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“Why didn’t you kill him?” It was important to know. I needed to understand the way her mind worked. Her guard was up, but I wanted to break down the walls and see what was inside. “You had ample opportunity. Even if you can’t . . . shift.” I glanced to the rearview mirror to find her wolf staring very intently. “You had him at knifepoint. You could have easily slit his throat, but you didn’t. Why?”
“I don’t see why that matters.” She sighed, drawing it out in a clearly annoyed manner. “Why did you lie about me being in your House?”
I chuckled at her avoidance but let it go for the moment. “It’s not a lie now, is it?”
“You had no way of knowing what would happen,” she retorted. “You absolutely lied.”
“I knew you would choose Blood and Beryl over death. You may like to save wounded animals, but you aren’t stupid,” I said in response. “So, no, I didn’t lie, and I did know what was going to happen.”
“Markus isn’t a wounded animal,” she muttered, uncrossing her arms and picking at her nails. “Don’t mistake him for one.”
“Then what is he?” I adjusted my position in the seat, resting my wrist on the steering wheel while we were on a smoother stretch of road. “More specifically, what is he to you?”
“A thorn in my side,” she said. “He’s not alone,” she added, looking up from her fingertips and shooting me a dirty look. I hid my smile at her boldness. I kind of liked that about her. Then she shook her head, muttering an apology. “I don’t know why I said that. You saved me back there and I don’t even know you.”
I shrugged, using the opportunity to redirect the conversation back to where I wanted it. “You know, most people in your shoes would’ve just killed him and moved on with their life.”
“Maybe I’m not like most people,” she said simply.
“I’m counting on it.” I laughed, taking a turn onto a mountain road that tested the integrity of a truck’s four-wheel drive. In my periphery, she studied me. Presumably assessing her situation and figuring out what to say next. What she didn’t know was I had already done the same with her. She was different, and not just because her wolf was sitting in the bed of the truck. Something deeper ran in her veins. Thirst and desire battled inside me at the mere thought, but I brushed it aside. I could feel it. I just couldn’t name it. She was meant for so much more.
A voice in the back of my mind whispered to me, wondering if the role she could play in my plans was bigger than I’d anticipated. The Houses may have struck an accord, but we certainly didn’t sit around the campfire and hold hands. We had our allies . . . and our enemies. We kept the peace on the surface, and we protected our people.
But some thrones were meant to be overthrown.
Fire and Fluorite was at the top of my list. The King of Gold and Garnet and Empress of Sea and Serpentine agreed. I’d veered off course slightly by taking Dannika in, and I imagined I would have a bit of explaining to do, particularly with Vesperus. While the Ocean Empress, Asbesta, cared little for how I did it, the other vampire king would want to know why I’d deviated from the plan set in place. A small part of me asked the same. Sure, Dannika’s existence would likely simplify and speed up the process, but it also would heat up tensions in the immediate. There would be very little manipulation required if I played my cards right here.
“What was your plan tonight?” I asked her, breaking the silence between us. “You came to my border. You were either planning on trespassing, or you were looking for me. Which one was it?”
She barked a laugh, but she didn’t elaborate as to why. “I was heading to Earth and Emerald. I was going to ask for parley when I arrived. