Read Shadow Kin for Free Online

fist to the face, standing my ground. But then he backed off a step or two. For a moment he stood still, head bowed, breathing heavily. No doubt trying to rein in his own temper with a few pleas for his God to spare him from the plague of family.
    Finally he raised his head and looked at me levelly for a few seconds. Then he bent, picked up his chair, and set it carefully back on its feet. “Say something worth listening to, little brother.” The drawl was back but he seemed somewhat calmer.
    I eased back, giving us both space. Calmer wasn’t calm. One of us might yet end up with a blackened eye or two. “Even if you questioned her, what good would it have done? The Fae won’t take testimony given under duress, you know that. Do you think she would’ve cooperated if I’d turned her over? I don’t.”
    “No,” Guy snapped. “I don’t.”
    I could almost see the frustration rising from him. I understood it. I felt the same. Anyone who saw the damage inflicted by the Night World daily had to. But torture wasn’t the answer. I settled myself back into the chair, waited for Guy to do the same. “What if I could talk her into helping us?”
    Guy gave one burst of incredulous laughter, then choked it off. “Did you melt your brain with one of your sunbeams?”
    I ignored his laughter. “No.”
    Pale eyebrows drew together like a lightning bolt of disapproval. “Fuck. You want to save her, don’t you? This is another one of your crusades.”
    I didn’t react. Didn’t want him to see he was right, or partially so. The Templars were pretty damn pragmatic, and chivalry was hardly the priority in their code of honor these days. Guy cut down female Blood with no hesitation if they broke the law. Shadow wasn’t Blood but she was hardly on the side of the angels.
    “No, it’s not. You’re the one who brought up the idea of her testifying.”
    “I didn’t think you’d take me seriously. She’s Night World.”
    “And that means she’s beyond hope?”
    “Hell’s balls, you never learn. Same old story.”
    “At least I try,” I shot back, anger and regret rapidly loosening my grip on my temper.
    “At what cost?” Guy’s voice was rising again.
    I sucked in a breath, held up a hand, palm out. “We are not having this argument again.” I couldn’t change the past and neither could Guy. Fifteen years of arguing had taught me that much. Opening old wounds wouldn’t help anything right now.
    Guy held up his hands too, his face grim. “Fine. But you can’t save everyone, little brother.”
    “That’s ironic coming from a man who has dedicated his own life to saving people.” Ever since I’d become a healer, people had been telling me I couldn’t save everyone, but no one ever lectured Guy.
    “I’m sworn to defend, not save. There’s a difference.”
    “Which is?”
    “When you defend, the idea is to keep the greatest number safe. You know you’ll lose some of them. You know that some of them will always choose the other side. And you know how to choose your battles.”
    “I am choosing my battles. Think about it, Guy. Think about what it would mean if she did cooperate. If we could present sworn testimony that Lucius tried to assassinate a human healer from his very own assassin? Putting aside the fact that you think I’m insane right now.”
    He had to see it. It was his idea, after all. The treaty negotiations were a little over three months away. They only came around once every five years. And for the last five years, Lucius had been growing stronger. He wanted more. If we couldn’t push his power back during these negotiations, who knew if the City would still be standing by then?
    Lucius had been steadily extending his power base, pushing into the border boroughs. Increasing the number of Blood and blood-locked. But thus far, he hadn’t broken any tenets of the treaty. None that could be proven anyway. Without proof, we humans had little chance of getting the Fae to agree to move against