knew what she was supposed to do.
Anger was swinging back to guilt and grief, getting tangled up with an urge to justify herself to someone too young to understand. Hell, Ashe didn’t understand half of why she did what she did when Roberto died. Her first instinct had been to die right along with him, but there was Eden. Kids put a whole new face on the need to survive.
So many emotions crammed her throat that Ashe couldn’t speak. Eden was sitting on the floor of the landing, her back to the suite door and a look thick with distrust in her eyes.
Ashe clenched a tight fist around her temper. It would be too easy to explode and turn a spat into a war. A war that could end up with Eden running away again. Wordlessly, she reached over her daughter and unlocked the door.
Eden stood up, grabbing her backpack, and ran to her bedroom.
Being alone for a moment was a relief. Ashe kicked off her shoes and shed the suit jacket. There was a brief span of quiet, nothing but dust motes spinning in a shaft of light.
The living room was warm because it faced west. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, but the apartment had a comfortable feel, with fir floors, built-in bookshelves, and lots of light. Ashe had done pretty well, finding this place. There was even a big park down the street with other kids to play with.
I try. I really do .
Which meant she had to put an end to the day’s skirmish. She tapped on Eden’s door. “Hey, you.”
“Go away.”
For a moment, Ashe was reminded of her little sister, Holly. Was there a bratty gene? Had Ashe had it at that age? Ashe turned the handle and invaded. Eden’s room was decorated with a mix of stuffed animals and posters of pouting pop bands barely old enough to shave. A scattering of books. No more than a day’s worth of clothes on the floor. Nothing to alarm the mother unit.
For now. She wondered how long it would be before the boy bands came down and someone less appealing appeared in poster form. It was hard to know what was a miniphase and what would stick.
Eden was facedown on the bed, picking at the strap of her backpack. Ashe perched on the edge of the bed bedside her daughter, smelling the mix of schoolroom and peppermint gum that clung to all Eden’s clothes. The storm of her emotions died as suddenly as it had blown in. She put a hand on the back of Eden’s head, caressing the soft brown curls. Goddess, I love her.
Ashe drew a long breath. “I sent you away because I couldn’t protect you, and I’m sorry for that. But if I didn’t go on with the work I was doing, a lot of people would have died. I couldn’t let that happen. That’s all I can really tell you, because that’s all I understand myself.”
Eden hunched her shoulders, inching away from her mother’s touch. “Won’t people die now that you’ve stopped being a slayer?”
Ashe removed her hand. “Maybe, but some things are different now. Vampires and the rest of the monsters have been out in the open a few years. They’ve got ways to police themselves that they didn’t have before. The good vampires don’t want bad vampires causing problems any more than we do.”
“Why not?” Eden stopped picking at the backpack, actually listening now.
“They’re trying to fit in. It’s not easy living in secret, especially when there are so many of them. If the vampires behave themselves, they get to have jobs and credit cards and all the advantages humans have. It’s to their own benefit to be good citizens.”
Eden finally turned to look at her. “Is Uncle Sandro a good vampire?”
“Yeah.” Ashe sighed, thinking of the many times she had butted heads with Alessandro Caravelli. “He’s a good guy. I didn’t like him much at first, but he proved himself to me.”
Eden nodded slowly. Ashe could see her thinking, putting pieces together. The girl rolled onto one elbow and propped her head in her hand. “So Uncle Sandro is with Aunt Holly, and she’s a superpowerful witch and she put a
Anger was swinging back to guilt and grief, getting tangled up with an urge to justify herself to someone too young to understand. Hell, Ashe didn’t understand half of why she did what she did when Roberto died. Her first instinct had been to die right along with him, but there was Eden. Kids put a whole new face on the need to survive.
So many emotions crammed her throat that Ashe couldn’t speak. Eden was sitting on the floor of the landing, her back to the suite door and a look thick with distrust in her eyes.
Ashe clenched a tight fist around her temper. It would be too easy to explode and turn a spat into a war. A war that could end up with Eden running away again. Wordlessly, she reached over her daughter and unlocked the door.
Eden stood up, grabbing her backpack, and ran to her bedroom.
Being alone for a moment was a relief. Ashe kicked off her shoes and shed the suit jacket. There was a brief span of quiet, nothing but dust motes spinning in a shaft of light.
The living room was warm because it faced west. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, but the apartment had a comfortable feel, with fir floors, built-in bookshelves, and lots of light. Ashe had done pretty well, finding this place. There was even a big park down the street with other kids to play with.
I try. I really do .
Which meant she had to put an end to the day’s skirmish. She tapped on Eden’s door. “Hey, you.”
“Go away.”
For a moment, Ashe was reminded of her little sister, Holly. Was there a bratty gene? Had Ashe had it at that age? Ashe turned the handle and invaded. Eden’s room was decorated with a mix of stuffed animals and posters of pouting pop bands barely old enough to shave. A scattering of books. No more than a day’s worth of clothes on the floor. Nothing to alarm the mother unit.
For now. She wondered how long it would be before the boy bands came down and someone less appealing appeared in poster form. It was hard to know what was a miniphase and what would stick.
Eden was facedown on the bed, picking at the strap of her backpack. Ashe perched on the edge of the bed bedside her daughter, smelling the mix of schoolroom and peppermint gum that clung to all Eden’s clothes. The storm of her emotions died as suddenly as it had blown in. She put a hand on the back of Eden’s head, caressing the soft brown curls. Goddess, I love her.
Ashe drew a long breath. “I sent you away because I couldn’t protect you, and I’m sorry for that. But if I didn’t go on with the work I was doing, a lot of people would have died. I couldn’t let that happen. That’s all I can really tell you, because that’s all I understand myself.”
Eden hunched her shoulders, inching away from her mother’s touch. “Won’t people die now that you’ve stopped being a slayer?”
Ashe removed her hand. “Maybe, but some things are different now. Vampires and the rest of the monsters have been out in the open a few years. They’ve got ways to police themselves that they didn’t have before. The good vampires don’t want bad vampires causing problems any more than we do.”
“Why not?” Eden stopped picking at the backpack, actually listening now.
“They’re trying to fit in. It’s not easy living in secret, especially when there are so many of them. If the vampires behave themselves, they get to have jobs and credit cards and all the advantages humans have. It’s to their own benefit to be good citizens.”
Eden finally turned to look at her. “Is Uncle Sandro a good vampire?”
“Yeah.” Ashe sighed, thinking of the many times she had butted heads with Alessandro Caravelli. “He’s a good guy. I didn’t like him much at first, but he proved himself to me.”
Eden nodded slowly. Ashe could see her thinking, putting pieces together. The girl rolled onto one elbow and propped her head in her hand. “So Uncle Sandro is with Aunt Holly, and she’s a superpowerful witch and she put a
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