She was now the very thing she’d despised for so long, and what did it say about her that she didn’t care?
For the most part, the clan members had accepted her, but she realized it would take time to earn their complete trust. No one was outwardly malicious, but a few weren’t letting her off the hook for her role as Daedalus’s CEO. Their questions and comments were blunt but not unfair. She answered with straightforward honesty no matter how difficult it was.
How many vampires did you kill?
None .
How many did you dissect?
Dozens .
How many slaves did you own?
None .
Did you sleep well at night, knowing what your company was doing?
Except for a few nightmares, yes.
What will you do if we take your brother? Will you speak up for him?
I won’t watch him die, but I won’t stand in anyone’s way.
Do you have any regrets?
Yes .
Are you proud of yourself?
Actually, yes. I cured cancer. I developed treatments that saved a lot of human lives. And now I plan to use what I learned at Daedalus to help vampires. So bite me.
Bite you? Now or on the next full moon?
Okay, so she’d have to learn that vampires took things like “bite me” very literally, and she’d have to watch what she said. But otherwise, no one could say she was shrinking away from either the good or the bad that she’d done. Everyone in the clan was welcome to grill her about her past, and the sooner the better.
She wanted the air cleared so everyone, including her, could move on.
But moving on might not be so easy with Myne.
She hadn’t been able to face him since he’d left her alone at Riker’s place two days ago. He hadn’t made an effort to see her, either. At least, katina had been an invaluable help with navigating the new world Nicole had just joined.
Tomorrow, katina planned to teach Nicole how to hunt humans.
With any luck, Nicole wouldn’t be around to learn.
At least, not anytime soon.
She stood before Hunter in his chamber, wondering how the guy was going to react to her announcement. He hadn’t really liked her when she was human, and she still couldn’t get a read off of him. Especially because at the moment, he was sprawled on his fat leather couch, video-game controller in hand, cursing at the purple dragon flying around the TV screen.
Strangely, even though he was immersed in a cartoon game, the vibrant aura of power and leadership that always surrounded him wasn’t diminished in the least.
“Spyro is flying like he’s drunk,” he muttered.
“What the fuck, dude. Through the rings, not over them.”
She eyed the screen. “Is that a children’s game?”
“It’s rated All Ages,” he said defensively. “Why are you here?”
Right to it, then. “I want to go to ShadowSpawn.”
Hunter’s head came up, making his black hair drape like silk over his broad shoulders. “You what? You can’t just move from one clan to another like humans move from city to city. And if this is to be with
Riker, trust me, you won’t be with him.”
No, it wasn’t to be with him. He’d made it crystal clear that he didn’t want to be with her. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to help him. God help her, she loved him. “It’s to save them both. Riker and Lucy.”
She couldn’t believe ShadowSpawn had refused to give up the girl. What could they possibly want with her?
“Fuck. Now I’m dead.” He dropped the game controller. “I’m working on a way to get them out of there.”
“Really? Because it looks like you’re playing video games while Riker and Lucy could be hurt, suffering, or dying.”
A vein in Hunter’s temple pulsed, and when he spoke, his tone was glacial. “I’m going to let that pass, since you’re a baby in our world. But you should know that I think best when I’m playing video games.” He stood, forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him.
“Now, what makes you think you can help Riker?”
The way he said it, as if he was humoring a child who wanted to heal the world with a tea party, pissed her off. A lot. “What’s the one thing troubling your race?” she asked, a little too impatiently, if his withering stare was any indication. “Besides humans killing and enslaving you, anyway.”
“It’s your race, too, now,” he pointed out.
How long would it take to get that through her head? She had to start thinking like a vampire if she wanted to survive. And if she wanted to prove herself
to everyone who would have a hard time seeing beyond her Daedalus roots.
“Okay, our race. What problem plagues it?”
“Low birthrate,” he said.
“Exactly. What do you think babies would be worth to ShadowSpawn?”