Page 69 of Absolution
Seiran frowned at me. “The earth takes them all back.”
“And if a vampire experiences true death like Andrew Roman and Matthew did?”
“The earth takes them back.”
I nodded. Exactly. “He’s just a vampire. The earth likes vampires. Full of nutrients for the soil.”
“Talking about murder, Sammie. I’m not sure I can just kill him that way.”
“Extreme circumstances call for extreme actions.” I understood. Seiran was the good guy. The world relied on him to stay that way. After all, what would happen if the Pillar of earth happened to be a bad guy? Seiran had killed before, but it had been self-defense. Was I splitting hairs? Was there a difference? Premeditated murder felt like a different level of extreme. Was it premeditated if we knew Tresler was ordering his flunkies to kill people, or self-defense? I’d never cared much for philosophy for exactly that reason. I also wasn’t bothered by the idea of premeditated murder for someone who deserved it. So maybe it didn’t have to be Seiran. After all, I could borrow his power. “Let me worry about vampire problems.”
“I’m a vampire’s Focus,” Seiran pointed out.
“And a new father, and Pillar of earth.”
“That doesn’t make me more important than the rest of the world.”
“No,” I agreed. “But it does put you pretty high up there. It’s not all on you, Ronnie. Saving the world and all that shit. Your white knight syndrome is annoying.”
He mock growled at me.
“Get pissy all you want, it’s true. The whole fucking lot of you have it. Your muscle head brother, the blond swimming freak, even Gabe before he went completely bonkers.”
Seiran fell silent, likely thinking about their time together. I knew it was tearing him up because he was completely closed off to me.
“Not your fault, Ronnie.”
“But I’m not enough to save him either.”
“Sometimes we have to save ourselves, otherwise it doesn’t mean much and we don’t learn anything.” It was why I was so frustrated that they kept saving me. The other option was dead, of course, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that, but I hated being a fucking damsel in distress always being saved. Wasn’t I strong enough to save myself?
He let out a long sigh. His phone beeped and I saw him glance at it. “Mike is here to pick me up. Don’t go home.” He paused, “Well not to Gabe’s or my place, and I know Con let the lease on your place expire. He’s been living with Kelly since you went to ground. You can stay here with Luca or I’ve texted you the address for the new house. After sunup I’ll be moving my stuff and the twins into it. You’ll have an invite and your own space. Hell, there’s enough room for you to have a whole wing if that’s what you need. My mom was a little over the top with her McMansion building. Said there would be plenty of room for more kids. ‘Cause I need more?”
“I’m thinking the big guy and his little merman boyfriend might want some kiddos eventually.”
“Yeah,” Seiran agreed. “Jamie wants them bad. He looks at the twins and I see it in his face. I just hope he gives Kelly some time to finish school and stuff. Though it’d be nice to have some friends for the twins. Hanna had a bunch of her eggs frozen when we were mixing up the twins.”
“If Jamie used those and mixed with Kelly, your kids would technically have siblings/cousins.”
“Yeah, but family is okay, right? The family you choose.” He stared at me and I realized then that was what I was. Part of the family he’d chosen. And not only that, he was part of mine. Fuck.
“Feelings,” I growled at him.
“Yeah, but you’re a vampire and still feel them. Hold on to that, yeah?”
“Jerk,” I said.
“Bastard,” he threw back as he got up. “Text me before dawn so I know you’re safe, no matter where you’ll be. I don’t need details,” he waved at the piles of limbs and warmth that was on the bed.
“Will do, Ronnie,” I promised. He nodded and left quietly.
Chapter 21
Iuntangled myself to pace and think. Seiran had taken a book with him, and I stared at the shelf in the dark, thinking maybe I should find a place to begin, but I really hated reading. It made me tired.
I heard Con take a deep breath and glanced his way. He was staring at me through sleepy eyes. After a moment he got up and went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of ice water. There was almost no food in the fridge, just a few condiments in the door.
I leaned against the kitchen counter and stared at him. Con was the sort of beautiful a man with a lot of ink should be, all lean lines and bright colors. His ears were pierced and gauged, dark hair trimmed short on the sides and left long enough on top to tangle in his eyelashes. The ink covering him was more about hiding scars than elaborate storylines, and that was okay. I knew some of the stories, small things he’d been willing to share over our months together, and would listen each time he needed to open up about another one. Sometimes the internal demons just needed to bleed, he often told me. I agreed, but was glad he was using tattoos instead of cutting to get that feeling.