Periphetes closed his cold hand over my balled-up fist and squeezed until I felt moisture prick my eyes. Jerk.
“Why do you want Ashley?” asked Periphetes.
“Not for you to know, Periphetes. Perhaps if you were still a lord in my court I’d tell you, or maybe not, since you’re clearly quite taken with your little vampire friend.”
“Can’t you tell us anything useful to get Chloe back?” asked Lauren, who was able to sound deferential when I could not.
“I do not know where the girl is.”
I glared at her, ready to reach across the table and slam her pretty little head into her left-over ketchup. Before I could, and I swear I was about to, the doors opened again and a large group entered, effectively keeping me from attacking the Winter queen. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing Mikhail and the others showed up, even though that meant I was in serious trouble.
“Queen Orythyia,” began Mikhail, sweeping a graceful bow. “Please forgive any offenses given by Ashley. She is here without my consent.” His last sentence promised retribution, and I felt another shiver travel down my spine.
“Mikhail, I was wondering when you would show up. No worries. She has been quite entertaining. As I have told your child here, I do not know where Hephaestus has taken this Chloe. But be warned: I am after Ashley Hawn, as I have been since her rebirth. I will give her until the sunrise and then this temporary treaty of hospitality will be at an end. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
“And Periphetes,” added the queen, turning her attention to her wayward lord. “When this is all over, you and I will have a talk.”
I saw the Adam’s-apple in Periphetes’ throat bob up and down in his own nervousness.
We rose and followed the others out, the wolves at my side. To my intense relief, we exited the soda parlor straight into the alley, skipping all the scary hallways.
“Lauren, return to your master. I will notify her of what you have done,” ordered Mikhail without missing a beat.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that he knew who Lauren was.
“Periphetes, I thank you for caring for Ashley, but in the future you will stop her from any such ridiculous plans and return her to the seethe. Leave.”
Periphetes bowed slowly before trudging off into the darkness.
Mikhail didn’t say anything to me; he took my arm in a painful grip and dragged me toward his row of double-parked cars. I glanced back at Nikolai, Josh, Samuel, and the long line of other vampires.
They were all glaring at me.
Chapter Nineteen
Saying the car ride was awkward and uncomfortable would be an understatement. I rode in Mikhail’s SUV, wedged between Nikolai and Josh, while Mikhail rode shot-gun with a human chauffeur. The wolves were sharing the very back of the SUV and the other vampires had found their rides in the other vehicles. From where I sat, I could see Mikhail’s hands periodically clenching into fists. Josh was drumming his fingers impatiently against the armrest on his door, and Nik sat in stony silence, so still no one could mistake him for a human.
I fidgeted. I’m not proud to say it, but there seems no point in hiding it. I had no idea how heinous of a crime I had just committed. Would Mikhail behead me like he did that one guy who had risked exposure? Or was this more of a slap-on-the-wrist sort of an incident? Based on everyone’s reactions, I had a feeling my punishment would be more than a spanking.
I was just about to explode out of my skin with nervousness when we finally pulled up to the front of the Viewer’s Lounge. Before I could take two steps, Mikhail took my arm and looped it through his, like he would have done in decades past, only this time I could feel the muscle of his arm twitch beneath my fingers with carefully subdued anger.
We entered the restaurant and weaved our way to the hidden door that led down to the seethe. Mikhail didn’t slow his pace until he had led me to the room he used as his private office. Like the one other time I had been in it, a fire burned merrily in the fireplace. I couldn’t help but wonder where the chimney led, considering there was an entire two story building above us. Maybe it was just magic.
I was happy to muse about the fire, to keep myself from panicking, until I heard the door thud shut behind me. I turned to see who had joined us. Nikolai, Samuel, and Josh stood near the door, their glares from before still in place.
I ground my teeth together. Mixing with my fear was a powerful sense of righteous indignation. After all, I had been doing what was right, what they had failed to do. In that moment, I decided to lead with a strong offense, hoping the old adage held true.
“We know Hephaestus held Chloe at his house. I smelled the bloo…”
“Silence!” snapped Mikhail in a voice so soft a human would have had trouble hearing it.
I had no idea how he managed to yell at me without raising his voice. However he did it, it was effective. I clamped my mouth shut and swallowed the fear that was rising up inside me. This was going to get ugly.
“Do you know what you have done?” he demanded.
“I searched for an innocent human woman whom you deemed too insignificant to be worth your time.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I felt my breath catch in my chest as I realized what was coming.
I’m sure no one was surprised that Mikhail struck me across the face, sending me backwards into the small couch near the fire. I rolled off of it, nearly tumbling right into the flames. I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded if that had happened.
Against my better judgment, I stood up and glared at him. I could feel a mighty bruise forming across my face and hoped the tinted skin gave him a feeling of guilt—not very likely. The blow had been intentional. I could tell because he hadn’t crushed my skull. Mikhail was well over three hundred years old; if he wanted to, he could easily crush my head with a powerful blow to the face. He had struck me with just enough force to prove his point, which meant he had thought it through. He wouldn’t be feeling guilt for hitting me any time soon.
