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EDEN SAT ON A COUCH in the library of their mansion, staring out the window with a pensive expression. A book sat on her lap, but she couldn’t concentrate on it. “What are you thinking about, mon amor?” Sebastian asked. His arm was around her shoulder, holding her close to his side. He was reading a book that was written in a foreign language.
“I’m wondering how Malachi is going living with Jardine and her kiss,” she replied. She was also wondering how Sorcha was holding up now that she was the only assassin left.
“Would you like me to invite Jardine and Malachi to visit us?” the master vampire asked. He was rewarded with a lovely smile that made the succubus even more beautiful than usual.
“You wouldn’t mind?” Eden asked. “I thought you wanted to keep me a secret from everyone.”
“It would be difficult for your half-brother to avoid talking about you,” he figured. “You two are family and I don’t want you to be isolated from each other.”
Eden hugged him gratefully, wishing she could invite Sorcha to their mansion as well. The threat of Raum finding out about the sorceress was too high, so she remained silent as Sebastian sent a magical invitation to Jardine and Malachi. Jardine was a trusted ally. She wouldn’t divulge their address to anyone without his permission.
Sebastian heard a carriage arriving about an hour later. “They’re here,” he said and stood up, moving with inhuman grace. He offered his beloved his hand and pulled her to her feet. They left their books on a coffee table and sauntered through the house to the front door.
Malachi grinned at Eden when Sebastian opened the door. “Hey, sis,” he said. “Did you kill anyone tonight?” The tiny vampire at his side arched her eyebrows. Her hair was long and black and she wore a black dress with long sleeves.
“Not yet,” Eden replied. “But the night is still young.” They snickered, then shared a hug. “I’ve missed you, baby brother,” she said, eyeing him critically. He didn’t have any puncture wounds that she could see, but they both healed rapidly. He looked healthy and, more importantly, happy.
“Come in,” Sebastian invited the pair. “Jardine, this is Eden,” he said when their guests stepped into the foyer.
The two women sized each other up. “You’re Malachi’s half-sister?” Jardine asked.
“We had the same father,” Eden confirmed.
“Tannic,” the gorgeous master vampire said with her upper lip lifted. “The incubus deserved to be executed by Xiara Evora.”
“I’m a succubus,” Eden said in a challenging tone. “Do I deserve to be executed as well?”
“Have you tortured men for your own pleasure before draining them of their lives as Tannic did to his female victims?”
“I’ve killed hundreds of men at the orders of the Immortal Triumvirate, but I didn’t torture any of them and I took no pleasure in their deaths,” Eden replied. Her eyes were locked on Jardine’s as she awaited the vampire’s verdict.
“We didn’t have any choice,” Malachi reminded his companion before the tension could escalate. “The spells that linked us to our masters notified them when we completed our missions. They would have driven us crazy if we’d tried to ignore them.”
“I know neither of you chose to become killers,” Jardine said and Malachi slid his arm around her waist. Some of Eden’s worry evaporated when she saw how much the pair seemed to care about each other. “You don’t deserve to be executed just for doing what you were created to do,” Jardine added.
“Come, let us sit and enjoy some refreshments,” Sebastian said, then swept his hand towards the living room down the hallway. It was larger than the cozy living room he and Eden usually used, but the couches and armchairs were just as comfortable.
They sat down on two couches and their favorite drinks appeared on the coffee tables. The two vampires had blood, of course. Eden’s beverage was wine and Malachi’s was soda. “I see the magic of Nox is alive and well in your home,” the incubus said as he picked up his drink.
“I am a master vampire,” Sebastian pointed out. “I’m stronger than most and I don’t have a kiss to support.”
“My kiss was struggling before Malachi agreed to become my consort,” Jardine said, then took a delicate sip of blood. She wasn’t hungry, but she wasn’t about to turn down a free meal.
“You’re shagging a leech, huh, little brother?” Eden said wryly.
Malachi grinned at her cheekily. “I guess I take after my big sister.”
“I taught you well,” she retorted.
“Wort taught us well,” he shot back.
“He taught us how to kill and he brainwashed us to obey our orders without question,” the succubus said. A thought occurred to her and horror stole over her face. “You don’t think he’ll be ordered to train more assassins now that two of us are presumed to be dead, do you?”
Malachi paused with his drink halfway to his mouth. “I hadn’t even thought of that possibility,” he confessed.
“Who is this Wort creature?” Jardine asked.
“He’s a satyr,” Eden replied. “He recruited us along with a bunch of other kids when we were small. Only a few of us made it through his training program.”
“What happened to the other children?” Sebastian asked.
“Wort took them away and we never saw them again,” Malachi said.
“They’re dead, most likely,” Eden figured. “Wort’s training was harsh and he has no empathy or compassion.”
“He’s dead on the inside,” Malachi added sourly. “If I ever see him again, I’m going to put a knife through his heart.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dagger. He flipped it in the air and neatly caught it again.
Sebastian tensed slightly when the silver dagger appeared. Eden put her hand on his thigh and leaned against him. “You can trust Malachi,” she told him. “He wants the Immortal Triumvirate gone just as much as we do. He won’t do anything to jeopardize our rebellion.”
“Not now that I know you didn’t kill my sister,” the incubus agreed, then put his dagger away again.
“You were going to attempt to take my life, mon amie?” the master vampire asked in a slightly condescending tone.
“Yep,” Malachi said with a grin. “I was going to join the rebellion so I could meet you and get my revenge.”
“You used me?” Jardine asked and narrowed her eyes at him.
“I did,” he admitted coyly. “I guess you’ll have to punish me when we get home.”
“Oh, you can count on it,” she promised darkly.
“If you hurt my brother, I’ll cut your heart out,” Eden said. Her tone was icy rather than heated. Jardine looked at her, reassessing the danger the succubus posed.
“Don’t worry, sis,” Malachi said without any signs of fear. “Jardine won’t really hurt me. I’m her cherished consort.”
“I don’t abuse the people I care about,” Jardine said. “I am not like most of our kind.”
“Which is why you are my ally,” Sebastian said. “Jardine is one of the few vampires I trust,” he added to his mate. Eden nodded, but she didn’t like to hear anyone threaten her family, even in jest.
“How is the rebellion going?” Jardine asked.
“It’s progressing,” Sebastian replied, but his tone was troubled. Losing the instructions on how to use the silver tablet that was supposedly harmful to Lord Kreaton had been a blow. He hoped Kade would be able to figure out how to use it. They needed every edge they could get.
