Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,63
partially open for just that reason.
Rowan threw the ball into the bucket holding what was already an impressive number of dog toys near the back door. Or the outdoor dog toys because Star had toys inside too. She loved the squeakers so much Rowan couldn’t deny her that pleasure.
Even Clive thought it was cute.
Once inside and after some hand washing, she and David moved to her office to have some tea and talk Hunter Corp.
* * *
Clive drew his power around himself like a cloak as he pulled into his parking spot and got out of the car. They’d see him on surveillance; they’d see him as he approached and know he was their Scion.
Better still, they’d feel the waves of his strength rolling from him, humming. His father had told him to feel no shame over what had happened. To be proud because he did the right thing. Being merciless and ruthless was the thing that kept his Vampires safe. Kept his family safe. So he did it no matter who it happened to be.
Alice waited for him at the elevator upstairs with her usual steady presence. She gave him a ruthless smile. “Scion, welcome back.”
“Alice.” He gave her a nod. “What’s on the agenda tonight?”
“I think we’ve found the Vampire who’d been feeding information to your uncle,” she said. “I’ve taken the liberty of locking them out of our system and having them brought here and secured in a room until you’re ready.”
He growled. “Who?”
“No one really. That’s most likely why we didn’t see any of this coming. She’s a low-level employee here in the casino. But when we ran some of the names you sent me while you were in London, hers was one. And when we did a scan of the data she’d accessed, there was a great deal she had no business with.”
Bloody fucking hell.
He took a deep breath and placed his focus firmly back on what he had to do next. He’d get to that traitor soon enough. “All right. Thank you.”
“Everyone is gathered in the large conference room and ready for you.”
“Let’s get this over with then,” he told her as he dropped his things in his office.
He felt their loyalty like a hot, heavy weight when he walked in and to his place at the head of the table. Spines snapped straight, their attention on him. He knew, too, that those Vampires watching via video feed were doing the same. The unique magic of their allegiance to him flowed through his veins.
He’d been Scion for over three years. He’d handled a lot of trouble. Had cleaned up the rot that drew unwanted attention and his territory was thriving because of it. But it wasn’t until that exact moment that he truly took on the power of Scion of North America.
“The Vampire Nation has a problem,” he said, still standing. “You know that there have been assassination attempts on my life and the lives of my people. You know that just last week I executed the Vampire traitor Lyr. The depths of his betrayal took me to London where I found the Blood Front had been reanimated and were the ones responsible for getting the dark magic to Lyr through the black market. Roderick Haigh was found guilty of violating the Treaty and executed. Not before he gave us information about the other conspirators he worked for. That number included Thomas and Arthur Stewart, my uncles.”
He paused to look around the room and into the camera.
“Together with my father and the head of House Stewart, we wiped out Thomas’s and Arthur’s entire lines. Their belongings have been liquidated and the proceeds paid as restitution to the Vampire Nation and to the Scion of Europe. Aside from a recitation of their crimes, I will speak on them no further. Their names have been wiped from the Genesis records and from the family history. For what they have done to enable Vampires and magic users to kidnap and drain their own kind for another power, they are nothing. And forever will be nothing.
“I have been to the Keep to inform The First as to what has happened. He accepted restitution. House Stewart, one of the founding houses of the Vampire Nation, will continue to stand and use sword and shield to defend it and The First. And I will continue to hold my position as Scion. To protect you as best I can and to lead you all into a prosperous future.”