Page 15 of Vampires and Violas (A Vampire’s Guide to Gardening #2)

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“Cassian, no!” I cry out, horrified.

Noah holds me back and quietly hisses, “You can’t interfere with house business, especially not when Cassian is your prince as well.”

I gape at Noah, eyes wide. Surely, he’s not going to let Cassian murder this woman right in front of us?

“Cas, wait!” Sophia cries, darting across the room, screaming when he catches her.

He pins her against the wall, holding the stake to her chest.

Larissa runs in, likely hearing the chaos. As soon as she sees Cassian, she pulls a gun on him.

So, naturally, Noah pulls a gun on her .

Oh, crap.

“You’re just as guilty as I am!” Sophia begs, clutching Cassian’s hand, trying to pull the stake away. “You infected Montgomery, didn’t you? Don’t deny it! He’s from your line, but he’s not mine. I can see it . ”

Several tense seconds go by.

Then suddenly, Cassian growls . He yanks the stake down and turns from the woman. Slowly, Larissa and Noah lower their weapons as well.

I draw in a shaky breath, deciding I will never get used to vampires.

As soon as Cassian has himself under control, he says, “You’re under arrest, Sophia. You had to know that would be the outcome of this meeting.”

Looking like she’s going to cry, she straightens her dress and fluffs her curls. “If you take me down, I’ll take you with me. I’m not the only vampire who won’t be able to tell that holier-than-thou Cassian Chevalier created a vampire. Anyone over a hundred years old will be able to read Montgomery’s line. The only reason you haven’t been discovered is no one thought to look. ”

Cassian eyes her. “Noah was going to die. The judges are more lenient when death is on the line, especially when I saved a NIHA hunter who was injured in the line of duty.”

“Oh, so as long as you justify it, it’s all right?” Sophia’s eyes flash. “But heaven forbid I make the call.”

“I’m not having this fight with you, Sophia,” Cassian says sharply. “Not again. Be glad I showed you mercy.”

She stares at the man, looking nothing less than livid. And hurt . “Yes, Cassian, thank you. As always, you are magnanimous. You spared me before, and you were gracious enough to spare me again. Now leave . I have business with your friends, and you’re not welcome here.”

“The only way you’re walking out of this hotel is in handcuffs,” Cassian tells her. “I’ve fought too many of your progenies to let you go. You’ve made a fine mess of my line, Sophia.”

For a split second, she looks remorseful, but then she sniffs disdainfully and stares at the wall. “I’m very selective about whom I pass the virus to. It’s not my fault they are less so.”

“It is your fault. You are responsible for your vampires, just as I’m responsible for you. ”

“You didn’t care until you decided you wanted to be archduke,” she snaps. “You were fine to ignore me until Duncan announced he’d be stepping down, and then, lo and behold, having a bunch of riffraff in your line was problematic. Now Etienne is dead, and here you are, trying to get rid of me again.”

“This is awkward,” I whisper to Noah.

He nods, looking like he doesn’t particularly want to be here for what feels an awful lot like a lover’s quarrel.

“I had no desire to become archduke then,” Cassian argues, “and I have no desire now. Stop trying to twist this back on me. You were the one who illegally created a legion of vampires, and you need to answer for it.”

“A legion,” Sophia scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Honestly.”

“Why did you want to meet with Noah?” Cassian demands.

She looks back at him. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“I am your prince—everything you do is my business.” He leans down to look her in the eyes. Their height difference is almost comical.

Or adorable.

I’m not sure which it is right now because things are still pretty tense.

“If I could leave your line, I would.” She blinks, angry tears welling in her eyes. “If I could have died as a regular human, I would have done that, too. In fact, stake me now.” She jerks her chin toward the hand that still holds the weapon. “Then at least I won’t have to see the revulsion in your eyes again.”

Cassian slowly straightens and puts the stake back inside his jacket. Sophia rips her eyes away from him.

This first meeting is obviously not going the way she hoped. Nosy creature that I am, I desperately want their full story. Because one thing is evident: there is a lot of something between them.

