As soon as Chrysabelle stepped over the threshold, the sounds she’d expected to hear outside—the chatter, the clink of glasses, the music and laughter—all hit her in a rush. The spell that sealed in the noise was a good one. Inside, the place was as charming as its exterior. Up on a dais in the front of the room, a jazz quartet played behind a singer belting out tunes that must have been very popular, judging by the patrons clapping along. A few gazes skimmed her, but most were directed at Mal. Vampires might be allowed in here, but they were certainly not ignored.
Mortalis and Mal broke away as planned while she went up to the bar. The scales flanking the bartender’s neck and the shape of his teeth gave him away as a varcolai of some kind. She leaned her arm on the bar top, instantly wishing she hadn’t when the sleeve of her silk tunic stuck to the tacky surface. Hiding her revulsion, she smiled at the bartender the way she’d smiled at Creek’s friend Slim Jim. Comarré charm was a powerful tool in its own right.
The bartender smiled back and headed in her direction, leaning in close to be heard. “Heya. We don’t get many comarré in here. You traveling with tall, dark, and fangy over there?” He nodded toward Mal.
“Not exactly.” She licked her bottom lip. The man smelled like cleanser and gin. Or maybe that was the gin. “He’s traveling with me.”
The bartender’s brows shot up. “Z’at right? Well, now, I like a woman in charge.”
“I bet you do.” She ran a finger down his arm. His skin was the mottled green-brown of a reptile. What kind of varcolai was he? “You think you could help me find someone?”
The flash of red-green fire in his slit-pupil eyes almost made her jerk in surprise. He spread his arms out wide and grinned, showing off a pair of long, rounded canines. “You’ve found him, baby. What do you need?”
Not this. With a shudder, she realized what kind of animal he was. Time to pull way back. She straightened a little, unsticking her sleeve from the bar. “I need to talk to a fae named Khell. I was told I could find him here.”
The bartender hid his disappointment poorly. “What do you want with him?”
“Business proposition. Can’t say more than that.” She reached under the wrist sheath on her left arm and snagged the slick plastic bill she’d stashed there earlier, then slid it across the bar to him. Five hundred was enough to make anyone talk.
He glanced at the money before covering it with his hand, but his smile didn’t return. “Back corner table behind the spiral stairs. Green jacket.” He moved to walk away, then stopped. “You cause trouble, I’ll take you out personally, understand?”
“Perfectly.” She understood he’d lose, so long as she could get her sacre into his gullet before he went full gator on her. With a roll of her eyes, she turned and gave a short, quick nod to Mal and Mortalis, then headed back to the table the bartender had indicated.
Weaving through the crowd proved interesting, if only for the vast array of fae in the place. There were more types than she could identify. That alone made her a little nervous. Not knowing one’s opponent and what they were capable of could be a fatal error in battle, which meant this had to go well.
She checked behind her. Mal and Mortalis were there. The plan was for her and Mortalis to approach Khell and explain the situation. If he was as eager for the guardianship as Augustine claimed, this shouldn’t take long.
He was exactly where the bartender said he’d be, but he wasn’t alone. A plump redhead sat with him, swinging her foot to the music and drinking a bottled beer. She looked up as Chrysabelle approached, her demeanor becoming less friendly the closer Chrysabelle got.
Chrysabelle tried a smile, but the woman glared. Chrysabelle almost laughed. If this woman thought she was interested in the guy next to her for anything remotely romantic… she was sadly mistaken. The fae beside her wasn’t exactly male-model material, despite his smoky wysper coloring. More young professor than guardian-to-be, but looks could be deceiving, especially in fae.
“Khell?” she asked, resting her hands on the back of the table’s one empty chair.
He looked up, gray eyes curious behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses. “Sure ’nuff. What can I do for you?”
“I have a business matter I’d like to discuss with you, if I could have a minute of your time?”
“Sure, sit down.” He pushed the empty chair back with his foot.
She slanted her eyes at his female companion. “Privately.”
He nudged the woman with his elbow. “Go get us another round, Norma.”
Norma kissed him hard on the mouth, leaving a smudge of lipstick behind, then got up and sauntered past Chrysabelle. The heat radiating off her almost made Chrysabelle back away.
Instead, she sat. “Norma’s some kind of fire fae, I take it?”
Khell wiped the lipstick off his face. “Ignus fae. Harmless to anything sentient, hell on everything else.” He laughed. “Literally.”
“So she can’t burn me?”
“No, but she could scorch the clothes off your body.” He bunched his mouth to one side like he was thinking about what that might look like. Men didn’t change much, no matter what their species. “You have me at a disadvantage. I have no idea who you are, other than comarré.”
“I’m sorry. I’m Chrysabelle Lapointe. And yes, I’m comarré.” At least for a little while longer. “Augustine sent me. He thought you might be interested in what I have to offer.”
“Augie, huh? Didn’t know he knew any comarré, but then again, with Augie, nothing really surprises me.” Khell nodded absently, like he was thinking. “So what’s this deal?”
She watched him closely as she spoke the next word. “Guardianship.”
He swallowed, his eyes rounding a little. He rolled the edge of his damp cocktail napkin back and forth. “What about it?”
