Page 114 of Taming His Vampire Mate

“What are a few death threats among old pals?”

“We are not friends.”

“You don’t say,” I shot back, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I had put my trust in Jeremy and still, I was facing Godric alone.

A helpless feeling gripped me. Had I been wrong about the wolf? Had I been foolish to trust him? Maybe he wouldn’t come. Maybe he—

No. I had done the right thing, trusting him. I had spent so long denying my feelings, refusing to let myself trust. But I knew Jeremy. He would show up. I could trust him.

Which meant I had to keep Godric talking. I had to buy time.

“I must admit I am surprised,” Godric remarked, his frown deepening. “Magnus and I pursued you for hundreds of years, you know. And you always slipped away at the last moment. I never expected you to actually show up now.”

“I’m full of surprises.”

“Quite.” His lips pressed into a sour line as he studied me, as though I didn’t quite make sense. “And now is the part where I ask you nicely to remove the wooden stake from your sleeve. And the silver knife from your inside pocket.”

“If you wanted me to disrobe, you could’ve just said so.”

His features pinched with disdain, then smoothed as he let out a long breath. “Would it help matters if I told you I have no wish to harm you?”

“And why on earth should I believe that?”

He shook his head, eyes narrowing. “If I wanted you dead, you already would be.”

“Not true. You and Magnus chased me for—”

“Centuries. Yes. Though you were hardly the only one.” He arched a brow. “Think about it, Thierry. You know what I am capable of. If I had wanted Magnus to find you, he would have.”

I stared, stunned. “You can’t be saying youletme get away.”

The thin smile he gave chilled my blood. “You—and others like you. The ones Magnus treated like toys to discard when no longer entertaining. I saved who I could.”

“But you—you—”

“I spent centuries at his side, pretending to be his ally,” he said softly. “The only ones I let him find were the ones already broken beyond repair. I protected nearly everyone else.” His smile faded, replaced with naked emotion at last: a seething, cold fury. “I doubt you can imagine the depths of my hatred for him.”

“Then why didn’t you kill him?”

“The same reason I refrained from showing myself while you and the wolf were in Rookwood. My gifts allow me to see the outcome of my actions. Magnus is thousands of years old and one of the most powerful vampires I have ever encountered. Perhaps even more so than your Simone.” I gave another start, realizing how much he knew about my life. More proof he had been watching from afar. Godric continued, “He would have destroyed me if I raised a hand against him. I watched it unfold in a hundred different ways.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I settled for, “He couldn’t have been that old.”

“Magnus was turned during the first Celtic invasion by Rome. Even then, he was a vicious warrior. As a human, he reveled in making his enemies suffer. More so after becoming a vampire. He never lost his humanity—because he never had any to begin with.”

“Fine. He’s super-powerful, ancient, and pure evil,” I said dryly. Mostly out of habit, to hide how off-kilter I felt. This wasn’t going the way I’d pictured it. “If that’s true, then why didn’t he destroyyourhumanity when he turned you?”

“It’s far easier to control an ally if you know you can hurt them when necessary.” Godric gave me a thin smile. “In other words—leverage. If I cared for nothing, why would I obey him? You, of all people, should understand this.”

My gaze flicked to the door before I could stop it. Michael and Danny were inside. Rico too. None of them had been vampires for longer than a year.

I flashed back to one of Magnus’s creations—a young priest with golden hair, not much older than I had been when I was turned. Magnus made him feed on a young woman from the Spanish village we had settled in. The priest had wept at first, but when he was done, his eyes went cold. He looked down at what he had done and smiled, his mouth stained with innocent blood.

Magnus, pleased, unleashed him on his village that same night. The priest had been headed for the convent in the foothills. Godric caught up with him and tore his heart out. It had taken no effort at all.

My progeny—and everyone I loved—would die just as easily at his hand.

I had to keep him talking until Jeremy and the others arrived.