Firestorm Ch. 03

Dawn was just breaking and there was a very narrow window of time when vampires could roam outside unprotected without feeling the ill effects of the sun. As a pureblood, Caspian was barely affected by the UV light, but he still had too much to do and time was running out.

A thousand and one thoughts raced through his head. He considered one option after another, trying in vain to find an acceptable solution. In times like this, when he couldn't silence his mind, he treasured the quiet car rides.

"What a fucking night, huh, Caz?"

"Yeah," Caspian replied shortly, not wanting to encourage any conversation.

Leigh only rolled his eyes. Caspian was never much for words but this morning he was eerily silent.

They alighted from the limo in front of a small café situated at the border of Caspian's territory. It was a small establishment with wooden tables and chairs that were not entirely comfortable, but which gave the place a very homey feel.

Leigh followed Caspian in. Caspian glanced back and saw the mischief in his cousin's eyes fade as his senses alerted him to the identity of the other vampire.

Caspian likewise sensed the other vampire before he caught sight of him in a booth at the back of the cafe. He narrowed his eyes at the male who sat unconcerned, sipping a drink that looked like coffee but smelled of blood.

"Caspian," the vampire said in greeting.

Leigh snarled at being snubbed but otherwise remained motionless.

"Oh, all right. It's good to see you, brother," the other vampire said to Leigh with amusement.

"Fuck's sake, Christian," Leigh grumbled. "That's no way to greet your brother. It's been too long."

Caspian took the seat opposite Christian and waited for Leigh to settle down beside him before speaking. "You can both catch up later. Right now, I need to know what Daemon thinks of my new... pet."

Christian looked up from his cup to stare into his cousin's ice-blue eyes – eyes that were so similar to Daemon's. It was disturbing.

"He is intrigued by her, especially her seraphim heritage. It makes her rare, special. She's the perfect key into Daemon's world." Christian's deep-blue eyes gazed intently at his cousin. "But he still doesn't trust you, Caspian. And with his twisted sense of reality, he keeps saying you have to hand him a sacrifice that means something to you before he will ever trust you again."

Caspian thought of the unsuspecting wolf that lay recovering in his infirmary. He admired her toughness, could admit to himself that she was an attractive woman who stirred his blood and caused hunger to coil in his gut. If circumstances had been different, he would have given in to the temptation to dally with her and see where it would lead.

But he had brought her to Diablo last night for a reason; she was a commodity to achieve his goals, nothing more. He knew Daemon would delight in torturing the little wolf, would enjoy driving her to death's door. He might even end her life, just for the fun of it.

As he gazed impassively at Christian, Caspian spared a brief thought for the promise he'd made to the Prime Alpha of Northlin – a promise that he could no longer keep.

"Consider Micah expendable."

Even as he uttered the words with a show of confidence, Caspian felt something shift deep inside him.

For the first time, he questioned the wisdom of what he was about to do. He shook off the feeling ruthlessly. He couldn't start acting soft now.