by Kayleigh Sky
Who might he have become if he’d given Qudim his blood? But he hadn’t, and Qudim had never asked for it again. Until this moment, Rune had never wondered why. He’d only been relieved. But why hadn’t Qudim asked?
He frowned at himself, the softness of youth only a gossamer veil now. His face was strong, as beautiful as Qudim’s had been, but it hid too much. Things he didn’t want to think about anymore. He had nothing to give a boy like Isaac. He had to get that map from him and not hurt him in the process… at least not too much.
He stripped, showered, and dressed in clean clothes from his bag.
A few minutes later he’d found the kitchen and helped himself to coffee. He exited through one of the many glass doors and sauntered around the house, pausing to sip his coffee and look around. A human pruned the bushes out front. Rune wandered past him, noticing the antenna on the house. TVs in multiple rooms, a radio setup, and at least three phones available for use. He discarded the impulse to call Mal the minute he thought of it though. She’d defy him. Not that he blamed her after he’d gotten her close to killed in the mines, but he needed her help. Showing up without notice might give him an advantage.
On the other side of the house, he reached a covered patio where Camiel sprawled on a chaise lounge. One eye opened when Rune approached.
“Majesty.”
Rune dropped to the chair beside him. “Give it a rest.”
A smile teased Camiel’s mouth. “I believe that’s what I’m doing.”
“No sleep?”
“Strange beds. I dislike them.”
“What’s between you and the enforcer?”
Both eyes snapped open now. There was a flash of something half desire, half fear before his gaze went blank and disinterested. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
A part of him was curious at himself for letting Camiel come along. Another part tried to view Camiel through Abadi’s eyes. What had she seen in the little urchin? Was she calling him back home to Majallena? To the treasure?
Rune didn’t trust the bastard, but at least he was entertaining. He gave Camiel a sideways glance. “Do I need to worry about him?”
“The king’s enforcer? No. I imagine he arrived with your paramour.”
“Careful, Camiel.”
Camiel shrugged. “As long as he has the rest of the map.”
“I think most of the locations on the map are underground, but the entrance is in the mountains somewhere.”
“Why do you think it’s underground?”
“There are no symbols of anything you’d see above ground except in the area of the mountains and whatever that tree symbol is. Besides, the treasure’s Ellowyn. Where else would it be?”
“If it’s Ellowyn. The symbol looks like a cactus. I’ve seen more than my share.”
“That doesn’t go with mountains.”
“Mountains surround the desert. And anyway, I’m assuming the ciphers will tell us more.”
Rune nodded. “My sister can help with that.” He took a swallow of his coffee and pointed with his cup at a range of hazy mountains in the distance. “Desert on the other side of those, isn’t there?”
“But not with that kind of cactus. It looked like a Joshua tree. That’s closer to my home. There is a portal to one of the more shallow cities nearby here. The humans give tours.”
“Into our city?”
Camiel laughed. “They can have it. Miserable place. It was called Pomariah. Cramped and dirty, but it survived the Upheaval in better shape than most places. Too bad nobody would ever want to live there.”
Rune smiled into his coffee cup. Maybe Pomariah would be the push Isaac needed to give him the map and stay behind.
“Why don’t you stay here, Camiel? Enjoy the luxuries of Essie’s hospitality.”
“Luxuries aren’t new to me.”
“Coming with me is dangerous. The courier is dead.”
Camiel’s face shuttered, his mouth drawing into a tight line before curling into another smile. “He died here, did he not?”
Rune stared for a moment, then stood. “Have it your way, Cammy. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“At your command,” Camiel murmured, eyes closed again.
Bastard.
19
Getting In Deep
The day before…
* * *
Bronwen’s fear of losing them had turned into a boiling rage. He was a prince, not a spy. But here he was following Camiel’s ridiculous red SUV—though thankfully the eyesore stuck out on the highway like a human at a coven meeting—and trying to not get too close and give himself away. He wasn’t sure which was better—a city with traffic he could get lost in or the middle of nowhere where Camiel’s bloodspot of a vehicle stood out a mile away but so did Bronny’s every time the damn sun flashed off his windshield.
