JК
Cerulean Sins :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 52 из 352"It is not often that anyoneso surprises Belle Morte. I am most honored."
Musette frowned. "You should be. She was most… unhappy."
He stood slowly. "Why would my rise to power make her unhappy?"
"Because to be Master of the City is to be beyond the ties of obligation."
Ties of obligation seemed to mean more to the vampires than it did to me, because I felt them go all quiet. Damian was so still around my body that it was like he wasn't there at all. Only the weight of his arms let me know he was still clinging to me. The beat and pulse of his body was gone, tucked away somewhere deep inside.
"But Asher has not risen so high. He could still be called home," she said.
I glanced at Jean-Claude, but his face was utterly blank, that polite nothingness that meant he was hiding his every reaction. "That is, of course, within her purview, but I would need some notice before Asher was called away. America is less settled than Europe, and fights for territory are much less civilized." His voice was still empty, emotionless, nothing mattered. "If my second were to simply vanish, others would see that as a weakness."
"Do not worry, our mistress is not going to call him home, but she admits to being puzzled."
We all waited for her to go on, but Musette seemed content to let the silence stand.
Even with Damian hanging on to me, I broke first. "Puzzled about what?"
"Why Asher left her side, of course."
Asher moved up closer, though still keeping a much greater distance between himself and Musette than the rest of us. "I did not leave her side," he said, "Belle Morte had not touched me in centuries. She would not even watch entertainments where I was… featured. She said I offended her eye."
"It is her prerogative to do with her people as she sees fit," Musette said.
"True," Asher said, "but she bid me come to America with Yvette as my overseer. Yvette died, and I had no more orders."
"And if our mistress ordered you home?"
Silence, ours this time.
Asher's face was as empty of emotion as Jean-Claude's. Whatever he felt was hidden, but the very blankness of both their faces said that it did matter, and it was important.
"Belle Morte encourages her people to strike out on their own," Jean-Claude said. "It is one of the reasons her bloodline rules more territories than any other, especially here in the United States."
Musette turned those beautiful pitiless eyes on him. "But Asher did not leave to become a Master of the City, he left to have revenge on you and your human servant.
Musette frowned. "You should be. She was most… unhappy."
He stood slowly. "Why would my rise to power make her unhappy?"
"Because to be Master of the City is to be beyond the ties of obligation."
Ties of obligation seemed to mean more to the vampires than it did to me, because I felt them go all quiet. Damian was so still around my body that it was like he wasn't there at all. Only the weight of his arms let me know he was still clinging to me. The beat and pulse of his body was gone, tucked away somewhere deep inside.
"But Asher has not risen so high. He could still be called home," she said.
I glanced at Jean-Claude, but his face was utterly blank, that polite nothingness that meant he was hiding his every reaction. "That is, of course, within her purview, but I would need some notice before Asher was called away. America is less settled than Europe, and fights for territory are much less civilized." His voice was still empty, emotionless, nothing mattered. "If my second were to simply vanish, others would see that as a weakness."
"Do not worry, our mistress is not going to call him home, but she admits to being puzzled."
We all waited for her to go on, but Musette seemed content to let the silence stand.
Even with Damian hanging on to me, I broke first. "Puzzled about what?"
"Why Asher left her side, of course."
Asher moved up closer, though still keeping a much greater distance between himself and Musette than the rest of us. "I did not leave her side," he said, "Belle Morte had not touched me in centuries. She would not even watch entertainments where I was… featured. She said I offended her eye."
"It is her prerogative to do with her people as she sees fit," Musette said.
"True," Asher said, "but she bid me come to America with Yvette as my overseer. Yvette died, and I had no more orders."
"And if our mistress ordered you home?"
Silence, ours this time.
Asher's face was as empty of emotion as Jean-Claude's. Whatever he felt was hidden, but the very blankness of both their faces said that it did matter, and it was important.
"Belle Morte encourages her people to strike out on their own," Jean-Claude said. "It is one of the reasons her bloodline rules more territories than any other, especially here in the United States."
Musette turned those beautiful pitiless eyes on him. "But Asher did not leave to become a Master of the City, he left to have revenge on you and your human servant.