4. Lucien

The cuffs are still on the human's wrists, but the links are broken, allowing him to move freely. They are iron, I am certain. I have never known a hunter so strong.

Adelaide is furious. I cannot be certain who she is aiming the expression at—Tristan or the human.

No, not the human. Kieran. The name feels like a lie but also not, which confuses me. Not that I should dwell on anything about him. He is clearly violent. Dangerous.

I have had enough of violent, dangerous men. A lifetime's worth, really.

And yet…

When Kieran moves again, I cannot tear my eyes away. He and Tristan circle each other, Kieran meeting each powerful blow with one of his own. He is not as fast as a vampire, but he knows how to move and has a strength behind him that his human form belies.

Tristan growls, leaping for him again, but Kieran twists and punches him in the gut, and he falls back, baring his teeth. His fury is palpable. It will not be sated.

No matter who this human is and what he has done, we cannot allow a vampire to tear him apart.

"Crai," I murmur. Vasile is as transfixed by the fight as any of us. "Perhaps we should…"

Vasile shakes his head minutely and I snap my mouth shut.

I do not question him aloud; I do not dare. But when I turn my head, Njáll and I exchange equally concerned glances. What kind of human have we allowed among our clan?

Tristan moves again and this time he is quick enough to catch Kieran around the waist, using his bulk to bring them both to the ground. Kieran flips them with a grunt, punching Tristan in the jaw hard enough he lets out a howl of pain. I flinch.

Worse still, are we going to watch as a human kills one of our clan? I do not like Tristan, but that does not mean I wish to witness this.

It does not matter. Tristan snarls and speeds out from under Kieran, hauling him up by the back of his neck. Kieran kicks out, but Tristan grabs his leg, wrenching it back in a way that makes Kieran's face pale, though he does not make a sound.

Tristan shoves Kieran to his knees, yanking his head back.

My stomach twists.

Kieran stops fighting all at once. Resignation flickers across his face. We all know what is about to happen, and Vasile has not signalled for any of us to stop it, but something about the way Kieran has simply given in, submitting to his fate, has a deep fury brewing in my chest.

Before I can second-guess myself, I race across the room and tear Tristan away. Kieran tips forward, breathing hard, and Tristan growls where he has fallen.

"I think that's enough," Vasile says, as though he gave an order I followed. My cheeks burn. I should not have interfered.

I look at Kieran. He is still on his knees, one hand planted on either side of his thighs. He looks up, meeting my gaze steadily, and I swallow when I see the heat in his eyes. It has been a long time since I have looked at another and seen a true predator in their depths.

I should hate it. It should make me want to turn and run. It should not spark a fire inside of me, one that threatens to burn everything to ashes.

"Why did you kill William?" Vasile asks.

I clench one hand in a fist. I need to remain grounded.

"I take it that's the first one I got," Kieran says. His tone is indifferent, though he is still trying to even out his breathing. He does not look at Vasile for too long, splitting his attention between our crai, Adelaide, and Tristan.

"I believe so."

"Found him with a woman. She was…" Kieran pales again and glances away when he swallows hard. "It was bad. She wasn't dead yet, but she was close to it."

The room is silent again, tension creeping in now that the excitement of the fight is over. Tristan gets to his feet, his entire body shaking with rage.

"What do you mean?" Vasile asks.

"I mean, he was playing with his food," Kieran snaps. "I thought you weren't supposed to do that. Or are all the humans in here just for decoration?"

Quiet murmuring comes from behind Vasile, where the other chieftains stand. The humans are speaking to each other too, keeping their voices low. Tristan lets out a frustrated noise.

"Crai, he never would have—"

"Enough," Vasile says, holding up a hand. "Tristan, it is clear you have been lying, whether it was about William or not. The other vampires. Tell me, were they your turns?"

He pushes, and there is enough power behind it that even I feel a sudden compulsion to spill a truth. I swallow it down, aware that Kieran's eyes are on me again.

"Yes," Tristan says reluctantly. "I turned them all."

"How many?"

"Eight."

Vasile looks at Kieran, who clenches his jaw and nods. My eyes widen.

Not only has Tristan turned eight humans into vampires without informing anyone in the clan, but Kieran has also destroyed them all? Nine, including William, and he was no fledgling.

I have never met a human so reckless.

"And you knew of all this, Adelaide?"

She lifts her head. The expression she turns on Kieran is one of disgust and it does not fade as she looks at Vasile.

"I did."

"And you glamoured members of the clan." He gestures at Anton and Leo. "Many of them."

Her mouth twists. "You should have known this was happening," she spits. "A hunter nearly killed a vampire in clan territory, and you haven't even noticed a human running around destroying fledglings for the last six months! What kind of crai are you?"

"Yours," Vasile says. He signals and vampires move in. Anton and Leo do not react as they are taken hold of, but Tristan snarls and Adelaide does not break eye contact with Vasile.

For a moment, all I can hear is the rush of blood in my ears. A hunter nearly killed a vampire in clan territory…

Did this happen because of me? Because of what I did?

"Take them to the cells. Let me know when the glamour has worn off. You two…" Vasile looks between Tristan and Adelaide, and I struggle to suck in a breath. "I will deal with you later."

