“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, his smile unwavering as he turned to my partner. “Kellen, thank you for bringing her to my humble abode.”
“It was a pleasure I wouldn’t allow anyone else to have,” Kellen said, bowing slightly.
“No, I imagine not.” King William chuckled. “Introductions are in order.”
He waved his hand at the group of people standing just behind him spouting off names as he went. I wouldn’t remember any of them and hoped that Kellen would. Maybe he already knew them, making it that much easier. When he got to the blonde-haired fiend, I held my breath.
“This is Branden, an influential business associate who begged to experience tonight’s party.”
William’s smile was genuine and lacked any fear or deception. Did he not know that one of the vampire council was in his midst? How could he not after Thomas’ revelation the other night? And where was the female ambassador? I’d been certain she worked for Braden—or Branden, the crappy alter ego he’d adopted—but maybe I was wrong.
I looked up at my partner to find him smiling and shaking hands with the other leaders of the magical community. Did he not recognize Braden? Maybe he’d never seen him in person. I should’ve asked, but I assumed he knew. An Indian woman with soft brown eyes greeted me with a glowing smile, pulling my focus back to what I should be doing. I offered handshakes and accepted hugs and smiles from complete strangers for the next few minutes. ‘Branden’ kept his distance, but I could feel his eyes on me.
“Alisandra.” Thomas’ voice drew my attention. He moved towards me from his father’s side. “We took the liberty of reserving seats for you at our table.” He motioned towards a large round table at the corner of the dance floor opposite the food tables. “If you’d like to make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you, Thomas,” I replied. “I’d like to get a plate of food before I find my seat.”
“Allow one of my servants to do that for you,” he insisted, now at my side with his hand brushing my elbow.
Against my better judgement, I acquiesced. I wouldn’t embarrass myself by arguing with him.
“I’ll take care of it,” Kellen offered, apparently hearing our conversation.
“Thank you.” I gave him my best smile, mostly because I was truly grateful for his presence. Regardless of our dysfunctional relationship, I thought I could trust him. At least he had some idea what I liked to eat. He released my hand, and Thomas guided me across the room.
“Would you prefer to sit next to me or Branden?” the prince asked as we approached the table.
“Are those my only choices?” I asked in return, trying to smile like I was kidding. His face flushed, and I thought I saw the all too familiar pain of rejection. Damn. “I was kidding, Thomas. My only preference is to not have my back to the dancefloor.”
He wound his way to the far side of the table and pulled out a chair for me. “Then, this will be your seat.”
“Thank you. And you’ll be sitting next to me?” I asked.
“No, I’ll be on the opposite side of my father,” he mumbled. I suspected it wasn’t really loud enough to be heard over the music.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” I insisted, patting the seat next to me.
He sat sideways in the chair, a frown pulling at his thin lips. “Our ambassador was supposed to be here tonight,” he said, leaning towards me and taking my hands in his. I let him, knowing he was trying to tell me something important. He kept his deep voice quiet. “I’m not sure why she isn’t, but I suspect Branden had something to do with it.”
I looked at our joined hands, trying to compose my thoughts. How much did Thomas know? Should I tell him I recognize who ‘Branden’ really was?
“How well do you know him?” I asked.
“Not at all,” he replied, now whispering loudly. “My father has talked about their business dealings for years, but this is the first time I’ve met him.”
“Then what makes you think he’s involved?” I pressed.
“Just a hunch,” he replied. “Branden is here and she is not.”
That answered most of my questions. “Maybe I can loosen his tongue for you,” I suggested with a smile.
“Be careful, Alisandra. I know nothing about him.”
“Careful is my middle name.” I squeezed his fingers, then released his hand as Braden’s signature scent drifted towards me. It was going to be a very long day.
“Prince Thomas, thank you for the beautiful dinner companion,” Braden said, standing behind his chair.
I avoided looking up at him as the prince rose. I didn’t want to see the smug look on the vampire’s face. I needed to make sure Kellen knew who it was, but how? Braden would hear everything I said to my partner.
“Certainly,” Thomas said, moving to the opposite side of the table and taking his own seat.
The king sat between them and gave me his ever-present smile. My jaw hurt just watching him. It must have taken years of practice to keep that thing painted on his face.
“Your council did a marvelous job with decorations, Alisandra,” the king said.
“Thank you,” I responded. “I’ll be sure to pass along your praise. It’ll mean a lot to them. They’re already grateful for the opportunity they’ve been given tonight.”
“Yes. It looks like several have already found an interest.” His gaze swept the dancefloor, and I followed it.
The music slowed, and couples swayed together. Some of them kept an appropriate distance from each other, but many didn’t. Their bodies melded, making me long for Logan. Everything about it felt wrong, except the rightness of it. Was I supposed to have a romantic relationship with my mage partner? When we’d first met, Kellen said we could be partners and not lovers.
I pulled my eyes from the dance floor and glanced around the tables. Mages sat together in pairs across the room. Some both men and others both women, along with the male and female pairings. It shouldn’t matter. My magic shouldn’t need a romantic love to work.
