Raelyn has a name,’ ” Silas said, deepening his voice and giving it a slight accent.
Rae frowned at him. “You do not have a future in impersonations.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I’ll just keep being an Enforcer, then.”
Rae and I both nodded, agreeing that was a much better path for him.
“Oh, you need to meet Juliet,” Rae said.
“Juliet?” I repeated.
“Darius’s Erosita,” she replied. “He’s Jace’s sovereign. Sort of a scary, broody vampire—”
“Says the female mated to Kylan,” Silas drawled.
“But she’s really sweet,” Rae continued. “She’s a blood virgin.”
“What’s a blood virgin?” I’d never heard of such a thing.
“A human with a unique blood type. They’re raised at a completely separate school, then auctioned off to the wealthier vampires.” She pinched her lips to the side. “She’s a little different from us. Softer. More accepting?”
“She was raised to be a fuck toy for vampires,” Silas muttered. “That had to be hell on her mind.”
“We were raised to want to kill each other all in the name of immortality,” Rae reminded him flatly. “That was hell on our minds.”
I snorted in agreement.
Rae waved it off and began telling me more about Juliet—someone she’d apparently been spending a lot of time with—and her odd relationship with Darius. Unlike Ryder, Darius did share Juliet. At least her blood. Typically, with Jace.
Hearing his name brought up memories of my turning, so I told Rae about what had happened.
Then we lost ourselves in a conversation underlined in storytelling, all three of us bringing one another up to speed, sharing things we’d learned, and explaining how we’d ended up in certain places.
By the end, I felt almost human again.
Yet not.
Because unlike when I was human, I actually smiled now.
And laughed.
And genuinely enjoyed myself.
All because I tried to fight two vampires while dying from a wolf bite.
Two vampires I ended up saving just last night.
By taking down the Goddess herself.
How’s that for a twist of events? I mused. So what the fuck comes next?
I glanced at my phone, checking on Willow again, and smiled as she chatted animatedly with her friends.
Kylan peered over my shoulder. “Stalker,” he muttered. But I caught the happiness in his gaze at seeing Rae.
“Not all of us have telepathic links to our mates,” I said, putting away my phone.
“Yes, it’s quite strange to me that you can’t speak to her. I was able to talk to Silas after giving him my blood nearly two months ago.”
Edon growled at the mention of the incident, which I assumed was in relation to his mate being shot by a silver bullet and nearly dying as a result. Kylan’s blood had saved him.
“I’ve never possessed telepathy as a gift,” I admitted. “I suppose the Almighty decided I was blessed enough in looks, skill, and other areas that I didn’t require the additional compensation.”
Kylan smirked. “I’ve always adored your wit, even when improperly applied.”
“There was nothing improper about it.” I lifted my ankle to place it over my opposite knee, then fixed my gaze on Jace, who sat at the head of the table. “I see you’re in charge again.”
“It appears to be my role of late.” He didn’t sound very pleased about it. “But as I’m the only one who seems keen on deciding a path forward, I’ll be taking that job until someone else says otherwise.”
I glanced at Kylan again. “You want to lead?”
“Nope.” His lips popped on the p sound.
“Neither do I,” I said conversationally. “That would leave Jace as next in line.”
“It would,” he agreed. “Everyone else is too young.”
“Age isn’t always the deciding factor in leadership,” Darius piped up.
“Are you saying you want to lead, then?” I asked him.
“Absolutely not,” he replied.
“Then your comment is invalid. Anyone else?” I asked, glancing around the group of vampires and lycans.
We had representation from all over the globe, our group barely fitting in this conference room meant for thirty.
I was actually impressed to realize Jace had so many immortals on his side for this rebellion. Together we represented three of the now seventeen vampire regions—I no longer counted Lilith’s former territory—and three of the seventeen clan countries.
That might not have seemed like good odds, but the age and experience in this room said otherwise.
There were also several gray areas on the map of regions or clans Luka and Jace suspected might fall to our side in the case of an eventual war—one I’d accelerated by removing Lilith’s head.
However, that had worked well in our favor because we were now in possession of every detail we could possibly desire