Salvation by Tanith Frost

Author:Tanith Frost [Frost, Tanith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sparrowcat Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

19

Ryder’s got the stock hidden in the west end of the city. I’m glad it’s not a long drive. Sunrise is upon us, and on a clearer day, Clark and I would be in real trouble. As it is, he’s still struggling to stay awake at the wheel.

“Why didn’t you go with Miranda?” I ask. Seems as if she’d want her assistant with her—he goes everywhere else she does.

His fingers tighten on the wheel. He’s seemed tense even in the safety of the car. I’m guessing it’s a reaction to my fire, but I can’t suppress it now when it’s helping me heal. He’s just going to have to deal with it.

“I tried,” he says. “She said that this time the stakes were too high—wouldn’t even tell me where she was going. She’d left Raymond in charge of things in the city, but I think Viktor’s betrayal shook her. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Raymond...”

“She just wanted someone there she was really sure about. I get it.”

He’s silent for another block, eyes glued to the road.

“You don’t like me much, do you?” I ask.

“No.” His voice is soft, but not apologetic.

“Thanks for getting me out of there, anyway.”

He glances over. “I wouldn’t have left you behind. It’s not personal.” He clears his throat. “I mean, it is. But you’re a symptom of a bigger problem, one that goes back to before you or I were vampires.”

I twist in my seat, trying to find a comfortable position. It’s impossible. “What problem?”

He shrugs. “Her interest in the unknown and the hidden. Her belief that there’s more to the supernatural world than we understand.”

“Wild cards,” I add, and he nods.

“That’s as good a description as any. Miranda hasn’t been careful. She knew other clans were watching, even wishing her ill, but she’s always been determined to do things her way. I don’t know why she made you a project, but here we are. And now everything’s coming to a head.”

There’s no malice in his voice. No judgement. He speaks of her like someone who’s watched his soulmate go astray, though such a thing should be impossible for soulless creatures.

“She deserves better than this,” he says, flicking the windshield wipers on against a faint drizzle that’s barely heavy enough to require them. I’m not sure he’s really talking to me anymore. “She’s amazing—strong, clever, wise, powerful—but it’s too much for anyone. I wonder sometimes what things would be like for her if she’d been denied the chance to lead a clan, or if she’d just been a little less stubborn about things like the werewolves.”

I shoot him a glance from the corner of my eye. “That was her decision to make. I don’t think she regrets any of it.”

“But some of the responsibility lies with you, doesn’t it? If she’d been proven wrong and the werewolves exterminated, tensions with other clans might have settled. Viktor wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“She wasn’t wrong, though.” I’m too focused on my pain to feel any real irritation, but it’s as if he’s talking about a fictional version of events.

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