Page 11 of What Fools These Immortals Be
“Just got here,” Elle says. She pulls two blood bags out of the mini-fridge and slaps them on the top of the cabinet before she glances over her shoulder at Afsaneh. “Hungry?”
Afsaneh shakes her head. “I ate yesterday.”
Elle nods. She looks in Maurice’s direction. “You?”
He hesitates, then shakes his head. I don’t think he’s lying or offended. I think he’s surprised. “No. Thank you.”
She grabs two glasses and expertly decants the blood into them. One, she pushes into my hands, then sets the other on the low table next to the sofa before she takes a seat.
Another knock at the door has me moving, though I know setting the glass on my desk doesn’t mean I’ll be able to avoiddrinking the blood in it. Briar and Kayode are waiting in the hall, and they murmur hellos as they enter my office and take their own seats.
“Thank you all for making it,” I say.
“Glad to be here,” Kayode replies and the others nod.
We never had regular meetings when Vasile was crai. Nothing against his methods, just that I think it never occurred to any of us that it might be an easier way to do things. When I suggested it to Afsaneh, the idea clearly excited her.
We talk through news from the past couple of weeks, and they update me on how vampires are feeling after the party last weekend and my official step into Vasile’s former role.
“I’ve got a couple who want to spend more time with the wolves,” Briar says. She crosses one leg over the other. “I think a good place to start might be the self-defence classes Alpha Kieran’s pack has been running. The wolves who work them seem to be familiar with vampires.”
I nod, making a note of it on my phone. “I’ll email him and Alpha Deacon at the same time,” I say. Kieran’s far more likely to take to the idea if Deacon suggests it; not that I think he’ll say no outright. “Have you all had any luck with candidates for the new chieftain?”
“I have two,” Kayode says.
Afsaneh nods. “One from me. She can come in next week if you want to talk to her then?”
“Yours?” I ask Kayode.
“Next week will work,” he says. “But I have another issue.”
“What is it?”
“Some of my vampires are… dissatisfied. They do not want the vampires who worked with Tamesis in our clan.”
Afsaneh sighs, and I suspect they have had this conversation before. “Tamesis manipulated them.”
“For the most part,” he replies. “Some were not. Or may not have been. I understand their hesitation. I thought you would, too.”
Kayode was not here when the clan was attacked. Not that I judge him for that—he simply was not at the clan house at the time. Afsaneh shakes her head, though, her jaw tight.
“I understand the hesitation. I understand our need for unity.”
“Something needs to be done either way,” I say and sigh. “We cannot abandon these vampires, but we should do our best not to alienate members of our clan.”
Truth be told, I do not know what to do, but I make a note to ask Deacon about that, too. He has had a whole pack of wolves to deal with, and though some have returned north to salvage what they have left, many have remained.
The manipulation they suffered seems, on the whole, to have been a lot clearer. Still, I am not going to pretend I do not need the advice.
“I’ll see if any of my vampires feel the same way,” Briar says, and Elle nods.
“I haven’t heard much from mine, but I know they’re taking it easy on me,” she says with a wan smile. “I’m getting more news from outside the city.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Just whispers. Rumours. No one’s coming here or planning anything, as far as I can tell, but they’re… watching us. Waiting to see what the after-effects of Tamesis’ attack are.”
“It’s been six months,” Afsaneh says. She frowns. “What are they waiting for?”
