AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I swore to keep the secret, otherwise I’d tell you in a heartbeat. But there’s a geas and I’m not sure what would happen if I told you. I care a great deal for Emory, he’s like a brother to me, but I love you, Lucy. My loyalty is to you now.’
‘And to the pack.’
‘Screw the pack. My loyalty is to you,’ he repeated. ‘I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.’
That gave me the warm and fuzzies. Yes, I had Esme so I didn’t really need him to keep me safe, but I appreciated the sentiment. Besides, you can never have too many people watching your back.
Our conversation stalled as Liam approached. ‘We’ve got a visitor incoming. I passed them through the front gates.’
‘Who?’ I asked.
‘Alessandro,’ he replied nervously.
‘Which one?’
‘Theone.’
‘The vampyr?’
Liam nodded. ‘He’s famous. He keeps to himself a lot but he’s like a rock star. He’s the only elemental to become a vampyr – hell, the onlyOtherto become a vampyr and retain his previous magic.’ Liam was fan-girling; I wondered how he’d deal when he found out I was related to his hero.
I heard a whinny and turned to see Ares coming around the side of the house. His nostrils were flared and his red eyes were flashing. His sides were heaving when he arrived; he must have run all of the way. I gathered my power and reached out to him.What’s up?
I got a sense of danger, of impending doom, and an image of a vampyr’s teeth. Ares was stomping his clawed hooves, ready to smash some vampyr flesh. Obviously there was no love lost for vampyrs with him. No wonder, after what he’d been through at the black tourneys.
I tried my best to convey that I didn’t think the approaching vampyr was a threat. I sent an image of Alessandro and overlaid an image of a mother and a foal. Ares froze, and I swear he cocked his head and looked at me curiously. He shook his head and went back to trampling the ground viciously.
Play nicely,I entreated.
Ares harrumphed. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I had no more time to think about it. A sleek black limo was rolling up the drive; Gramps was here.
The car stopped and the chauffeur got out. ‘Alessandro would like to invite you to join him in the vehicle.’
I thought about that. Gramps or not, I wasn’t inviting him into the mansion any time soon. However, the limo was his territory. ‘Thanks, but no. He can join us out here. It’s a nice balmy day, we can walk around the rose garden.’ That seemed nice and civilised. Sure, there were fewer shadows in the garden for him to phase in and out of, but obviously that didn’t enter my thinking at all.
The chauffeur made a face like he was affronted on Alessandro’s behalf, but he opened the car door and relayed my comments. We couldn’t hear the reply, but moments later the chauffeur stepped back and Alessandro stepped out.
When I had first met him, I’d thought he was handsome; that was kind of awkward now that I knew he was my granddad. Now I studied him with different eyes. His pale skin, which I’d previously put down to him being undead, was eerily similar to mine. His hair was a light, sandy blond, like Maxwell’s and mine. Vampyrs can choose whatever age they want to appear to be, and he’d chosen to age himself slightly. On close examination, his hair was dusted with grey, and there were the faintest of marks around his eyes; in his case, I’d have hesitated to call them lines. He had green eyes but they were a similar shape to my own. Biological family. It was an alien thought.
‘Lucy,’ he greeted me evenly. ‘Let’s talk privately.’ He glanced at Greg, which instantly put my back up. Alessandro was on my turf and he thought he was going to tell me what do?
He eyed Ares cautiously. The unicorn lowered his head and directed his horn at him. ‘No shanking him,’ I said firmly. Ares slid me a sideways glance, but raised his head.
‘You have a pet unicorn?’ Alessandro asked.
‘He has me, I think.’ I shifted the conversation back to Greg. ‘You can speak freely in front of Greg because I’m going to tell him anyway.’
‘Whilst it is admirable to trust your second, this is a private matter.’
‘Greg is privy to all my private matters.’ As soon as the sentence left my mouth I blushed. Perhaps that hadn’t been phrased too well.
My grandfather lifted one elegant eyebrow. ‘Is he now? Well, then, let’s walk.’
He waited until we were some distance from the mansion and nobody could overhear us, even factoring in a werewolf’s enhanced hearing, then he turned to me. ‘I have been notified of a break-in. Someone has stolen information from me of the most sensitive nature. Ordinarily I’d hire a griffin to kill the thief, but I’m given to understand that you’re close friends with her.’
‘Jess,’ I breathed. ‘She’s my best friend, and she is friends with Shirdal. No griffin would take a hit on her.’
‘Friendship or not, business is business. Believe me, the griffins would kill her if they were paid enough. They have a different definition of friendship.’
