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“Their plans haven’t changed,” Felix said. “They think I can convince you to give them the territory.”
“And they don’t think I can make my own decisions?” Her gaze narrowed on Felix. She was aware of the weight of the dagger strapped to her thigh. “I hope you told them no, too.”
His gaze locked on hers. His whispered words stroked her skin with the intimacy of a lover. “I wouldn’t presume to decide for you.”
He was all male, primal energy forcing her vampire to rise to the surface. “That would be a first.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
Not ready to examine the meaning behind his words, or deal with the tingling of her nerves from his voice, she jerked her head toward Nikolas. “What do you know about them?”
“Jiaren and his people are from the House of the Rising Phoenix,” Nikolas replied. “It was a minor House in Northeast China. In the last two decades, they’ve tripled the size of their territory.”
“That’s fast,” Felix muttered.
At Gabby’s confused blink, Nikolas explained, “The Houses’ borders in the United States have changed little in the last century. Eden and Haven border each other. Devon didn’t care for more territory. Malika has been pushing us, but she hasn’t made any major moves yet. So, their expansion is quite unusual.”
“I see. They are able to hold on to the territories?” Gabby asked.
“As far as I can tell. Since they were banned, information out of the region is rare.”
“What’s their plan?” Gabby paced the room. “They have plenty more places to conquer in China. Why here?”
“Tristan, can you pull up a map and break it out with current Chinese House territories?” Felix asked.
The table lit up with a gentle blue light. A map appeared on the screen with thick blue lines marking the territories. Gabby studied the unfamiliar map, noting the four Houses that occupied China.
“Maybe they’ve run out of options?” She traced the lines that marked the edges of Jiaren’s House. The two Houses to the south were bigger.
“It’s possible,” Nikolas said. “But if they’re having issues in China, it’s counterintuitive to move here. It takes significantly more resources to establish a base here than to keep expanding.”
Good point. Gabby had won her territory when this country was in its infancy. Nikolas was the one who’d maintained it all these centuries. She was not an expert in vampire politics and would not understand what would motivate another House to expand to another continent. When she’d created Haven, she’d only wanted a place that was hers, where she could feel safe.
Where she could provide safety for others like her who didn’t belong anywhere else.
Gabby rubbed her temples. Fatigue seeped into her blood. Her head spun, the pounding in her head drowning out everything else. The imminent sunrise and the need for sleep slowed down her brain.
“We don’t have to solve this today.” Felix laid a hand on her shoulder, the touch gentle, nothing possessive in the gesture. She bit her lips to stop herself from leaning into him. “I’ll reach out to our contacts in China to see if they know anything.”
Nikolas nodded. “I’ll do the same.”
At the lingering look from Nikolas, Gabby said,Go. I’ll be fine.
Felix’s hold on her shoulder tightened as Nikolas inclined his head. “I will see you tomorrow.”
A heartbeat later, she was alone with Felix.
Gabby stepped away from Felix’s pure temptation and dropped into a chair on the other side of the table. Leaning her elbows on the surface, she lowered her forehead into her hands and rubbed her head again, wishing the headache would go away.
“They wouldn’t have targeted me if I hadn’t been asleep for centuries.”
“There’s no point thinking about what ifs.”
Gabby lifted her eyes at the sound of something hitting the table. A bottle of blood.
“Drink it.”
At his commanding tone, her fight-or-flight response kicked in. “You don’t need to take care of me.”
