Mikael’s hooded eyes slid to her, the promise of murder in every line of his face.
I folded my arms. “He’d still have another leg to get around on though.”
Vladymir’s deep voice washed over me. “I could get the other kneecap, if you like, Miss Le Spyre.”
He took up the position on my other side as Mikael’s eyes widened.
The red dots covering my body switched to the king’s.
I smirked.
Mikael studied his body before staring at the row of leather-clad vampires at his back. His mouth snapped shut. “Filthy slaves, stand down or each and every one of you will be executed.”
Holding up a finger, I tutted. “That’s incorrect, King Mikael.” I set my bag on the table, turning my face from him as I unzipped it.
“In fact,” I continued. “You’ll find that the Vissimo in Clan Sundulus and Clan Fyrlia that you mistakenly referred to as Indebted were freed of their debt three days ago. They have graciously agreed to remain in my employ.”
I didn’t need to look at the two vampires to my right to feel how much this moment meant to them.
“I suggest you take your seat, Mikael,” I murmured. “For some reason, my friends don’t like you.”
One snarl left his curled lips.
“Father,” Gina said from her seat opposite Kyros, “the faster we hear out the human trash, the faster we can destroy Sundulus.”
I ignored her.
As did Mikael.
“Do I need to remind you of Clause 15?” I asked, tilting my head.
If he touched me right now, Kyros had a right to kill him.
“Father,” Gina said again.
I turned and caught the king’s wide smile before he resumed his seat.
Phew.
“Stand down,” I said to my guards.
A loud boom echoed as the better part of two thousand vampires snapped their heels together, standing erect, guns at their sides.
Pride filled my chest.
Mate, Kyros said, his tone strained to the point of snapping. He needed me closer. Picking up my bag, I walked around the table and edged in between Kyros and Rory.
Setting the bag down, I pulled out the first chunk of documents pertaining to over nine thousand properties.
“I won’t beat around the bush. I’m gifting the entirety of my Bluff City assets to Clan Sundulus,” I declared, setting the stack before Kyros.
“Quaint,” King Mikael said.
“That amounts to nine thousand and thirty-six properties.” I continued. “Thirty-two businesses. And a range of shares in local corporations.”
Kyros had frozen, in and out. As had his siblings.
Clearly, he didn’t receive that part in my mental heads-up earlier. Oops.
Everyone here knew the significance of that number. It was nearly all of the properties belonging to overseas owners—or so they’d thought.
Tommy’s ragged breathing was the only sound.
Kyros thumbed through the stack, scanning the addresses. He traced my signature at the bottom of each page. Sucking in a breath, he pushed the stack toward his father and reached into the bag for the next chunk.
“Ladies,” I said to my crew.
“One moment,” Trenit purred. “Correct me if I’m wrong. Perhaps the rules of Ingenium suddenly changed overnight. You are compelled by a member of Sundulus. Close though my eldest brother keeps you for now, it does not make you exempt from obeying the order of the game. You cannot sign anything over to them.” He leaned forward. “Only us.”
Kyros answered smoothly. “My true mate is not compelled. I removed all compulsions four days ago.”
“We, of course, are unable to verify that, however, given that she cannot be compelled and cleared by an impartial party,” Tynan answered him.
Oh. Fuck.
There was one massive fucking hole in my take-down plan. Shit!
I took the only path I could think of. “My previous compulsion stopped me talking to humans. Bring in a human in your power. I’ll tell them everything I know about Vissimo. There’s proof.”
“Do a temporary compulsion on me,” Tommy said over me.
My eyes widened, and I shot her a frantic look.
She ignored me. “Basilia couldn’t speak about vampires until Kyros freed her four days ago. You can compel the truth from me.”
“And then compel you to keep your mouth shut,” Trenit snapped. “Which should have been done by Sundulus already if they suspected you knew of our existence.”
His threat was weightless and everyone knew it.
Tommy didn’t spare him a glance, peering instead at the impartial clan. “If that needs to happen, so be it.”
