Page 23 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

Chapter nine

Gem of Hope

Dagonlookedboredbyour conversation, but instead of shutting down he continued with the info dump I had been craving since being freed from my bedroom in Quincy.

“Sapphire Lockheart was the leader of the ancient guild of monster hunters throughout the 1990s.”

Goosebumps swept down my back as I recalled a conversation I’d had with Vincent recently regarding Eros’ past. “The Helsing Guild?”

For a beat, Dagon almost appeared surprised. He nodded. “Yes. Just like every Helsing leader before her, it was her mission to slay the vampire king and end the Knight legacy. She followed in her predecessors’ footsteps by failing. But she came close, closer than any of the others. You were a result of her failure.”

A football sized lump swelled in my throat. I didn’t want to believe the gut feeling I’d gotten back in the cell when I’d questioned Vincent and Eros about my mom.

The question remained, why did they do it? Why would they lie about not knowing who my mother was? To prevent me from dropping everything to go on the hunt for her? To shield me from the horrible story of how she’d been raped by my father? It was an abhorrent thought, but I already knew the depths of depravity Thomas Knight was capable of. Admittedly, it had been a stupid fantasy to think that there’d been any love between my parents.

Not between the leader of the monster hunters and the king of vampires.

Dagon hadn’t provided me with much insight into my origin. But at least now I knew my mom’s name and that she had risked her life to bring down my father.

A vampire hunter. She had to be a freaking badass.

I wondered if Eros had known her directly. Assuming she had retired as a monster hunter when she’d become pregnant, she would have left the Helsing Guild twenty-three years ago. Eros would’ve had to join the organization in his early teens to have crossed paths with her. But even if he hadn’t met her, he had to knowsomething.

Where was she? Was she even still alive? If she was, could she be looking for me?

Not likely.

Dagon was right. I resulted from her failure to kill her enemy, so what was the likelihood she wanted anything to do with me?

An arctic chill swept over me. I wanted to go home, to bury myself in Sterling’s arms. I wanted to be back with all my princes, but Sterling knew all too well the sort of pain brought on by Thomas Knight’s barbarism.

Thinking about the ethereal vampire made a dull ache bloom in my chest. I missed everything about him, his inhuman, ghost-white eyes, his elegant posture, that faint smile that could occasionally be found tucked at the corner of his mouth like a sinner’s secret.

I forced my breathing to even. He’d want me to get through this, so I continued my questioning.

“Do the Elders know I am the daughter of a notorious vampire hunter?”

“Naturally,” Dagon said flatly.

“Then I don’t understand. Why would the Elders support me as queen—a half-human and the daughter of a vampire hunter—over you?” Dagon had been a half-blood at one point, but I could tell by his deathly pallor and the fact that he had no heartbeat that he’d become a full-fledged vampire.

“Because those shriveled old vampires are loyal to Thomas Knight. Well, except for Dr. Sharpe. Our father loathed me for the magic I inherited from my mother. It’s why he banished me from his coven once I’d come into my magic. The Elders are no different. They fear me. The Boston Coven, along with our allies in Detroit, have a little more imagination. Erik Thorn recognizes my power and all the potential it brings. And for those who don’t understand...” Dagon’s wicked grin stretched wider yet. “They will soon.”

Whatever fucked-up card my brother had shoved up his sleeve, it had to have something to do with what Erik had said in the elevator. The words crept back to the forefront of my mind, echoing in my brain.

I’m going to enjoy watching that hybrid monstrosity tear your cunt apart.

With a shudder, I forced my attention back on getting answers, even with the threat of the immediate future hanging over my head like a hurricane ready to break.

“Even with the Detroit and Boston Covens’ support, you need the Elders to appoint you king. So that’s why you’re going through with this insane ritual. You’re going to bring back the world’s most evil man, hoping he’ll do all the killing for you. I don’t know how necromancy works, but no matter how powerful your magic is, I doubt you can control our father. What if he kills you?”

Dagon’s face screwed up into a scowl. “Why would he? I haven’t so much as touched you. You should worry about your mates. They’re the ones who’ve robbed you of your virtue. Their mating marks on your flesh will be proof of that.”

“I only carry Deathwish’s mark.”

“Yes. How curious.” Dagon rubbed his stubble with his slender fingers, his lips pursing as he focused on the prison footage. It was at the part where Vincent had gotten to his feet, his fingertips working teasing circles around my opening. Even on the black and white camera feed, the evidence of Vin’s arousal was pretty damn obvious. He could punch holes through steel with that thing.

“I wonder why he hasn’t claimed you yet. Honestly, I’m surprised by his restraint. Is it because he fears he’ll lose control of his shifting abilities and ruin his new toy? With how much action my little slut of a sister’s been getting, devil knows he doesn’t want to stretch out that pretty little cunt even more.”

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