and his fists clenched. While the cat’s away, the rat will play… “It’s not time yet, and Syre and Adrian are both focusing more on the virus than I expected them to. I assumed they’d concentrate on each other and the lycans. Anything that distracts them is a good thing right now.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re not out here hanging in the wind. I told you staying in Helena’s home was a bad idea.”