Page 44 of Transfiguration
He was part light witch? And obviously part fire, and no one knew where any of that came from. But more than that, he remembered the conversation he’d had with Hart before Con had returned home. “You’re saying the seer manipulating Seiran could work for the Fellowship?” Sam asked, connecting the dots.
“I don’t know. We don’t have any known seers within the Fellowship. It’s a highly sought-after skill; one most hide, and not unreasonably so.”
“Fuck,” Sam growled and yanked open the door, suddenly furious at having to be there rather than with his guys on what might be Luca’s last night of his mortal life. “I hate you right now. You’re supposed to know everything. Be the king or whatever the fuck that means.”
“I am no more king than you are,” Hart said. “I am one man, vampire, whatever label you wish to apply.”
“But you’ve been gathering knowledge for years, books, etc.” Sam said.
“And endless amounts of information are lost every day, buried, burned, or never recorded. Much of what we have is speculation. Including vampire lore. This is why your lover is always on quests to find more books. History is a universe of puzzle pieces missing millions of pieces.”
“Fuck this and fuck you,” Sam growled.
“Noted,” Hart said as they stepped up to the podium, cameras and microphones raised in their direction.
The press was as clueless and corporate focused as ever. More worried about shock factor and if they could spin the story to make them more money than actually interested in facts about the case. Sam made his statement and answered the dumb questions without substance, as though he were a robot. Hart didn’t say a word, standing at his back like a sentinel.
Sam’s phone vibrated with texts, but he ignored them until he could be free of the mess of stupid media. They made their way back toward the private area of the building.
One woman lingered near the door to the elevator and Sam knew she wasn’t supposed to be there as she had a press badge. He glared at her.
“Do you think this is a ritual killing, Mr. Mueller? Is someone targeting the witches that work for vampires? Or you and your lovers specifically?” She asked.
He frowned. Her questions were much more on point than any of the corporate media. “And you are?”
“Jana Rabin, I’m an independent media reporter specializing in paranormal reporting.”
“Thank you for your questions, Jana. But you should probably ask the police. Blake worked for us, and we are grieving his loss, but as to the motive of those who killed him, I cannot speculate.” Sam stepped past her to press the button for the elevator, and a group of guards appeared. Hart must have messaged them, as they were big vampires who looked intimidating.
“Do you think the Human’s First group is involved?” Jana continued.
“You tell me, Ms. Rabin,” Sam said. “HF hates magic. Would they use magic to end magic? Makes about as much sense as every other religion out there, right?”
“Do you subscribe to any particular religion?” The reporter asked.
“Only the worship of my boyfriends. Have a wonderful evening,” Sam told her as the door opened and he and Hart stepped inside.
The guards stopped her from following and the door closed, leaving Hart and Sam alone to travel up to Hart’s office. “Not everyone is blind to what is happening,” Hart said.
“And what is happening?” Sam demanded. “Spell it out for me. Are we at risk? Con, Luca, and I?”
“I did request to move the three of you,” Hart said.
“While being as vague as ever. Is there an actual threat to us specifically? Was the target Blake or us?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Hart said. “My instinct is to err on the side of caution. Even more so now that Luca will be transitioning. He will be at his most vulnerable before the change and right after. I’m uncertain his mind will survive if the revenant takes control and makes him hurt those he loves.”
Sam snapped. “I never wanted to be this poster boy of yours. I would rather have been home with them tonight.”
The door opened to Hart’s floor. “I apologize. And ask that you prepare to move.”
“What if I take everyone to Seiran’s?”
“Until we know who’s behind all of this, it’s not ideal.” Hart passed the desk without greeting the receptionist and Sam followed.
“You think Seiran is part of this?”
“I think an attack on Seiran’s household will end the world. I was not lying about that. Is Santini strong enough to hold Rou back? When the threat is not only to himself, but to his children? I don’t think so. I have cast us, as vampires, into the media to prevent that from happening, taking their focus from the Pillar of Earth. Am I their devil? Would that not be better than Rou?”