Daedalus leaned close enough that she’d only have to go on tiptoe to kiss him. Her broken heart ached that she couldn’t manage even that simple task. His blue eyes had gone dark. “He represents the seat of power of my people. They want me to stop neglecting my duties and return to my position.” He smirked, but it didn’t hide the hurt in his voice. “Please, try to remember that I have more skills than just killing. I am Prime of this part of North America, and I haven’t been a very good one since I’ve met you. I’ll take care of Pallas, just like I do everything else.” Daedalus stormed into the house, leaving her to limp back alone.
She stared at the uneven ground and ignored the heaviness pressed against her chest. He had finally given her the space and independence she craved, and it stung.
Chapter Two
Inside the house, Daedalus paused at the threshold. Part of his soul ached watching Sugar’s measured progress, but she'd shown a remarkable spark of courage challenging Pallas. Or maybe it was more suicidal ideation.
He rubbed his chin. The Sugar he’d first met never would have confronted Pallas. She’d been so frightened of his kind. Over the years she had grown more comfortable with supernatural people until the day of the attack. The shifter bastards who broke into their home and hurt her had stolen all her self-assurance. She doubted herself and friends—even him. Tonight was the first glimpse he’d had of her true spirit in a very long year.
She reached the entrance.
He began to offer her his hand and hesitated. Fuck, he didn’t know right from wrong anymore. Shattered eggshells had littered his path since she’d come home from rehab. Nothing he chose to do appeared to please her anymore.
With a tired sigh, she met him halfway and offered him her elbow since she still clung to her cane. “Thank you,” she whispered as he helped her up the steps. Those simple words seemed so difficult for her to utter lately.
His nature demanded he scoop her in his arms and carry her to safety. It warred with her insistence for independence. “You're welcome.” A wall had grown between them. He held the power to tear down fortresses but lacked the ability to break through this thin layer of awkwardness. Someone should write a Dealing with Human Women for Vampires book.
“Will you be leaving then?” She pulled her arm free of his hand and leaned on her cane.
“I don’t know.” He couldn’t meet her frank stare because she gave him the impression she was asking him if he was leaving her.
“You should.”
His head snapped up as if she’d bitch-slapped him. She wanted him to leave. He really had lost her and didn’t know how to get her back. “Who will watch over you?” The question left his lips before he could bite his tongue.
Her shoulders straightened. “I can take care of myself.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Who was he fooling? Of course he meant it. Taking care of the woman he wanted to marry shouldn’t be against the law, yet somehow Sugar acted like it was a crime.
“Either way, like you pointed out, you’ve neglected your responsibilities because of me. Go home and take care of things.” She hobbled out of the kitchen back to her bedroom, ignoring the pack of wolf shifters and a strange vampire in her living room. “I’m tired.”
This was his home. Wherever Sugar lived would always be home, but she was right. He had responsibilities. How long before the next slayer arrived on his doorstep? He couldn’t continue to place the Vasi and Sugar in danger.
She closed the door to her room. He once considered it their bed, but he spent so little time there now. Spice and her pack would take care of Sugar in his absence.
Gathering the pieces of his heart, he shielded his pain lest Pallas use it against him. His old friend sat in a chair surrounded by the shifters still in their beast forms, legs crossed and leaning to the side. “Which one will you offer me to drink? You know I’m partial to females.”
Sam snarled at the comment.
“Easy.” Daedalus sat across from Pallas and nodded to Eric. “I’ll take it from here. Go see to your mate and pup.” He glared at his brother. “I’ve only cold blood stored here for guests.”
The other shifters glanced at their alpha for direction. Pride was a poor description for what he felt toward Eric, but the only word that existed that came close. The shifter had grown into a fine alpha and beyond Daedalus’s expectations.
In beast form they couldn’t speak aloud but could communicate to each other’s minds. He wasn’t privy to the orders, but they dispersed, Eric being the last to leave.
Daedalus turned his attention on his brother. “The council approved my hiatus. It’s not like I abandoned my post.”
Pallas nodded. “Quite right, but now it is time to return.”
“You could take my place.” In his estimation, they were equal in all things but the desire to live. Pallas’s heart had always been made of stone. He’d been born that way.
His nod transformed to a shake. “No.”
“You’re more than capable.”
“Of course I am, but I’ve never craved power.”
“No, only blood.” Daedalus sighed. Some things never changed, and some vampires never evolved.
His brother licked his lips. “It’s in our nature.”
“I will return. It’s about time I cleaned out the rats invading my…home.” He hadn’t thought of the empty mansion as home since moving to Chicago. Even when it had been full of his vampire nest, it lacked the life of this brownstone.
Pallas clapped his hands once. “Good. My duty is done.”
“It is?” He raised an eyebrow at Pallas, taking pleasure at his confused expression. “I would think the council would want you to make sure I follow through with their orders.”
His brother’s face fell. “Yes. They probably would.” Pallas jabbed a finger in his direction. “Why do you have to make everything so difficult?”
Daedalus leaned forward. “So next time you’ll think twice before fucking with me.”
“Like I had a choice. They dragged me out of my crypt so I could come scold you like an errant child.” Pallas twisted so he didn’t have to look directly at Daedalus, leaning his chin in his hand. “Do you remember the hot springs in Siberia?”
Daedalus laughed aloud at the old memory. The spring’s temperature had been freezing yet warmer than the winter air, so steam rose from the water. He had convinced Pallas to dive into the pool, telling him how warm the waters were. “Are you still carrying a grudge?”
“It took a week for my testicles to drop.” His frown grew deeper. “Is this another hot spring?”
Rolling his head, Daedalus tried to relieve the knot forming in his neck. “You’ve been gone from the world too long. In an odd way, I’ve missed your company. You need to acclimate to civilization before you don’t even recognize it anymore.” Nosferatu were capable of hibernating. Like bears, when they woke, hunger controlled every action. Inwardly, Daedalus cringed at how many humans it must have taken to quench Pallas’s aged thirst.
The dull light of disinterest still shone in Pallas’s eyes though. In three centuries the world had changed. When he’d gone to sleep, horses had been the best mode of travel and America was just beginning its struggle for independence. Maybe he could find some relevance in this time period worth existing for.