Zach had betrayed him.
Sort of.
They weren’t exactly close and . . .
Actually, he wouldn’t even consider Zach a friend. Not until recently, when Zach had come to him in South Korea, seeming different. Changed. He had actually aided Seth that night. Seth had taken it as a good sign and had thought . . .
He held onto his temper enough to keep Lisette’s home from shaking, but was helpless to stop the clap of thunder that rumbled outside as outrage rose.
Lisette’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business and I—”
Fucking Zach. Seth had suspected that the numbness was wearing off and he had been right. But that was the only thing about which he had been right.
When Seth had discovered Zach’s meetings with Ami, he had hoped they might be beneficial. But Zach hadn’t been drawn to Ami’s goodness. He hadn’t been spending hours on end, perched atop David’s roof because he was curious about the relationships of those beneath it.
He had been collecting information to give Donald and Nelson.
“I’ll kill him,” Seth growled furiously.
“Kill whom?” Lisette asked, lowering her feet to the floor and sitting up straight.
“Not important,” Seth lied and forced the fury down. He rose and headed for the door. “I must go.”
Lisette hurried after him. “Seth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He stopped short and turned around. “You didn’t. To answer your question, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained in this world.”
“I don’t—”
“Vampires have an unfair advantage when they prey upon innocent, unsuspecting humans. The humans can’t compete with their speed and strength. We hunt vampires to correct that imbalance. When we fight humans ourselves and battle the mercenaries, there must be a balance to it. We have speed and strength. They have deadly weapons. If I exercised my powers to their full extent and killed all of the humans with a thought, we would become the equivalent of the hunter sitting up in the hunting blind, firing upon the defenseless deer that grazed below. The balance would be lost. And the consequences would be apocalyptic.”
She chewed her lower lip. “I don’t know what you mean about the consequences, but I see your point about maintaining a balance.”
He reached for the doorknob, but didn’t turn it. “Lisette,” he said, pausing to face her once more.
“Yes?” she asked, her pretty face troubled.
“You have labored long beneath the guilt of transforming your brothers.”
She looked away, unhappy with the change of subject, ever unwilling to discuss it.
“But both Richart and Étienne have now found happiness. It is time for you to let go and allow yourself to seek your own.”
Her slender throat moved with a swallow. “I don’t know how to,” she whispered.
He shook his head. At himself, not at her. “Nor do I.”
Making sure no sunlight would touch her, he opened the door and slipped outside.
Krysta stood beside her brother, the two siblings staring into the large bathroom mirror. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” she asked.
Their reflections gazed back, eyes glowing a vibrant amber.#p#分页标题#e#
Sean nodded. “Beyond weird.”
She grinned, flashing a very fine pair of gleaming fangs, inspiring Sean to do the same.
“Did you ever think you would see this?” he asked, snarling and making monster faces.
“No. I feared I would see this. My worst nightmare was that things would get out of control one night while I was out hunting and we would both end up being turned.” She crossed her glowing eyes and made a goofy face.
Sean laughed.
“What about you?” she asked curiously.
He shrugged. “Honestly, that first year you hunted vampires, when I envisioned the future, I thought I would be dead by now.”
Sobering, she turned to him. “I’m sorry, Sean. For all of the pain I’ve caused you over the years. For risking your life so many times in my pursuit of . . . justice or revenge. I don’t know anymore which motivated me.”
“And I’m sorry for secretly resenting not being the one who went out every night and did the hunting.”
“Well, you’ll get to hunt now. Has Chris found you a Second?”
He nodded. “He said there are three at network headquarters who just completed their training.”
“Three? So you get to have your pick?”
“Apparently so. He wants me to go over there tomorrow night and meet with them, hang out for a while, see which one I feel the most comfortable with.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here with us? Cam can serve as your Second, too.” Not that she had asked him.