Sebastian and Horace glared at each other over my head.
Whatever plans they’d each had in mind was obviously ruined. Whether they were attempting to pursue me or gain an alliance was unclear. I was more than happy to form an alliance. I was not ready to start dating anyone, let alone one of these ancient creepers.
Good to know.
There he was. I had come to some sort of truce with Maxim over the last few days. The truth was, I’d been softening toward him for weeks. He had kept things from me, it was true. But I was starting to understand why.
What was he supposed to do, blurt out that he was a prince and some people wanted him to be king instead of my mad father?
Yeah, that wouldn’t have gone down well.
I never wanted to be king, unless it was by your side.
I stopped in my tracks.
“Your Highness?”
I was never going to get used to that. I shook my head at Sebastian and continued on. Maxim’s words had shaken me. Caleb had said as much, but to hear them…
It was the kind of proclamation I had not expected. I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear it. But he had said it, and now there was no going back.
For the first time in a long time, I felt safe. My trust in Maxim had not been misplaced. I had just not known the full story or the depth of his feelings.
And that was something I was definitely not ready to think about.
“The guests are starting to arrive,” Claire called from the wide terrace that overlooked the garden. Sebastian and Horace turned me back toward the house.
“Go on. I would like a minute.”
“Are you sure? After last night, you should have a bodyguard with you at all times.”
I smiled. “I do.” Chillies growled loudly in response. The brothers took a step back. “And anyway, I can take care of myself.”
“I can see that,” Horace said with an arched brow, and he left after dipping in a small bow.
“Are you sure you don’t want company?” Sebastian murmured with a flirtatious tone. It was clear he was offering more than simple company. I was not in the mood to get manhandled in the rose bushes, thank you very much.
“No. But I thank you for the offer.”
Sebastian lingered, watching as I walked further along the path. He opened his mouth to say something when I looked over my shoulder at him. He shook his head and turned back.
I closed my eyes and inhaled the sea air. Just a moment longer, a moment before I faced the coming battle and the allies I needed to face it . . . and any hidden enemies I needed to conquer.
I turned and walked slowly back to the house.
Chapter 16
Politicking is not for wusses.
“But why should we choose sides? It is safer to remain neutral and see who wins. We have managed to avoid conflict with the New Leaders for this long.”
I didn’t react to the silver-haired Vampire standing at the far end of the U-shaped banquet table. I was at the center, where I could see all.
And they could see me.
So far, only a handful had pledged their allegiance.
“The New Leaders take us in a dangerous direction. Humans will fight back if they continue to flaunt their ways,” Caleb reasoned.
“Let them fight!” The pale-haired Vampire sneered. “I’ll bathe in human blood! Or would you take that from us, too?”
“There are always humans willing to be fed on. Or haven’t you seduced someone before?” I asked coyly. The room exploded in laughter. The Vamp’s sneer got even uglier.
Well, maybe I wasn’t so good at making friends.
Oh, well.
“What of the prince? Has no one considered him? He might be a better ally than this paltry half-breed.”
“Paltry?” I asked in a calm voice, ignoring the feeling in the pit of my stomach at the mention of Maxim’s name. “I’m faster and stronger than most Vampires. And I have… other strengths that benefit me as well.”
“Such as?”
I rolled my eyes.
“I guess you missed the party last night.”
He looked around in annoyance as the room exploded into laughter once again. Chillies leapt over the table and stood before him, growling in a very, very unfriendly way.
I launched into a list, ticking off each item with one hand. There was no holding back now. The Vampire sat down abruptly, staring at me with wide, pale eyes.
“I can communicate with animals and plants. I have transformative abilities. I can control water, air, fire, and earth. I am telekinetic and telepathic. And I can walk around during the day, which comes in handy when a night dweller pisses me off.”
I smiled at him sweetly.
“Which you have.”
“You dare to threaten me?”
I shrugged. “Do I have to?”
He sputtered but said nothing. And then something unexpected happened. I felt a warm rush of approval and affection immediately before I heard him.
Only he was not in my head this time.
“Calm yourself, Manifred,” an achingly familiar voice drawled from the doorway. The whole room turned and stared agog as Maxim strolled into the room, looking devastatingly handsome in a black evening suit, crisp white shirt, and black bow-tie. “You were asking for me, I believe?”
Before Manifred could answer, Maxim crossed the room directly to me and knelt before the table. He stood and took my hand, kissing it warmly. A chair was hurriedly placed beside mine as Maxim made his way around the long table to sit beside me.
As the room erupted in pandemonium, he leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“You look ravishing.”
“So do you,” I admitted, which earned me a wide grin.
“Interesting,” he murmured in a husky voice. “So you are glad to see me.”
I gave him a look that could curdle milk, even though I was more than happy to see him.