Tristan lets out a low growl, full of fury. When I look at him, I expect him to be looking at Kieran, or perhaps Vasile, but instead, his attention is on Adelaide.

"You lied to me," he snarls and surges forward. The vampire holding him stumbles, but Njáll moves in and grasps Tristan around the waist, keeping him still. "You told me he'd die! I'd get to kill him!"

"Remove them," Vasile snaps, and another vampire takes Njáll's place. They drag Tristan from the hall.

Whispering fills the space their accusations have left behind. Kieran tenses his shoulders, but he is looking at me, not the others. Is he going to try to run?

"Everyone but my chieftains, consider yourselves dismissed."

We wait in silence as the room empties out. Elle meets my gaze through the crowd, and though I am still unsure of myself, I nod. I will remain. I will prove I can do this.

Kieran is still on his knees when everyone has left. He peers up at us as though he is unsure what will happen when he stands.

"We should have been aware of what Tristan was doing," Vasile says.

"Yeah, you're telling me," Kieran replies. He bites the inside of his cheek the moment the words are out of his mouth, and I get the feeling he could not help them.

"And you should not have been killing vampires."

"They shouldn't have been killing humans!" Kieran shoots back. "And if the Council's gonna do fuck all about it, someone has to. Or, what, did you want to deal with a bunch of dead humans, too?"

Vasile stares at him and Kieran does not back down. I can feel the power radiating from our crai—either Kieran cannot feel it, or he is somehow able to withstand it.

I do not know which is worse.

After a moment, Vasile sighs, looking at the cuffs still around Kieran's wrists. "Do we have a key for those?"

Kieran stands, wincing when he puts weight on his right leg. The movement comes and goes quickly enough that I know he is trying to hide a weakness, but I know, too, that Vasile and the chieftains are observant enough to notice it.

I reach into my pocket. My fingers skim a hair grip, left over from some earlier night. I pull it out and approach Kieran slowly, making sure he can see my hands.

"God, I'm not gonna—I just want to go home. Y'know. If I can."

I straighten out the grip and take Kieran's left wrist in my hand. He is startlingly warm to the touch, and when our skin meets, his eyes dart up to mine. I force my gaze down, inserting the end of the grip into the lock.

"We will have to inform the Council of what has happened," Vasile says, and I am glad I have a task to distract me from the way I want to gape at him. Kieran is human, and he has killed vampires. We should be keeping him under lock and key until the Council sends representatives here.

"Vasile," Savia says. She exchanges a glance with Afsaneh, whose expression is grim. The other chieftains are not present, likely in their own districts, though I would not be surprised to learn they are on their way here.

"If we just let him go," Njáll tries.

"We both failed," Vasile says, shaking his head. Is the harsh edge in his voice aimed at himself or at Njáll? "We are lucky the fledglings were stopped before the entire treaty went up in smoke."

I get the first cuff unfastened, dropping it to the floor before I move to the next. Kieran's wrist is red beneath. I want to smooth my fingers over his skin.

Vasile leans over and picks up the discarded cuff.

"Besides, I suspect imprisonment may be pointless."

I know what the others can see. The links that held the two cuffs together have snapped clean in two. All eyes shift to Kieran, who shrugs, though he looks up at me.

"I've never been locked up in a clan house before," he admits and smirks. "Rather not, though."

I swallow.

"And that is beside the point," Vasile says. "If Jasper was acting as you say—and considering what we learnt about William, it is not a stretch to believe so—any hunter killing him would have been sanctioned to do so. The Council should have been aware, just as we should have. This was not your burden to bear."

I release the other cuff and remove it, passing it from hand to hand.

"Thanks," Kieran mutters. He rubs his wrist, still resting his weight on his good leg.

"We owe you a debt," Vasile says, and surprise ripples through the chieftains. "If the Council had known what Tristan was doing, they would have asked much of us."

"So you're not going to tell them about me?"

"No, we have to do that. But you are free to leave for now, and I will advise that they leave you well alone. You were defending others. That is not a crime."

"Bloody feels like it," Kieran mutters. He puts his hands on his hips. "There a reason he kept unleashing them all near me?"

I tilt my head to one side. Vasile shakes his.

"I am not certain."

"Seriously? Six months of baby vamps practically on my doorstep, and you all didn't see what was happening?" Kieran rubs a hand over his face. I freeze.

Can it be a simple coincidence? But Adelaide mentioned the attack, that Nathan—

Why would they do this? Turning fledglings on humans does nothing to change my situation. If anything, it only weakens the clan, making it seem as though Vasile is losing his grasp on control.

"It is not something you need to concern yourself with," Vasile says firmly. "Tristan is—and will remain—imprisoned. We will deal with him ourselves."

Kieran opens his mouth as though he wishes to say something else, then closes it again, shaking his head. "Fine. Whatever. Not my business and you're right, I want it to stay that way. Can I go?"

Vasile inclines his head. "Yes, of course. Lucien will escort you home."

My head snaps up and Kieran echoes me as I say, "What?"

Vasile's expression is unmoving. "Lucien will escort you to wherever it is that you live and ensure that you arrive there whole and uninjured. Well, not more injured. We would not want the clan's reputation to come into disrepute."

Kieran shakes his head. "No, he doesn't have to—"

"Crai, I—"

"This is non-negotiable," Vasile says. "Lucien, see our guest home."