“I was told you might be interested in the position.”
Was he trembling?
“I might be. Except it’s not available.”
“Yes, it is.”
He leaned in, keeping his head down. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but if you’re trying to get me to challenge Sklar, you can get the hell out of here.”
“No challenge. Sklar’s gone.”
Now he sat back, his mouth open. He snapped it shut and looked around before coming back to her. “If he’d been killed, word would be out. A fight like that? People would be talking.”
“No fight. He resigned.” Just saying the words washed anger and guilt through her.
“Yeah, I’m sure he did.” Khell sipped his beer. “When did this resignation supposedly take place?”
“A few hours ago. No one knows yet. You want the position, it’s yours. All you have to do is come back to Loudreux’s with me and tell him and the rest of the elektos you accept.”
“And I should believe you why?”
He wanted to believe, she could see it in the way he couldn’t stop fussing with the label on his beer and the nerves that kept him from sitting still.
“Just a moment.” She turned around, found Mortalis in the crowd, and tipped her head ever so slightly toward the table. A few seconds later, he was standing beside her. “This is Mortalis. He can vouch for what I’m telling you.”
“I know who he is.” Khell knocked back the rest of his beer and stood. “Did Sklar really resign?”
Mortalis nodded. “He did.”
Khell’s brows rose and he let out a low whistle. “No kidding. How the hell’d you manage that?”
“I didn’t,” Mortalis answered, hooking his thumb toward her. “She did. She’s very persuasive.”
Chrysabelle flashed her most charming smile while leaning her elbows on the table so that her sleeves fell back to reveal her wrist blades.
Khell swore under his breath, looking at Chrysabelle with new respect in his eyes.
She straightened. “And now all you have to do is announce your intent to the elektos.” Then Loudreux’s demands would at last be satisfied.
&nb
sp; “I know the drill,” Khell said, nodding slowly. “Get the elektos together. I’m ready to accept.”
Tatiana bounced Lilith on her shoulder, but still the crying didn’t stop. “Octavian!” she yelled again. No point in being quiet since quiet wasn’t helping the child calm down. Where the hell was he? She’d heard him come in. Or thought she had. She opened her mouth to yell again.
“I’m here,” he called back from somewhere in the depths of the house. A few minutes later, he strode into the guest room Tatiana had converted into a makeshift nursery while her staff stripped the library adjoining the master suite and turned it into a proper space for a vampire princess.
Octavian dragged a timid female kine from the city along with him. “This is Oana. She gave birth a few days ago, but the baby was stillborn. She can nurse the child.”
“Her family has been paid?”
“Yes.”
Tatiana circled the girl, Lilith’s screams almost drowning out her own thoughts. “She’s clean? Healthy?”
“Yes. Kosmina vouches for her, but I also had the kine doctor look her over. That’s what took so long.”
“Oana, you understand this child is the most precious thing you will ever lay your kine hands on? If you cause harm to come to her in any way—”
Oana shook her head so vigorously a few loose brown curls escaped the clip holding them back. “Never, my lady. It is my honor to help.”
Good choice of words. Tatiana held Lilith out to Oana. “Feed her.”
Oana took her with a shallow curtsy. “Yes, my lady.” She went to the nearest chair, unbuttoned her blouse, and put Lilith to her breast. The crying stopped almost immediately. A second later, Oana cried out.
Tatiana whirled toward the girl, maternal instinct raging through her. “What’s wrong?”
Oana colored. “Nothing, my lady. I was not prepared for her bite. Everything is fine, I assure you.”
“Blood and milk?” Octavian said softly. “What a curious creature your daughter is, Tatiana.”
She smiled at his words. Her daughter. “Isn’t she, though?” She watched Oana for a moment, pangs of longing niggling at her, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was no longer capable of nursing an infant. She turned away, unable to bear it anymore. “The kine comes from a good family?”
He nodded. “As I said, Kosmina vouches for her. How’s she working out, by the way?”
“Very well. She’s an apt replacement for you.” She glanced back at Oana and Lilith one more time, then took Octavian by the arm and moved him into the hall. “Daciana should be in Paradise City by now. I didn’t have much time to talk to her before she left, but she’s got the same portfolio of information I gave to Laurent.” Tatiana let go of him and paced a few steps away, wringing her hands. “I have little hope for her success.”
Crossing his arms, he leaned against a demilune sideboard. “Give her a chance. She might surprise you.”
Tatiana turned. “You know something? Or are you speculating?”
He shrugged and dropped his arms. One finger traced the swirl of inlaid maple on the table’s top. “She’s ambitious, like you. And she wants to please you desperately. If I had to guess, I’d say she wants to repay you for freeing her from Laurent.”
“She could have killed him at any time.”
He pushed off the table and came to stand beside her, his hands landing on her waist. “But you paved that path for her. Gave her a support system.” He kissed her nose. “And a way to cover the death.”
She pushed at him, but there was no force behind the move. Octavian’s sweetness was one of her secret pleasures. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to smile with Daci on her mind. “She might die in Paradise City.”
“She knows that.” His gaze grew serious. “She went willingly.” He tipped his head, narrowing his eyes a bit. “Are you worried about her? That’s so unlike you.”