Over my dead body.
“If Clan Sundulus wishes to accept these properties from the mate of Crown Prince Kyros, my clan must confer on the validity of this solution. If Miss Basilia Le Spyre is compelled in any way, the deal is illegal within the rules of Ingenium,” a woman from the impartial clan said mildly, looking up from a stack of papers before her as if our dispute was a garden bowl’s match.
Please tell me you took everything out, I whispered his way.
Kyros glanced at his father and nodded.
Are you kidding me? What does that mean? I silently hissed.
My mate fixed his gaze on me. It means that I freed you absolutely, Basilia.
Thank fuck.
“Confer and give us your ruling,” King Julius told the woman from the impartial clan.
Yeah. His wording didn’t fool anyone. He hadn’t decided to accept shit from me yet.
She bowed slightly and returned to the row of her clan members. “Will the human witness please come forward?”
I clenched my hands to fists, tense as Tommy shot me a veiled look and made her way around the table to approach the woman.
“Each of us will search your mind and vote upon the verdict of allowing your testimony regarding the removal of Miss Le Spyre’s compulsion,” she told my friend.
My mouth bobbed open. All of them! I quickly counted. There were ten.
Surely that—
Tread cautiously, Kyros’s thoughts invaded mine.
Tommy didn’t hesitate, leaving her bag next to Evie before striding to one end of the line. The male Vissimo locked eyes with her and my friend gasped. But within a minute, he’d released her.
“Next,” the woman called.
Blinking several times, Tommy shifted down the row. I swallowed, my hands slickening as she worked her way through the ten vampires.
If this failed, I had to think of something else, but I could only think of my oldies—who were long gone by now. There was Fred, but I just couldn’t do that to him.
I was cursing the weakness that made me agree to Tommy being here.
When the last Vissimo finished searching her mind, I met her halfway, steadying her as she wobbled back to where I stood.
“We are specifically interested in the witness’s memories pertaining to the difference of what Miss Le Spyre was able to divulge when first compelled in comparison to the last four days,” the female said.
Gina cut in. “That doesn’t prove there’s no compulsion on her. If there is any compulsion on their behalf, she is not allowed to deal with Sundulus. If they cannot prove she isn’t—”
Gerome cleared his throat. “Clan Sundulus keeps clear records of the compulsion parameters we place upon each human liaison. With my father’s permission, I would like to direct Clan Leith’s attention to page two thousand and fourteen of the document titled Human Liaisons.”
Original. They should have titled it Enslavement of the Innocent Because Two People Couldn’t Agree.
A towering male next to the woman, who I assumed was the leader or nominated spokesperson, scrambled to find the document.
“Page one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight,” Kyros said quietly.
There was a page detailing the exact limitations Kyros placed on my mind. Yeah, if I lived throu
gh today, I was reading that fucker.
I have nothing to hide, he answered me, a slight nip entering his mental voice.
Consider me still weirded out that mental voices existed.
I lifted a shoulder. Just for interest’s sake. It was kind of like me wanting to read my medical history at this point. Plus, I could tell he was telling the absolute truth. The whole emotion radar and telepathy combo didn’t leave room for ambiguity.
The document was being passed from end to end.
When the last Vissimo in Clan Leith closed the pages, the woman spoke again. “With the parameters in mind, we will now vote.”
What? Like an everyone raise your hand type of situation? Surely not.
“Everyone raise your hand if you are assured of the validity of Miss Le Spyre and Crown Prince Kyros Atagio’s claim that all compulsions were removed four days hence.”
I closed my eyes.
After everything, a fucking vote was the straw on the camel’s back that made me want to bury my head in the group and pretend none of this existed.
Open your eyes, Basilia.
Obeying, I stared at the six hands in the air.
My knees wobbled and I locked my legs, counting the hands again. Six out of ten.
Sixty percent. Was that in our favour or against us?
