“Yes, Miss Menolly. Oh, there was a phone call for you from Lord Roman.”
I wondered why he hadn’t called my cell phone. Then, pulling it out and glancing at my missed calls list, I saw that he had and I hadn’t heard. By the time stamp on it, I saw that it had been while we were at the meeting. No doubt the throng of protesters and the singing and shouting had drowned out the ring tone.
I listened to his voice message. “My mother wants to see you, and I will expect you tomorrow night here, at ten P.M. sharp. This is a formal-dress occasion. Bring Nerissa with you. I’m going to be exceptionally busy the rest of the evening, so don’t bother returning my call. Just make sure you are here.”
Frowning, I stared at my phone. What the hell? Wondering if I’d missed something, I replayed it, listening closely. He didn’t sound mad—just busy. And given his schedule, I knew he wasn’t blowing me off. But Blood Wyne wanted to see me? What the hell was up now?
“Nerissa, love . . . tomorrow night, Roman’s mother wants to see both of us.” I swallowed, hard. It was one thing taking my wife to meet Roman. But to meet his mother? Blood Wyne was a terrifying figure—beautiful but so far from the human she had once been that she might as well be an alien, for all intents and purposes.
Nerissa paled. “Why does she want me there?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t refuse. I will protect you, no matter what.” But even as I made the promise, the worrisome thought ran through my head that no vampire could stand against the Queen of the Crimson Veil. “There’s no use speculating what she wants. It could be anything, given the whims of nobility.”
Nerissa nodded, but I could sense her fear. And she was right to be afraid. The Queen of Vampires held an incredible amount of power, and I had no desire to see her wield it—unless it be against a common enemy.
Hanna emerged from the hall, carrying Maggie. Our little calico woodland gargoyle was a baby, about as big as a medium-sized dog at this point. She was a toddler, though, and would remain so for many, many years. Camille had rescued her from a harpy intent on making the baby her lunch, and we had decided to keep her. Maggie was adorable, though dangerous to small animals and children, and I had no clue what we were going to do when she got to her teenaged years. For that matter, I had no idea if gargoyles went through a rebellious phase. Maybe we’d be lucky and she wouldn’t. But it would be decades before we had to worry about that.
I reached for her and Hanna settled her in my arms. Nerissa snuggled around both of us. Maggie was covered with a soft, plush layer of fur, and she was just learning to talk. She yawned, her wings opening wide as she stretched her arms, and then she folded them together around her and curled up against me, softly closing her eyes and falling right to sleep. The past few weeks had been hard on her, with so much activity and with only Hanna having enough time to pay attention to her properly. I kissed her forehead and stroked the fur on her back, glancing at Nerissa, who was smiling softly. Maggie snuffled as she slept, and before long, Nerissa had nodded off next to me.
Delilah was playing some game on her phone, and Shade was reading. I stared at him. He had undergone a lot of change—unwelcome changes, at that—yet he was handling it all gracefully. I had no doubt that losing his Stradolan nature to the devil-wraith that had invaded our home had hit him deeply, but he hadn’t allowed it to affect how he treated everyone else.
After a little while, Delilah glanced over at me. Maggie was asleep. Nerissa was asleep. Kitten motioned for me to extricate myself and follow her into the kitchen. She gently took Maggie and, just as gently, I slid out from the crook of Nerissa’s arm, making sure she was in a comfortable position before following Delilah.
Hanna was still up, sitting in the rocking chair by the stove, dozing lightly. She started as we entered the room. “Let me put her to bed.” She rose and—refusing to take no for an answer—carried Maggie into the room they shared to tuck her into her crib.
Delilah wrapped her arms around herself. “Do you ever feel like things are moving too quickly? Like the world has sped up around you and all you can do is hold on for the ride?”
I gave her a soft smile. “Every day since the day I came out of my madness. And yet . . . for me . . . the world feels like it will stretch on forever. It’s a solemn thing, knowing that unless somebody stakes me or some accident happens, I’ll go on and on until I choose to end it.” I usually didn’t talk about things like this, but tonight seemed a night for reflection and realizations. “If nobody kills me, someday I’ll be forced to make that decision on my own.”