She pursed her mouth. “I would worry about you, if you were the one in her place.”
He laughed softly. “Yes, but you’re mad for me and cannot live without me.”
“How fast the lowly have risen,” she teased. It was sad how right he was. Octavian was unlike any of her past loves. Sweet, affectionate, able to anticipate her every need and blessed with common sense, something that might have kept a few of her late paramours alive. And she had no fear that he, unlike some of them, wanted to take her power for himself. He was content to bask in her glow.
He shook her gently. “Tell me why you worry about Daciana.”
She lifted one shoulder and looked back toward the room where Lilith was. “As my power grows, so does my need to trust those around me. And now with Lilith, I must have a secure inner circle. Daciana has been an upstanding member of the House of Tepes for almost four hundred years. She is as good as any to stand with me.”
“There are several nobles in Tepes who fit that description, so why her?”
She pushed away with real force this time, loosening his hands from her waist. “You ask too many questions.”
His eyes silvered. “We have a child to protect now, Tatiana. If you do not share what you’re thinking with me, how can I help you do what must be done?”
He was right. She flexed and relaxed her metal hand, watching the way the light glinted off it, the way her reflection distorted in the curves of the knuckles. She was Dominus now. A lifetime position. There was nothing the council could do to take the position from her, so hiding her hand was no longer necessary. She looked up at him. “Daciana feels like… a sister. I never had one.”
More questions filled his eyes, but she didn’t see the one thing she’d dreaded. Pity. Instead, he smiled. “Good. You’ve been alone too long. And you’re an excellent judge of character. If you feel that way about her, I’m sure she’s worthy of it.” He closed the space between them with a few steps. “If you’re worried for her safety, I can go to Paradise City and help her.”
“No.” Tatiana shook her head and tried to smile, but revealing such an intimate thing as how she felt about Daci made her skin seem too tight. She hated being vulnerable. “Daci wants to do this on her own. To prove herself. Whatever happens, happens. I will accept that.”
He held his hands up. “As you wish.”
“Besides,” she continued, clearing her throat and the weakness that threatened like a storm cloud. “I need you here. Someone has to goad those kine into finishing the nursery.”
“Say no more.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll make it my first priority.”
The door to the room opened and Oana stood there, cradling a sleeping infant in her arms. “My lady, your daughter is fed.”
Tatiana took Lilith from her, kissing the baby’s head. She smelled like honeyed copper. Her dark lashes fringed over her shell-pink cheeks with such angelic sweetness, Tatiana almost forgot there was vampire blood in either of their veins. “You may keep this room as your own until the nursery is done, then you’ll move in there to take care of her.”
“Very good, my lady.” Oana curtsied and went back inside, closing the door.
Lilith’s innocence worked on Tatiana, thinning the wall she’d erected around herself. Without looking at Octavian, she confessed one last thought. “If Daci does not come back, I will not take it well.”
“She will come back,” he whispered, slipping his arms around her from behind. “And she will come back triumphant.”
“I hate not being able to contact her. I can’t even send a messenger because I have no idea where to send it. Council policy about the use of electronics is outdated. Mortals know we exist. Why do we continue to hide?”
He separated from her as she began to walk toward her suite, keeping pace. “You’re Dominus now. You may do as you like.”
She nodded. “If I weren’t so distracted by Lilith, I would have remembered that.”
He smiled. “You’ve only just been made Dominus. It’ll take a while for that to sink in.”
“I want a phone. And a computer
. But they must be secure. In fact, find the company that makes these things and buy it. With access to Ivan’s accounts, I have more money than I could spend if I live another thousand years.” The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. “I’m going to remove the council’s restrictions on electronic communication for all of the House of Tepes. Starting immediately.”
“Would you like me to draft an announcement?”
“Yes. It’s time to join the modern world.” She laughed. “How else will we take it over?”
Chapter Thirty-four
Creek’s front pocket started to vibrate just as Velimai flew into the room where the group was gathered watching the news from around the world. Her hands were moving too fast for him to even try to guess what she was saying. He got up and went down the hall to answer his phone. He didn’t need to check the screen to know it was Argent.
“Creek,” he answered.
“Where the hell are you?” Argent replied.
“I’m with the mayor.”
“And where is that?”
“At the comarré’s.”
The sector chief went quiet for a second. “Are you any closer to recovering the item?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Because I don’t have a better one to give you.” Something was going on in the other room. The best he could make out was that the pressure sensors had lit up a warning for the rear of the property.
“If you’re not any closer to the item and the mayor is protected, you need to be in the city. We have reports of a lesser demon running through the streets. Get over there and kill it.”
“I don’t know if I should—”
“Of course you should. It’s your job.”
“I was going to say I don’t know if I should leave the mayor.”
“The comarré can protect her. Now go. That’s an order, not a request. The demon’s location has been forwarded to your phone.”
The line went dead before Creek could explain Chrysabelle wasn’t here. Maybe it was better Argent didn’t know. The less Creek was on the hook for her and her plans for the ring, the better. The KM were not going to be happy when he had to tell them she’d melted it down and stitched it into her skin.
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