The realization made it harder to maintain my glare, but I did my best.
“You purposefully went into the heart of the Winter Court and yelled at their queen. Are you mad?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. I’m pretty sure everyone in the room knew that to some extent I was mad, but I don’t think that was exactly what he meant. I took a deep breath before speaking.
“Chloe was lost,” I began.
“Don’t repeat to me what I already know.” This time Mikhail did raise his voice, and I found myself flinching. “Can you not grasp that keeping the peace between Orythyia and the seethe is more important than some woman.”
Before I could respond, Travis, Shawn, and Murry entered the room, in human form and dressed.
“And you!” said Mikhail, spinning on his heels and pointing a finger at them. “I ordered you to watch her, to keep her here. You disobeyed my express orders. I should have you killed for this.”
“No, Mikhail!”
The primus turned back to me, taking me by the collar of my shirt and slamming me against the nearest wall, my feet hanging six inches off the ground.
“Who are you to tell me no?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Punish me. I manipulated them into getting me out.”
Again, he slammed me into the wall to emphasis each word. “You endanger us all.” Mikhail released his grip on my shirt, letting me slide to the floor, and turned back to the wolves. “You will have nothing to do with Ashley. I will find other work for you. Now, leave us.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, believing his dismissal meant he didn’t intend to kill them. My death, on the other hand, that was probably still up in the air. I pulled my knees up, positioned my elbows against my knees, and rested my head against my hands, fingers twining in my hair. It probably wouldn’t do any good to argue further with Mikhail and the adrenalin of the fight and discovery was slipping away, leaving me tired. The different w
ounds from the wintery battle ached slightly, and I felt the ever-present thirst creep to the forefront of my thoughts.
Mikhail slumped onto the couch, running his own hands through his hair. “What am I to do with you, Ashley?”
I shrugged helpfully.
“This is my fault,” Nik said suddenly.
I glanced up at him, surprised by the quiet tone he used.
“This should be good,” murmured Mikhail. “Please, enlighten us.”
“Chloe was my responsibility. If I had taken care of her, gone after her the minute she went missing, this wouldn’t have happened. Ashley wouldn’t have felt the need to go after her herself.”
Mikhail burst into unexpected laughter. When he finally began wiping tears away from his eyes, he spoke again. “Unrequited love strikes again!”
I jerked my gaze up, scanning the faces of the men in the room. Mikhail was still lost in his mirth, but Nikolai looked as if he might tear his primus’ head off. Josh was staring at Nikolai, his eyes wide and glinting with some strange fire. Samuel looked like he was trying not to laugh.
I’m sure I looked shocked and nervous.
“Nikolai and Josh,” Mikhail said, back in control of his humor. “You two are back on babysitting duties, for the few times she needs to leave the seethe. For those occasions, she needs my expressed permission. Other than that you are confined to the seethe, Ashley. I will notify all the members and all the bouncers. You will not escape again. I realize your first months of being a vampire have been spent in the company of the seethe’s elite, but don’t forget, you are the newest member of this family. You try to escape again, or work against the seethe’s best interests in any way, and I will execute you. Do you understand me?”
I nodded slowly, a mix of fresh fear and relief surging through me.
At least I won’t die today. Tomorrow on the other hand…
Before I could finish the thought, we heard a light tap on the door.
“Enter.”
Jim, Mikhail’s assistant, poked his head in. “They’re here. I’ve cleared the main room and they’re waiting.”
“Will this night never end?” Mikhail sighed and climbed to his feet. The messenger opened the door all the way and stepped out of the way.
“Ashley, when’s the last time you ate?” asked Nik as his eyes ranged over my body.
I glanced down and saw my shirt in tatters, leaving me barely decent. The skin that I could see through the tears was scabbed and bruised. What blood I had in me had only half healed me. I shrugged, unable to remember the last meal I’d had.
“Jim, please fetch Ashley a blood bag,” said Mikhail to the messenger as he gently placed a hand on the small of my back and guided me out, followed by the others.
“How did you find us?” I asked as we walked down the long hallway toward the main room. I hoped there was enough peace between us now for me to ask insignificant questions.
“Jordan came straight back to the seethe, looking like he’d been in a car accident,” said Nikolai from behind us.
“He basically was,” I murmured with little energy. Jordan was safe, and considering our current crisis, that was about all I could hope for.
“I wish we had time to hear your story before this meeting, but I suppose we will have to go in slightly blind,” Mikhail commented as he stopped me to wait for Josh and Samuel to open the doors.
I was starting to appreciate there was a lot more emphasis put on rank within the seethe than I had realized. I had noticed the effects of rank with the werewolves and the way they behaved around each other, but now I was seeing similar habits within my own race. Guess I was still learning what it’s like to be a real vampire.
Grumble.
Inside the main room I stopped in my tracks. Three fae I had never seen before stood near one of the gas fireplaces, drinks of dark liquid in their hands. They turned toward us and I felt my breath catch in my lungs.
Even though he was clearly not using a glamor, the centermost man still looked rather human. Or maybe his glamor was just really bad. His skin was darker than mine, but that’s not saying much. He had high, prominent cheekbones and a shaved head. His eyebrows, while thick, didn’t form arches but swooped up toward his temples. Over his tanned skin, his veins stood out bold enough for me at first to think they were tattooed to his skin.