And the worst thing was he didn’t think he could not do this. Not now. Not after meeting Solomon the light bearer, because even if he wanted to walk away, wondering what the hell Wen had gotten himself into, the menace wafting off Solomon kept him fixed on his path. He’d chosen this because at the end of whatever it was he had to do was everything he wanted. Money, respect, status… blood. And he didn’t have to marry a half human drainer to do it.
He only had to keep that idiot Camiel in his sights and not lose him.
When they reached Jasper City, it was obvious where they were going. After Camiel turned into a restaurant parking lot, Bronny continued, following the highway to the turn-off to the Orla Estate. He pulled onto the nearest side road that led to a short bridge over a shallow river. He parked, trudged back to the road, and hid in the bushes. The stench of brackish water and rotted leaves filled his nose. Everything on the surface decayed all the time. But the Upheaval had given him options he’d never have below. In Onoppiel, he’d forever be the lesser prince of a lesser family. Here, assuming he succeeded in the task Solomon had set for him, he’d rise. So he breathed through his mouth and waited.
The hum of an engine reached him right before headlights swooped across the bushes. He crept up to the shoulder of the road and peeked into the open. Brake lights flashed, and the SUV swung to the side. A moment later, somebody emerged. Camiel drove on and the figure stood still for a few minutes before it moved on in the same direction as the SUV. The only direction.
Interesting.
Bronwen chewed his lip for a moment before deciding it was too risky to follow. He wasn’t cut out for this. The river stank, and his back hurt from crouching in the damn bushes. For all he knew his life might have been in danger. And he was a prince. Other people did these sorts of things for him.
He waited for the figure to disappear, returned to his car, and drove off.
He stopped at the same restaurant Camiel had turned into earlier, strode in, and flashed a smile at the hostess. She was human. Some were easy to turn. She beamed at him. “A table or would you like to sit at the bar?”
“Wherever I get to see more of you.”
She laughed, cheeks turning pink. “Well, you can sit in the bar even if you order food, and I’ll bring it to you.”
“The bar it is.”
It was a pleasant enough place. White and blue in the dining area, green and wood in the bar. He sat in a booth with a view of the dining room if he scooted to the edge of the seat. The hostess handed him a menu. “Something to drink first?”
“Do you carry fungali?”
“We do.”
“That, please.”
“I’ll be right back.”
What did Camiel want with that old bat, Esseline? Who was the stranger? Why had Zev sent Isaac to Esseline? At first, Bronny had assumed it was because he wouldn’t dare go against her. And, of course, he wouldn’t. He’d look like an upstart clod. But now… Was Isaac involved in something?
Questions, questions, questions.
He smiled when the hostess returned and brought his fungali. He glanced at the tag on her blouse. “Wendy, is it?”
She nodded, smiling back at him. “Are you ready to order?”
He was hungry, but not that hungry. He’d stopped on impulse and only because Camiel had stopped here and apparently eaten a leisurely dinner. He frowned slightly. “I thought my friends might be here by now. Or maybe I missed them somehow.”
“You’re welcome to look in the dining room.”
“I did, thanks, but I didn’t see them. Maybe they came in before me. Two…” Was the stranger human? “…vampires. A little over an hour ago… I imagine an hour ago.”
“Maybe. We get a mix of people in here, so—”
“In a red SUV?”
She laughed. “Okay. Yes. I saw it out the window. What a nice car. They were here. They didn’t say they were waiting for anybody though.”
“It wasn’t confirmed. I actually only know the owner of the car, Camiel. He was going to introduce me to his friend. It was about a business deal. Did they say anything to you?”
A frown furrowed her brow, and why not? It wasn’t as if a pair of customers would involve her in a heart to heart.
