Riley's dropping his grace, and he looks more like the old Riley I met before my mutation awakened.
“I didn't know about this High Council,” I say, forcing my pulse to slow.
Riley motions me out of the entry hall and into the grand sitting room, an area with an arched ceiling and leather couches. We're away from the other Nightsides now, letting them absorb what happened. Riley plops down on a couch. “They exist for a reason. They formed a long time ago to make sure Truebloods could continue to survive in a world of human laws and civilizations. That meant rules, and lots of them, meant to keep the hunters off our backs and meant to keep us hidden. I just didn't think they'd come here, but I should have expected it. Any coven with a Trueblood in charge is under their rule.”
I gulp as a spike of ice jabs down my spine. “If my father had been in charge instead—”
“We would have been dead before sunrise,” Riley says, pulling me down to the couch as his fingers caress my arms. “The Riveras saved us by telling them I'm Dominic's legitimate heir. But to my knowledge, he never chose an official heir, or someone to take his place if he got killed or exiled.”
I think of the old vampires I murdered when I saved Riley. Yes, Dominic would have chosen one of them to take over when he screwed up. Not a kid.
“Now what?” I ask. “What are we supposed to do about this Convening?” At least the subject has changed from my lack of control to that, even if it could kill us.
Riley lets go of my arms and sits up straight on the couch. “The Convening is an annual meeting of all Trueblood-led covens,” he explains, running a hand through his hair. “All leaders have to go. Any new covens have to be voted in as legitimate, or they're destroyed. To be legitimate, a coven has to be led by a powerful Trueblood, the Nightsides have to be under control, and the coven can’t break any of the other laws.”
“But we can look like we're under control,” I say, straightening. “I'll play dutiful servant when they're looking, and work on my mind powers more before we go.”
Riley tightens his lip and looks right into my eyes. He slowly straightens, too, so we’re inches apart. “But I broke a very important rule. And word could reach the Convening before we even get there.”
The large sitting room seems to close in, and the potted plants look like they're about to fall in on us. The ceiling seems to lower as I understand what Riley's saying.
He violated a rule, all right.
A rule that, when broken, leads to execution.
He took Dominic's blood and stole his place without permission.
And Dominic's still out there, and he of all people will know of Riley's position.
“Shit,” I say, rising. “What are we going to do?”
Riley gets up, too, and stares at the grandfather clock as if it holds answers. But when he seems to find none, he turns to me. “I'm already suspect for being so young and having a coven full of Nightsides. We need to figure it out because we don't have long. And what's worse is that we haven't found the Originator yet. That's another danger. The Originator, whoever it is, can do damage at the Convening. I don't know what his plan would be, but he wants me gone, whoever he is.”
I pace around the room as panic builds. Everything's set against us right now, and I don't know what to do. “I can't control those High Council vampires. I felt their walls. They're way more powerful than Dominic's are.” How can the Nightside Prophecy even be true, with that going on? Nobody's going to enslave those predators.
“And they could find out I took an ancient’s blood,” Riley repeats. He paces with me, stopping at the window and pulling the dark curtains shut.
He pauses there, not looking at me, and I know he's thinking of how I controlled him again.
“Riley, I know that was bad, what I did,” I force. “I'm going to keep working on it so it doesn't happen again.”
“I would have taken Dominic's blood on my own because I didn't have a choice, if I wanted to survive and not turn into a monster,” Riley says. “But the High Council won't care about that. They're all about the greater good of our kind at the expense of individuals. They'll gladly sacrifice me and the rest of this new coven to keep the Truebloods safe.” His grip tightens on the curtains and he won't look at me. Riley might be wiser than what he used to be, or at least able to think more clearly and logically, but his emotions are the same.
I can't blame him. I drove him to do something that can get him killed, and all because I wanted to lash out. So I punish myself by saying, “Don't lie. You're still upset. I can tell when you turn away from me in your sleep.”
Riley goes completely still, as in, he stops breathing. “Olivia. You're observant. I'm still mad in my dreams, but I'm trying not to be when I’m awake.”
There. It's out.
He's still angry on some level, and he should be.
“I've got anger issues. It's my responsibility to work on them. And I take responsibility.” Who else is going to overcome my rage at Dad? That's where it all starts, and I know it. Riley wasn't afraid to say what we both had to face.
Riley lets go of the curtains and slowly lowers his arms to his side. His copper gaze softens as he turns. He seems deflated and resigned. Riley, who has only become more powerful since curing himself of the
