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Blake’s face, angering him more. “Because he never brought her here. Not once. He also never shirked his responsibilities to the coven. He didn’t choose one over the other, he valued both. Never did he hole himself up somewhere and ignore things that needed to be done, even in mourning over Laura.”
    Varick clenched his jaw. “I’m not Dante. I can never be Dante.”
    Blake averted his icy stare. “No one is asking you to be him, but he left you in charge. Sometimes we don’t get a say in things. Sometimes we have to accept things for the way they are. It’s not as if you can’t change. There are ways to bring balance back. It won’t happen all at once, but it will help you gain back respect of your brothers if they see you try.”
    He appreciated the sound advice, but he couldn’t let go. He didn’t know how. “So much time has passed and I still can’t get my head around what happened. His death tortures me every single day. My desire for Aubrey tortures me every single day. I’m torn between what’s expected of me, and what I want.”
    Blake approached and rested a hand on his shoulder. “You have to stop thinking that she’s yours. You have to accept she may never want to be with you.”
    The truth had a way of ripping the hope right out of him. “What else can I say except that you’re right? It doesn’t make sense to be so overly protective of her, but I am. To the point of being possessive. I cringe whenever she’s with another man. I find myself willing her to find fault in the men she dates, just so she won’t stay with them.”
    Blake shook his head. “I’m not sure Dante would approve of you playing with her emotions.”
    He didn’t approve of playing with her emotions. “No, he wouldn’t, not fully. He’d understand, but not approve. I promised to watch over her, and I’ve kept that promise. I never promised I wouldn’t fall in love with her. “
    His brother suppressed a laugh. “That is part of protecting her, is it not? Part of keeping her safe is to not introduce her to new dangers. So in fact, you’ve not kept your promise at all.”
    Varick frowned. “You’re not helping.”
    Arms crossed, Blake sent him a challenging look. “I’m also not going to tell you what you want to hear. Consider me a voice of reason. You need to make the coven your priority, and you need to find a way to detach yourself from Aubrey.”
    He let out a heavy sigh. “Shouldn’t be too hard, at this point. She doesn’t want me watching over her anymore.”
    Blake patted his shoulder. “Praise her for saying so. You put her in danger whenever you’re together, whether she’s here or you’re there. Dante learned the hard way and you should have learned that from him.”
    The thought of letting go hurt at a core level. “You’re right. Thank you. If you’d keep this between us, I’d appreciate it.”
    “Done. No one else knows?”
    “Vindi, but she keeps to herself. She’s the only Vamp who doesn’t try to seduce me.”
    Blake raised an inquisitive brow. “Why does she know?”
    “I asked her to bring Aubrey a glass of wine when I brought her here, to help loosen her up. Apparently Vindi approves of my taste in mortals.”
    “Gotcha. I still can’t believe you brought her here of all places.”
    Varick rubbed the back of his neck. “It was in the West Chambers. Like I said, it’s deserted.”
    Blake flashed him a wide grin. “You got lucky this time. Let’s just hope no one goes in that part of the mansion for another decade. Tell me, brother, for I’m terribly curious, how do you keep yourself from tasting her essence? How can you go before a mortal woman and not take advantage of her?”
    He answered with pride. “I love her. I swear, something drew me to that woman before I ever got to know her.”
    “You’re just like Dante. A hopeless romantic.”
    Varick held up his hands in mock submission. “Is that a bad thing to be?”
    Blake snorted. “It’s dangerous.