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But beyond the superficial crap, he’d built up her image as primarily a ruler of independent territories, confirming that her most important goal would always be to make certain each Second Earth Territory existed in a state of complete autonomy. Greaves had an opposite vision, and this was something Marcus punched at hard in the worldwide political blogosphere, hammering away at the truth that Greaves was interested in world domination, not freedom for all ascenders.
“If you would please turn, Madame Endelle, an easy step to your right?”
She had discovered that the recently rescued blood slave Kaitlyn, a new mother, was also an excellent seamstress and costume designer. She had a gift with working a variety of materials and never even flinched when Endelle said “possum” or “cuckoo feathers.” If anything, her eyes lit up. She was a hands-on kind of gal. In addition, she could work miracles with just about any medium.
She was fashioning a massive coat for Endelle, structured for wings so that it could be worn while in flight. The back had a strong central strap and was very fitted, but for the most part was bare. The bottom of the coat was made up of a number of layers, many of which would extend for several yards behind her while in flight. Those layers were constructed of traditionally lighter fabrics like lace, silk, and even netting.
She already wore her civet cat bustier and the ladybug pendant. She pressed her hands to her hips. The coat was cinched in to showcase her small waist and was composed of sequined black leather, with white sequins in zebra-like lines.
Spread out in other parts of her palace, the long trains were being hemmed by her seamstresses.
In an hour, her hairdressers would arrive.
Endelle had to admit she actually felt excited about the Camelback spectacle event, which brought one hard fact sharply into view: This was one of the first times in recent decades that she’d gone on the offensive.
And it felt f**king great.
The room’s audio system came on. “Madame Endelle, Carla here.”
“Go ahead, Carla. Kaitlyn is with me.”
“Understood. Marguerite wishes to report in.”
“She all rested up?” The red variety of obsidian flame had endured a long night. With Stannett bound to six powerful Seers, he’d been a bitch to guard hour after hour. By Endelle’s calculation, Marguerite might have gotten four hours of sleep, but hello, welcome to the shit-for-luck club.
“Send her in.”
A second later, Marguerite appeared in the doorway. She hadn’t been in Endelle’s private bedroom before. “Love your digs,” she said. “The round bed is suh-weet.”
Endelle laughed. Marguerite had a singular quality in that she could make Endelle laugh more than any other ascender she’d ever known.
Marguerite grimaced, then flicked a finger against her belly. “You two stop fighting. I’m with Her Supremeness. Show some respect.”
Endelle’s brows rose. Marguerite met her gaze but smirked. “Thought I’d start early with the discipline. Don’t think it’s working. They’re both as stubborn as Thorne.”
“But not like you.” She let the sarcasm roll.
“Oh, of course not.” Marguerite fluffed a collar that wasn’t there, as though preening.
Endelle felt something deep inside begin to settle. Some part of her had been damn worried about Thorne for God knew how long. Breh-hedden or no breh-hedden, Marguerite had caught Thorne in a beautiful deep safety net and now he was more of the vampire he always should have been. She might have still been sad that she wasn’t so close to him, but she was a thousand times more grateful that Marguerite had found him.
“Okay, Supreme High Seer of Second Earth, why are you here so damn early and how did it go last night?”
“As for my being here at this hour, there’s something I need to talk over with you, a concern I have. As for last night, it went like a sonofabitch. Stannett was in rare form. But my teams have some real Seer chops. I worked with them to lock Stanny down without my help, because God knows I need to be free to function with Grace and Fiona tonight, without distractions.”
“Have you been able to see Greaves’s plans at all?”
She shook her head. “Nope. We’re at a stalemate.” She frowned.
“So what’s bothering you? You said you needed to talk something over with me, but everything seems to be in order.”
“I’ve been unsettled about Greaves. And it’s not that I’ve seen this in the future streams, because I haven’t, but I have a gut feeling he intends to attack the spectacle event tonight.”
Endelle grew very still. She even stepped off the platform and held Marguerite’s gaze for a long moment. “The one thing I trust right now is instinct, especially from obsidian flame. So you think there’s a serious risk of attack?”
“I do.”
“You know, when Grace first suggested her idea of a spectacle, I really assumed that Greaves wouldn’t dare attack. I mean we’re filming the damn thing and putting it on the web for the whole world to see. If he attacked, it would turn a good portion of Second Earth against him.
“But I think you may be right because if I were in his shoes, with an opportunity to destroy the one thing standing in my way of taking over Second Earth—dammit, I’d take it.”
She called out, “Hey, Carla, would you get Thorne over here?”
Carla’s voice sounded through the room. “You bet.”
Endelle smiled. “Love this security system. I have a direct line to Central Command at all times. It’s voice-activated. All I have to do is say ‘Carla’ during the day and ‘Jeannie’ at night, and the women have to respond.” Both Carla and Jeannie had worked at Central forever. They were Endelle’s link to the Warriors of the Blood day and night.
A few minutes later, Thorne arrived. Endelle would have started in on the issue at hand, but the moment he saw Marguerite, he had to have his arms around her and give her a kiss.
When the embrace lingered Endelle made her usual gagging sounds until the two breh-mates knocked it off. She then told Thorne what Marguerite had shared with her and that she agreed. “So what do you think, Thorne? What’s your take on this?”
“I think Greaves would be a fool not to try it.” He then glanced from Marguerite to Endelle several times and finally addressed his breh. “Do you think obsidian flame could fold the review to safety if needed? I mean, it would have to be done with split-second timing.”