The two men behind him were twins, assuming the fae can have twins. Either way, they were identical. They were also darker than me, as though one parent had been black and the other white. Their hair was cropped extra short like a military haircut. Something about them said soft, though their bare chests were well muscled. I think there was an essence of femininity to them that didn’t quite jive with their powerful muscles. If this was all I had noticed, I would have assumed they were just not very good at creating glamors, but there was a lot more off, which suggested they weren’t using magic to hide their true form.
Their feet were covered with scales that trickled up their legs and slowly morphed into dark skin around the knees. And that’s pretty much all they wore. Thankfully, they were about as anatomically correct as a Ken doll. Maybe that’s why I thought them sort of effeminate.
All three scanned us, their eyes finally resting on me and my tattered apparel.
“Aeson, thank you for coming,” Mikhail said without missing a beat. He left me by the door and crossed to where our guests stood. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. Ashley here, had a bit of a run in with Winter. Please, sit.”
The rest of us followed Mikhail over to the seating area. I flopped down on the nearest couch, too exhausted to attempt manners. I had barely laid my head on the back of the couch when Jim arrived with my blood bag. I broke off the top and slurped at it.
“I hope you’ll forgive her need to feed publicly, she is young and her wounds haven’t healed yet.”
Our guests nodded silently, and I glared at Mikhail from where I sat and slurped. It might have been a hint for me to use a few manners, but I was too tired and annoyed to care. Considering that he had just about executed me a few minutes ago, I probably should have been a bit more obedient.
“I see your woman still needs a little breaking,” said the fae with the dark veins. He sounded like the villains in movies who marry the rebellious princess, thinks he can control her, but then some rugged knight shows up and helps the princess be her true self. I glared at him over the top of my blood bag too.
“She is young and learning the essence of obedience, slowly. I would not have her here for this important meeting if it weren’t for the fact she has information about the recent attack from Winter. I have not had a chance to hear the story myself.”
I glared at the fae and stuck out my tongue.
What is wrong with me? I have to stop this. Someone is going to get fed up with me and slap me, and I’ll deserve it!
Sure enough I felt Nik reach over and slap me across the back of the head.
I think we were all shocked when Aeson smiled at me before turning back to Mikhail. “Now, what can I do for you? The message you left me was rather cryptic.”
“I’m sorry for that, but to be honest I’m not entirely sure what this meeting will entail. Allow me to tell you our current dilemma, and we can discuss if it is something that might work to your benefit.”
Mikhail and I spent the next hour telling my story and answering Aeson’s questions.
“So you see,” continued Mikhail. “Both courts have been after Ashley since she was first turned. We thought it was because of Sedgrave, but he has not shown her the slightest interest since being raised. We are now wondering if there is some other reason behind their attacks.”
“And you called me why?”
Mikhail hesitated. “I thought this might be… an opportunity for you.”
The right side of Aeson’s mouth tweaked up into a sly smile. He knew what Mikhail was hinting at. “You mean you think I could use this to overthrow my sister.”
“The thought had crossed my
mind.”
“Like Periphetes, I am rather out of the loop. Since my last failed attempt at the throne, Hemera hasn’t exactly kept me in the loop. In fact, it has been a year, at least, since I last spoke with her.”
“How many fae are on the outs with their queens?” I mumbled from where I slouched in the couch.
“When both queens have succumbed to greed and selfishness, quite a few,” said Aeson. “Now, what happened with Winter?”
“They took my friend Chloe. We went after her and they attacked me. After that we went to the house of Huphy… or however you pronounce his name. Periphetes’ father,” I added when I noticed everyone was frowning. “There we found Chloe’s blood. From there we went to Winter’s hideout thingy where I met Orythyia.”
“Who was it that attacked you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know their names, but there was a woman who threw, like, big stones at us. We took her out pretty quickly. Then there was a giant yeti, and a big snowstorm thing, and an ice golem.”
“You mean to tell me you fought Glatea, Perseus, and Cipus, all at once, and survived?”
I shrugged again. “I’ve also fought a Cyclops, and a typhoon. The typhoon I fought by myself.”
“Her methods may be careless, but she does get results,” said Nik with more affection in his voice than I was comfortable with.
“So I see,” murmured Aeson as another smile played at his lips. I sense he might be allowing me a begrudging smidgen of respect. “And how many survived?”
“All of us survived.”
“And Winter?”
“Oh, they’re all dead. Assuming fae can die.” I glanced at Nikolai.
“You killed three powerful Winter Fae?”
“Maybe they’ll think twice about attacking me next time,” I grumbled, my good humor returned now that I had drunk a little blood.
“I feel we must be clear, Aeson. We have killed Summer Fae as well.”
Aeson’s mobile face stilled. “Who was the aggressor?”
“They were.”
The fae nodded slowly. “Then of course you had to defend yourself. At present, I know nothing, but I am willing to work with you, if you are willing to work toward returning me to the throne.”
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy Page 40