A savage snarl ripped from King Mikael’s lips. “Preposterous. Clan Fyrlia demands an appeal.”
Queen Titania laughed lightly. “The rulings of the impartial clan at the end cascade negotiations is absolute. Do not seek to waste our time, Mikael.”
Oh, snap! The cruel king stared across the table at Kyros’s mother, undisguised lust in his muscular body.
King Julian shifted.
I shared a look with Tommy, and she dipped her head.
Time to get things back on track. This was our show, not theirs. And I could strangle her later for risking herself like that.
“Please come forward with the remaining deeds,” I called over my shoulder.
One by one, my vampire crew of seven set a bag on the table, some of them carrying two. Tommy collected hers and passed it into my hands.
The kings broke off their stares, and I released a pent-up breath.
This is my show.
I opened the bag and removed the top sheet, setting the page before my mate. It showed the tallies of Fyrlia’s assets against my own in combination with Sundulus’s assets.
Are those numbers correct? I asked him.
He studied the sheet intently.
I left Kyros’s side as he perused the document. Facing the royals at the head of the table, I said, “If Clan Sundulus accepts these gifts, they also accept my terms.”
King Julius lifted his head at that.
Picking up the closest contract, I flicked to the second page. “Regarding the execution of Fyrlia royals. If Clan Sundulus should win, all royal children will be allowed to live.” I squinted at the page. “Oh, hold on. Tommy, could you help me with this part?”
My friend licked her lips, joining me at the head of the table. I held the document so she could see.
Her voice didn’t tremble. “All royal children of Clan Fyrlia will live, barring Trenit Tonyi and Tynan Tonyi.” She said the words and raised her head to look at them on the far side of the king.
“Fucking a human was a bore, but we did enjoy taking turns,” Trenit said, a death metal T-shirt visible beneath his blazer.
Tommy’s gaze dropped to his T-shirt before flicking back up to his face. “Your cock is smaller than your brother’s.”
I snorted, sliding out my phone. Three messages from Fred. What did he want?
That doesn’t bode well.
Passing the phone to Tommy, I shot her a pointed look. She studied the screen for a second and took the phone.
Jillian and Evie peeled out of the amphitheatre after her.
I returned to my conditions. “Special condition one, section two. My true mate, Kyros Atagio, will be allowed to kill Trenit and Tynan Tonyi in any way he deems fit.”
My mate’s mental roar of approval drew a smile to my lips. “King Mikael will, of course, be executed.”
I stared at the queen by his side. “You, I am not so sure of.”
In comparison to Queen Titania, she was nothing. By human standards, she was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. She’d stood in the sidelines as her lover fought for the child of another queen. Though she appeared timid at first glance, her eyes cast down demurely, I was of the opinion that no one could survive Mikael that long without a backbone of steel.
“I killed two of your children,” I said, watching her closely. “Two more will die.”
Her head snapped up, fire dancing in her almond-shaped hazel eyes.
My gaze sharpened. “That’s why I’m unsure if you should live or die. What mother could ever forgive the person who killed her babies—no matter how fucking psychotic three of them are?”
She tried to veil the hatred in her eyes, but it was too late.
“Vladymir,” I called to where he stood as a hulking giant beside Laurel. “How did Queen Zofia treat you and your comrades while you were in her power?”
He bowed low to me. “She was kind to us when she could be, Miss Le Spyre. She treated us like we were people.”
“When her asshole husband wasn’t around, I take that to mean,” I said, pretending to deliberate though I’d already made my choice.
I focused on her again. “You will live, Queen Zofia, because you treated people you considered slaves with respect. Look at me with that hatred in your eyes again, come against me or my loved ones in any way, shape, or form, and I will slaughter all of your children. And you better believe that’s already in the contract and legally binding.”
She wet her lips, eyes rounding slightly.
I pressed my lips together. “I leave it to King Julius’s discretion on how to deal with living Fyrlia royals, but they’re to stay alive.”
Hopefully I don’t live to regret that.