A plate of roasted vegetables and possibly chicken appeared before me. I looked up into my partner’s dark eyes and smiled. He grinned and sat down.
“I played it safe,” he said, “but I think there are several dishes up there you would love to try.”
I stabbed the chicken and it shredded easily with my fork. I swallowed the pooling saliva in my mouth and replaced it with a small bite. It was heavenly. I had no idea what it was, but it melted on my tongue in a burst of flavor.
“Oh my God,” I said. “You need to learn how to cook this, Kellen.”
“Do I?” he asked, grinning at me. “What do I get in return?”
I swallowed the delicious morsel and stuck my tongue out at him. His smile widened and I blushed. “You’re awful,” I hissed.
“I know.” He winked and leaned back as a young man placed glasses of wine on the table.
I tried to avoid looking at the vampire on my other side. The slices of rare beef on his plate were not his normal diet, and my curiosity wanted to see his reaction to eating it. But I wouldn’t give in. He would know, and his insufferable smirk would just piss me off.
Kellen looked past me, and I swallowed hard, trying not to choke on my vegetables. He wasn’t going to engage in a conversation with Braden, was he?
“Branden,” my partner called over my head. “What type of business are you in?”
“I’m a partner in a trading firm in London,” he replied. “We deal mostly in new technologies.”
I focused on my plate, with the occasional glance at Braden. Was that true? It could be, I supposed. The magical families still needed money to operate.
“Ah. I’m surprised we haven’t met before,” Kellen said. “My own company deals in marketing techniques for large tech firms.”
“I should have my people contact yours, then,” the vampire stated. “Our current marketing plan isn’t as effective as it should be.”
“I’d be happy to assist,” Kellen said
. I didn’t miss the enthusiasm in his voice. “I didn’t bring business cards with me, but I can give you the contact information for our European office before I leave.”
“That would be splendid.”
Just fricking splendid, I thought. I needed to tell Kellen who he really was. Creating a business relationship with this vampire was not a good idea.
“I’m getting dessert,” Kellen said, placing his hand over mine. “They have a luscious chocolate cake. Do you want some?”
“You know I’m not saying no to chocolate,” I replied. “I’ll come with you.”
“Nope, I got it,” he smiled and rose from his chair.
I watched him until he drifted out of sight between the swaying bodies.
“Is there something we should know, dear?” King William asked, drawing my attention.
Was he talking to me? I gave him my best ‘Who me’ smile.
“The rumors are running wild about you and Kellen being engaged,” Thomas finished for his father.
A choking sound erupted from Braden, and I turned to him. His eyes pulled me to him, and that smug grin erased my blush.
“We are,” I replied, “but we didn’t want to announce it until after tonight. This event is about our mages, not Kellen and I.”
“Very noble of you,” the king said. “I’ll be sure to congratulate your fiancé.”
“So young to be tied to one man,” Braden whispered, his smile growing. He knew I was the only one hearing him, making it so I couldn’t reply.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Just make sure I receive an invitation to the wedding,” William said, chuckling.
“I better be on the guest list, as well,” the vampire whispered.
“You’ll be on the top of our list.” I tried to ignore the fiend next to me, but it was becoming impossible. “Just maybe not the list you expect,” I added in a soft whisper of my own, meeting Braden’s gaze. He held me in his deep blue eyes until Kellen showed up with cake. How did he do that? How did these people not see him doing it? More importantly, how did I stop him from drawing me in like that? Don’t look at him, stupid.
I picked at my cake. It was delicious, just like everything else, but I struggled to keep my thoughts from veering towards the night’s end. With Braden sitting next to me, would the king even need to do anything? The vampire could scoop me up and run, and no one would even see him. He was too fast for me to avoid, and unless I killed him in the first strike, attacking him was pointless. Our plan for escape was quickly falling apart, and I wasn’t doing a good job trying to come up with something better. Maybe we should just leave early and unexpectedly. Maybe the guards down the hall wouldn’t try to stop us. And maybe the ones at the portal would just let us go through. And maybe I was higher than a kite and dreaming with my head in the clouds.
The music slowed again and Kellen took my hand. “You want to dance?”
“I would love to,” I replied, pushing out my chair and standing. It would be the perfect opportunity to spill the beans on Braden.
“Kellen!” Kate’s voice drifted towards us as she bounced towards her brother. Her face glowed with a permanent smile. “Dance with me! We need to chat.”
Kellen glanced at me, his own smile widening. His sister found her partner. It would be the only thing to cause that much happiness.
“Go ahead,” I said, releasing his hand. “If she doesn’t tell someone, she’ll burst.”
He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I owe you so much,” he said.
I blushed and watched them walk away. Kate threw her arms around her brother’s neck, and he half carried her onto the dance floor. This was why we were here, to find this happiness.
“May I take his dance?” Braden’s breath rustled the hair at my ear, and I tried not to react. He crushed my moment of happiness. Why was he here? I wasn’t that important in the grand scheme of things. It had to about the king. Or was it? Did he want to see how many mages were no longer on his list of recruits?
“I’m not asking again,” he whispered, the implied threat obvious. I didn’t want him in my personal space, but I had no doubt he’d make a scene if I denied him. Did I want him to make a scene? Maybe revealing him to a roomful of mages would help me. Probably not. He’d run, taking me with him.