“I hate it when you do that.”
“When I do what?”
“Be right about everything.”
He threw back his head and laughed. Even I had to crack a smile. We both noticed at the same time that the room had become preternaturally quiet. Everyone was looking at us in shock. Everyone except Sebastian and the twins, who looked downright disappointed.
“Did you come here just to mark your territory?” I asked under my breath.
“Are you my territory?” he asked in a pleased voice.
“You know what I mean.”
“Actually, I came because I thought you might need me. I can see you don’t. But I thought it couldn’t hurt.”
He let his eyes slide over my face and down to the top of my dress.
“Plus, I really needed to see that dress in person.”
I let out a startled laugh and the room relaxed. Just like that. Vamps were talking among themselves. Warmed flagons of blood were served. I had a glass of Champagne, not feeling thirsty. It was a gamble to emphasize how not like them I was, one I worried about.
Then Maxim fed me a sip from his own goblet and the problem was solved. He had known that all I wanted was a sip. And that I balked at having a full glass of some poor human’s blood go to waste in front of me.
“Do you consider everything?”
“Everything. But only where you are concerned.”
I felt a blush rise in my cheeks. This was the worst possible time for him to make me flustered. The room was full of Vamps who could not blush.
“You look charming when you do, though.”
“Can you turn off the bond for a minute, please?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“You can’t, or you won’t?”
“I’ve never even tried.”
Sorry, Dylan, I said in my head. There was no answer. I hoped he was off having a good time with humans somewhere. Or at least using his steel box.
Nothing was happening here, other than a reconciliation between friends. Flirty friends, but still just friends.
> Why did I feel guilty, then?
My champagne flute was refilled several times by a young servant standing behind me. I couldn’t help but think of the poor boy who had been killed for making stakes. I wasn’t picking up anything worrisome, though that didn’t necessarily mean anything. My particular clairvoyance was usually through dreams, drinking blood, and through the elements. The ability to conjure up a connection through water, for example. I wondered if fire, earth, or air could also be a conduit. I had a feeling it would, after conjuring up one of the New Leaders in the fire the other night. I had a terrible feeling that he had seen me.
Hopefully, I would have time to find out how to control those abilities too.
“You will.”
“Get out of my head, please, Maxim.”
“He’s not listening. You don’t have to worry.”
I cast him a glance.
“You can… tell?”
He nodded.
“It’s like a force field. Normally, he throws some sort of barrier against me. It’s a push and pull when we are both… connected, for lack of a better word.”
“And now that’s he’s gone?”
He grinned at me lustfully.
“It’s open season in there, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Sorry, Princess.”
There it was again. How did he manage to make the word sound elevated, flirtatious, and disparaging at once? He really was incorrigible. I made an exasperated sound and turned back to the discussion at hand.
Caleb was managing his corner of the banquet table. He’d told me that the plans had originally been to have glamoured naked mortals lying on the table for the Vamps to feast on. I was happier than I could say that he’d talked Claire out of that particular plan.
You take an arm, I’ll take a leg… gross.
I glanced at the massive oil paintings that hung on the walls. They were in ornate gold frames worthy of any museum. Most of the paintings depicted naked people in repose. Plus a few images of naked people fighting. Gore and dangly bits flying.
And what is their obsession with nudity, anyway?
The physical form is the one thing we still have in common with our human pasts.
Oh. Well, then.
That made a lot of sense, actually.
Maxim gave me a secret smile and continued doing what we were both doing. Listening. Hard.
Things were not going well.
The pale-haired Vampire and his cohorts were glaring at me. They were from the Pacific Northwest. They weren’t saying much, but it wasn’t hard to guess what they were thinking.
They were, however, loyal to Maxim. So we had them. Probably.
The Vampires opposite them were from South America. They were arguing with Caleb about the necessity of the war. They did not want to fight us, but they did not want to fight for us either.
It seemed that even to Vampires, Europe seemed very far away.
But it wasn’t. Not really.
“How long did it take you to arrive here?” My voice rang out over the hum of conversation. All heads swiveled toward me.
“Two days, traveling by road.”
“The New Leaders can be here in six hours. Perhaps less.” I stood up and looked around the room. “If you think this is not your problem, you’re wrong. They have left you alone because it suits them to leave you alone. This is the line in the sand. You are either with them or against them. You are with me and my father, Prince Maxim, and the Kingdom of Night with all its advisors, courtiers, allies, and soldiers, or you are against us.”
Maxim stood beside me and started to clap. Then Caleb. Then Sebastian and Horace and Wallace. Elaine stood next, with Claire doing so much more slowly. The contingency from South America stood. Delisi and Varni. Even Manifred stood grudgingly, followed by his followers.
In the end, every Vampire in the room stood. They were on our side. On the surface, at least. For the time being, if nothing else.
