Sam leaned forward. “Do you really think I give a flying fuck about what you appreciate? Whoever injected Imani did so believing the serum would kill her. I take an attack on my vampires very seriously. An attack on my friend? That’s a mistake of epic proportions, so do not fuck with my patience.”
Sinking back into her chair, she went on, “It’s really not me you should be worried about. Butch is exponentially pissed, and there won’t be any way of holding him back from slaughtering the person responsible for what happened to Imani. Not that I’ll try to hold him back.”
“No one could hold me back,” Butch told him. “And I don’t fucking like it that you don’t seem as anxious to find out who hurt Imani as you should. Part of me wonders if you’re just so curious to understand how Imani survived that it’s overridden your concern. And part of me wonders if what you’d love to do most right now is take her to a lab and perform test after test until you finally find out why she survived what others didn’t—and just what exactly she’s become.”
If Annalise’s downcast expression was much to go by, Butch was right about the latter. And he clearly knew it, because a growl rumbled out of him that caused the siblings to tense. “She’s a person, not a fucking lab rat. There’ll be no testing her; she’s been through enough.”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Annalise assured him. “And so does Lazarus.” Her brother didn’t confirm that but nor did he deny it.
“It’s hard to trust the word of someone who has potentially lied to her since the night he met her.”
Lazarus blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Did Marco really abandon me, Lazarus?” I asked. “Or was that a lie?”
A heavy sigh left him. “He told you.”
“No, Juliet did the talking. But you should have told me.”
“I did not lie to hurt you, Imani. It was part of his punishment. He Turned you to keep you. He is not the first vampire in history to have done that to someone of course, but I was determined that he would be the last of my nest to do it. You’re a good person, Imani. Compassionate. Forgiving. If you had forgiven Marco and the two of you had reconciled, what do you think that would have taught him and the others in my nest?”
Sam was the one who replied, “That it would all work out fine in the end.”
“Yes. It would teach them that braving my punishment would be worth it because, in the end, all would be fine between them and the vampire they Turned. So I made you hate him. It stopped you from going back to him, and it was something he had to live with. He did not abandon you. People are interchangeable for him, but I think Marco sees you as a person in your own right. I believe something in you…spoke to him, if you will. But that was not a justifiable reason for him to do what he did, and for that he was punished.”
Okay, I sort of understood that. There was no point in getting riled about it, because it hadn’t been personal to me; the whole thing was much bigger than me and Marco. Lazarus had needed to set an example. “Did it work?”
“No one has since committed such an act,” replied Lazarus. “I am sorry if you feel hurt that I lied to you. But it was the best for all concerned. And it has potentially saved a lot of humans from unwillingly being Turned.”
That wasn’t something I could or ever would be angry about.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
(Butch)
I didn’t think I’d ever gawked before, but Imani had a way of shocking the shit out of me. I wasn’t in a great mood since she’d insisted on partaking in the training session. In my opinion, she needed more time to recover. But as she looked just as good as she claimed to feel, I didn’t push her on it. I decided that I’d keep a close watch on her instead.
As the session went on, it became clear that her speed and strength weren’t as good as before she was injected with the serum. Halfway through the session, I suggested that she take a break. Her response was, ‘I can’t afford to take breaks and go easy when there’s a battle coming.’
She intended to be part of the battle? “You can’t be serious.”
“Why? I told you I feel better.”
“That doesn’t mean you are better.”
“Stop fretting, I’m fine.”
I advanced on her. “Tell me you honestly don’t plan on being part of this battle.”
“I could, but it would be a lie.”
Her bored tone was pissing me off. “You’re weaker now, Imani. You might feel good, baby, but you’re not a full vampire anymore. Your reaction time isn’t as fast. You can’t rely on your speed and strength in the same ways that you could before. That means you need time to adjust to that and find ways to compensate for it.” Then she’d be fit for battle. Now? Not a chance, and I couldn’t risk her.
“I’m not denying that my strength and speed is more like that of a Sventé, but I may not need time to adjust to that because it’s possible that the change isn’t a permanent thing. I could just need more recovery time. Lena couldn’t read my DNA properly, so we don’t know anything for sure.”
“Exactly. We don’t know. That’s not good enough.”
She sighed. “Butch—”
“No, Imani, you shouldn’t be part of this battle.”
“Hey, do you remember that time when I asked what you thought? Yeah, me neither.” She raised a hand when I went to speak. “I let you say your piece. Now you let me say mine. Yes, I’m not a full vampire anymore. Yes, that could mean a lot of things. You saw me hurt and in pain, and I understand that it was hard for you and has sent your protective streak into hyper-drive. But you’ve got to get a grip on it.”
“If you think I’ll watch you walk into certain danger, you’re out of your mind.”
She haughtily jutted out her chin. “I’m not asking for your permission or approval, Butch. I’m going.”
She really was out of her mind. “You think Sam and Jared will allow it, knowing you’re weaker now?”
“Let’s ask them.” She turned to the pair, who—along with the rest of our squads—were watching us in fascination. “What’s your opinion on all this?”
