Page 21 of Broken Souls
Moving through the living room, he enters the kitchen, then continues on through to a study on the upper floor. The two walls perpendicular to the door are covered in books. The one opposite us contains a wide double window view of the ocean, with an alcove to sit in. A desk fills nearly a third of the room, and a black leather swivel chair sits behind it. Only one other chair, positioned in front of it, is available. I take a seat as my two brothers stay standing behind me.
Kicking back in his chair, Aleric places his feet on his desk. “I want Anastasia Island, his territory in Miami, and his stretch from Georgia to North Carolina. That basically gives you all of Florida.”
“But leaves us surrounded by your territory.”
He smiles.
“I’ll give you,” I say, taking great pleasure in watching his smile fall at the idea he is not in any position to barter, that all he can do is take what I gracefully feel like giving him, “Anastasia Island and his streets in Miami, as well as his stretch from Tallahassee to Atlanta, which will strengthen your hold in Alabama. You can have the coast of South Carolina and the range of mountains all around Asheville, but the rest of Antonio’s territory is ours.”
Aleric’s gray eyes flash with a hint of mahogany – the first sign I am irritating him. If he gets properly pissed, his irises will turn a bloody red. “You drive a hard bargain,” he says.
“We can always help the wolves wipe you out.”
His smile is back, and I don’t fucking like it. “You think Antonio will stop with our extinction now that he’s made hybrids?” he asks.
I still, my muscles growing taut, my skin growing tighter. I want to move, but I refuse to acknowledge that we didn’t know this. That we only thought he was trying to make them. That we had months before we would have to really act. My tone flat, I ask, “How many has he made?”
“Four.”
“We’ll kill them tonight,” Talon growls from behind me.
“No need,” Aleric says calmly as he leans further back and puts his hands behind his head, clasping his fingers. “He consumes them soon after birth.” A lazy smile mocks me as he purrs, “I’m surprised Sau hasn’t felt the imbalance. She was always sosensitiveto such things…”
Talon’s fury is so prominent, it’s making my hairs rise. The crackle of his electrically charged magic fills the air, butIam the one nearly an inch away from killing the bastard in front of me. If Talon knew what I did, what games he was playing with our mother, the vampire would be a splatter of red across the fucking walls and ceiling.
But we need this alliance. At least until we finish using them as bait and cannon fodder to discover what weapons Antonio has at his disposal.
“Is she sick?” Aleric asks innocently.
“No.”
“Is she grieving for that turdstain she called a mate?”
Talon shifts behind me, and I turn to look at him. “Do you need to step out?” Father has always been a sore spot for him.
He shakes his head, his jaw locked hard. But he exhales, and his magic quiets, the charge in the air reducing.
“I’m not here to talk about her,” I say, facing him again.
“So she is.” His lips tighten, and there is a flash of red in his eyes that makes me cold. “Maybe she should have run away with him when he begged her to,” he says.
“Father was not a coward,” Talon growls.
He lifts his eyes to T’s, mocking him, teasing him. “Being a coward was your father’s defining trait. Why do you think Sau had to take her own revenge for her dead children? If she had been allowed to lead, we would be living in a very different world.”
I watch him closely, picking up every minuscule change on his face. And there is pride there. Inher.
A knot grows in my stomach, the pieces of the puzzle falling together in ways I do not want them to.
“I will accept the dividing of territory you proposed,” he says, his tone now strictly business. “However, there is one thing I need to discuss with you first – in private.”
“Out,” I order.
As soon as the door clicks shut behind them, Aleric drops his feet from the desk as he leans forward.
“How many males do you have left?” I ask before he can say anything. If the count is too low, then fuck him and this alliance. And he’ll die today for playing with Mother.
“Ninety-six sired,” he says with a shrug, “half of which are under twenty. You saw everyone else, minus those at work. There are three hundred and seven female vamps, many of which are born. Unlike your women, mine can fight.” He grins; I don’t. He inclines his head. “Though more men will arrive tomorrow.” He says it casually, but I hear the acknowledgement beneath it. He knows he will lose this war without our help.
