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Surely you know who I am, Rena Drake. You already have your perception of me formed in your mind. Do you not recognize the voice of the man you have already found guilty?
“Julian?”
Ahh, so you do know who I am. Then let me begin by extending an invitation to stay with me at my home while you are in my territory. The offer will be my restitution for the lack of ceremony I gave you on your arrival.
I didn’t have the ability to form words anymore, so I replied telepathically. “Thank you for your generous offer. There’s no need to go to the trouble. I’m perfectly comfortable staying in a hotel during my stay. I’ll call on you formally tomorrow.”
His laughter rang in my ears.I must insist on your staying with me while you’re visiting. How would it look to your family if something untoward happened while you were here? You’d be under my protection. They’d blame me.
“Sending your Bellator for me is an interesting way of showing your protection. It is an insult to me and my clan.”
Perhaps. But I’m afraid I must insist on your coming to me.His voice held a thread of steel that couldn’t be ignored.Besides, I have your luggage, and your room has already been prepared. Xana is standing outside your door waiting to escort you.
The chain on my door unlatched itself and the deadbolt turned with a decisive click. The door of my room opened soundlessly and the Bellator came inside, all seven leathered feet of her. I would have run or fought or—done something if I could have made my muscles move. Xana picked me up off the floor like a rag doll and slung me over her shoulder. The heat from her body warmed me immediately, and I moaned at the sudden flare of warmth, even as my teeth began to chatter.
I look forward to making your acquaintance in person, Rena Drake. You intrigue me. There are so very few of my enemies I can say that about anymore. Adieu, for now.
His last words slithered silkily through my head. I felt strangely bereft as he left me.
Xana threw me in the back of a sleek black limousine and climbed in behind me. I sat stiffly on the soft leather seat as the numbness from the cold pricked like thousands of tiny needles across my skin. She sat across from me and stared out the window.
Almost as soon as the car left the hotel, we came to a stop. I was finally able to move my arms and legs, and I was determined to meet Julian standing on my own two feet. The driver opened the limo door. He extended his hand to help me out, keeping his eyes averted as I struggled to keep my skirt down. He was human. I wondered if he knew who he was working for.
I stood unsteadily and noticed I’d lost a shoe somewhere along the way.
“Come,” Xana said.
I looked up and for the first time noticed where we’d stopped. “Julian lives at Chateau de Longévité?” I asked.
It was centuries old and built in the exact center of the city. I’d never seen it before in person, but I’d seen plenty of pictures of the famous landmark. It was as distinctive as the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower, and decidedly French in its femininity. It was three stories of black stone and glass, surrounded by impressive towers of different sizes at each corner.
Xana’s accent was thick. “It is the heart of our city. It is fitting for Julian to reside here, no?”
I decided to agree to disagree on this point. I figured anything I said would get me in nothing but more trouble.
The chateau was built on a hexagonal piece of lush green land that stood out amid the concrete of the city. It was protected on all sides by a twelve-foot iron-and-stone fence. Armed guards stood at attention by the front gates and at sporadic intervals around the palace. Again, the guards were human. I wondered why Julian used them at all. Maybe he just wanted to keep a steady food supply close at hand. I couldn’t imagine he cared for them.
I happened to like working with the human authorities on occasion. I found their customs and beliefs intriguing and the simplicity of their minds refreshing. I also enjoyed watching the extremes of their emotions. They never did anything halfway, and were never afraid to let their feelings known. They weren’t judged as weak if they fell in love or if they cried. They were just thought of as…human.
I looked for possible escape routes as I followed Xana past the security guards, through a well-tended garden of red roses and around an enormous fountain. The arched front doors were thick dark wood, and beveled glass curved fluidly around the arch. It would be impossible to get in or out of the palace without being seen. Cars drove at breakneck speeds each way on the roundabout that surrounded the chateau—each person behind the wheel completely oblivious to the horrors that lived inside such hallowed walls.
Xana pushed me in the back, and I stumbled forward. I straightened my spine and lifted my chin. No matter what happened, I wouldn’t cower in front of Julian and shame my family. I was the daughter of an Archos after all, and I deserved a certain amount of respect. Julian didn’t need to know that respect was the last thing I ever got from my own father. But I was here, and I was determined to see that I got it. For once.
ChapterTen
I’d been left waiting for almost an hour in Julian’s great room. It was well past midnight, and I was going to need to sleep soon. It had been more than forty-eight hours. Normally I could go longer, but my body had taken a beating the last two days and needed the rest.
The great room was stark and cold. Black tiles of granite covered the floors and walls. Probably because it was the easiest way to hide blood. There were no windows. Gilded chandeliers hung from the ceilings. They were lit with actual candles. And there was only one set of very large double doors—one way in, one way out.
The room was completely empty except for a dark red velvet throne trimmed in gold. It sat high up on a platform. Whoever sat there would have a full view of the entire room. It was hard for me to keep from thinking that with a chair that big, Julian had to be compensating for something.
Laughter floated through my head like a silky caress, and the chamber doors opened with a resounding thud. I turned to face the man who I suspected to be The Destroyer. I didn’t bother to smooth down my skirt or check my appearance when he walked in. I was past the point of caring what I looked like. The anger that had been lying dormant for the last hour surged violently at the sight of him.
The man who entered was huge, at least five inches over six feet, and built of solid muscle—built like the savage warrior his father had been. His chest and shoulders were broad. His waist trim. Hair as dark as midnight hung just past his shoulders in soft waves. The dark suit he wore fit him as if he’d been born in it.
But it was his eyes that held me captivated. A clear, pale blue that had no other color variations. There was something in their depths I couldn’t describe. Something not quite safe. And as I looked deeper I saw a promise—a fulfillment I’d never known and could only wish for. I shook my head as if coming out of a trance and broke eye contact. I thought of Noah and had trouble remembering what he’d looked like. What it was I’d felt with him.
“It’s rude to think of another man when you’re with me, don’t you think?” He spoke in the old tongue, so I answered him in kind.
