filling with power. My hair floated, igniting as the power surged through me. I grabbed the blade, swinging it in a wide arch as the other vampires moved forward, following their maker to their grave as their heads bounced across the floor.
I smiled coldly, bending with the blade in my hand to wipe it clean on Laura’s gaudy dress. I placed the sword back on the table and sat down with a bored expression as Rhys slid his hand to my thigh silently.
“I didn’t know Laura would come intending to harm her, Rhys, you have to believe me,” Eloisa said through trembling lips, slowly moving to stand beside him as she slipped into his lap.
Her arms wrapped around Rhys’s neck, and she tried to kiss him. But Cole pulled Eloisa over to him, his eyes slowly noting Rhys’s hand on my thigh. I relaxed, grateful that I wouldn’t be exposing my weakness to a room full of immortal alphas who would seek to use it against me.
“Now, Eloisa, why the fuck would we believe you? Haven’t you murdered the last nineteen women that Rhys showed interest in seeing for more than just feeding?” Cole asked, chuckling coldly as he stared at me. His smile turned dark as Eloisa gagged. My eyes lowered to her chest, where Cole’s hand protruded through the center, holding her heart out in front of her on display. “Hear me very clearly, everyone. Remington Silversmith is under Van Helsing protection, and an attempt on her life is an attempt on ours. You all know who wins in this fight if we go to war. Remington may have promised Rhys her silver, but her heart,” Cole stated, popping Eloisa’s like a mushy, oozing balloon of slime, “isn’t claimed yet, and at the end of the day, I couldn’t give two fucks about who owns her silver, as long as I get her heart.” His eyes held mine, forcing me to stare at the blood dripping from his hand.
Rhys snorted, gripping my thigh tightly. He turned, studying me before his eyes dipped to the corpse beside us, who unfortunately wasn’t dead yet. Not unless I picked up that sword and removed Laura’s head, or Rhys did it. That would start a war, though, and we both knew it. I was willing to do it, considering how evil the cold-hearted bitch was. Killing children was a hard limit for me, and anyone who enjoyed their deaths deserved to die.
“As Remington Silversmith has given me her silver, I stand beside my brother’s claim. Other than him claiming her heart, as I have claimed her for myself for now,” Rhys stated, watching me carefully to see if I would argue with him. “If anyone has an issue with that, I will hear it now and challenge them and their house to honor my promise of protection. As you all know, a Van Helsing can only give one woman his protection in a lifetime, and I chose Remington Silversmith. I am duty-bound to protect my silver, and I mean to keep that promise.” Did that mean he’d married me too? I was so confused about how this shit worked.
“If you’re serious about her being the strongest Silversmith you’ve ever met, then Lord have mercy on you, Rhys Van Helsing, because I don’t think she intends to,” Griselda said, smiling as she took in the disgruntled look my face. “However, my house will stand with yours, as we have since the beginning. I do, however, think I will remain close by, in the event that something larger is brewing, and you need me at your side, and yours, Silversmith. You may not have the correct coloring, but you hold the fire of a forge within you, which Laura’s unfortunate ire exposed.”
“Thank you, Griselda,” Rhys acknowledged, bowing his head.
One by one, the houses gave Rhys a vow to honor the bond between us, whatever that meant. I hadn’t quite figured that part out yet. Nyx’s eyes held mine from where she sat on top of the bar, tapping her finger on the glass she held. There was worry in her eyes, and it sent a tightening to the pit of my stomach as she looked away.
If I were a better friend, I’d send Nyx away from the mess I had ended up in, but I was certain after I’d just harmed the alpha vampire’s second-in-command, he would be seeking revenge against me in any shape or form he could get it.