Kitten nodded. “I sometimes think about your life and what it must be like.” She paused. “Shade and I will be married on the autumn equinox. And then . . .” A flash of fear crossed her face. “I have no idea when the Autumn Lord will want me to bear his child. I don’t know if I can do it. I mean, it’s one thing to have a baby, but to be the mother to an Elemental? I have no idea how to approach that.”
“You’ll do fine. Just love your child and . . . teach him or her not to destroy the world in a fit of temper.” I repressed a smile, but at least it got a giggle out of her.
“I can just see it. Go to your room or you can’t go out and make the leaves change color! Or something that seems equally absurd right now.” She snagged a couple more cookies off the tray on the counter.
“How’s Shade doing?” I opened the fridge, excited to see that Morio had enchanted more blood for me. One label read chocolate cake and I eagerly pulled it out. I really did need to figure out a thank-you present for him.
“Shade . . . he’s taking everything in stride.” She hopped on the counter, eating her cookies and swinging her feet. “That’s one thing I’ve learned about shadow dragons. They tend to be less volatile than the others, from what I gather. He has an even nature. Oh, he can get angry, but he takes things as they come and he deals with them calmly. I know losing the Stradolan genetics hit him deeply—that was an essential part of his nature—but since there doesn’t seem to be much he can do about it, he’s doing the only thing he can. He’s relearning who he is now.”
“I know what it’s like to have to relearn everything—to be somebody you weren’t.” I leaned against the granite countertop next to her and sipped the blood. It tasted like a deep dark chocolate cake, rich and thick on my tongue. If it hadn’t been liquid, I might have even thought I was really eating something substantial. “If he ever needs to talk, I’m here. I understand what it’s like to lose a part of yourself.”
As Kitten nodded, the front door opened and Camille, Morio, and Vanzir entered the room. We trailed into the living room after them. Camille looked like the cat who had eaten the canary, and Vanzir had a look on his face that pretty much could be read as sheer terror.
“What happened? What did they want?” I slid back into the chair with Nerissa as she woke up.
Camille and Morio settled down on the sofa with Vanzir next to them.
“I might as well get right to it. In light of all that’s happened, Aeval is moving up my coronation. I’m to take the throne at midsummer. And . . . then Smoky, Trillian, Morio, and I will move out to the Sovereign Nation. It’s settled—” She held up her hand, looking teary. “I don’t really have a choice. The Moon Mother concurs. Derisa was there. I’m going to have to learn on the job, it seems. Titania and Aeval created a new balance when they abandoned the summer and winter courts and moved to one based on the time of day. When they allowed Morgaine to join with them, it forever shifted matters. And now, Morgaine’s death has thrown everything off and the balance needs to be set right.”
So . . . we had only a few short weeks of being all together instead of until Samhain. I hung my head, not sure what to say. Delilah let out a soft mew, but then pressed her lips together and stared at the coffee table.
“I knew the future was coming, I just didn’t realize it was going to come so quickly.” Camille sounded incredulous. “B
ut I’m not the only one with news. Vanzir’s news is directly impacted by Aeval’s decision. But I’ll let him tell you about that himself.”
I looked over at the dream-chaser demon. He had been recently outed in his relationship with the Queen of Shadow and Night, though only to Camille, Delilah, and me. And I had no clue if he even knew that we knew.
Vanzir let out a long breath and cleared his throat. “I suppose the best way to say this is just to come out with it. When Camille moves out to Talamh Lonrach Oll, I’ll be going, too. I found out something last month. Aeval . . . I don’t know if you realize she and I have been . . . we’re . . .”
“Together?” Delilah prompted him, grinning. “We know you’re an item. I saw you and Aeval with your tongues down each other’s throat.”
Vanzir arched an eyebrow. “Well, then. Yeah, we’re together. And apparently we have put it to the proof that dream-chaser demons can interbreed with the Fae. Because Aeval is pregnant and she’s going to have my child. So I will be moving out to her Barrow as her consort.”
