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"I always did appreciate a good 'lean'," he said, amusement in his voice. "But she's grown stronger since our last visit, and since she thinks she knows exactly what I'm capable of, she will be less tractable."
"Even I don't know exactly what you're capable of," I said wryly, "So she's a fool if she thinks she knows all there is to know."
And Vi
My phone beeped as a message came in, and I dug it out of my pocket and glanced down. My heart skipped several beats when I saw it was from Kye.
Lunch is cancelled, it said. Have meeting with a client, Will contact you later.
Hope surged. Maybe last night—and my decision to stop fighting and give him what he wanted—was already begi
It was a slim hope, but one I had to cling to nonetheless.
"Anything important?" Qui
I glanced at him, noting the sudden remoteness in his expression.
He knew.
"Just a cancelled lunch meeting." I shoved my phone away. "Nothing important."
"Uh-huh," he said, voice still noncommittal.
I wanted to reach out and catch his hand in mine, but that would only confirm his fears. And even though those fears were very real, I didn't want to cause him any more pain than I already had.
We walked though the doors of Vi
"Vi
I glanced back at him. "Is that why the air feels so charged?"
"Yep. Our mistress of emotions is pla
"Then she's a damn fool."
He smiled, but this time there was nothing warm about it. "All youngsters challenge authority at some point in their lives. But most chose their targets more wisely."
We reached the top floor. A different girl guarded the door, but like the previous one, she was dressed casually and had a suspicious bulge on her right hip. Unlike the previous guard, this girl looked arrogant. Confident.
If the fledglings were taking their lead from their master, then Qui
Did the man who'd visited her last night have anything to do with it? If so, it was more important than ever that we find him. And that she help us.
"We're here to see Vi
"You may go in, but the old one stays here—"
"His name is Qui
The guard's gaze went blank for a moment, then she said, her voice several octaves lower than it had been moments ago, "She does not wish problems with the Directorate, but she does not wish the old one inside her sanctuary."
"The old one can rip your precious little world apart whether he is inside or outside, Vincenta." Though Qui
The wash of power that suddenly burned across my senses was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It was dark, dangerous, and somehow unholy, and it sent chills racing across my flesh. My gaze jumped to Qui
And somewhere deep inside of me, a memory twitched. I'd seen him do that once before, but that time he'd done it to save my life.
From within the room, there was a weird ripping, popping sound, then the screaming began. High, terrible screaming.
God, I said telepathically, what the hell did you just do?
I showed them just what an old one is capable of. I do not believe Vincenta will cause you any more problems.
Did you have to kill one of them to do it? But even as I said that, I knew it was a stupid question. If Vi
Vi
I killed the one armed with silver who was standing in the shadows of the wall curtains. It wasn't one of her main concubines.
I'm sure Vi
The sarcasm in my mental voice had his lips briefly twitching, but there was little amusement in his tone as he glanced at the somewhat paler guard and said, "Open the door, or I will do it for you."
The guard stepped back and opened the door. Qui
The note of command was in his voice and the girl obeyed without question. Those bullets were silver. I felt the burn of them as Qui
I stepped inside the warm room, my gaze sweeping the velvet lushness before stopping at what could only be described as an explosion of flesh, blood, and gore. There was no bones, no body parts, just an oozing, awful mess.
He'd vaporized her.
God.
Just…
God.
How on Earth could you do that to another living being? I flicked my gaze across to Vi
And with good reason.
Damn it, Qui
I was born with it. It is a gift—he paused, then added darkly—or a curse of my Aedh heritage. I do not use it much, because it has severe consequences.
Yeah. I was looking at the dripping remains of them. And yet… I've seen you do something like this before?
He hesitated. Yes. A while ago, when you first started dating Kellen. One of the chameleons from Starke's underground labs came after you.
Chameleons were a rare breed of non humans who could take on any background and literally become a part of it. They were also ferocious flesh-eaters and extremely hard to kill.
How come I've only just remembered it? Or is that a stupid question?
Our relationship was still very tenuous, he said gently, I did not wish to scare you away.
I told you to keep out of my head.
And I have. As I said, this was a while ago. Before you civilized me.
I snorted softly. As if there was ever a hope of civilizing this particular vampire. He might have an urbane and polished front, but underneath he was still very much a powder keg—and just as dangerous if handled the wrong way.
And yet I felt safer with him than I ever would with Kye.
I kept striding forward. Vi