Page 87 of Vampire's Choice
Marcellus’s tone told Adan he was being addressed by a Legion captain, one who’d fought battles against the world’s enemies eons before the spark of his own existence had come into being. He reined in his emotional response, his answer appropriately formal.
“That is correct, my lord.”
“So you are aware of why your sister is weaker than most vampires.”
Adan froze. That knowledge had come to him after the Guardian teachers stripped away every ounce of ego or confidence, leaving nothing but a shivering soul, standing under the ice-cold surge of truth about themselves, all the potential and desolation. No chance to lie or hide.
It was the make-or-break point, where students would prefer death, if death was an option. It wasn’t. Not in a school held in the Underworld itself.
“Speak it,” Marcellus said.
He was a Light Guardian. No one but Divinity Itself could command him to do anything. Not even an angel. Technically. But if the command was just, that was a different matter.
“I fed off of her in the womb.”
“Yes. But your mother sensed her weakening, her distress, and your father permitted her to reach out to Lady Danny, who had been a vampire twin herself. She was able to identify the danger, because she had killed her own brother, though it happened in a shared crib, rather than in their mother’s body.”
Silence reigned in the tent.
“Ruth didn’t fight you,” Yvette said quietly. “She gave you what you needed.”
“I wish to God she had fought me.”
“But she wouldn’t. You’ve known all your life she has a submissive soul, a strong, steady light that serves those she loves. She will fight to her very death for them, but never against them.”
“Yes.” Adan turned toward the female vampire and spoke what he’d always known about Ruth, what made him both proud as hell and scared as shit for her. “Her soul is as strong as they come.” His gaze shifted back to Marcellus. “Where is this going, my lord? How does it connect to her marking an incubus sociopath?”
“Your evaluation is clouded by emotion,” Marcellus noted.
“This is my sister. You’re damn straight.”
“Adan.” Yvette’s tone held the reproof. “Hear him out. He has some points you will understand.”
“Of course. Please continue, my lord.” He sounded reasonable. Even between gritted teeth.
A glint went through Marcellus’s dark gaze, but he continued. “Merc has a problem he has fought his entire life. When he did not resist it, he earned a death sentence. But when he was captured so that sentence could be carried out, it was recognized he had never had a valid chance to choose. Never had the space to do so. His father was an angel, his mother a succubus with a quarter human blood.
“A child should not have occurred, but she used black magic to make it happen, thinking she would produce offspring capable of protecting the sex demons from the retribution of the Guardians when they lost control of their impulses. She was obviously already well down that road herself. The judgment of the angel was lacking, so the angels felt the fault of his creation was theirs, and the innocent should not be punished.”
A Light Guardian had an enhanced ability to see patterns, the ways puzzle pieces could fit together, in this case two beings, two souls. Adan didn’t want to see it, but he did. Which he assumed was the angel’s intent.
Marcellus’s expression became wry. “Though innocent is not a word typically applied to Merc, it applies to the truth of his circumstances.
“We have recognized improvements in Merc’s level of control over the years, but in focusing on that, the side that posed a risk to others, we did not always dedicate as much effort to healing or building up his character. Some part of that had to do with his own unwillingness to engage with others. He protected himself with a hypervigilance he assumed he had to have, with everyone as strong or stronger than himself.”
“The level of self-restraint he had to exercise toward those weaker than himself, especially females,” Yvette put in, “also kept him even more closed off. It was easier not to risk misunderstanding or missteps. Especially knowing it could lead to his own execution.”
“Yeah. That’s a hell of an obstacle to personal development,” Adan said dryly.
“You have an unusual vampire-servant relationship,” Yvette noted. “A vampire-Fae pairing, which at one time was illegal for both Fae and vampire, but now is not, thanks to King Tabor and Queen Rhoswen’s agreement to permit it, under certain circumstances.”
“Yeah. Like Catriona not being bound by human servant rules, where a high-ranking vampire can command her over my direction.” Adan lifted a shoulder, “But it doesn’t hurt that I’m no longer considered fully vampire. As a Light Guardian, I’m a different rank.”
“Is Catriona stronger than you?”
“Before I became a Light Guardian? It was a fairly even match at times.” He remembered some of those times with sensual pleasure. “Honestly, she could kick my ass with her dryad stuff.”
“But you are her Master. She wanted to surrender to you.”