That was a piece of news nobody expected.
Camille and Morio sat nonplussed. They must have found out while they were out there. But Vanzir rushed on, heedless of the stunned silence. Or perhaps, because of it.
“The healers tell her the child will be an interesting mix, but her—our daughter is healthy and growing just fine, and while there’s no chance she’ll ever take the crown, Aeval wants me to be with her so the baby will know her father. I decided to follow Chase’s example and be there for my child. I’ve never had a family,” he added, his voice softening. “I never had anything remotely resembling a childhood. Even demons need . . . well . . .” He trailed off, looking lost for words.
I sat there, unsure of what to say. Then Delilah jumped up and wrapped her arms around Vanzir’s neck. He looked mildly alarmed, but she just wrinkled her nose and smiled.
“Congratulations, Vanzir. You’re in for one heck of a ride, I think.”
And then congratulations and conversation filled the room.
Chapter 10
Nerissa was rummaging through the closet when I woke up. As usual, my first response was to lurch forward, swiping at her, but she was far enough away to avoid me. Always honed to a fine edge, my reaction upon waking was to attack first, ask questions later. Long ago, I had left a scar on Camille and now everybody knew to be at least ten feet away from the bed. That gave me a split second before attacking to realize where I was and who I was. As long as we had the over-arm’s-length rule in place, everybody was generally safe.
“What are you doing?” I blinked. The sudden awareness of consciousness always threw me for a loop for just a few moments. Sunset eliminated subtle waking for me, flipping the light switch on with a sudden clarity.
“I have no clue what to wear. What the hell should I wear to meet Roman’s mother? And tell me again, why do I have to go?” Nerissa, usually calm and collected, was sounding absolutely frantic. The look in her eyes vied for the time when I suggested she might not need to dress up to go clubbing. Petrified, along with a side of what the fuck are you talking about?
I stared at my feet, not believing what I was about to say. “You have to go because she’s the Queen of Vampires and because Roman’s my sire, and because . . . because . . . I don’t want to have to tell her no.” Glancing up at her through my eyelashes, I tried for a grin.
She narrowed her brow, tilting her head. “You have got to be kidding.” Then, with a long breath, she dropped the half-dozen outfits that were in her hands. “Fine. Okay, just fine. But you, my love, are going to be responsible for picking out an outfit for me.”
I was about to protest when she shook her head. “Don’t even try to get out of this.”
Meekly, I acquiesced, shuffling over. I had to figure out my own outfit, as well. Roman had specified that the meeting was a formal affair. I wasn’t about to stint Blood Wyne her due. I glanced through our closets. We couldn’t share clothes—I was far smaller and shorter than Nerissa, so we never had the option to borrow outfits. Clubbing clothes were out, as were professional suits. Jeans? Not in a million years.
Finally, in the back of her closet, I spied a gown. It had a halter top and was a vivid shade of cobalt blue. The skirt flowed out into a gossamer swirl of layers varying from the same cobalt to a pale ice blue. Faint threads of gold wound through the different hues, with just enough sparkle to transform the gown from pretty to exquisite.
“This is gorgeous. When did you get this?” I hung it on a hook on the closet door and began to rummage through her shoes. Her peep-toe gold metallic slingbacks would match perfectly.
She stared at the gown, a soft, sad smile crossing her face. “I wore that to the last party my great-aunt Lucy threw before she died. The aunt who left me the money that I bought the condo with. I loved her, you know. She was a good woman, and for a human to be able to integrate with the Pride is rare. They never fully accepted her, but she won over more than a few of them.”
“She must have cared a great deal for you.” I hadn’t asked Nerissa all that much about her family. We’d had a few long conversations, but overall, Nerissa had been reticent on her affiliations with the Puma Pride. For one thing, they hated vampires and had all but pushed her out because of her relationship with me.
