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I was back at our car when headlights gleamed in the distance. A sleek sedan glided into view and parked on the opposite shoulder. The driver got out—I couldn’t see anyone else in the car. We’d asked him to come alone, and it looked as though he actually had. The thump of my heart slowed just slightly.
The vamp who’d come was a tall skinny guy with the usual pale gauntness to his face. He smiled tightly at me, standing as if he wasn’t completely sure he should leave his car.
“Alpha of the canine kin,” he said in a thin but steady voice. “My name is Edwin. I come from the house of the king, and I can speak on his behalf.”
“All right, Edwin,” I said, trying and failing to erase my instinctive gruffness from my voice. “Come on over. We won’t bite.”
His jaw tensed, and I reminded myself that I was supposed to be aiming for diplomacy here. But the vampire envoy did cross the road and allowed me to usher him into the back of the car. I hesitated for a second there, torn between having to sit next to the bloodsucker or sitting up front knowing he was at my back.
A show of bravery and good faith seemed like the better option. I shut the door and took my seat next to Felix again.
“So, Edwin,” I said as Felix started the engine. I studied the vampire through the rearview mirror. “Why did the king send you?”
“When your liaison extended the request, I volunteered,” the vampire said from where he was sitting stiffly on the aged leather.
My eyebrows jumped up. “And why’s that?” I wouldn’t have thought any of the vamps would be in a hurry to throw themselves in with a crowd of shifters, but I managed to restrain myself from voicing that fact.
“I’ve been pushing for us to make a greater gesture of good will for some time,” he said. “This seemed the ideal opportunity to put my money where my mouth is, as they say.”
Ah. Well, that didn’t sound particularly suspicious. And it was only fair that I gave him a warning. “A lot of my people were hurt during the attacks. Some of the kin who’ll be there tonight lost friends or family. You’ll have to be prepared that not everyone is going to be all that welcoming.”
“I was never led to expect anything else,” Edwin said dryly. He was silent for a moment, his gaze sliding to the dark landscape outside the car window. Then he added, “If it makes any difference to you, I was against those attacks from the start. I didn’t participate in them because at the time they were going on, I was confined in one of the former king’s prisons, awaiting trial for speaking against him.”
Anyone could have said that to try to gain sympathy points, but his tone sounded genuine to me. I swiveled in my seat to look at him directly. “Thank you,” I said, and found I meant it more than I’d expected to. “You put yourself on the line for us—whatever your reasons.”
The tight smile came back. “And my people never should have put any of your lives on the line. But all we can do now is move forward. If anything, I should thank you. It’s quite possible I owe my continued survival to your victory.”
The lights of the estate came into view around the still dancing blaze of the bonfire. Felix moved to turn the wheel, and I shook my head. “The front gate this time.”
“Whatever you say, boss,” he said in a voice that was a tad tongue-in-cheek. I decided not to submit him to another glower. Felix had a mouth on him, but he’d done good work.
The guards at the gate tugged it open. We drove just inside, and I motioned for Felix to stop. If this went sideways, I wanted us to be able to escort Edwin off the premises as quickly as possible.
I got out first and stepped to the back door to escort the vampire out. My kin around the bonfire had let their conversations trail off to peer over at us. Just barely in view beyond the flames, my mate was craning her neck to see. Aaron rested a hand on her shoulder, and all three of the other alphas started heading our way with her.
“My kin,” I said. “We have a guest tonight who will be making only a brief appearance, who would like to take the opportunity during this celebration to make a gesture of trust and peace. He is here on my invitation, and I expect you to behave with that in mind. He has something to say to our dragon shifter.”
I opened the door, and Edwin stepped out. I heard breaths drawn in sharply and a few rough mutters, but no one said anything loud enough that I could hear it.
Ren paused where she’d been skirting the fire. Edwin’s gaze found her and then drifted to the wavering flames. His body went momentarily rigid at the sight.
Fire was one of the few things that could kill a vamp.
Before I had to say anything, he pushed himself forward, toward Ren and toward the bonfire. My kin had drawn back in the wake of the car, leaving him a clear path. I walked just behind him, scanning their faces, offering a show of confidence to reassure them.
“We should toss him into the fire and be done with him!” someone called out, and someone else laughed.
My head snapped toward those voices. “Insult my guest and you also insult me,” I said with a growl.
There was only silence after that.
The fire crackled and snapped as Edwin approached my mate. Sparks drifted in the air near him. He winced, only a few feet away from those flames now. After another step, he sank down onto one knee with his head bowed before our dragon shifter. Aaron, Nate, and Marco stayed at her flanks, poised to protect her if need be.
But there was no need. “Dragon shifter,” the vampire said in a strained voice, “I’ve come here tonight because I want to show how committed my people are to ensuring the peace between our kinds continues—and strengthens. We’ve kept our distance out of shame and reluctance for far too long. Weshouldbe the ones to come out and meet you on your ground, to prove your forgiveness matters enough that we will lay our lives in your hands for the opportunity to receive it. Knowing what I do about what happened here and elsewhere at my people’s hands, I wouldn’t have blamed you if youhadordered me tossed into that fire. I thank you for your mercy.”
Ren stared at him, looking momentarily speechless. Then she drew up her chin. “Did you come all the way out here just to say that?”
It was haughty, but that was the attitude my kin needed to see. They needed to know she wasn’t immediately softened by his words. Pride swelled in my chest. This woman had grown into her role so well, so quickly. With the firelight washing over her, she looked every inch a queen.