Larissa clears her throat, reminding us she’s here and just as uncomfortable as Noah and I are. Apparently confident Cassian isn’t going to kill her employer, she says, “Do you think you two can play nice long enough I can get that tea now?”

We all slowly turn toward the beautiful vampire, and some of the tension drains from the room.

“Broth for Cassian,” Sophia says, refusing to look at him. “He can’t stomach tea.”

Larissa raises her brows in Cassian’s direction, and he jerks his head. “Broth is fine. Thank you.”

After eyeing us for several more seconds like we’re all more trouble than we’re worth, she leaves again.

“Sit down,” Sophia instructs Cassian. “Let’s talk like the adults we are.”

Noah and I return to the settee, and Cassian chooses the chair next to us.

Looking far more subdued than she was before Cassian showed up, Sophia crosses her hands in her lap. “I suppose I’ll start by sharing my story. For the last seventy-five years, I’ve passed the virus to people who are terminally ill.”

“For a profit,” Cassian adds.

“My services are expensive, as the virus is quite extraordinary,” she says with an unapologetic shrug. “But I take on charity cases occasionally, such as Richard and Reid’s wife.”

Noah sits a little straighter. “What about Reid’s wife?”

Sophia smooths a wrinkle in her dress. “He’d been looking for me for years, but I’m good at hiding my tracks, and most of my clients are loyal thanks to the circumstances under which we meet. I never let him find me, not until I received a call from one of my informants letting me know his wife had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.”

“Reid’s wife has cancer?” Noah asks, incredulous.

“She doesn’t anymore. I went to him, offering to discreetly infect her. I knew he couldn’t afford my prices, so I asked him to stop looking for me—to let me and my business be.” She pauses. “He agreed, and his wife was open to the infection process. For the third dose, she flew to Mexico so she would have access to the necessary medical care an unregistered final-stage vampire cannot get here in the States. Because he didn’t want to raise suspicions at work, Reid stayed in Denver. While there, she met another one of my clients, and…” She shakes her head, looking annoyed.

Noah swears, resting his head back.

Sophia continues, “I fully expected Reid to turn me in after his wife left him, but he upheld his end of our bargain.”

“And went to jail for it,” Noah snaps.

Sophia solemnly nods. “Yes—thanks to NIHA’s ridiculous laws about transmission.”

Cassian looks like he’s about to yell at her again, so I cut him off by asking, “What do you do with all the money?”

If she’s been at this for seventy-five years, she must be filthy rich. I know how much she charged Ethan.

“After I reached a point of guaranteed comfort, I followed in my ex-fiancé’s footsteps and started funding medical research.”

“Fiancé?” I ask, wide-eyed. Then I look at Cassian. “You two were engaged?”

“What kind of research?” Cassian demands, ignoring me.

She studies him like she knows what she’s going to say will upset him. “I’m supporting a group that’s looking for the Cure All.”

Cassian nearly leaps out of his chair. “That’s irresponsible, and you know it. Population issues alone…”

As Cassian rants, I lean close to Noah. “What’s a Cure All?”

“It’s what we call the hypothetical form of the virus that doesn’t come with negative side effects. No blood, no cravings, no anxiety. We’ve talked about it a bit before.”

“But you said NIHA wasn’t working on it.”

“Sophia didn’t partner with NIHA,” he answers darkly.

Sophia crosses her arms. “Cassian, you can sit on your high horse all day, but when someone you cared about was dying, you decided to pass the virus as well. You’re a hypocrite, and you know it.”

And Cassian does know it. He sits back in his chair, looking pensive and angry.

“They’re also working on a sterilizer,” she says, observing him closely.

Though Cassian looks intrigued this time, he says, “So you want to create the Cure All and then make sure no one can dole out immortal life but you?”

Sophia’s eyes flash. While they engage in their chemistry-laden, enemies-to-lovers style staring match, I whisper to Noah, “What’s a sterilizer?”

