Immortals After Dark 03 - No Rest for the Wicked

reason, he needed to go to Blachmount because he was ignoring a resource he badly needed—his brother was wed to a Valkyrie. One who was blood-related to Kaderin. Which meant information there for the taking.
    Once he’d forced blood down, he traced to Nikolai’s shuttered office, finding him perusing papers. Though usually so reserved, Nikolai didn’t bother hiding his pleasure at Sebastian’s arrival. He quickly stood and said, “Sit. Please.”
    Sebastian took the seat he indicated, but being back here again made his shoulders knot with tension.
    “We’ve heard you entered the Hie,” Nikolai said, taking his own seat once more. “The first vampire ever to do so. We were quite astonished.”
    Sebastian shrugged.
    “Myst goes on the computer each day and checks the results. She has a half-sister in the competition. Is she your Bride?”
    “Yes,” he admitted. “Kaderin.”
    “Myst has told me Kaderin is—how did she put it?—‘gorgeous to a near freakish degree.’ And a stalwart fighter.” His tone hopeful, Nikolai asked, “Do you love her?”
    “No. But I recognize that she is mine. And that I am meant to protect her.”
    “It’s enough. More will come with time,” Nikolai said. “We’ve wondered what made you decide to represent Riora.”
    Sebastian shrugged. “I align with no one, and she demanded that. It was a gamble.”
    “You could have said the Forbearers or King Kristoff.”
    Sebastian felt his expression tighten. King Kristoff. Sebastian had never been able to understand how Nikolai could have died at the hands of Russians, then, on the same blood-wetted battlefield, sworn allegiance to Kristoff—who was a Russian, vampire or not.
    “It was only an observation. The invitation to join us is always open.” Nikolai added, “Every single time I kill a red-eyed vampire, I am glad that I did.”
    “You’ve encountered them?” Sebastian asked.
    “I’ve warred against them. We are gaining momentum.” Nikolai steepled his fingers. “Sebastian, I’ve always respected your intelligence. We would welcome your counsel gladly. After the Hie, naturally.”
    After experiencing Kaderin’s dreams, fighting against the Horde began to have distinct appeal, but Sebastian planned to take Kaderin somewhere away from constant war and death. The last thousand years of her life might have been hellish, but he’d be damned if he’d allow the next thousand to be. He said simply, “Don’t plan on my participation.”
    Nikolai nodded, but Sebastian knew this was far from over. “About this competition, and the rumored prize,” Nikolai began. “Have you thought about using it to save our family?”
    Of course, Sebastian had. Even after all this time, the guilt was unrelenting. When called to protect his family, he’d failed— five successive times. “I don’t believe it will work,” Sebastian said. But if it would, if he could somehow undo the past...
    It wasn’t reasonable to blame himself, it wasn’t logical, but he couldn’t seem to stop. Conrad had felt the same—before he’d lost his mind, at least.
    The aristocracy of Sebastian’s culture was raised to revere the military and to fight. Yet fate had given him an invisible enemy bent on wiping out his family, for which there was no defense, no battle. He’d had to sit, watching impotently, as everything he loved died.
    Sebastian had been a favorite big brother to four younger sisters. He’d been nearly old enough to be their father and was essentially more of one than their own preoccupied father. With each of their little crises, they’d run to Sebastian. He’d plucked splinters and dried tears. He’d taught them science and astronomy.
    When they fell sick and their young minds had comprehended they might actually be dying, they’d looked to him to fix it.
    And seemed bewildered when he couldn’t. As if, instead, he wouldn’t.
    “You can’t go into the past to change the future,” Sebastian said absently. “Not without creating chaos.” Part of him had wanted to believe in the key even though it flew in the face of reason, and even though the goddess had no evidence that time travel was possible.
    But if Sebastian allowed himself to believe he could get his family back and then had his hopes disappointed... He didn’t think he could take losing them twice. To this day, he couldn’t bear to remember the night they’d died. Seeing the despair in their eyes, and then, when he and Conrad had fallen, to hear