Page 24 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“Their sister-queen,” my mother corrected me before turning her attention to my mate. “Never forget that they are not your blood.”

“I won’t,” Thea said softly.

But I laughed, not bothering to hide the bitterness I felt. “Does it matter? Our family—or, I suppose, your family now—was made. Few of us share blood.”

“We all share blood,” Sabine said fiercely. “Your brothers were reborn with our blood—the same blood that flows through your veins as well as Camila’s.” She turned to stare at the hearth, too, the flames casting a spotlight that deepened the hollows of her eyes and turned the crimson stain on her gown black as death. “And the sooner you get over being disowned, the better. There are more important matters to discuss.”

More important? Thea blinked but didn’t say it aloud.

I bit back another hollow laugh. Her maternal instincts only extend so far, and I think I’ve depleted them tonight.

“Are you two finished?” Sabine interrupted our private conversation.

Thea’s head tilted, and she pulled away from me. I stayed close behind her as she took a step toward my mother. “Can you actually hear us?”

“No, thank the Gods. It’s bad enough watching you two screw each other with your eyes.” She pushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’d go clinically insane if I had to hear your thoughts.”

“But then, how did you...” Thea chewed on her lower lip.

“I saw the way you were looking at him. I’ve been around a little longer than you. I can guess what you’re thinking. As for your private conversations, you two might want to work on covering that up. Anyone could guess you’re speaking mind-to-mind,” she advised, “and being able to hide that could be a powerful advantage.”

“And we’re going to need an advantage,” I said, steering her back to the problem at hand. “Because the Queens are homicidal.”

“Queens are always homicidal.” She delivered the words casually, but her flat tone carried a hint of menace. “Getting a crown is relatively easy compared to keeping it.” She directed the last bit at my mate.

Thea just shrugged. “If they want to kill me, they’ll have to get through both of us.”

My mate, the smallest of us in the room, commanded it. Even my mother’s eyebrow lifted slightly, a sign she was impressed. Thea turned toward a velvet armchair by the fire, claiming it like a throne. And even in her exhaustion, that new power radiated from her. I felt it in my bones, my blood, in every atom of my being.

“I know that,” Sabine said, surprising us again. If I wasn’t immortal, I wasn’t sure my heart could take it. “That’s why I sent you to serve the Queens. You know this court, and you know them.”

And because of that, I could protect Thea. But it didn’t make sense. “I served here hundreds of years ago. You can’t have known.”

“Mothers always know more than you think,” she said dryly. “Especially your mothers.”

“Mothers? What do you mean mothers?” Thea pressed. “Did my mother have something to do with this? Did she know?”

I felt Thea’s hope trembling inside me, a baby bird ready to take its first leap into the world on unsteady wings. I moved to stand behind her chair in case she fell out of it. Her search for her mother had brought us here, had started the chain of events that led to this very moment.

“Your mother must have known what you were,” Sabine continued. “She hid you from your father to protect you, but she also hid you because she knew what would happen if you were found.”

“You would kill her,” I snarled, remembering what had happened to the sirens and their offspring.

“The Council would kill her,” she said.

I held back a groan. “You’re on the Council.”

“And you were going to duel me to the death,” Thea reminded her faintly, half-joking and half-confused.

Sabine glared at her. “Disrespect is disrespect no matter who shows it. I don’t care if it’s a mortal or a siren or a Queen.”

“Noted,” Thea said without breaking eye contact.

“But why would they kill Ginerva?” I asked. “She was the most powerful of them all. Without her...”

“That is exactly the question you need to be asking,” Sabine said, swiftly returning to the situation at hand. “Who benefits the most from getting rid of her?”

“Perhaps,” my father interrupted, and we all turned toward him, “it is not the Queens who betrayed her.”

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