A Shade of Vampire 40: A Throne of Fire(52)

“Damn,” I breathed.

“Good luck.” Tejus smirked. I didn’t know what he was looking so superior about. I had absolutely no doubt that his time would come. Hazel’s parents and extended family clearly knew what had happened. If Tejus thought he’d be getting away with that, then he had another thing coming.

I left Tejus, making my way to Claudia and Yuri. Dawn was coming, and the vampires seemed more deadly than usual—both lit by the red light of the sky, looking like demonic versions of my judge, jury and executioner.

“How can I help?” I asked, clearing my throat a couple of times before I could get the words out.

“We need to discuss Ruby,” her mother replied, tense and frowning.

“Our engagement?” I prompted, hopefully.

“Among other things.”

Like transforming her into a sentry?

I really didn’t want to have this conversation right now. I still didn’t know Ruby’s thoughts on the matter—not fully anyway. What she’d been saying to Tejus earlier had given me hope that she might even welcome it, but I doubted her family would feel the same way. Though I didn’t really understand why. The more I observed, the less difference I saw between their kind and ours.

“I know you have feelings for our daughter,” Claudia continued. “But I’m worried that you’re going to ask too much of her. Have you thought about the future at all? What will happen if we all survive this, and Ruby sees her friends and family returning back to our dimension, and yet you want her to stay here?” She stared at me, her brown eyes cold and calculating.

“We haven’t discussed it yet,” I replied. “I don’t know what Ruby will want to do. I don’t know what I’ll want to do yet.”

That was a lie, and Claudia knew it. If Nevertide made it through this, I wouldn’t abandon my people. I couldn’t.

“My daughter doesn’t belong in a place like this,” she snapped. “Since she was little she’s wanted to become a member of GASP. I don’t see how all that could have changed.”

I was starting to lose my temper.

“Maybe you should be speaking to Ruby about this,” I snapped.

Big mistake.

Claudia’s eyes burnt through me like coals, her fangs protruding.

“Claudia,” Yuri murmured, reaching out to clasp his wife by the arm. She scoffed, looking up at me, both our tempers sparking.

“Ash, we want you to give this some thought,” Yuri said. “Think about the kind of future that Ruby would have here—away from everyone she knows and loves. We’re concerned about our daughter, and we just want to make sure that you’ve both thought this through. Ruby can be…impulsive,” he added, glancing over at his wife. “I just want to be sure the two of you aren’t running headlong into something that will end up making both of you miserable.”

I nodded, swallowing. Yuri’s more measured explanation of their concerns made me feel terrible. He was right, we hadn’t given this much thought. But I also knew that we felt the same way about one another—and wasn’t love supposed to conquer all? Wouldn’t there be a way to work this out, as long as we did it together?

“I understand,” I announced. “I get your concerns—we both do. But you have to let Ruby and me work this out. I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her.”

“Not intentionally,” Yuri replied softly.

“Not intentionally or otherwise!”

This conversation needed to be over. I understood where they were coming from, but in all honestly, until we’d faced our immediate danger, I didn’t want to hear it.

“I’ll speak to Ruby,” I promised.

“Make sure you do,” Claudia replied. Her face had softened marginally. I supposed she just wanted to be heard, to have their worries known. Still, I wished they’d kept this to themselves or spoken to their daughter. I obviously didn’t have the answer they wanted to hear—and I wasn’t going to lie to make anyone feel better.

The pair of them left, and I stood on the terrace, turning back around to see the witches still casting their magic on an assortment of weapons. I couldn’t deny that their world—and the regular human world—appealed to me. But I had been right on the day that the Impartial Ministers had crowned me emperor of Nevertide. My duties were chains to this land and its people, and I didn’t quite know where that left me and Ruby.

After a while, I made my way back upstairs, wanting to speak to my fiancée before I discussed tactics with Tejus.

“Hey, you,” she greeted me sleepily as I came into the room. She was wrapped in a huge bathrobe, steam still escaping from the bathroom. “Let me just get dressed and I’ll be with you in a moment.”