At Blade's Edge

by Lauren Dane

  But David did have every right to guard Rowan in that moment. Not just as her valet, but over the time he’d been with her, David had come to be like a son. He loved her too and Clive had been a dick.

  So she let Alice butter her bread and ate whatever Elisabeth put in front of her, because the two of them needed to do this without her.

  “Ms. Summerwaite, Ms. Aubert is here to see you,” Betchamp announced as he came into the kitchen with Genevieve.

  “Just in time. We just started dinner.” Rowan pointed at a chair.

  “It is customary for one friend to notify the other when one is injured severely, is it not?” Genevieve plopped down in a graceful, spicy-scented, bracelet-jingling heap.

  “We only got back here an hour ago. I’ve been in a meeting until now. Eat, I can fill you in.” Rowan liked that Genevieve had been concerned. That she’d called Rowan a friend.

  “Why is the boy glowering at the Vampire?” Genevieve asked as she began to eat.

  “Long story. Genevieve, you haven’t met Alice yet. She calls herself Clive’s assistant, but really, she’s a badass plain and simple. Alice, this is Genevieve. She’s a witch who serves in the Conclave Senate and also a badass.”

  They sized one another up a bit before going back to what they were doing. Rowan forwent a sigh of annoyance. This was going to be the rest of her fucking life. All this sizing up and dick measuring came hand in hand with dealing with Vampires and other powerful beings.

  As she ate, she filled Genevieve in on what had happened with Hilary and the bomb. There was some talk about re-orging Hunter Corp., but that was private business so Rowan kept it general.

  “There’s to be a Conclave Senate in a week. I’ll bring this before the entire body, along with some of the others I’ve been working with.” Genevieve thanked David when he refilled her teacup.

  “What about the black market?” Rowan asked.

  “Rules have changed. Zero tolerance now. Known problems are going to be questioned.”

  “Will you share what you find out?” It was Clive, who’d asked this time. “The Scions will be meeting as well. For much the same reason.”

  “I can’t say for sure at this time.” Genevieve’s shrug said she’d do what she could, but not at the expense of her loyalty to the Conclave.

  Hunter Corp. was at war. The deaths that day had been a battle won, but the real enemy was still out there. An enemy who’d scored significant hits against Rowan.

  This was more personal than anything she’d felt since leaving the Keep. Her enemy had boldly invaded Hunter Corp. and had eaten away at it from the inside. The mark left on them as an organization as well as individuals would change things forever.

  Vengeance was different than revenge. The latter was petty. A loss of control and focus. Revenge was a waste of power.

  Vengeance was another matter.

  “You’re not going to let go until you run whoever is behind this to ground, are you?” Genevieve asked.

  “You’re new here, which is why I’ll answer. Whoever is behind this has violated the rules of my house. Of my hospitality. Hunter Corp. is my family. Since you know who my family is—” Rowan gestured at the gathered group”—and you’re aware of who raised me, I believe you and I share the same convictions when it comes to honor and duty. People and institutions that were mine to protect have been targeted, abused, assaulted and murdered. I saw what they did in Venice. I felt magic so vile and toxic it clung to me, seeking a way in to tear me apart. Whoever—whatever—is really at the root of this can’t be allowed to continue to exist. So. No, I will not stop until I’ve killed it dead at least twice. Human, Vampire, sorcerer. Doesn’t matter.”

  She’d have vengeance and balance too.

  Her headache began to ease away a little. Probably the blood Clive gave her. Her face heated a little as she remembered the intimacy of the blood exchange. Part of her hated how much pleasure it had given her. That part felt guilty for loving a Vampire after all they’d taken away from her.

  But that part was far smaller than it had been even six months before. She wasn’t sure if she should celebrate that or not. Most of the time she did.

  She liked her personal space and he was up in her business now on a totally new level. For the time being he was being very careful to give her privacy, but she knew him. The minute he thought he needed to barge in he would.

  “When I’m feeling poorly trifle always fixes me right up.” Elisabeth placed a cut crystal bowl on the table.

  “I’m not one to turn away cake in any of its myriad forms.” Rowan looked at Clive until he began to spoon her some into a bowl. “Or the kindness of husbands.”

  Thank Goddess her right arm was okay. It would seriously piss her off to not be able to eat with her dominant hand. It was also her best punching hand. Eating and punching were vital in Rowan’s life.

  “When you smile like that it concerns me.” Clive gave her the stink eye.

  “That’s because you’re very suspicious.”

  “One of the qualities that got me to nearly five centuries of life. Please tell me you aren’t planning to run off and do something dangerous during daylight hours.”

  “I can’t tell you that or I’d be lying.” She grinned quickly and went back to her dessert.

  “It’s a wonder you have all your hair,” David said to Clive.

  Genevieve snorted. “Most of it.”

  Rowan barked a laugh. “He’s got great hair. Come on now.”

  Clive sniffed, affronted and fully Vampire.

  It seemed as if that response was what everyone needed, as people relaxed a little.

  “This isn’t over.” Alice spoke from her place near Clive.

