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Father waved a long-fingered hand. “Find a way around Victorine. Use a glamour on the daughter…or that famous charm of yours.”
I regarded my dad incredulously. “You negotiated the end to the feud yourself. Now you want to risk starting it up again?”
“If I’m right, it’s they who have broken the truce. The Tremblays have close ties to the French vampires. Victorine’s own sire is an enforcer in the Paris Syndicate. Take me and my sons out, and Victorine is perfectly placed to step into the power vacuum that would open up.” Father trained a cold stare on Rafe. “This isn’t up for discussion, Rafe. Your brother’s life may depend on what Zoe can tell you. If Victorine is part of this, we need to know. Please,” he added.
My brows crawled toward my hairline. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d ever heard Father sayplease. And never to one of us.
“Jesus.” Rafe plowed his fingers through his black curls, then gave a grin that was all sharp teeth. “Okay. Sure. I have some unfinished business with the woman anyway.”
“Good. Sit down, both of you.” Father indicated the chairs in front of his desk. “Tomas and I have ten minutes to brief you, then I’m off to France. Rafael, I’ve made arrangements for you to fly to Montreal.”
“What about Mom?” I asked as we seated ourselves.
“She’s safely at the mansion in Maryland with Giles”—one of his top enforcers—“and a couple of my best people.”
I nodded. Karoly Kral might be a cold bastard, but my mom was his heart. He’d drive a stake through his own chest before letting anyone hurt her.
“She knows about Zaq?”
“Not that he’s been kidnapped, no. Just that he’s run into some trouble and I’m investigating.” Father pressed the intercom on his desk. “Tomas?” he said in Slovak. “You can come in now.”
The big blond lieutenant entered. “They know?”
Father nodded. The two exchanged a few rapid sentences in Slovak and then switched to English to explain to us exactly how this was going to go down.
When they were finished, Father steepled his fingers beneath his chin and examined us. “Any questions?”
Rafe and I shook our heads, and we all rose to our feet.
Father clasped Rafe in a hug. “Check in with Tomas as soon as you make contact with the Tremblay female.”
“Zoe,” he corrected, tight-lipped.
Father raised a dark brow. “As you say. No unnecessary communication,” he continued, speaking to all three of us. “Gabriel’s in charge, but if you have any issues, contact Tomas, not me. And use burner phones and your code.”
Rafe and I nodded. When sending and receiving from a burner phone, it was standard Kral procedure to identify yourself with a short string of letters and numbers known only to the inner circle.
“You two go.” He nodded at Rafe and Tomas. “I have something to say to Gabriel.”
He waited until the door closed behind them before turning to me. “You wanted a chance, son. This is it. As soon as we get your brother back, I’ll announce that you’ve been promoted to oversee the two southeastern covens. Meanwhile, you have my permission to act on my behalf—within reason, of course.”
The southeastern covens covered a good two-fifths of the Syndicate’s territory, stretching from Maryland to Louisiana. Excitement gripped me, but I kept my face as stony as his.
“Thank you, sir.” I stuck out my hand.
He clasped it and hung on for a few seconds longer than necessary, his way of showing me affection. Rafe and Zaq got the occasional hug, but I was the Kral crown prince. I had to be hard, emotionless. Controlled.
“Wewillget Zaq back,” I said as he released my hand. “And don’t worry, I’ll keep things running here. You won’t be sorry you left me in charge.”
A thin smile. “See that I’m not.”
3
Mila
In the dim light, the vampire’s eyes shone pure gold, like polished coins set in the smooth brown of his face. Wolf’s eyes. He had the lean, hard muscles of his kind; something about being turned does that to them.
“So you’re Camila.”
