Page 22 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
A genuine chuckle escapes the rugged celt. “Yes, I admit, my kind uphold the laws here. We offer retribution to the normals who have been wronged by our kind. Some of us step too far out of line and kill viciously. They’re a threat to all of us…uncontrollable as mad dogs. They need to be put down,” he explains with both confidence and regret. “We also offer security to those who need it most—hunted species or individuals that are hunted.”
What Keenan is describing is a full-on parallel justice system. It would be unthinkable in Europe, but here… Just as Victor suspected, outlaws have flourished in the absence of a proper king.
I graze the shell of his ear, testing an attraction I’m still not sure is real—or if it’s a direct consequence of his powers. “Is that what America has to offer? Hot cowboys and angel vigilantes?”
Keenan tightens his grip on the steering wheel. “Someone has to make sure that the existence of demons doesn’t become public knowledge. Angels don’t feed from just anyone. We offer peace to the dying and make sure the laws of Hatten are followed. The same laws you live by.”
He’s not wrong, but it’s a slippery slope. If vampires become irrelevant, then so will our crowns.
I open my mouth to tell him so, but he adds, “But I admit, I was wrong about your family. I’ve lived through many empires, you see… I’ve seen my share of rulers, both experienced and not, and witnessed first-hand how quickly the tides turned on some of them.” His eyes cloud for a moment, allowing me to glimpse at the man behind the angelic facade, and the true force of his power trembles in my blood.
Keenan is old—older than any vampire I’ve ever met—and the depth of his deeply accented voice blows across my face like an arctic wind.
Alec carefully pulls me away from our driver, but the undercurrent of tension electrifying the air melts as quickly as it built.
“Don’t be alarmed. I meant it as a compliment. Judging by what I’ve seen so far of their queen, your kingdom must be…” his ancient gaze roams me up and down, “…magnificent.”
I swallow hard, trembling over Alec’s lap, stunned by how much Keenan’s words affected me. From anyone else, they would have rung fake or tacky, but not from him.
“Easy, bird.” Alec growls, his stark tone heavy with resentment. “You’re laying it on a little thick.”
A certain melancholy washes over Keenan’s serene features. “My kind is dying. I’ll see you safe on yer throne, Yer Highness, and in exchange…” He looks longingly over to Leo, my first-blood still sleeping peacefully on the passenger seat. “Maybe ye’ll help me convince this hauntingly beautiful man that being a demon isn’t all that horrible.”
Leo… A pang squeezes my chest at the thought that he might leave me. “Do you think he’ll accept your offer?”
“There’s very few drawbacks, really, for the ones that survive the change. Immortality, power, stamina—a taste for the occasional dying man.” The angel grins from ear to ear. “I’ve only ever had one hold-out—Thomas—and I can’t make his refusal a pattern. I’m willing to work for it. But you and I are not in competition. If Leo loves you—great. Immortality will sound even better to him.”
I lick my lips, suddenly feeling faint. “And how many angels survive the change?”
“Don’t look at me like that. More than 90% of us do, and Leo is a survivor, I can feel it.”
“How many of you are there?” I ask.
He drags his index finger across his bottom lip. “I’m not answering that, but ballpark? Less than a hundred.”
The news shakes Alec out of his aggressive stance, and the royal guard finally relaxes in his seat. “Less than a hundred…damn. You could teach us a thing or two about how to do more with less.”
His words echo in my brain.More with less… Maybe this fight doesn’t need to become a blood bath.
An almost insane idea weasels its way into my brain, and I turn to Alec. “Jasper told you that Peter thought I was dead? He didn’t just imply it?” I ask, making sure I’ve got the details right.
“Yes.”
I hold out my hand. “Give me your phone.”
Sebastian called Alec to tell him about Victor’s death, and he’s still waiting for us to ring back. What better way to test Peter’s true allegiance than to put his son in the middle of the battlefield?
The phone rings only once, and I can almost feel my childhood tormentor fuming on the other side of the line. “Fuck you, Beaumont! You could have returned—”
“Hello, Sebastian,” I cut in, grinning at the length of his shocked silence.
“Princess.” I don’t think he’s ever called me that, and the quietness in his voice quickens my breath. “You’re alive.”
My lids flutter at the obvious emotion lacing his words.If the roles were reversed, and I thought Sebastian had died…By Nyx, I should have called him back as soon as I stepped foot on the plane.
A cacophony of feedback booms over the line. “What in the—Fuck off!”
Thuds and static take over, and a few seconds later, Sebastian’s string of curses becomes too faint for me to hear.