“Well—” Bronwen blinked as she turned bright red and patted her nametag. “The younger one, the one you call Camiel, said they were on a scavenger hunt and were supposed to get a souvenir from every place they stopped, and did I want to be his souvenir.” She laughed. “His friend was scary, but… Wow. I wouldn’t mind being his souvenir. He didn’t say much, but it seemed like he was the one in charge. Your friend, Camiel, was really talkative and friendly. They sat in here too. Over there,” she added, pointing down the row of booths.
Who cares.
Bronwen gave her his broadest smile. “Well, I hope they didn’t embarrass me by not tipping you well. The owners here are lucky to have you working for them.”
She laughed again. “Well, the owners are my parents, so I hope so.”
She took his menu after he placed his order and hurried away.
That was a useless conversation. Except for the part of the one who seemed in charge. In Bronwen’s experience, nobody was in charge of Camiel. While he ate, he racked his brain for more questions to ask Wendy, but nothing came to him. Mainly, because they probably hadn’t said anything worth her remembering, let alone passing on. Or maybe he didn’t know the right questions, or how to ask them. What he needed was somebody good at that. Somebody from the old days who knew what the hell unquestioning loyalty was and that tactics didn’t matter when it came to pleasing your employer. What he needed was a vampire assassin. Or a crew of them. But it wasn’t as if there was much of a place for them anymore. Although…
The sweep of a shadow across his table triggered a memory. The assassins he was thinking of had glided on the edges of the underground cities like shadows, but they weren’t gone. They had to still exist because Wen had fought one off at Comity House. It had come for Wen’s crossling drainer.
That’s what he needed. An assassin and some enforcers.
He took a sip of his fungali and considered his options. He had to trust somebody, but loyalties were never clear. Or thinly veiled. He’d been loyal to Wen without particularly liking him. But blood mattered, and Wen was his brother.
His thoughts went to Camiel again and his run-in with Og at the coven meeting. Og, who’d been murdered as Wen had been murdered. And Og had left a brother as had Wen. A brother with a vendetta? Morjin didn’t like the king and didn’t hide it, but he followed the rules. Or maybe he didn’t. Morjin stank of old-time vampire. The kind that hung their Ryzoks up still dripping blood. But… maybe it was time for a visit, one grieving brother to another.
After laying two twenties on the table, Bronny drained his fungali and left.
20
A Chink in Rune’s Armor
After talking to Camiel, Rune returned to the house through another sliding glass door and made his way to the kitchen where a maid snatched his coffee cup from his hand, refilled it, and offered it back to him before hurrying away. Befuddled, he stared into his cup for a moment while contemplating Bettina’s peals of laughter if he ever considered asking her to pour him a cup of coffee. To his knowledge, not even Qudim had crossed her.
Shaking himself from his reverie, he strolled down the hall, peering through every open door for Isaac. Instead he found Anin, sitting on a white leather couch in a small, cozy room, watching a scratchy show on TV. He grunted in surprise. Lousy reception aside, there really wasn’t much to watch anymore.
At his grunt, Anin glanced over, jumped to his feet, and dipped his chin.
Rune dipped his in return. He wasn’t anybody’s king. He waited until Anin looked up and searched his eyes. Was he Isaac’s boyfriend? Jesus, merely thinking that hurt.
He sipped his coffee, hiding his expression for a moment.
But what did he expect? And wasn’t it what he’d wanted? He’d rejected Isaac. For lofty ideals, of course, though right at this moment, he was at a loss as to why ideals counted more than his fated. More than living his life. “There is no treasure,” Zev whispered in his ear.
But there was. And there was the Adi ’el Lumi. And everything Rune had done to get here.
But his heart punished him with every beat, and he swallowed in a constricted throat. “Isaac was my brother’s donor. I wanted to show my appreciation and treat him to a trip to Pomariah. Uh… You are welcome to join us.”