Sam’s mouth twisted. “I know what it’s like to suddenly find yourself without your strengths; to have no real idea what’s happening to you. When I was becoming a hybrid, my system messed up in all kinds of ways. It took me time to adjust to the transformation. You’ll need that time as well. I’m going to make you a deal. We don’t know how long it will be before the dragons come here. If you’re in good shape when they come, you will be fighting along with your squad. If you’re not fit for battle, you will stay behind for your safety and that of the people who rely on you to watch their back.”
Imani rolled back her shoulders. “That’s fair.”
“What we need is a real test of strength to get an exact idea of how much progress you need to make,” said Sam.
“Okay, so how do we do that?”
“You can spar with me.”
Imani gaped. “You have to be kidding. I can’t defeat you! You have Pagori strength and you’re a Feeder! Hell, none of us could defeat you. Even Jared would find that hard.”
Jared inclined his head at that, not at all offended.
“I wouldn’t expect you to defeat me, Imani,” said Sam. “This isn’t us pitting ourselves against each other. I just want to get a good measure of your strength.”
“Coach, no,” I bit out. “You could hurt her. Not on purpose, but you could.”
Sam scowled at me. “Like I don’t know my own strength? Don’t insult me, Butch.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” said Imani.
My hand snapped out and circled her wrist. “No, not—”
She shook off my hold. “You should be happy. I’ll no doubt have my ass kicked right here in front of everybody. They’ll see just how much weaker I am than before, and you can rub it in.”
That wasn’t at all what I wanted. “Imani—”
“Fuck you, Butch. Fuck you sideways.” She marched to the northern side of the arena a
nd took position there.
Taking position on the southern side, Sam braced her feet shoulder-width apart. “No using our gifts.”
“Not like it would do me much good against you anyway.”
Radiating anger, Paige sidled up to me. “If she gets any injuries, I’m transferring them to you.”
I wouldn’t blame her. Tension riding me, I kept my eyes on the two females ready to spar. In that moment, I was proud of Imani. She didn’t have an ounce of hope that she could take Sam on. But she wasn’t backing down; wasn’t simply accepting defeat. She would fight, even if it meant losing. Everyone in the arena saw that and would respect it.
For long minutes, nobody moved. The females just stared at each other, their gazes intense and alert. Anticipation sparked in the air, making the wait almost painful.
“One advantage you’ve got is that you don’t look like a vampire,” said Sam. “Oh, you have the pull of the Keja allure, but another vampire would dismiss the possibility of you being a Keja because your irises are normal. They might believe you’re human or another preternatural of some kind. In any case, they won’t expect a fight from you. Use that. Fake fear, give your opponent the image of a terrified human, and then surprise the fuck out of them by doing this.” Sam’s body blurred as she rushed to Imani, fist cocked.
Imani blocked the punch with one arm and used her free hand to deliver a hard palm heel strike to Sam’s chest, sending the Feeder back a few feet.
Sam smiled. “Good. I half-expected you to move too early to overcompensate for your decrease in strength, but you didn’t move until you absolutely had to. Keep doing that.”
The females went at each other with a serious of punches, kicks, and dirty moves that Jared had taught them. Imani held her own. Oh, she hit the floor a few times—even crashed into the wall at one point. But she bounced back up every time. She also put Sam on her ass twice.
Sam’s breath left her lungs as she took a hard kick to the solar plexus. Imani followed that up with a punch that split Sam’s lip. The Feeder actually smiled. “Very good. I have to say I’m impressed.”
Imani didn’t respond. Just stared at Sam, her gaze unblinking.
“It’s not easy to switch off to everything but your opponent. Butch pissed you off, but you didn’t fight in anger. That’s—”
“Hold up.” Jared moved forward, concern on his features. “Sam, your lip isn’t healing.”
I frowned. Any vampire would heal pretty quickly from a small wound. As a hybrid, Sam healed exceptionally fast. Yet, Jared was right; the cut wasn’t healing.
I looked at Imani. She was still staring at Sam, seeming oblivious to everything else. No, not staring at Sam. Staring at her mouth. A mouth that was bleeding freely.
“Imani?” I called out. She didn’t respond. I headed straight to her. “Imani, what are you doing?” She was doing something. She was also ignoring me. I shook her a little. “Baby, stop.”
She double-blinked. And I could have sworn the rims of her pupils flashed silver for a second. Then she scowled as she seemed to finally see me. “What are you doing? Let go.”
“You called my blood.”
Imani frowned at Sam’s words. “What?”
“You called my blood.” Sam wasn’t pissed, she was fascinated.
“No, I didn’t.”
“I could feel a weird force pulling at it. As soon as you looked away, my lip healed.”
Paling, Imani shook her head. I understood. She’d had enough weird shit going on around her. She didn’t need more.
“Consciously or not, you called my blood to you,” Sam insisted.
“No.” Imani took a few steps back. “I can’t call blood.”
I reached for her, but she backed away even further. “Baby—”
In a blink, she was gone.
Fuck.
(Imani)
Hard to drown your sorrows when you were part-human.
The only way a vampire could get drunk was by feeding from intoxicated humans. But since the blood of the humans waltzing around the bar didn’t appeal to me, I was sober as a judge.
