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“I still wonder if we’d have done him a favor by killing her,” Kasar says, entirely serious.
“He’d never forgive us.” I shake my head. If my family killed Eloise, even if it was the right thing to do, I would slaughter them all. “You know why she’s alive.”
“Whatever.” Kasar dismisses the sore subject. “The Latians. Malachi says we’re clear to take them out?”
I open one of the large drawers in the desk. Ignoring the handgun, I grab a manila envelope and hand it to him. I explain as he opens it, inspecting the contents with an experienced eye.
“They were out of the city when the Blackfang Barons took them and Markus out. Showing a modicum of intelligence, they stayed away. Bishop knew of them, but they were all low enough pack members, he figured monitoring was better than sending his men into my territory to kill them. I’d have allowed it, naturally, but they were too busy with their mate and by the time they cared, it didn’t seem worth the effort. Since they’re not posing a threat to their pack or Jemma, they don’t care what we do to them.”
He flips through the surveillance photos from Lan’s work over the last two weeks, committing them to memory. “They’re sticking to Topside,” he mutters, and I nod even though he isn’t looking for a response. “This Garner man, the politician, does he know what he’s getting into with these guys?”
I don’t answer right away. The Latians had distanced themselves from the name, choosing to go by the Kusheriri instead. Someone as arrogant as Michael Garner wouldn’t have his people dig in too deep, especially considering the image the pack has carefully crafted. Enough money to be considered respectable in Newgate, with the right connections to Oldgate. The pack’s residence was just across the river from the Barrows, and thanks to Lan, we know exactly how they’re getting access to our supply of Rapture.
“I believe he understands, but perhaps not to the full extent,” I say at last, steepling my fingers under my chin as I muse. “He’s arrogant and young. He’s also very intelligent, but still a man driven by greed for power. Our information shows he’s skeptical enough of the Latians to not entirely trust them.”
Kasar frowns as he reaches the last page and I wait for his response. Has he put everything together the same way I have, the same way as Lan? Ashe and Malachi have yet to see the dossier, and they won’t if Kasar disagrees with my opinion. I do not move my pieces on the grand chessboard of the Barrows and Topside if my second doesn’t support the moves, not with something on this scale.
His golden eyes meet mine, his ink-black brows narrowed with indignation. He shoves the papers and photos back into the folder before tossing it to my desk with disgust.
“Garner is trying to make a new family,” Kasar says; his voice drips with disdain. “He’s a fuckin’ human and thinks he can get enough supernaturals to follow him? What, like some fucking golden boy mafia boss for the Topsiders?”
I collect the folder and put it back in the drawer, eyeing the handgun. I’ve used guns many times to kill since they’d been invented, but for something like this, I want my knives. The knives I’ve had since Kievan Rus, from my human father.
“It’s what Lan and I suspect,” I agree. “He’s gathering support from other cities. Newgate is one of the few cities that human crime organizations haven’t been able to get a foothold in.”
“Yeah, because this part of the country is ours,” he snarls, territorial. His heel bounces, agitation running through him. Eloise was right when she pointed out, quite obviously, that I’ve been in Oldgate since before the town was formed, let alone Newgate. Kasar was here too, as well as the vampires we’d sired and the other supernaturals we fought to create a haven for. Oldgate has always been called The Barrows. My followers gave it the name when we buried the last of our pursuers and built our settlement on their grave hills to stake our victory. “Send Lan in and kill the bastard.”
“That’s where it gets complicated. He’s built too much of a public political persona. If he dies now, no matter how, there will be questions. Lan’s on him now.” Indignation burns my stomach as I think of him sitting across from Eloise and me, his interest in her before turning his irritation on me. I had made a mistake and it rankles me. He wasn’t some lowly connected pawn in a greater player’s pocket, but a carefully scheming opponent.
And I put my mate on display for him.
“So you’re going to bring him in?” Kasar stands, yanking his hair out of the bun before resecuring it again. “Think that’s wise?”
I hum. “I’ve yet to decide. I’m sending Ashe and Eris to observe. If the demon will let Cassandra take control, she could get into his head. Plant a geas without the risk of him dying at an unfortunate time just for Eris’s amusement.”
Kasar stared at the ceiling and I know what he’s thinking. Thinking about the witch who’d saved us all but lost her body to a demon. How Ashe had raged and hated us. He hadn’t forgiven us in the past hundred years and I suspect it’ll be another hundred years, given that Eris refuses to leave Cassandra’s body.
“He’s going to be useless for a while,” my ancient friend warns and I grimace.
“Ashe will handle it if we need him,” I counter, tugging on the responsibility of a king and letting any compassion I might have for a fellow vampire disappear. I have too much at stake to let the feelings of one vampire stop me from protecting my kingdom at all costs. It’s why I gave Cassandra what she needed that night, and why I’d sacrifice her and anyone else all over again.
I don’t give a fuck if I live until the world crumbles into space, but the haven I have created in the Barrows must live on. My atonement is far from complete. It will never be complete, but I will continue to try. Karina deserves that much. And it’s the biggest fuck you I can give to my sire. The mad Child of Night who wanted to rule over a city flooded with the blood of all creatures.
Kasar was gone; must have left while I was stuck in my own dark history.
Shaking the morose and unproductive thoughts from my mind, I use my new phone to send messages to my soldiers. Names of creatures and humans who owe me favors, and orders to deliver them to Noir that evening. Michael Garner may believe himself powerful and clever enough to create a seat of power to rival mine in Topside, but relying on the weakest survivors of a traitorous wolf shifter pack is a mistake. By the end of the night, the Latians and those who have worked with them will be eradicated.
I will dismantle the foundation he’s built, brick by brick, and he will know what true power is.
My phone rings and a perverse grin twists my lips. Those who know me would know what the expression means, while others would be terrified. Swiping the screen, I bring the phone to my ear.
“Mr. Garner,” I greet, before running the tip of my tongue over a fang. “What can I do for you?”
Chapter Eighteen
Eloise
Excitement hums underneath my skin as the car pulls us into the garage connected to Noir. Ashe isn’t driving us tonight, and our driver is a vampire that’s unfamiliar to me. He seems young, and not just because he looks barely old enough to drink, but I mean young even for a vampire.