“Special condition two,” I said, reading the contract in my hand. “There will be no further compulsions of Bluff City humans by Clan Sundulus. Section two, the compulsions on the listed names will be removed.”
Lady Treena would be free when Mikael was executed. The compulsion on everyone else would need to be removed willingly.
The clans were growing louder and louder from where they watched on.
“Silence,” the woman from the impartial clan snapped.
They resumed their quiet, not managing to achieve total silence.
“Special condition three,” I continued. “My Vissimo employees will be allowed to live in nine hundred of the gifted properties for the space of two years at the specified discount rent rates, should they wish.” One year while they worked for me, and another because I’d fucking felt like it.
“Four,” I said, noticing the Sundulus royals were already skimming through the conditions on their own.
“You want Kyros in exchange for the gifted houses,” Safina said, levelling me with a look. It wasn’t filled with loathing like last time, but she regarded me coolly. Hopefully there’d be time to regain the ease we once had.
Kyros pinned me with his gaze as I nodded.
“He will be mine,” I answered her. “King Julius will relinquish control over his son in entirety.” I stared around the table of vampires. “All of you will relinquish whatever fucking claim you think you have on him.”
Possessiveness burst through me. “A one-hundred-and-fifty-year battle over a child.” My face screwed up as I looked at the two kings. “What the fuck were you both thinking dragging your lovers and family into that bullshit? You think you can own a man like Kyros or get him to do your bidding? Pathetic.”
King Julius spoke for the first time. “Pathetic to protect what is mine?”
Basilia. The warning in Kyros’s voice was edged in fear.
Guessed I should be nice to my future father-in-law. “If you take my gifte
d properties, Kyros is no longer yours to command.”
Julius tilted his head back. “He will be yours to command instead?”
My brows shot up. “No, King Julius. Kyros will command himself.”
A glimmer of something shone in his father’s eyes.
“For the record,” I snapped at the Fyrlia clan in the tiers, jabbing a finger in Mikael’s direction, “anyone with fucking eyes can see whose son Kyros is. Jesus, how did you people follow that sack of shit for so long?”
His eyes flared, and the power made my knees shake.
Kyros’s gratitude washed through me, warming me. I straightened my back, locking my knees so I didn’t collapse.
“In line with that,” I said, taking a breath, “I’d like both kings to make formal apologies to their families and their clans.”
Gina regarded me. “What incentive does my father have to agree to that, Miss Le Spyre?”
Tynan and Trenit soured—no doubt because she didn’t call me human.
“If he wants six of his children and his wife to survive, he will,” I replied coolly. “You’ll survive anyway, Gina, seeing as we have a standing deal from when you sold out the triplets.”
Her family turned to her, and Gina glared at me.
“You could have given Sandra Hoyt a clean death,” I told her. “But you didn’t.” Or failed to put an end to her brother’s sadistic torture of the woman.
Gina dropped her gaze to the table.
King Julius rifled through the property deed and attached contract. “The conditions are the same on each contract?”
“They are.” All except one. The contract in my back pocket had a special condition attached.
Do the numbers check out? I silently asked Kyros.
I can’t say. We haven’t presented our final figures yet. You underestimated our figures by one hundred and thirty thousand.
Fuck. Which meant I may not be entirely accurate with Fyrlia’s numbers either. Will it be close?
He nodded.
King Julius stood. “True mate of my eldest son, I accept your conditions.”
No surprise there.
He had to know the numbers would cut it close, but he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Kyros was a businessman and he’d learned it from someone.
Julius rounded to my side and promptly dropped to his knees, facing his family. “For one hundred and fifty years, I have forced each of you into a battle that stole your freedom. For that, I’m sorrier than words can adequately describe. My only defence is that I love each of you more than my own life. I could not give up a single one of you to another. Thank you for fighting with me for your eldest brother’s freedom,” he said hoarsely, head bowed. “The only life you have known is this one, and that guilt will reside with me always.”
Death Game: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers Book 3) Page 26