  Rowan nodded. “No. Not by a long shot.” Vampires were about the big picture. Or the ones who mattered anyway.

  “I need to consult with Nadir.” Nadir was the official Voice for The First. In non-capital letter speak, she was the only one of his Five who ever spoke in public. She represented both his arms. The sword and the scales.

  Nadir had been with Theo for centuries. She’d trained Rowan on military tactics and diplomacy and was one of the reasons Rowan kept surviving all this crazy shit.

  As Theo was currently inching his way back from the edge of a total breakdown, Rowan felt it was very important to keep him updated. The less anxious or concerned he was about things, the better.

  Rowan also realized Clive would need to head off to the Scion meeting thingy. She didn’t even know what continent he’d head to at that point. It had been all about her.

  Another sucky thing to go in the bad-wife column.

  Clive slapped his palm against the table, his gaze locked on Rowan.

  She gave him the head whip she knew he secretly loved and then arched a brow.

  There. Sweet Goddess. There was the look she’d been waiting for. So fucking haughty she should hate herself for getting tingly over it. But she did. Every time.

  “Uh. Yeah. So.” David stood, blushing.

  “You two throw off a remarkable amount of sexual chemistry.” Genevieve sighed. “Rowan, I would speak with you privately before I take my leave.”

  Most of the time it was easy to look at Genevieve and see a woman of the current era. But every once in a while she’d say something that reminded Rowan she was far older than the twenty something she appeared to be.

  “Yes, of course.” Rowan got up and led them into the sitting room off the front entry.

  “I would offer you my magic.” Genevieve wasn’t just speaking to Rowan, but to Brigid as well. “Despite how quickly you’ll heal, you’re in pain now.”

  Rowan nodded. “My metabolism eats up most pain relievers. The good stuff works, but that’s on death’s door stuff and though I’m a frequent guest there, broken bones don�
��t merit a morphine drip.”

  “Morphine slows your brain down anyway. You need all your wits about you. If you’ll allow me, I can block the pain. I would do nothing else than this small thing you allow. On my honor.”

  Brigid sent a warm flood of energy through Rowan. She liked Genevieve’s magic.

  “Ah, there She is. Well met, Bride.” Genevieve tipped her chin down, far more deferential than she was when dealing with Rowan.

  “Your gift would be most welcome, Priestess.” Brigid spoke through Rowan but there was no mistaking one for the other. She had Her own voice, otherworldly, threaded with so much power the words seemed to hold the listener in place.

  Genevieve froze in place a moment before cocking her head. “Priestess?”

  “One and many,” Brigid said and then dropped away.

  Genevieve had been about to speak but when the Goddess left, she gaped at Rowan instead.

  With her uninjured hand, she tapped Genevieve’s chin. “I know. It’s spooky, right? I hope you know what she meant because I don’t. Just saying that up front because that’s usually the next question.”

  Brigid was a very old power. She did what She wanted whenever She wanted. Sometimes She spit out that sage-like stuff and Rowan wondered if they’d be driving cabs in thirty years, pestering people with weird, circular word salad gems of wisdom like Carl.

  “That’s really cool.” Genevieve’s easy acceptance of what had just happened unknotted just a little bit more of that omnipresent weight of being so totally different from everyone else.

  Magic washed through the room and over Rowan’s skin as Genevieve started to work. “This will hurt at first. A breath or two.”

  Genevieve’s first touch against Rowan’s hand sent showers of pain down to the marrow of those broken bones. The pain was so severe she hissed and Clive rushed into the room, incisors out, eyes bled into full bloodlust.

  “It’s okay!” Rowan managed through the pain that was already beginning to recede. “Better now. She’s using her magic to help.”

  Genevieve continued to murmur under her breath, her magic surging and drawing back. Her concentration hadn’t even faltered when a pissed off Vampire rushed into the room.

  Seriously badass.

  The ache that had blurred Rowan’s thinking at the edges was gone when Genevieve stepped back.

  “That should last a day or two. I’ll be in touch about what’s happening on my end.”

  Rowan nodded. “Okay, yes, thank you. For the magic too.”

  “You have a friend with strong magic. You can use it when you need to. That’s the point.” She gave an air kiss and drifted out to the front steps. “If I don’t see you before you leave London, please take care of yourself as well as you’d take care of your fanged husband, all right?”

  “Working on it. After this there’s a wedding thing in Germany and then back home to Vegas.” For the time being. Who knew what lay beyond that? “I’d invite you to the wedding thing at the Keep but all the Vampires would annoy you and you’d probably want to stake someone and there’d be an incident.”

  Genevieve’s grin came quick and easy. “This is why being your friend is so much fun. I haven’t been involved in an incident in eons.”

  “Stick with me. I’m super good at it.”

  “Watch her back, Vampire,” Genevieve told Clive.

  “Naturally.” He waited until the witch was gone from sight before he turned to Rowan. “Just because your pain is gone now, don’t go forgetting you have broken bones.”

  Satisfied that he was his normal uptight, bossy self, Rowan flipped her spouse off as she headed back into the house.

