Between Shadow & Ruin (Fangs & Fae Saga Book 2)

eighty-two.

The vision that Odette showed me of the little boy we cared for before he was taken by the Belvedere family took over my senses. I was overwhelmed with emotions, I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to hug him, I wanted to rip his throat out and ask him why the fuck he was hunting vampires. Instead, I decided to give him a chance.

"Steph... let him go." She turned to look at me.

"What!? What do you mean 'let him go'!?" I took a deep breath, feeling uneasy. I hoped I was making the right choice.

"...I know who this is. And I need some time alone with him." Jacques bolted out of Steph's office to run to Sebastian as Steph and I shared a look. She motioned she would be right outside the door if she needed me.

"Lizzy... it's been so long. I did not expect to run into you again under circumstances like these..."

"Did you know?" I asked, angrily. I walked towards the front of the desk and sat on it, crossing my arms.

"Did I know what?" he asked.

"Did you know this entire time that I was a vampire?"

"I did not at first but when the Brotherhood caught wind of a new Magister in America being appointed, they made it their business to find out who it was. The name seemed so familiar to me – I dug into it some more and realized it was you... To be honest, I had mixed feelings when I found that out." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, closing my suit jacket over my body.

"Please, tell me your name isn't... 'Ignis Belvedere' now." I didn't want to be right. In fact,  hoped I was so wrong that he would slap me in the face with the right information.

"Oui." Fuck. "My name is Ignis Belvedere." Now what? I looked right at him, as if I could see into his soul.

"I'm supposed to kill you. You've been missing from France for weeks. The resistance suspected you were trailing Sebastian. But I promised Odette I would spare you..."

"I am wanted dead either way then. I am sure the Brotherhood has realized why I have been gone so long... How is Odette? I know it must be uncomfortable asking about her... seeing where we are standing now... on either side of this. But I do appreciate that you two raised me for some time." I took a deep breath and looked away from him. I could feel tears of sadness and anger well up in my eyes. Odette would have slapped him, hugged him, punched him, and hugged him again.

"...She died sixteen years ago thanks to the Eminence wanting to 'eradicate supes' too. She sacrificed herself in that fight. Otherwise, she'd be standing here instead of me." I heard his heart skip a beat and he swallowed hard.

"I – I did not know that. I am sorry to hear she is no longer with us. But from what you are saying it sounds like she did not die in vain..." I stood up from the desk and walked towards him.

"I don't care if she 'didn't die in vain'; she fucking died because of people like the ones you joined up with! She never would've given you to that family if she'd known what you would become! Why didn't that family kill us when they took you?"

"They weren't allowed to – my birth mother was a true Belvedere in her own blood, but she ran away from the Brotherhood. Their mission was to retrieve me and return me to the Brotherhood. She ran away from France when she learned she was pregnant and refused to go back. They found her, killed her, and then found me. I only just learned that myself. I did not realize I was a true Belvedere until I began to question what happened with Sebastian and his family. You have to let me see him. I have many things I need to apologize for."

"No. Hell no! You've become a monster! Not just a Hunter, but one tied to supernatural spirits? You're no better than me. How many supes have you killed that didn't deserve it?"