Page 31 of Thirst
“Yeah—quiet, actually. Talon’s been glued to his suite. Dude’s afraid to let Eden and Jude out of his sight for more than a few minutes.” Brien grimaced. “Can’t say I blame him after everything that went down.”
I jiggled my knee, hating that he even had to worry about that kind of crap. “How the fuck did this happen? Lilith Island’s ours. We rule here, for gods’ sake.”
We’d ramped up security—doubled patrols, increased the number of hidden cameras, sent up drones—but the island was too big. Forty-five square kilometers of tangled forest, jagged cliffs, scattered orchards, and open fields. Too many places to hide. Too many angles to defend.
Brien exhaled. “It all goes back to my mother, doesn’t it? They got to her right here on the island.”
“Yeah, but that was the slayers, wasn’t it? They’ve got no reason to go after us these days.”
“That was my father’s theory, yeah. But he never found out for sure, and Lilith knows he tried. If he’d gotten even an ounce of proof, he would’ve personally hunted down the slayer responsible and damn the consequences.”
I nodded grimly. Jules Leclerc had never really come back from losing his mate. Something in him had broken. He’d haunted the castle walls, eyes locked on the blood-soaked ground where the prima had been staked. Like if he stared long enough, hard enough, she’d claw her way out of her final grave to him.
“And meanwhile,” Brien said, voice tight, “they keep coming at us. I don’t blame Talon for keeping Eden and Jude close. I’d do the same with Twilight if she’d let me.” He blew out a breath. “But as she likes to remind me, she’s as good a fighter as anyone I’d assign to guard her.”
My next stop was Talon’s quarters. He opened the door with Jude tucked against his shoulder, swaddled in a tiny purple sweatsuit, soft brown curls just like his dad’s springing up all over his head.
Talon lifted a finger to his lips. “Eden’s asleep,” he said in a hushed voice. “But Jude keeps vampire hours.” His mouth twitched with amused resignation.
“Should I come back?” I asked in equally quiet tones.
Jude lifted his head, straining to turn in my direction. His gaze found me—or tried to. His head wobbled, then dropped back onto Talon’s shoulder, a small, trusting collapse that did something to my chest.
“No, come in. Just keep it down, okay?”
“You got it.” I stepped inside, easing the door shut behind me, watching as Talon stroked a hand over his son’s curls. “How’s he doing?”
“Growing like a weed.” Talon gave Jude a proud look. “Olivia was here earlier for his two-week checkup. Said he’s already up six ounces.”
“Six ounces, eh?” I eyed the small, sweatsuit-clad lump. “Kid’s a bruiser.”
Talon chuckled. Jude gummed his dad’s neck.
“Hang on there.” My friend made a face at me. “Little mofo’s already got a taste for blood.”
My brows lifted. I shot a look at the kid’s round, toothless mouth. “Doesn’t he need fangs?”
“Not to suck. I opened a vein for him.” Talon held up his wrist, showed me the faint, silvery line where the skin had healed.
“They drink blood this early?”
“Depends on the kid, I guess. He was trying so hard to get to my vein that we gave it a try, and he took right to it.”
Jude moved his head around again in uncoordinated, jerky starts and stops, somehow managing to land on top of one fat wrist, which he promptly started gnawing on.
“See what I mean?” Talon rubbed the little guy’s purple-fleece-clad back. “Kid’s always hungry. Eats every couple of hours or so. Olivia says my blood is just as important as milk while he’s growing this fast.”
I stared at Talon, half-incredulous, half-bewildered. He was juggling the kid like he’d been doing it for years and bragging about a six-ounce weight gain. Who was this man, and what had he done with my best friend?
“Right,” I muttered.
Talon dragged his gaze from Jude—who was trying to shove both fists into his mouth now—to meet my eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you to get back. Eden and I wanted to ask you something.”
“Anything.”
“We want you to be Jude’s syndicate sponsor.”
“Me?” My pulse hitched. “I’m honored, Tal. But I can’t. I don’t know a thing about kids.”
