Page 72 of What Fools These Immortals Be
“Yes,” Vasile says. “I failed all of us in December. I should have tried harder to work with the packs, no matter what had happened between me and Deacon. I should have recognised sooner that it was time for me to transition out of my role—perhaps I should only have held that position for a few decades before moving on. There are so many things Ishouldhave done, Njáll, but there are only a handful I am certain I managed correctly, and your appointment is one of them.”
“You can’t be sure of that.”
“I am.” He shrugs lightly. “Maybe I will be proven wrong. But in that case, I will still not turn around and pretend I knew all along. I have faith in you, Njáll, but I do need you to have some in yourself.”
“I feel like I’m drowning.” The words spill out, no matter how much I don’t want to admit them.
Vasile smiles and steps closer. He pats my shoulder gently. “Let us help you. I can and will still assist with whatever I am able to, so long as you ask. Your chieftains, too. How much are you leaning on them?”
“You never asked us for much.”
“Yes, and I think we have established that I am not the person you should emulate in this role,” Vasile counters, eyes sparkling. “I should have asked for more.”
I nod, mulling it over. “Afsaneh is helpful,” I say. “She told me that she and Kayode would be available. I still need to find another chieftain. Elle has so much to do, and Briar is trying to keep her caught up.”
“If you want any assistance with your new chieftain, let me know,” Vasile says. “That is certainly something I can help with. The same goes if you want any more help with Elle. I might haveto be more considerate of my position in the packs now, but it does not mean I have abandoned everyone here.”
I weigh the words, considering, before I say, “I thought you might.”
To his credit, Vasile doesn’t look that surprised. His lips quirk, but he’s not smiling, not really. “There may be times when it seems that way. I have to be mindful of where I am, and I will do nothing to risk what Deacon and I have ever again.”
That doesn’t surprise me, either.
“But I would like to visit more often if you are amenable to that,” Vasile continues.
“Of course. I thought—I don’t want you to feel like you’re not welcome here.” Is that what I’ve done? Perhaps. I don’t mean to.
Vasile smiles like he knows that and claps me on the shoulder again. “Maybe call your chieftains in tonight, Njáll,” he says. “They might be able to help you work out what to do with Augustine and Quinn.”
I bite back a groan because I don’t want to think about that again, but I know I have to. Alwynn has promised she’ll call if Augustine approaches the Council a second time, and I would rather have that call than deal with this uneasy silence that, to me, feels as though Augustine is off plotting somewhere.
“I’ll call you tomorrow night?” Vasile says, shrugging into his coat.
“Yes. I’d like that.”
He smiles again before he leaves, and some part of me is settled. It is strange. If anyone had asked me a couple of days ago, I would have said that Vasile and I were on great terms, aside from this issue, and that there was nothing that needed to be said.
Instead, there was a heavy weight on me, exorcised through our conversation, and our honesty. I drop into the chair behind my desk and sigh.
I should continue being honest. I pull out my phone and call my chieftains.
It is midnight by the time they all arrive, Elle and Briar last, and I apologise for interrupting their plans for the evening. It is likely Elle and Briar, at least, will have had plenty of meetings organised that they will now have to move, but I need to give them all the information I have on Augustine, just in case he decides to approach one of them.
“I need some advice on what to do in this situation,” I say once I’m certain we’re all on the same page.
Elle pulls a face. “Sorry, crai. I don’t think I can be neutral here. I feel bad for Augustine, but I know Quinn. I can’t in good conscience say that he should face that challenge.”
It is hardly a surprise. She is still good friends with Lucien, and Lucien is mated to Kieran, so she is entirely too close to the matter.
“That’s not a problem,” I say and hope she understands I mean it—it is better she recuse herself than pretend Quinn means nothing to her at all.
“The challenge should probably go ahead,” Kayode says. He, Afsaneh, and I are sitting on the sofa, and he leans back against the armrest. “But from what you’ve said, I don’t trust that Augustine won’t try to kill Quinn anyway.”
Afsaneh and Briar nod in agreement. I sigh. “Yes, that’s what I thought.”
“Might he be amenable to the idea of thembothhaving a proxy for the challenge?” Afsaneh asks. “That way, he won’t just be taking his anger out on someone unrelated to this whole thing.”
I’ve never been witness to a pack challenge, and I don’t think they’re overly common here. Not in Deacon’s pack, at least. “Can they even do that?” I don’t know that Augustine will like the idea.