“It’s like a vaccine, but in reverse,” Noah answers. “If a vampire is injected with it, it will keep them from passing the virus to another person. But like the Cure All, it doesn’t exist.”

“Yet,” Sophia adds, returning to the conversation. “But if it did, there would be far fewer rogue vampires running amok.”

“You mean your rogue vampires?” Cassian asks wryly.

“Those are not mine,” she snaps. “They are the vampires my clients infected even though they signed contracts saying they wouldn’t.”

“You can’t create a contract for an illegal transaction,” Noah points out as Larissa returns. “There’s no recourse.”

“Yes.” Sophia pushes her curls behind her ear. “Unfortunately, a few of them have figured that out.”

Larissa sets the tea tray on the coffee table. It holds an actual tea set—a porcelain pot, four dainty cups with saucers, a sugar bowl, two vessels with cream and milk, and a mug of broth for Cassian.

“Most seemed so genuine,” Sophia adds with a sigh.

“You’re a terrible judge of character,” Larissa replies as she pours the tea.

Sophia eyes Cassian. “Only when it comes to men.”

He smiles a little—the first time since he arrived.

“I can’t protect you, if that’s why you invited me here,” Noah says. “I was promoted thanks to my work tracking your offspring.”

“Even in exchange for information?” she asks, desperate. “I’ve heard you’ve offered that deal to a few of my associates while you were looking for me.”

“What kind of information?” Noah reluctantly asks.

Sophia glances at Cassian, looking rather petulant. “It started about seven years ago, when Duncan announced he would soon be retiring, and the houses became abuzz with the prospect of a replacement. I was approached by one of the princes. He said he’d been watching my work for several decades, and there was a man he wanted me to infect.”

“He wanted to keep his house clean,” Cassian says.

Sophia nods. “The man was sick, so I agreed. Not long after, he hired me again…and again. I’ve kept quiet, and so has he, but I’ve noticed a trend.”

“What’s that?” Noah asks, frowning.

“Most of the rogue, troublemaking vampires come from those particular clients, and they’re primarily centered here in Colorado.” She pauses. “Where Cassian lives.”

Cassian closes his eyes and leans his forehead against his steepled hands. “Whoever hired you is trying to destroy my house name.”

“I’m afraid so,” she answers.

He turns his stern gaze on Sophia, making her flinch. “A simple task when one of my vampires agreed to help them.”

She flinches and sits up straighter, using her posture as armor. “Cassian, I didn’t know. Even now, I have no proof that was their goal.”

“But you suspect it was,” he says.

She purses her lips, nodding.

Noah frowns as he thinks it over. “We started noticing an increase in crimes involving undocumented vampires around the time people started talking about nominations.”

“Who hired you, Sophia?” Cassian demands.

“I’m not giving you any more information until you promise you won’t stake me or throw me in jail.” Suddenly, her eyes light like she’s just thought of something. “I want an official house pardon, Cassian.”

I don’t know what that is, but the air becomes heavy.

Cassian crosses his arms. “I can’t give you that, and you know it.”

“Of course you can give it to me—you’re the only one who can.”

“If I condone your crimes, it will ruin me.”

“You said you don’t have political aspirations,” she snaps.

“And I don’t. But I have no particular desire to drag my name through the mud to save your skin.”

“You’re being dramatic,” she says petulantly. “It would make you look benevolent.”

“It would make me look guilty ,” he argues. “People know our history—they’ll think I was involved. They already think I was involved, thanks to my house being linked to all these criminals.”

“Please, Cassian.” Sophia’s expression becomes solemn, and for a moment, I wonder if she’s going to fall on her knees and beg. “Things have gotten out of hand. I need you.”

Oh, that did it. I see him crumbling right in front of me.

Exasperated, his anger softens. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner?”

But that was the wrong thing to say. Sophia narrows her eyes. “Besides the fact you almost murdered me the night before our wedding?”

Whoa.

He breathes out slowly through his nose like he’s searching for patience. “All right. But why now ?”

“Because…” Sophia wrings her hands. “I think this house might be behind the archduke’s assassination.”