Extending the invitation was such an afterthought that Anin’s smile held a hint of irony, though his gaze lowered again. Would he be this way with any other rival? You aren’t a rival.
Right.
“Is there any news about the courier?”
“Yes, sire. Not his identity, but a vehicle was discovered partly submerged in the river. It was hidden by weeds. There was a Synelix container in it.”
“Poisoned?”
“No word yet. The police have it.”
“When I first saw you, I thought you were young to be an enforcer, but I remember some as young as fifteen. Orphans usually. Are you an orphan, Anin?”
The enforcer raised his gaze again. “My parents live in Palm Desert. I served the Nezzarrams before I joined the king.”
Well, that explained Camiel’s odd reaction to him. They knew each other. Lovers?
“Interesting choice of employer.”
“I’d wanted to be a police officer, but at my age, I wasn’t likely to be hired, and I was told the Nezzarrams were looking for an enforcer.”
“But you left them.”
“To serve the king.”
“It’s best to hold fast to one’s loyalty.”
“My loyalties are with the Ellowyn.”
“That’s a proper answer,” Rune murmured.
Again, Anin lowered his chin. Rune turned away without saying anything more and continued his search of the house. At the entrance, another wing led back toward the covered patio and the pool area. A door opposite the one he’d entered a few minutes earlier connected the kitchen to this wing too. Humming drew him down the hall. He stopped in the open doorway, his breath swelling his throat. That anybody was that happy astonished him, though Jessa had been. Jessa’s happiness had driven Rune to a raw and terrifying place though. He’d always wanted peace, but for his little brother’s sake, he’d burn the Adi ’el Lumi off the face of the earth.
Isaac bent over the kitchen island, resting on his elbows, in profile to Rune. He had a book open underneath him, and he bounced on his toes, swishing his hips from side to side, and humming. I will skin whoever hurts you. Rip their fingernails out at the roots. Pull their fangs from their skull.
But first…
He took a breath.
“I wanted to invite you to one of our cities.”
Isaac whipped his head sideways, jerked upright, swiped his hands down his jeans, then folded his arms across his chest. “What?”
It wasn’t that he’d yelled it—it was that he looked as if Rune had slapped him. Gone was his happiness.
“What are you doing?”
“What?” Isaac a
sked again.
Rune gestured to the book, and only now thought that the kitchen was an odd place to read.
Isaac glanced at it then tightened his arms across his chest. “It’s a cook book. Of your recipes.”
My recipes? “You mean Ellowyn?”
Isaac nodded, his cheeks turning peachy-pink. “I found a recipe for those tarts Jessa likes. My friend Marcus made them too, but this recipe is different than his. I’m going to add some of these recipes to the binder I got from him, but I didn’t bring it with me.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not staying here.” Belligerence blazed from his eyes again.
“Okay.” Fuck. Isaac was a far cry from Anin in the respect department that was for damn sure. “Anyway, I came to invite you out.”
Isaac snorted. “You did not. You’re just trying to get my map.”
Rune gritted his teeth. “I already told you I want the map. I thought you might enjoy seeing one of our cities.”
Isaac frowned, hopefully considering it. The kid had good bones, and a tiny dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth every time he tightened it. Would he laugh if Rune held him down and chased after that dimple with a kiss? God, he wanted to. Wanted to scrape his lips over the hidden bristles on Isaac’s angry-red cheeks and remind himself that Isaac was grown and… dangerous. Best kept at a distance, though Rune wanted nothing more than to cross it. “But if you don’t want to…”
Isaac’s frown deepened. “You mean a real city? I didn’t think it was safe anymore.”
It usually wasn’t. Which was the point. Making Isaac afraid of the underground would go a long way to getting the map from him.
“In general, no, it isn’t. But Pomariah was spared from much of the damage. It’s not large and close to the surface, and I heard they give tours. Since it’s nearby, I thought you might like to go. Consider it a thank you for taking care of Jessa.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“What do you think I’m going to do, lose you there?”