Page 76 of After Darkness Falls

Levi had spared their ancestor during the purge, so many eons ago, pulling a little boy out of the way. And through him, their line had endured.

What now?

The Eirikrsons were monsters. Always had been to the core. They'd taken to lording over the rest of their race, assassinating those who stepped out of line, but that was just an excuse to satisfy their bloodthirst. Levi hadn't partaken in the purge, but he hadn't disapproved either.

The obvious answer was to kill the boy, and the girl too.

But he couldn't.

Because for better or worse, Chloe Eirikrson was his mate, and he couldn't bring himself to destroy her. He wasn’t suicidal. Killing his own mate would be just that: damning himself.

"I'm surprised I haven't heard that the House of Eirikr has risen again."

"Are you?" Tom had asked. "Surprised."

Not really.

Tom had obviously stayed in the shadows to protect his sister while she was mortal.

"Why do you come to me now?"

"Because you're smart," his slayer companion said. "Smart enough to at least suspect what she was—and yet, you haven't attempted to hurt her. And because, if I'm not mistaken, you're the one who saved their house in the first place."

He'd never liked Viola much. Now he knew why. She was too clever by half.

"What do you want of me?"

The boy extended his hand. He was holding a necklace.

"My blood. She'll need it to change. We had the pendant spelled; it'll last a year or so."

"Why not give it to her, then?" Levi asked.

He expected the answer. "She doesn't know a thing. I didn't either, until a few years ago. And we're trying to keep it that way, because everyone could be a spy, an enemy. I'll try to be around when she needs it, but Viola and I aren't always in the country. In case something happens to me, at least there's a safeguard."

"Do you expect something to happen to you?" Levi had questioned, relatively indifferent one way or another.

Viola was the one who answered.

"I'm sure you've noticed the movements around the other families, Leviathan. The Stormhales have gone quiet. The Beauforts have all returned to France, except for that stubborn teacher in your school. They're all plotting, and it started after the results of Tom's blood tests hit the web. They know there are Eirikrsons left. And they know that if they actually manage to annihilate the line for good this time, Skyhall, its treasures, and its power will be fair game. Can you imagine? Since the Eirikrsons, there's been no real leader for our kind. But if they can absorb the essence of that line's power…"

He could imagine, and damn her, but Viola was right.

That sort of power shouldn't be in anyone's hand.

The problem was that right now, it was at the tip of Tom's finger.

"You're the head of the Eirikrsons," Levi told the boy. "You could make us kneel and dance to your tune, like a child playing with chess pieces."

The boy laughed.

"If you think I'm in charge, you clearly don't know my sister."

* * *

Levi had doubted Tom at the time. Chloe was too nice. Too charming. Everyone loved her. She definitely hadn't seemed like his idea of a sovereign.

Then he'd understood.

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