Silence hung in the air, and all eyes were on Maya.
“I—I didn’t kill him, Olivia.” She turned her large, teary blue eyes to Olivia. “I swear to you, as my maker, I didn’t do it.” She stuck her arm out to Olivia. “Here. If you don’t believe me, check my blood memories.”
Everyone looked at Olivia, and the room fell silent.
As the leader of the coven, this was a defining moment. She expected her progeny to trust her at her word, and in exchange, she should do the same for them. If Olivia took Maya up on her offer, it would demean all of them. No. She had to trust Maya if she wanted them to continue to trust her. Her coven was her family, not a police state.
“Not necessary.” Olivia glanced at Maya’s arm and shook her head curtly. “If you’re telling us that you didn’t do it, then we, as your family, will take you at your word.”
In a blur, Maya flew over the bar and wrapped Olivia in the tightest hug of her life. “Thank you, Olivia.” Sobbing, Maya laid her head on her shoulder, like a child seeking forgiveness from a parent. “Thank you so much. I’m so sorry. I won’t ever feed on boys in the club again. I promise.”
Unaccustomed to public displays of affection, Olivia stood with her arms out at her side and Maya clinging to her like a baby chimpanzee. Sadie shot her a look and nodded. Jeez, Olivia. Hug the poor girl back before she soaks that expensive suit with all her bawling.
“You’re welcome.” Olivia patted Maya on the back and gave her a reassuring hug. After a moment, she took her by the shoulders and pulled back, forcing Maya to look her in the eyes. “I know that you’re sorry, and I appreciate the apology, but we still have a problem.”
“I know, and I really am sorry for breaking the rules. I shouldn’t have fed on him in the club.” Maya sniffled and wiped her tears away. “What can I do to fix things and make it right?”
“For starters, you are forbidden from live feeds until further notice, and you aren’t to leave the confines of our building for any reason.”
Maya opened her mouth to protest but snapped it shut almost as quickly.
“Is that clear?” Olivia asked.
Maya nodded. “So basically, I’m grounded?”
“Grounded?” Trixie laughed loudly and pounded the bar with a ring-studded fist. “That’s freaking brilliant. I feel like I’m living in an episode of the Vampire Brady Bunch.”
Maya shot her a look and flounced back to her seat at the bar. “Oh, shut up.”
“Enough,” Olivia said wearily. “Let’s not turn into the Bickersons on top of everything else. Maya is still a youngling, and we all make mistakes. Right, Trixie?”
The smile ran from Trixie’s face the second Olivia mentioned mistakes. She’d made her fair share as a new vampire too, and it was unlikely she’d want to revisit them now.
“Yeah,” Sadie chimed in with a wink. “If memory serves, someone tried to fly at sunrise and see if she really was going to get burned.” She tapped her chin and pursed her lips. “Who was that again?”
“Okay, okay.” Trixie giggled and punched Sadie on the arm. “Point taken. And how can we forget the story about the time you made out with that human guy before you realized he had a sterling silver tongue ring. From what Olivia says, you cried like a baby, and that was only like twenty years ago.”
“Tasted like battery acid.” Sadie grimaced and shivered. “I only grazed the damn thing with my tongue, and it hurt like a bitch. Silver sucks.”
“See? It’s all good, Maya.” Trixie tugged Maya’s long hair playfully. “Olivia’s right. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Olivia winked at Trixie. Thanks. She self-consciously twirled one of her pink spikes of hair and lifted one shoulder as a sheepish grin cracked her face.
“What about you, Pete?” Maya said as she swiped at her tearstained eyes. “What dumb things have you done?”
“Too many to mention, kid.”
“Like I was saying,” Olivia continued. “We still have a problem. Maya was the last person seen with this guy before he died, which makes her the prime suspect. The humans will be easy enough to deal with—we can glamour them if we need to—but the Presidium is another problem entirely. I’ve got to get down to the city morgue, so I can have a look at the body and take a DNA sample from the wounds. Czar Augustus will eventually hear about this, and I want to stay a step ahead of the investigation. I’ll check the sample against the records at the Presidium, and if it was a vamp killing, it will be easy enough to prove that you didn’t do it.”
She looked at Maya and softened her tone. Olivia knew she’d been hard on Maya, maybe too hard on her, but she had to learn somehow. Her behavior put the entire coven at risk.
“If you didn’t kill him, then we shouldn’t find your DNA in the wounds, and you have nothing to worry about.”
“Boss lady,” Pete interrupted. “Why don’t you let me take care of that stuff?”
“No. I appreciate the offer, but you’ve got a personal life outside of this shit, and the last thing you need is an angry, pregnant wife, especially one that can turn into a bear,” she added with a wry grin.
“At least let me give Millicent a heads-up,” he added. “She’ll have your back.”
Millicent was the records keeper for the New York branch of the Presidium and almost as old as the czar. As a former sentry herself, she had a soft spot for Olivia and would do the DNA test without making a stink.
“Agreed.” Olivia nodded and glanced at the clock. “Sunrise is in about an hour. Damn it.” She rubbed her eyes and let out an exhausted sigh. “Pete, let Millicent know I’m coming but give her as little information as possible. I don’t want to make her complicit in case this goes the wrong way. If the laws have been broken and a human was killed, the Presidium won’t take it lying down—especially Augustus,” she said under her breath. “He’s still got the mind-set of a Roman senator. Arrogant and absolute in his beliefs. If he thinks Maya made this mess, then he’ll report her to Emperor Zhao and have her executed.”
Maya blanched and nibbled her lip but said nothing.
“I got your back, kid,” Pete said with a wink to Maya. “They’re not that bad. Just a bunch of old windbags.”
Olivia folded her arms across her chest and turned her attention back to the rest of the coven. She knew they would be unhappy with her next request and braced for their resistance. “In the meantime, I’d like the rest of you to refrain from live feeds as well, until this is resolved. Damien has another shipment of blood coming in, so there’ll be plenty for everyone.”
“No problem,” Damien added in his smooth baritone.
“Very funny,” Sadie said. “As the only human in the room, it’s certainly not a problem for you.”
“Like I said”—he shrugged his massive shoulders—“no problem.”
Sadie flipped him the bird.
Olivia shook her head and laughed at the banter.
“Damien, do some research online later today, and find out anything you can about Ronald Davis. Maybe his death has more to do with him than it does with us. As of right now, all we know is that he’s dead and that Maya didn’t do it.”
“You got it, boss.”
“Oh,” Olivia said through a weak laugh. “I should warn you all that Vincent is coming to town for a visit.” A collective groan rose from the group, but Olivia held one hand up, which silenced them. “I know he’s a stodgy pain in the ass, but he is my maker and an elder, so give a girl a break, and be nice. And I think it goes without saying that we don’t need to discuss this whole mess with him. Correct?”