Page 45 of White Raven
He looked like someone had backhanded him. Rhaena supposed that was a fitting reaction. “Can she—”
“Malcolm, I’m not gonna ask her for that. It’s the same as selling her blood for other people’s gain. If more people know what it can do, she’ll be harvested for it for the rest of her life. She deserves to live without—”
“But don’t other people deserve to live?! Don’t other people deserve to be healed?”
Suddenly, in his desperate need for comfort, Malcolm Foley was gone. This was a mistake. One that Athan would never forgive her for if Foley came after his mate for a cure. If that desperation costs Sarah her freedom. Even worse, Foley had a bargaining chip now, being able to charge her with murder. She just fucked up so mind-blowingly bad.
“Listen to yourself. I just told you I don’t know how long this will last, or what exactly it did to me. I told you that wolf is still in there. Just because I spared myself a month of agony, doesn’t mean I’ll be able to keep it that way. And if it came down to using Sarah’s blood, even every few months…I’d never do that to her. Yes, other people deserve to live. Other people deserve tobe healed. But Foster gave Sarah some good advice. If you upset that balance of life…it destroys everything. Death is inevitable. So is being what we are. My little reprieve can disappear just as easily as it came.”
“I need some time alone, Gloves. I’m sorry I lost my temper…I just—please go.”
Say less…
Rhaena promptly stood and left his office. She had to warn them. Athan might rip her head off for this, but at this point, she supposed she’d earned it. This day was not supposed to start off this way. She grabbed her bag and her jacket, leaving her cup sitting on her desk as she headed for the elevator.
CHAPTER 9
BALANCE
“I just need to know what I’m walking into, Decc,” Athan said, toweling his damp hair and walking barefoot towards the bed while he dodged swept up piles of broken shit throughout the apartment.
“Well, I for one, did not enjoy any second of it. Devin on the other hand?”Clanging glasses and loud Irish folk music clouded the background, and he heard Devin’s voice chime in.“I got pressed elbow-to-elbow with the most luscious little traveler! They gave us as much booze as we wanted, and I ate my weight in pretzels…which, by the way, is now one of my favorite sn—”The phone shuffled, and Decclan cursed before getting back on it.“It was the most miserable eighteen hours of my fuckin’ life, mate.”
“Well…thankfully this flight won’t be that long. I’m just not keen on the idea of being shoved inside a tin can thousands of miles in the air. We can survive a lot…but from that altitude?”
“Thank you! My thoughts exactly. Try being shoved in a tin can beside a dodgy window and seeing nothing but ocean for that long. Next to a belligerent asshat.”
Athan chuckled through his nose. “What about Tony? How’d he fare through the ordeal?”
“Psh…the sorry sod slept through most of it. He’s been gone over a week now and hasn’t checked in.”
“You takin’ a piss? Where’d he go?” Athan asked, looking over his shoulder at Sarah, who was sitting on her knees by the bookshelf digging through the box from Dahlia’s office.
“Scotland. He told us he’d send word when he settled down somewhere. I think he just wants to fly solo for a while. Maybe travel a bit. I hope he finds himself a nice burlylass. Somebody that’ll—”The phone shuffled again.“Somebody that’ll wet his—”There was a string of curses and an abrupt end to the call and Athan snorted, shaking his head as he dropped the phone to Sarah’s old blanket.
“Fun never ends for him, does it?” Sarah laughed, pulling another piece of paper up and narrowing her eyes as she held it in front of her.
“Hardly,” Athan agreed, tossing the towel onto the bed and making his way to her. “I forgot all about that damn box.”
“No, you’re avoiding it.” She dropped the paper back into it and picked up the ledger she’d begged to burn. “There’s nothing in here that I can see about John Allan. Looks like just a bunch of shit regarding EverLife and the blood supply. There’s paperwork about the liquor orders and the revenue reports from the bar. Nothing helpful. It can probably be trashed.”
He crouched down beside her, and they both peered at the ledger, her slender inked fingers wiping dust from the binding. “I’m not avoiding it. It’s just not important anymore.”
“Can I open this?”
“Go ahead.” He kissed the top of her head and stood, staring at more old books from his collection, and the small figurine sitting on the shelf. His chest ached, thinking about Poe. It was like they were missing some vital part of their connection without him here. Like losing a beloved member of the family. He took it in his hand and flipped it over, the little glass vial sliding out and the rolled-up piece of parchment looming inside. A slight buzzing started in the back of his head, and while it was quieter than he remembered, the distinct sound of voices whispered. Sarah’s own voice broke his concentration—confusion—whatever…
“Jesus…your name is in here a lot. Is this in French?”
Athan replaced the vial and set the statuette back on the shelf. “Yeah, that’s where Madame Olivia and Lady Gerlene werefrom. They moved around and ended up in Old London. They made too much money off of us to leave again.”
“Oh, my God…here it is.” She skimmed over a page, her fingertip stopping on a name. “She didn’t even use a fake name. Like she wanted people to know exactly who she was.”
“Does that surprise you?” Athan flinched.
“Fivehundredpounds? How much was that worth back then?” she asked, shocked.
“A lot.”