  Rowan shooed David off to rest before finding Alice, omnipresent notepad in her hand, taking notes on whatever Clive was yammering to her about.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

  Clive’s body language shifted to Rowan, always aligning with her. There was something so right about it. Anchoring. “Is everything all right?”

  “More like nothing new is wrong. I’m off to call the Keep. Nation business is yours to share.”

  Being together was a very delicate dance. So many allegiances and responsibilities wove all around and into their relationship.

  The Vampire Nation was a foundational part of her life but it had beaten her down. Scarred her so deeply she’d run and hadn’t looked back for over a decade. She didn’t want to give them—or Theo—any more dominion over her existence than she already had.

  The gravity of it always drew her, pushed those long ingrained messages that they demanded her loyalty.

  It would be all too easy to let herself get sucked back in. Especially now that she went and hooked up with a Scion. Now that The First, Theo—her father—stood on the very edge of sanity.

  Loyalty. Honor.

  Clive and Alice looked to her, both carefully examining.

  Love came in the strangest of packages sometimes.

  “Stop. You know that makes me grumpy. I’m fine enough to sit at the desk in my bedroom and speak to Nadir on the phone. I had a meal. I’m not in pain. I’m still on the clock.”

  “One might say you’re never off the clock.” Clive gave her one of his Scion-smirks. “That makes me grumpy.”

  “Says the guy who took three days of vacation over the past eight thousand years.” Rowan cringed. “Yeah, that was so weak. You do you, Clive Stewart. Okay? You boss at Alice and she’ll make it all happen in exactly the right way. Come find me when you’re finished.”

  She allowed herself a caress of his wrist. A caress he turned into hand-holding and knuckle-kissing.

  So smooth.

  “I will assume that you doing you would include sleep at some point,” he told her.

  “Well, keep hope alive I guess. Alice,” Rowan said, “it’s good to see you. Do you live here too? Or? I can’t believe I don’t know that.”

  “I live just on the other side of the square,” Alice told her. “Five minutes from door to door.”

  “Sorry. I bet he bugs the hell out of you that way.”

  Amusement danced in Alice’s eyes a moment.

  “If you’re done sowing discontent amongst my employees?” Clive asked.

  “Employees? There’s just one here now. Stop exaggerating.”

  His nostrils flared a little. “I assumed you’d be off in your own lane by now.”

  “Okay. That was pretty good. I admit. I’m off at long last. Don’t miss me too much. See you later, Alice.” Rowan cruised through the kitchen and then up to her room, pleased to find a tray with snacks and juice waiting.

  David had left a note on her desk, his neat hand ordering her to sleep at least six hours and to remember she was injured.

  Exasperated, she drank some of the juice. She’d had plenty of broken bones. It wasn’t like not being in constant pain would let her forget it. So many mother hens in her life all of a sudden.

  Still. It got her ripe, beautiful pears out of season. She speared some up. All because Clive knew she loved them. That wasn’t so bad.

  Rowan got her emotions in order. It had been over a decade since she’d regularly given blood to a Vampire. She’d gotten lazy when it came to keeping her feelings to herself.

  Most humans who lived among Vampires had to learn to shield themselves to some extent. It was that or drown in the emotions and machinations of the Vampire world all around them.

  Rowan’s shields were diamond hard, though she’d have to discipline herself to use them again until it became habit renewed.

  Seating herself so her arm was propped carefully and her pen and pad ready should she need them, Rowan called the Keep.

  Nadir answered with her usual terse greeting. “Speak.”

  “It’s Rowan. I’ve got a lot of stuff to tell you a
bout.”

  “At the conclusion of our call, you will hold for Dina. She has reception details for you to approve.”

  Ugh.

  “Fine. Let’s start with the bomb and work our way back.”

  Nadir was quiet for long moments until she heaved a sigh.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Did you have enough time to talk about me in whispers to your work wife?”

  Clive paused in the doorway, trying to parse out whatever she’d just said. Her tone was amused instead of murderous, so that much was a relief.

  “I have no desire for more wives. The one I have is more than enough to manage.”

  “Too bad for you she thinks men who say stuff like that are dumb who’d never be getting into her panties.”

  He locked the door at his back. “Oh. I think I’ll be there. Sooner rather than later.”

  She looked him up and down slowly. “You think so?”

  “You’re down to half speed because of the broken bones. But really, you’re easy when it comes to me,” he said lazily.

  “I’d shrug but my good shrugging shoulder is banged up. I am totally easy when it comes to you. Even when you cry about it.”

  “I only cry when you deny me.” He inched closer and she eyed him carefully.

  “You’re so full of shit for a man who dresses so well.”

  “You wound me.”

  “I will if you want me to.” She snickered. “Maybe even when you don’t. Depends on how much you annoy me.”

  “Some people say all the thrill goes out of a relationship after marriage. You still frighten me as much today as you did a month ago.”

  “True love.”

  He paused. “Yes. Yes, I believe it is. Now, stop being so prickly because I’m here to service you.”

  “What if I’m busy now?”

  He unzipped his trousers and she was unable to hide how that perked her right up. And that was before he grabbed his cock at the base and pumped into his fist a few times.