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Cord’s eyes narrowed as she spoke, but when she finished and looked at him in mocking disbelief, he felt the corner of his mouth turn up. “Playing to my ego?” he asked her as he sat down again.
“Merely reminding you of who you are.”
“It is more than a few Drakhyn,” Cord said distractedly as he considered her, and he winced internally as he realised it was said slightly defensively.
Tegan flicked her braid over her shoulder in dismissal. “They chose you because of what you can do. Do you think the Ancients would select you so you could fall at the first hurdle?”
“No.”
“Exactly,” Tegan said triumphantly. “Coming here because of some nonsense Cornelius spouted and finding an empty room spooked you. Something orsomeoneis trying to distract you.” Tegan crossed the room, her hands landing on his shoulders as she looked fiercely down at him. “And it is working, Castor. You areherewhen you should bethere. You need to ask yourself the question of who is playing these games with you.”
“I don’t like that you are being smarter than me,” Cord said as he looked into her deep blue eyes and smiled again when she gave a light laugh as she stepped back.
“I am female, we arealwayssmarter,” Tegan teased him as he stood.
“Tove tell you that?”
“She did.” Tegan grinned at him. She lost her grin when he once again embraced her, pulling her into his chest. She tilted her head back to look up at him. “Castor?”
“I will go back to free the Vampyres and hopefully find Leonid,” Cord told her softly as her hands uncurled from fists to lie flat against his chest. “You will continue to train, but youmustfind Alexander. I shall send word to the Castors they need to help you.”
“Okay,” Tegan said as she watched him warily.
“You also need to watch Cornelius. With the Vampyres being gone and Alexander missing, he will know what has happened. He is making his move while our attention is pointed away from him.” Cord’s arms tightened around her.
“I need to speak to Marcus and Salem about our concerns,” Tegan answered him. “I may need Michael too. And…Sloane?”
Cord felt a flutter of happiness as she saidour, not his concerns. “Tell only who you trust.”
He saw her frown as she glanced away from him before she asked tentatively. “Who do you want me to tell? Who doyoutrust?”
“You,” Cord said easily. “I trust you.”
Tegan couldn’t fight the smile at the ready admission even as Cord stepped back out of the embrace. “Tell Marcus, he will know what to do,” he told her as he looked out of the window to the darkening sky. “I’ve been gone too long.”
Tegan reached out and grasped at his hand. “You are the Mark, you will break the spell and youwillfind him.”
“I will,” Cord said as he raised her hand to his lips, his eyes holding hers for a long moment. “Wear more to bed, little tiger,” he said, his voice heavy with amusement.
“I wasn’t exactly expecting visitors,” Tegan scolded him and rolled her eyes as he smirked at her before he portalled from the room.
Tegan stood for a moment in the quiet of her room, tracing the back of her hand where he had kissed it. Shaking herself into action, she pulled on her boots before she left her room to find Salem and Marcus. She needed to go searching, and while it wasn’t hunting Drakhyn or finding her father, it wassomething.
Finally.
* * *
Tegan stood in Salem’s study patiently as, out of the corner of her eye, she watched Marcus, who in turn watched Salem. The door opened and Commander Bryce came into the study.
“Salem?” Commander Bryce asked curiously as he dipped his head in greeting to the others in the room. “What’s happened now?”
Salem gave a light laugh as he thought of the question. “Crimson Castor Ivanov”—he caught Tegan’s look—“sorry, Lebedev, was here earlier.”
“Have the Vampyres been found?” Commander Bryce asked Tegan curiously.
“They are still within the Court,” Salem supplied. “Crimson CastorLebedevwent to Council Elder Alexander’s home to ask for his aid.”
Commander Bryce glanced quickly around the room to gauge everyone’s reaction. “But…the Council Elder is in Solitude.”