I slowly turned my back to the table and pushed in my chair. “Only if you keep your teeth to yourself,” I hissed, cringing as he chuckled.
“Excuse us, Your Highness,” Braden said as his hand brushed my lower back.
This was going to be really hard. I should change my mind. The thought of his hands on me made my skin crawl. What the hell was I thinking? Maybe I could get Kellen to interrupt our dance. Yep, that was a good plan.
He guided me to the dancefloor as another slow melody started, snaking his hand around my waist and grasping my right hand in his other. He pulled me into his hard body, regardless of my efforts to keep him away.
“You know I like it when you fight,” he purred.
My blood boiled. Someone needed to kill this prick.
“Why are you here?” I snapped, keeping my voice low enough that the conversation would stay between us. “And how do these people not know what you are?”
“Smile, princess. People are watching,” he replied, not at all answering my questions.
I pulled my gaze from his almost perfect features and glanced at our fellow dancers. I recognized a few of the mages but didn’t know any of their names. Kellen and Kate wandered off the dance floor with another woman. Their smiles should’ve made me happy, but my current company stifled everything. I didn’t see anyone watching us.
“What are you doing here, Braden?” I asked again.
“Would you believe me if I said I wanted to apologize to you?” he replied.
My head snapped up and his eyes caught mine. Nope, not doing that. I pulled them away and looked at his lips. They, too, were perfect.
“No. Don’t waste your lies on me,” I answered.
“I have never lied to you.” His lips parted revealing his white teeth. Too perfect. Fangs hid behind that beautiful smile.
“Whatever,” I snapped. “Insincere apologies are meaningless.” He released my waist and spun me around, then immediately pulled me back to him. My eyes met his again. I needed information, but would he give it to me? “Where’s your little tramp?”
“My tramp? You must be referring to the ambassador Thomas couldn’t wait to reveal to you,” he replied. “She found herself on the wrong side of my kindness.”
I tried not to bite my bottom lip as he moved us deeper into the throng of dancers. Did that mean he’d orchestrated Thomas’ visit with us? Was I right about the vampire searching for a traitor?
“So, you flushed out your traitor, then?” I asked.
He pulled me closer as the floor around us became even more crowded. Another slow ballad started. The DJ was good at picking up on the party’s vibes.
“Mine and yours,” he replied.
He released my hand and wrapped both arms around my waist, leaving my free hand hanging in the air. I didn’t want to touch him, but knew it looked awkward. I lightly placed it on the lapel of his jacket and tried not to appreciate the softness of the expensive material.
“Bastard,” I mumbled.
“I actually have a well-established bloodline, princess,” he corrected.
“Tell me about ‘our’ traitor,” I insisted, not wanting to hear about his family.
“Your command doesn’t work on me,” he replied. “But I’ll comply because it benefits us both.”
My eyes roamed from his black tie up his neck. “Please don’t let me keep you from talking.”
He leaned his head down next to my ear. “It would be easier if I thought I had your attention.”
“Quit trying to entrance me and I might give you my attention.”
He chuckled, the sound grating my nerves. It was so insincere, almost like a nervous tick.
“Fair
enough,” he conceded. “You force me to do this the hard way.”
I looked up into his eyes and immediately noticed the difference. The pull to stay locked in them was gone. “Nothing worthwhile is ever easy,” I said. “Surely you’ve heard that before.”
“Your prince is aligned with Jack,” Braden said, apparently ignoring my comment and eliciting a small gasp from me. “Smile. We’re being watched.”
I snapped my mouth closed and forced a smile. “How can you know that?”
“My tramp confirmed their duplicity a few hours ago,” he replied.
The press of bodies against us made movement almost impossible, forcing us to sway gently from side-to-side. I stepped onto the tops of his shoes and stretched, putting my face closer to his. His eyebrows rose, and he smiled. I huffed. He was accusing the prince of conspiring against his father. We didn’t need to be overheard.
“Does the king know?” I whispered.
“No. I haven’t decided if I should tell him.”
“Why should I believe you?” I searched his face looking for any sign of deception. Would I see it? Probably not, but it didn’t hurt to try.
“I already told you. I’m here to apologize for my behavior the other night,” he replied. “You caught me off guard, which won’t happen again.” He dipped his head closer to mine. “I need an alliance with you if we are to defeat Jack. I can’t have that if you fear me.”
Did I take the chance and believe him? Could I afford not to? Maybe there was a way to verify his claim. “Do I need be concerned about the king’s men not allowing me to leave tonight?” I asked, baiting him to reveal his knowledge of that plan.
“Yes and no.” He lifted his feet and mine spinning us in a half circle. I suspected he was avoiding someone’s attention. “The king’s guards won’t stop you, but the prince’s men plan to take you.”
That really sucked. Not that Kellen and I hadn’t anticipated it, but his confirmation just made everything worse. I sighed and leaned into him. His sandalwood smell wrapped around me, calming some of my nerves and pissing me off at the same time. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t want to ask this vampire.
Vampire's Crucible Page 26