I knew better than to assume this alliance would stand in the face of actual bloodshed. But it was something. It was a beginning.
Caleb was visibly relieved when we gathered in my chamber before dawn.
“You did well. Better than I could have hoped for.”
Maxim smiled at me. “I never doubted you for a second.”
Caleb made a huffing sound but nodded. “The time to hide is over.”
“I know.”
“We will strike soon. Now, we must go home and prepare for your birthday.”
He bowed to us and left. I looked at Maxim. He looked at me.
Then he cleared his throat.
“So, they never assigned me a room.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes.
“Pull the drapes.” His face lit up. “But don’t even think about getting in that bed.”
“Spoilsport.”
“The sitting room is windowless. It’s probably safer.”
He looked in through the open door and nodded.
“I’ll be your guard dog.”
“Whatever you say, Maxim. I won’t be in bed all day. Are you going to bite me if I go out through there?”
Waking a Vampire was always a risky proposition. Even getting too close to one who was unconscious was dicey. They weren’t themselves during the day. They would protect themselves, almost on autopilot.
He looked at me with a frown.
“Don’t freak out if I tell you a secret.”
“Oh, no. This can’t be good.” I sat heavily on the window seat and waited for the other shoe to drop.
“It’s not bad. It’s just…” he smiled sheepishly. “I’m not quite the night dweller I used to be.”
“What?”
“Not that I enjoy sunbathing. But it doesn’t seem to… burn.”
I crossed my arms. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d absorbed some of my gifts. In exchange, he’d made my thirst fade.
“How did you figure this out, exactly?”
“Accidentally, I assure you. I woke during the day and opened the blinds without realizing the sun was still out. I was in an unfamiliar motel and—”
I held my hands up. I did not need to hear about Maxim’s motel escapades.
“I was alone, Highness. I’m always alone since I met you.” He grinned at me. “It’s funny how that works isn’t it?”
I gave him a suspicious look.
“What does that even mean?”
“It means, once you find the person you want to be with, being with anyone else is unthinkable.”
Chapter 17
There is a razor’s edge between love and hate.
Damn him.
I lay there trying to sleep, but Maxim’s words echoed through my head. His beautiful, touching, impossible to ignore words.
And yet, I had no choice but to ignore him. The whole ‘going to war and saving the world’ thing and whatnot.
He’s got it bad.
Dylan. I hadn’t heard from him in a while.
Don’t tell me that. Please.
Would you be happier if he didn’t care about you?
Okay. No. I sighed. Why do you even bother to stick around, Dyl? I know I’m not giving you what you want.
You think I would stop caring about you just because you chose him?
I didn’t choose him. I didn’t choose anyone.
Whatever you say, Soph.
You know I love you, right?
Yeah, I know. Maybe just… not enough.
I moaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over my head. Could Vampires self-asphyxiate? I doubted it.
It was tempting though.
Don’t even joke, Soph.
All right, all right. Sorry.
Get some rest. You’ll be traveling all night.
Yeah. Have a good day, Dyl.
You too.
As night fell, I was once again waiting on a train platform. Our farewells had been cursory. With Maxim there, the fawning attentions of Sebastian a
nd his two brothers had been less overt. I was grateful to Maxim for that, if nothing else.
He was smirking as we boarded the train. I could feel his excitement. He was looking forward to the close quarters. I should have scolded him, but I didn’t. I just hoped Dylan couldn’t feel it.
I curled up with a good book and stuck my earbuds in, turning up my music. Maxim lounged in the club chairs across the room, his long legs propped up and his posture relaxed. I could feel his eyes on me from time to time. At one point, he and Caleb had an extensive, whispered conversation about the weekend. They had three lists, Probably Loyal, Loyal with Caveats, and Most Likely Disloyal.
Sadly, the second and third lists were much longer than the first.
We all talked to Bernard as well, though we remained circumspect about everything. The servants in the private car were human, but they may have been glamoured to remember every word we said, or there may have been surveillance of a different kind. So we were cautious.
Though, to be fair, I had far fewer secrets than I’d had at the beginning of the weekend.
Fewer secrets and much more to lose.
I stared out the window as the train rushed through rustling evergreens. I felt different. Like I’d finally stepped fully into my role as princess. But I wouldn’t truly be their leader until the fighting began. I had to be ready. I had to be more than ready.
We’d be home soon. Then the real work would begin.
Chapter 18
Be quiet, little man.
“We have ourselves an All Star, class.”
Mr. Penbrecker smirked as he read aloud from a letter.
“Someone in my class got a perfect score. That hasn’t happened in years. Can you guess who it is?”
The class was silent. I sank lower in my seat. I didn’t think he could legally tell the class who got the score, but I also didn’t think Mr. Penbrecker cared much about the rules.
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