Celine stood and waved a hand at the unconscious boy. “Please tell me it’s not that easy to get to our children and turn them against us.”
Her insensitivity rubbed against my already frayed nerves. “He’s sick and they used that against him. How about a little compassion?”
“You expect me to show compassion to the person who betrayed us?”
Tristan stepped in before I could reply. “The welfare of the boy was our responsibility, Celine, and we failed him. I don’t believe our young people are at risk. This was a special case.” He tilted his head toward the door. “And I think we should continue this conversation elsewhere.”
“I’m done here,” Celine said angrily and swept out of the room.
I walked out behind her and waited for Tristan and Nikolas. They walked out, deep in conversation, and I was about to excuse myself, but I stopped when I heard what they were saying.
“If they know what Sara did to Nate, they will stop at nothing to get to her,” Nikolas said in a low voice.
Tristan nodded. “I’ve already spoken to the rest of the Council. We are doubling our force here and bringing in five special teams to hunt this vampire.”
Nikolas’s brows drew together. “It’s not enough. You saw the small army he was able to assemble and send against us. One child Hale witch brought down half our sentries without blinking. I’m shocked it hasn’t been tried before. You can be sure they will try to use them again now that they know how effective they are. And the only person who can go up against a Hale witch is the one we are trying to keep safe.”
“What do you propose?”
Nikolas’s eyes met mine, and the hard set of his jaw told me he was going to say something he knew I would not like. “We need to move her to a new location, somewhere known only to a handful of us. Overseas would be best.”
“Hold on.” I stepped up to them. “I’m not moving again, especially not to some strange place where I’ll be on lockdown twenty-four seven.”
“Nikolas makes a good point, Sara,” Tristan said like he was actually considering it. “It would not be permanent, just until we deal with this Master.”
“That could take years. I am not going to spend the rest of my life running and hiding while you two hunt this vampire. Forget it.”
Nikolas shook his head. “Actually, I will be coming with you.”
It should have made me ecstatic that we would be together, but all I saw was a future where I was a virtual prisoner. “So, I’ll be back to having a bodyguard again,” I said bitterly. “Why don’t we invite Chris along, too, and it’ll be just like old times?”
“We can bring Chris if you’d like,” Nikolas replied, deliberately ignoring my angry sarcasm. “He likes to travel abroad.”
“What if I don’t like to travel abroad?”
“You can hardly say that when you’ve never left US soil,” Nikolas pointed out with infuriating certainty. “I’m sure we can find plenty of places you will enjoy. We can even bring your two beasts if you want.”
“This would be the best way to keep you safe,” Tristan added, and I felt my freedom slipping away. “I promise we will do whatever we can to end this and bring you home soon.”
“But what about Nate? I just got him back. I can’t leave him like this, especially if he’ll be in danger here.”
Tristan gave me a reassuring smile. “I’ve already told Nate he has a home with us as long as he wants to stay. But if he wants to go with you, he has that option.”
“How can you expect me to run away like a coward and leave everyone else here to face this?” I cried desperately. “Please don’t ask me to do that.”
Tristan shook his head. “No one here would ever call you cowardly, Sara, especially after what you did last night. But being a warrior means you must also know when to retreat. This is one of those times.”
My throat constricted painfully, and I could only nod mutely. I did not trust myself not to cry if I spoke. Neither of them said it, but the message was clear; it didn’t matter how well I’d fought. I still wasn’t good enough in their eyes. They weren’t planning to send the other trainees away, even after Olivia and Mark had died. Because they think I am the only one too weak to protect myself.
I turned toward the door. “Sara, please understand,” Tristan called after me, but I refused to stay there another second.
“I’ll talk to her. She’ll come around,” Nikolas said in a lowered voice.
I turned back and glared at Nikolas through angry tears. “I will never be okay with this or having no control over my own life. If you don’t know that, then you don’t know me at all.”