Page 69 of Wicked Bite
“—No, you may not!” Titus cut me off. “You are a Prince of The House of Shade.”
“Indeed.” I nodded.
“And The House of Shade does not make progenies! We do not bore made-vampires.” He ran his hand through his hair and began to pace. It was never good when Titus paced.
“It’s never good when he paces,” Sav leaned in and whispered in my hear.
“I know.”
Titus paused and faced us. “I can hear you.”
I cleared my throat. “Uncle, let me explain.”
“Oh, so now it’s Uncle when you’ve made a complete balls up of everything!” He turned away from me. “And this, the year of the prophecy.”
“I know it’s bad timing, but—”
“Bad timing?” He seethed. “There is no time for a progeny in this house. How will you care for her? Do you even care for her, or was this some whim of a child?”
“I am nearly two hundred years old. The time for childhood has long since passed.”
“And yet you strive to remain so in your actions.” He walked over to the blood fountain and grabbed one of the crystal glasses.
The sound of trickling water filled the room as he filled it, then he reached into his inside pocket and pulled a flask out. He took his time unscrewing the top, glaring at me, then poured a dark brown liquid that smelled like whiskey into the blood.
“It was not a childish pursuit to save an innocent who would’ve died because of me.” It was true. If I had shown up like I promised, none of this would’ve happened.
“You’ve spent too much time among the witches. Death comes to us all. Ask him.” He waved his glass toward Sav. “He’s death incarnate.”
“He only speaks in truths.” Sav shrugged.
“Not this time. She wasn’t meant to be there, and I acted on instinct to save her.” Just recalling the sound of the car crashing into her, the snap of her bones, and the blaring horn nearly made me want to vomit.
He walked past us both and climbed the dais. His coat fanned over the arms of the throne as he sat down. “Instinct you say?”
“It happened, and I acted.” There was no denying that Piper was mine. Nor did I want to. I would live with the consequences of my actions.
“And then you left her to rot alone?” His tone was riddled with disappointment. “If it wasn’t bad enough to make a vampire, you just left her to go feral. She nearly killed a human.”
I fought not to curl my hands into fists. “Right, because leaving her to rot seems like something I would do on a normal basis.”
“Are you saying you didn’t?” He leaned forward on his throne. “According to all reports, she is as feral as they come.”
I wasn’t surprised in the least. Titus had a finger on the pulse of everything happening in Evermore. Even more so when it came to dealings within the castle.
“I would never,” I said through gritted teeth. “I might’ve been out and about dodging responsibilities here, but I am not a lout. Nor do I faff about with the ways of our world. I stayed. I waited. For three agonizing days, I waited for the dirt to budge and it never did. Oh, yes, I was there and she did . . . not . . . rise.”
It was the most painful three days of my life. Titus groaned and took a deep drink of his blood. “And yet here she is.”
“Yes.”
“And what’s this I hear about a witch and warlock in the castle?” He motioned to the walls surrounding us.
I held my chin up, even though I knew I was so screwed. No other supernaturals were supposed to be in The House of Shade unless given specific permission from the King. “I needed the potion to clear her mind and see if she could be saved. We didn’t have any, so I made a call and got some.”
“You made a call?” He narrowed his eyes. “To whom?”
Sav and I shared an oh shit look, and I squeezed my eyes shut tight. “Ophelia.”
