Page 67 of Blood of a Huntsman

Status Quo

Catherine's body usually healed at record speed, but when she woke up, she still felt Sebastian. An ache deep inside her. He hadn't been kidding about the again and again bit. She woke up alone on a bed that smelled of him. And she only had three seconds to realize she didn't like it before her door opened to reveal him wearing nothing but boxers and holding a tray of food.

She laughed. "You walked the corridors half naked?"

He rolled his eyes, kicking the door closed. "I dare say everyone here has seen boxers. And I was famished. You're insatiable."

Cat chuckled again. "Yeah, right. It was all me."

"Glad that you're taking responsibility."

He put the tray down on her bed. Two plates of croissants, bacon, eggs, coffee, and blood on the side.

She could get used to this.

"What time is it?"

"Noon. I have class in an hour. Although, I’m not sure who that'll be with."

Ah, yes, Anika had taught one of his classes.

"Do you know what happened to her?" Cat asked. "Anika."

"Levi locked her up in his lab, under the Institute. He had cages made for our kind. He said he would have cut her head off if she weren’t a Beaufort, but it isn't worth open war with her family. There'll be a judgment. Her family will send a defender."

Vampire trials were rare, particularly among the seven. Cat didn't think any had happened in her lifetime.

For someone as well known and prominent as Anika, the trial would be a grand affair. Each house would send a representative, and a well-known impartial judge would be appointed.

"What charges would she be accused of?" Cat wondered. "Sure, she betrayed Oldcrest, but that's not technically illegal."

"Poisoning you," Sebastian replied. "That should be enough to ban her from the country. That's all Levi wants right now."

Smart. Then, if and when she came back, she’d have a price on her head any vampire could claim.

"A trial is risky, though. If it's to be held here."

All those people would come through the border. Who knew where everyone's alliances lay?

"Levi says they'll hold it in London."

That made sense. He wouldn't risk Chloe's safety. Or anyone else’s, for that matter.

They ate in silence. She was thinking about the trial, and the sex, and her family, and the sex again.

"What's your schedule like?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't have class until Business at three, but I figured I'd start my assignment. You know, set up the afternoon tea for this weekend." She rolled her eyes. "I'll design a pamphlet and get it printed in the Adairford shop. Then, I have Mr. Silver, a break, Varra this evening, and sentinel until six. Fridays are light for me."

Sebastian grinned. "Sounds like we might have a break at the same time. How about…"

"We're not going to exhaust ourselves before patrolling," she said.

He grinned. "I was going to suggest dinner, naughty girl. Get your head out of the gutter. The exhaustion comes after patrol."

"I probably can't make dinner," she replied, not bothering to deny the possibility of post-patrol exercise. "I'll be training Chloe."

"Fine. Saturday. Outside of here. We can have lunch in Edinburgh or whatever."

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