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“Come, Menol y, come, beautiful one.” His left hand slid off my butt, around to finger me, driving me further into the blood lust.
“Ivana Krask cal s me dead girl,” I whispered.
“Oh, but you are my dead girl. My consort. You may have al the playmates you wish, and you may marry your girlfriend and I wil dance at your wedding, but I have chosen you to be my consort.
I am the son of Blood Wyne. And at the cocktail party coming up at the Clockwork Club, I wil unveil our pairing.”
And then he began to thrust in earnest. His lips met my neck as his fangs pierced my flesh, and I lost myself in the haze of blood and passion, sliding into an orgasm from which I did not know if I could extricate myself. At last my mind stil ed, with only the sound of the fal ing snow to sing to us.
CHAPTER 20
“Roman, what did you mean about unveiling our pairing at the Clockwork Club?” The pressure off, I slid back into my clothing, then leaned against the railing that overlooked the street twenty stories below. The lights of the city were soft against the blanket of fal ing snow. Silent cars trailed slowly through the streets, hesitant ants slipping over the ice.
He hopped up to crouch on the lip of the building. A foot wide, the concrete walkway offered no handholds or supports. A balance beam, a game of Russian roulette, and yet he was rock steady.
“They’re having a pre-Solstice party, just a cocktail affair. I want to announce you then.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” I wasn’t sure what to expect.
“We wil attend the party as a couple, and I wil announce that you are now my consort. I have a standing in the community—”
“You mean your wil is the community’s wil .” I was beginning to sort out and understand the nature of Earthside vampire politics and wondered how I’d managed to stay so aloof from them until now. Though, to be fair to myself, we’d been rather busy with Shadow Wing and his retinue.
“Wel , yes. I control the vampire community on this continent, for the most part. And once I announce you as my official consort, you wil wield far more power than you do now. You wil almost be a queen in your own right. And I think you shal need that power during the coming months.” He paused. “I have foresight, to some extent. I am aware of your war against the demons.”
At my jerk of the head, he laughed. “Oh, Menol y, I’m aware of much more than you think I am.
Being my consort means you wil have that many more resources to cal upon. Should the Demon Lord decide to come through the portal himself, it means the vampire community wil ral y to help you if you demand it. As my consort, you wil wield that power.”
I stared at him. “You mean that if you snapped your fingers, the vampires around here would come running? Wade’s been trying to establish a communal effort for years with Vampires Anonymous, and he stil can’t get them to work together. Oh, and speaking of . . . What about Terrance? He tried to frame Wade for the murders our serial kil er is responsible for.”
“If you become my consort and lend Wade your backing, he wil have a much easier time. You think the vampires of the Clockwork Club wield authority? They kneel to me. We who live in power can exert a great deal of influence. If we choose. Which is another reason Terrance must die. He refuses to bow to our demands. He would set himself up as a petty general. We . . . I . . . am the power behind the public face of the vampire community in North America.”
“Who decided to create the Regencies? Wade led me to believe he had a hand in it.”
Roman shook his head. “No. Blood Wyne—my mother—decided it was necessary. It cements the family power, while offering a chance for nonroyal vampires to help decide local policies. Each continent wil be divided up into several Regencies and the sons and daughters of Blood Wyne wil oversee the Regents. The times are changing. As much as I fear my mother, she has final y convinced me of the necessity of an active monarchy.”
“So how wil this work?” Wade had told me one thing, but when I thought about it, his explanation had never been very clear.
“Blood Wyne wil emerge from the shadows for the world to know. However, she wil speak through her children, who wil speak through the Regents on each continent. And the Regents wil form the treaties with the breathers for vampire rights in exchange for certain concessions. The Regency was planned to be an elective office, but that is proving problematic so we are scrapping that plan and choosing the Regents for our mother, making sure they are powerful but balanced, and not terribly bloodthirsty. Neither Terrance nor Wade would do the job right.”
“So you wil be appointing the Regents?”
“Ostensibly they wil be elected, but yes, in truth, the Regents wil be vampires from the Old World, who already possess the strength and authority to make policy.”
I snorted. “You’re rigging the elections.”
“If you like, yes. And Terrance’s death wil be a statement to al vampires living within the Northwest Vampire Dominion. They wil know that Blood Wyne and her children are taking control, regardless of whether this be the New World or Europe.” He laughed. “Even I knew that my mother would make her move one day. There is no question of her al owing power to be diluted too far from the throne. I may not like her, but she is the queen and I wil obey.”
It occurred to me that Roman and Wade had something in common there. Only, Belinda Stevens was pretty much relegated to queen bee of her family. “So, when wil you take Terrance down?”
Roman laughed again. “Soon. Would you like to be there?”
My fingers itched to see Terrance get his just due. “If possible, yes.”
“I’l remember that. Now, in terms of your vampire serial kil er, what did Ivana find out for you?”
“Nothing about him, but she helped with the ghosts.” I leaned over the railing, staring out into the city. “We have to find him. If he hasn’t kil ed again, he’s bound to soon. I don’t want to see another woman lose her life to him.”