Nerissa laid out the dress on the bed, then rummaged through her dresser for a strapless, low-back bra and matching thong. “My family . . .” She carried her underwear over to her dressing table and stripped off her shirt. I watched, drinking in the sight of her.
“My father died when I was young. He was shot by a hunter and we found his body the next day. Mom . . . her name is Lana . . . had a young child and no job. She did one of the only things women in our Pride can do. She remarried. Her new husband treated me all right, but he’s very alpha. When I showed signs of being interested in learning from Venus, he was seriously annoyed and refused to allow a daughter of his—even a stepdaughter—to follow that path under his roof. He wanted me to marry in the Pride and have babies. And he was even less tolerant when he found out I preferred women to men. I left home early but thought I could manage to stay part of the Pride. When I went back to tell my mother I was getting married to you, she kissed me, told me she loved me, and then asked me never to return.”
I stood rock still. Nerissa had never once mentioned this to me. Her family had refused to come to the wedding but, given that the Puma Pride didn’t like vamps, I hadn’t expected them to. But I had never known any of this. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. She kicked you out of her house for marrying a woman?” And then I stopped. “No, she kicked you out for marrying a vampire.”
Nerissa glanced over at me as she lowered herself to the vanity bench, her expression cautiously neutral. “Right.”
And then I understood why Nerissa needed to know that I was truly here for her. Now, my sisters and I were the only family she had left. Venus was off in the Dragon Reaches, and that left very few in the Puma Pride who would accept Nerissa’s marriage with me. They didn’t even like my sisters, though we had saved their butts once, quite some time ago. No, the Puma Pride worked with us through the Supe Community Council, but that was as far as it went.
Just as suddenly, it dawned on me that my lack of communication skills must have hurt my wife precisely because she had no family to go home to. She had sacrificed her Pride’s support to follow her own path, and had lost their acceptance when she threw her lot in with mine. I leaned down, kissing her gently on the lips.
“I’m sorry. They are the ones losing out, my love. And I almost joined them. I promise you, from now on, I’m here for you. Whatever we face—either of us—we face it together.”
She smiled then, breathing softly. “Thank you. That’s why I’m going with you tonight. We face whatever comes together.”
“So, if you’re wearing that, what should I wear?” I opened my w
ardrobe and began sorting through the mass of jeans and sweaters that were my usual garb.
“What about your black gown? It would offset mine really well.” She fastened her bra, then slid into clean panties. I still was amazed by her figure. Voluptuous, smart, and strong, that summed up my wife.
“You think?” I rummaged in the back where I kept my dresses. The gown, one my aunt had bought for me many years ago, was black as ink, shimmering with faint silver threads. I wore it at Yule, and now—as I brought it out—I realized that Nerissa was right. In its simplicity, it was elegant and perfect for a meeting with Blood Wyne.
I fingered my braids. My cornrows were my signature mark, but tonight, it felt like I should take them out—let my hair curl around my shoulders. “Will you help me?”
She grinned, then slipped a robe over her underwear. “Sit down. Let me make you up. I don’t know what tonight’s about, but if I’m to be there, too, it’s obviously important and you need to look your best.” She unbraided my hair, brushing it gently so that the curls didn’t frizz but, instead, hung like a cloud of waves around my shoulders. Then she carefully applied my makeup. I couldn’t see myself in the mirror, so I usually settled for a swipe of lip gloss. But tonight? Everything needed to be spot-on perfect.
“There. Refined, elegant, and a little bit deadly.” Nerissa stood back, eyeing me. “Now change into your dress. Wear the silver heels with it.”
We both dressed, adjusting each other as needed—a tuck here, a cinch there—and finally, we were ready to go. I chose a simple black woven shawl. Nerissa, a pale blue chiffon one. Taking a deep breath, I stood back.
“What do you think? Do I look ready to meet the Queen of Vampires?” I hadn’t realized just exactly how nervous I had been until now. And that realization didn’t sit particularly comfortably with me. But there was nothing I could do. It was fact, and I wasn’t one to ignore what was in front of my face. Blood Wyne made me nervous.