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"I figured you meant wolves," I said evenly. "Since some of the shifters who tried to kill me were tigers. Some were bears. Did you know that?"
"What they are is irrelevant," Seth said. "This is about—"
I interrupted. "Irrelevant? You're pretty quick to make judgements about wolf shifters." I avoided gesturing toward, or looking at, Bain. I had little doubt Seth knew what he was, but now didn't seem a good time to give him a reminder.
Seth exhaled and sat back down.
"Sit, woman. You must be tired." He waved toward a chair again.
Iwastired and standing just to spite him seemed petty. I sat.
Seth rubbed a hand over his forehead. "This isn't about wolves versus other shifters. This is about hemitheos taking their rightful place as leaders of the Vault."
"I see." That made sense, since Gwendolyn was a wolf too. "So you were just trying to get me away from the current administration?"
"Former," Seth said, "but yes. They're toxic. Negligent." He glanced toward Bain and scowled.
"How so?" I asked, trying to draw his attention back to me, if nothing else.
"In many ways," he said. He sounded like a politician.
"Okay." Apparently I wasn't going to get any more than that out of him. I suspected any criticism of Dex and Devlin were nothing more than excuses for the coup. This wasn't about them at all. Good, maybe they'd leave them alive. That led to another question.
"If you were trying to free me, then why did a guy try to drown me?" I shuddered at the memory. I wasn't sure I would ever take a bath again. That was fine, I was a shower girl anyway. Oh, who was I kidding, I loved a good bath. Still, the thought of water over my head made my pulse race.
"If it wasn't for Bain, I would be dead now." I didn't want to draw attention to him, but I had to give him credit for saving my ass. It might give him a fighting chance of making it out of here in one piece.
Seth glanced at Bain so briefly, I wasn't sure he saw him at all. He scowled. "That shouldn't have happened. He was…overzealous."
"That's one way to put it," I said.
"If he wasn't dead, I would have him killed," Seth said, as if he would have done me a huge favour by doing so.
"That wouldn't be much consolation if I was dead," I said. I sat back in the chair and crossed my arms and legs. "So, why me anyway? You have how many hemitheos here?" I didn't expect an answer and I didn't get one. "Surely you don't need one more?"
"You're special," he said.
Hades, if he was about to tell me I was some kind of chosen one, I was out of here. I did not sign up for that kind of shit.
"Special how?" I asked carefully.
"You raised Comus," Seth said reverently.
Yeah, that wasn't one of my finest moments. Every time someone said his name, I expected him to appear. He hadn't yet and he didn't now. That was a bonus. Sooner or later he would, though, I was sure of it.
"You've lived with the witches," Seth continued.
Also not a highlight of my life. I had survived. I hadn't thrived until I got here. Well, before all of this started.
"You also have influence with the shifters," Seth added.
"Some of them," I said. Just the ones he overthrew. "Is that all? You want me here because I know people?" Did he have a clue that Comus wanted to murder Hades? I had a feeling he didn't, or he might not speak with reverence.
Most of the people in the Vault seemed to believe in Hades, to one degree or another. Wanting him dead wouldn't endear Comus to them. If they didn't know, I wasn't going to tell them. It might be that association alone that kept me alive.
"You're in a unique position to help influence many," Seth said. "To smooth the transition from the former administration to mine."
Gwendolyn let out a choked sound, but we both ignored her. Evidently leading the Vault was her ambition as well. They could fight it out later for all I cared.
