existed! All right, I shouldn’t call them weirdoes; I was half weirdo myself. I fought my Starbucks urge and stood up instead, everyone’s eyes on me.
“I’m fine, Spencer. Thanks for asking. I have a crisis to deal with. I appreciate all of you taking time out of your busy schedules to come here. I’m glad you did. It’s been nice to meet you all. I’m going to send Dorian to London in my place to deal with the day-to-day administration. But, if you need me , you can always contact me–day or night. Do you have any questions for me right now? If not, I hope you don’t mind, but I have to go deal with my brother’s death.” I paused, looking around to judge the reaction to my little speech. I hoped that it was good enough that all of these beings would just go back to their regular routines. Cassandra looked like she had more to say, but I saw Albert place a hand on her arm to silence her. They all stood and bowed. I bowed back. “Thank you for coming,” I said, hoping that these would be my last official words for the day.
I waited until they left, then slumped back in my seat. I suddenly felt gentle hands on both my shoulders, and knew, without turning around, that it was Ryker. How did he know that I needed him? I leaned back against him and enjoyed the shoulder massage. The calm felt great. For the first time all day, I tried to escape my thoughts and just relax.
“Faustine?” Luke said, as he walked back into the room. I opened my eyes again, jolted back to reality.
“Is your dad okay?” I asked Luke, as he sat down beside me. Ryker sat down as well, but kept one hand on my shoulder.
“Dad is devastated,” Luke replied. “Peter and he were very close. Peter spent most of last summer in London under Dad’s care.”
“So how come Peter isn’t Dad’s heir?”
“I don’t know for sure. I know that your mother was–is–the true love of Sebastian’s life, so that might be the reason.”
“What about the mothers of all of his other kids?”
“They were mostly short-term relationships.”
“Short-term relationships?”
“One-night stands.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Luke added. “He really cared about all of his children. Your dad saw all of his kids fairly regularly and made sure that they were well taken care of. All your half siblings are graduates of the Academy.”
“Are all of them hybrids?”
“No. Maximillian, Sebastian’s second child, is a full demon.”
“Can you give me a breakdown of the rest of them?”
“I will, but we don’t have time right now. My father is in the study. He asked if you could join him when you’re ready. Alone.”
“Sure. Just one more thing before I go. Were you annoyed when I asked you to get the refreshments? I kind of got the feeling that you weren’t too happy.”
“I was annoyed, but not at you. I was annoyed that Alfred didn’t feed before the meeting. He knows better.”
I turned to the great-looking guy sitting next to me. “Ryker, thanks for coming. Can you wait for me?”
He nodded, and I kissed him briefly before I made my way to Dorian’s study.
“Faustine,” Luke warned before I left, “Dad’s transformed; he’s not in his human manifestation, but don’t be afraid.”
Walking quickly into the study, I thought, no kidding , as I saw the hideous creature that was apparently Dorian. Thankfully, I didn’t feel the least bit frightened, but I was glad that Luke had warned me. Dorian looked icky, to say the least. His face was contorted into a gory mass of blood, with all sorts of nasty, flesh-covered lumps. His eyes had retracted into hollow pits, and his ears had doubled in size, looking slightly pointy due to the nasty lumps on the tips. No amount of cosmetic surgery could have rectified that mess, which extended to his hands. His ordinarily long fingers were even longer, and his hands were covered in red boils. Blech.
The worst thing was that he was obviously crying. I saw the tears
“I’m fine, Spencer. Thanks for asking. I have a crisis to deal with. I appreciate all of you taking time out of your busy schedules to come here. I’m glad you did. It’s been nice to meet you all. I’m going to send Dorian to London in my place to deal with the day-to-day administration. But, if you need me , you can always contact me–day or night. Do you have any questions for me right now? If not, I hope you don’t mind, but I have to go deal with my brother’s death.” I paused, looking around to judge the reaction to my little speech. I hoped that it was good enough that all of these beings would just go back to their regular routines. Cassandra looked like she had more to say, but I saw Albert place a hand on her arm to silence her. They all stood and bowed. I bowed back. “Thank you for coming,” I said, hoping that these would be my last official words for the day.
I waited until they left, then slumped back in my seat. I suddenly felt gentle hands on both my shoulders, and knew, without turning around, that it was Ryker. How did he know that I needed him? I leaned back against him and enjoyed the shoulder massage. The calm felt great. For the first time all day, I tried to escape my thoughts and just relax.
“Faustine?” Luke said, as he walked back into the room. I opened my eyes again, jolted back to reality.
“Is your dad okay?” I asked Luke, as he sat down beside me. Ryker sat down as well, but kept one hand on my shoulder.
“Dad is devastated,” Luke replied. “Peter and he were very close. Peter spent most of last summer in London under Dad’s care.”
“So how come Peter isn’t Dad’s heir?”
“I don’t know for sure. I know that your mother was–is–the true love of Sebastian’s life, so that might be the reason.”
“What about the mothers of all of his other kids?”
“They were mostly short-term relationships.”
“Short-term relationships?”
“One-night stands.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Luke added. “He really cared about all of his children. Your dad saw all of his kids fairly regularly and made sure that they were well taken care of. All your half siblings are graduates of the Academy.”
“Are all of them hybrids?”
“No. Maximillian, Sebastian’s second child, is a full demon.”
“Can you give me a breakdown of the rest of them?”
“I will, but we don’t have time right now. My father is in the study. He asked if you could join him when you’re ready. Alone.”
“Sure. Just one more thing before I go. Were you annoyed when I asked you to get the refreshments? I kind of got the feeling that you weren’t too happy.”
“I was annoyed, but not at you. I was annoyed that Alfred didn’t feed before the meeting. He knows better.”
I turned to the great-looking guy sitting next to me. “Ryker, thanks for coming. Can you wait for me?”
He nodded, and I kissed him briefly before I made my way to Dorian’s study.
“Faustine,” Luke warned before I left, “Dad’s transformed; he’s not in his human manifestation, but don’t be afraid.”
Walking quickly into the study, I thought, no kidding , as I saw the hideous creature that was apparently Dorian. Thankfully, I didn’t feel the least bit frightened, but I was glad that Luke had warned me. Dorian looked icky, to say the least. His face was contorted into a gory mass of blood, with all sorts of nasty, flesh-covered lumps. His eyes had retracted into hollow pits, and his ears had doubled in size, looking slightly pointy due to the nasty lumps on the tips. No amount of cosmetic surgery could have rectified that mess, which extended to his hands. His ordinarily long fingers were even longer, and his hands were covered in red boils. Blech.
The worst thing was that he was obviously crying. I saw the tears
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