I inclined my head to her and turned to enter the mansion’s grounds through the gatehouse. Tahlia sputtered behind me, but I ignored her as I returned to cleaning up the mess everyone else had left for me.
My headache only deepened to a painful, insistent throbbing. The emergency meeting lasted several long hours as the nobility and useful personages from Queen Nemea’s regime debated who could be behind the murder. Lady Lorelei’s. The death of two contestants were completely overshadowed by the reported team of vampireswho’d slain the councilwoman and her devotees in her own home.
Zane swaggered in late. I stopped midsentence and let the silence stretch until every eye turned to him.
“Hello, Zane.” I smiled. “Congratulations on your mating. You’re dismissed from your council duties.”
“Surely not?” He put a hand to his chest, feigning innocence.
“Go back to waiting with your Beloved,formerking-in-waiting,” I said with great relish. “Your presence here was ornamental at best.”
The council tittered as Zane left, a few of the vampires amused by my feud with that pretender. Then talk turned back to the murderers, and the weight of everyone else’s fear for their own hides crushed my enjoyment.
Weariness weighed on my bones as we finally called an end to the meeting. Dawn was approaching, and I still hadn’t visited the great hall, where I’d ordered the candidates and their devotees confined.
I swept in to speak to the gathering of vampires. Their impatience and worry chafed against my skin, adding to the pain in my head as I gritted my teeth again. The Flask of Dominion filtered back into my head, her magic passing straight through the closed double doors to the throne room.
Six of the remaining ten candidates were here, along with their mates. I presumed the other four had been locked out of the mansion, either out attempting to complete the Trial of the Nemesis or planning what they’d do.
My gaze alighted on Ilyana, drawn to the vibrancy of her emotions as always. She lifted her chin as she noticed my attention, her feelings spiking with a delicious and confused medley I savored. I so enjoyed that spark ofdefiance in her expression.
She hated me. But she was attracted to me. And goddess damn me, it was mutual. She was a flame, beautiful and deadly, and if I didn’t keep my wits about me, I would circle her until she burned me. There was something beguiling about her, an elusive essence of power and control. And I had only ever yearned to sip from the veins of the powerful.
But pain was a promise in her every glare. The little kernel of intuition within me whispered that, should she gain the crown, she would wield her breathtaking power to delivermydeath.
Craving bloodlust as always, the Flask whispered,“Fly closer, little moth. Love and hate are two sides of the same knife.”
I shook off the thought and addressed the room. “Two of your own have died today. One felled by our enemies, with her tongue removed as a warning of her follies. And another mysteriously killed in her bed. I want to assure you that we are looking into the situation. If you have not already spoken to Lord Clement about your whereabouts tonight, you will soon.
“In the meantime, we are increasing security here at the mansion. No one leaves or arrives without a thorough questioning. Your comings and goings will only be allowed for the Trial of the Nemesis. Questions?”
Razira lifted an elegant hand. She smiled, looking up at me through her snowy lashes. The guile lurking just under the surface of her pretty face stroked against my senses. As always, I smiled back, acknowledging her as a flawless player in the game of vampire politics. “Surely with this new development, we could pause the second trial?”
Given that she didn’t flinch, she didn’t feel the wrath of theFlask like I did, an influx of pure rage that burned in my veins.
“No,” I answered without pause. “That will not be possible.”
After a confused murmur from the group, more questions arose. I answered them all and sidestepped speaking about Lady Lorelei’s death. The council had decided to keep it as quiet as we could. As far as we could tell, the three killers were all different. The only one we needed to fear was the one who was willing to burn the House of the Sanguine down from within.
Eventually, I released the vampiresses and their devotees to shuffle off and rest.
“Lady Ilyana,” I said when she passed by me, partially to feel her reaction. A twinge of anxiety to be called out of the crowd. Ire in the next moment. A heady blend of nerves and antagonism as she turned to look at me.
“What is it, Lord Regent?” she asked with poorly concealed annoyance.
Her two devotees waited nearby as I beckoned for her to speak with me in a private corner of the room.
“Where were you last night?” I asked out of concern, but her expression hardened. I put my palms up. “I am merely worried for you.”
She narrowed her eyes, and her suspicion screamed at me. “Is that so?”
She always seemed to take my words the wrong way, like she was actively trying to find the worst of my intentions in every sentence I uttered. It certainly made me wary, if not distrustful. Lord Clement needed to have a long discussion with her. I would ensure that he did, regardless of her alliance with his daughter.
In the meantime, I couldn’t help but test her reaction tome. Even without my magic, I felt the caress of her gaze as it drifted down my torso. “You look tired. I’d love to know what caused it,” I said with a hint of suggestion. I wanted to reach out and brush a stray lock of hair out of her face. For a moment, I reached for her.
“Simply a long morning with my new mates. You know how it is.” To my chagrin, her attention shifted to where they stood waiting for her. My fingers dropped away, forming a fist at my side. “Or perhaps you don’t, Lord Regent. I am unaware of your history.”
Heat burned just under my skin. Nemea had promised me everything and given me nothing. “My history is my own. Your present concerns me more. How are you doing with the current trial?”
