Brien shook his head in disbelief. Talon swore. I rocked back on my heels.
Talon spoke first. “He wants the Maritime Syndicate?” he asked, incredulous.
“Maybe?” Nyx cut Talon a short, unhappy look. "He’s targeted Brien, you, and now Cain. And before that, Brien’s father. Either directly or through the women close to you. You’ve been playing defense for years, right?”
The three of us traded a look. It tracked. But damn, the guy had balls.
“I don’t think he expected Brien to consolidate power so quickly, though,” she added.
“His mistake,” I muttered.
Nyx turned back to Brien. "You're young. To my father, that makes you vulnerable. Unworthy of being primus."
Brien just shrugged. He was used to that kind of crap from older vampires, which just showed how they let their power and centuries blind them to the truth. The man was fucking dangerous.
“Stay here on the island,” he told her. “I haven’t forgotten the intel you passed us. I owe you for that.”
She blinked several times. For a heartbeat, I thought she might soften. Then her lips pulled into a knowing smile.
“Let me guess,” she said. “Your offer comes with strings. You want my help to get to my father. Quid pro quo, isn’t that how this works?”
My fists clenched at my sides. She was going to refuse. Of course, she was.
But I couldn’t help respecting her for the way she held her ground, refusing to betray that sonuvabitch who’d sired her.
Infuriating. And the Dark Gods help me, impressive.
“Yes,” Brien admitted without hesitation. He lifted a hand as she started to shake her head. “Hear me out. We can’t let him keep striking at us without retaliating. With or without you, we’re going to move on him. You can make it easier on yourself by helping us. You’d take a blood oath, swearing your allegiance to me and the syndicate. You wouldn’t be a full-fledged member, but you’d be under our protection. We could use someone with your skills.”
Nyx drew a long, deliberate breath, then said, “No.”
It was clear her mind was made up, and Brien saw it, too. “That’s your final answer?”
“Yes. Like I told Cain, I’m not a blood-rat. And I’m done being used.” She spat the last word like it tasted foul.
His face hardened. “Put her in a cell,” he told me. “We can’t have Nazaire’s spawn running around loose.”
I gave a clipped nod. “Understood.”
Talon waited until Brien left to move closer. “Need any help with—?” he jerked his chin at Nyx.
At Brien’s order, Nyx had shuddered. Now she sighed and seemed to wilt, her shoulders curved forward, her mouth turned down. Apparently, she’d been holding herself together with spit and string.
I worked my jaw, furious that she’d tossed Brien’s offer back in his face. “No. I’ve got it.”
I poured another glass of blood-wine and thrust it into her hand, standing over her until she drained it.
Talon frowned. “What’s up with her?”
“Silver poisoning. I used the new cuffs.”
I took her left hand and showed him the still-weeping wounds encircling her wrist. She didn’t resist. Didn’t even look at me, just sat there, staring at the coffee table like I wasn’t even in the room.
Talon whistled. “You rinsed them with salt?”
“Yeah—before we left the mainland. She says she’s allergic.”
“So what are you going to do?”