Still, I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I needed space. Space to accept that, whether I wanted to believe it or not, I’d called someone’s blood to me. Space to accept that I was now back in that place where I didn’t ‘fit.’
That was what bothered me most about this being part-human business. Being different reminded me too much of the years I’d struggled to be accepted by my own damn family. I was the kind of person who’d always liked what I didn’t understand. Mysteries, puzzles, and things that were ‘different’ had always fascinated me. But it was a whole other matter when you were the one who was different; when you didn’t understand yourself.
As for Butch…what a shithead. A hypocritical shithead. In my position, he would never have sat at home like a good little boy while others went to battle. No freaking way. There was being protective, and there was being an interfering asshole who completely dismissed any input I had on my own decisions.
Well, both he and Sam had warned me that he’d fuck up a lot. I’d hoped they were exaggerating.
Something else ticking me off. From what Sam and Jared had learned, Marco was telling the truth about The Order. That meant The Hollow was facing a bunch of terrorists with the extinction of vampirekind in mind. It also meant I’d have to talk to him again. Jared had chosen to delay it until tomorrow night to send Marco the message that he wasn’t running the show. It was a good idea and—
“You okay?”
My upper lip curled. Dean. Just what I needed. I didn’t even bother to look at him.
He slipped onto the stool beside mine. “Seriously, are you okay? You have bruises on your face. Since when do vampires bruise?”
Since they became a little human, apparently.
“I came to see you when you were hurt. Richardson wouldn’t let me in.”
I was about to point out that, overcome with bloodlust, I would have drained Dean dry. However, given my new aversion to human blood, I probably wouldn’t have touched him.
“You’re still pissed at me, huh.”
He expected anything different? “You broke my trust, Dean.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
I did look at him then. “You let another vampire drink from you, even though you’d sworn you wouldn’t. You broke your promise and, in doing so, broke my trust.”
“I guess I didn’t think it would bother you that much,” he mumbled.
God, Butch was right; he really was a prick. “Just go.”
“Wait, I just want to say—”
“I’m not interested in anything you have to say. I don’t even want an apology. I just want you to leave.” But the bastard actually went to take my hand. “Don’t touch me.”
A familiar scent swirled around me just as a hand possessively slid around my neck. “You okay, baby?”
Um, no. Duh.
“You need to back the fuck off, human,” he rumbled.
Dean swallowed nervously. “This has nothing to do with you,” he stated, but his voice was shaky.
“There is no ‘this’—there’s only you being a prick. Try not to be one all your life.”
I didn’t have the patience for either male right now. I shot off the stool and went to pass Butch, but he pulled me to him. I would have struggled, but his mouth moved to my ear and he said, “Don’t, baby.” If it had been a demand or an order, I could have ignored that. But it was a coaxing plea. It took me off-guard and made me freeze when I should have moved away.
“Imani, you know he’s not going to stay with you,” snapped Dean. “He’s just using you.”
“Not very bright, are you?” said Butch.
Dean snickered. “At least I’m not the rebound guy.”
In a nanosecond, Butch went from holding me to lifting Dean up by his throat. The human was kicking his legs like crazy and struggling to get free.
I sighed. “Butch, put him down.”
&n
bsp; Instead, Butch pulled him close so they were nose-to-nose. “Hear me loud and clear, little human, because I won’t repeat myself. You and Imani are done. Over. Accept it and move on, because I don’t give up what belongs to me. And I sure as shit won’t give up Imani.” He flung Dean away, making the human stumble and crash into the bar.
While Butch was distracted, I went to leave. I didn’t get far. Four steps later, he appeared in front of me. I hissed, “Move.”
His hands cupped my neck. “I fucked up again, I know. I’m sorry.”
By his tone, he seriously thought that was good enough. “Out of my way.”
“Imani.”
“When you’re ready to make a real apology, I’ll listen. Until then…” I hurried to my apartment in vampire speed. I’d just unlocked the door when I sensed Butch behind me. I whirled on him. “Did you not hear me just now?”
He backed me inside the apartment. “You know I have no respect for boundaries, and we clearly need to talk.”
I put my hands on my hips. “You’d better have something real good to say, Richardson, because the last thing I want to do tonight is punch you in the dick…but it is on my schedule.”
“Like I said, I fucked up. I can’t apologise for freaking out about you going into battle. It would be a lie, and that would insult both of us. But I am sorry that you’re hurting right now. I didn’t want that.”
As apologies went, it wasn’t the best I’d ever heard. But it was honest. “I’m a member of the legion, Butch. That means I’m going to be in dangerous situations again and again. You accepted that before. Why can’t you accept it now?” I might be partly human, but I was as strong and fast as a Sventé. Both Jude and Ava were Sventés.
For a moment, he said nothing. Just stood there, his expression almost tortured. “I didn’t keep you safe.” His words made me blink. “I’m a living shield, Imani, but I didn’t keep you safe. You got hurt right in front of me.”
I mentally kicked myself. I should have known that, protective as he was, he’d find some way to blame himself. “It all happened so fast, there was nothing you could have done.”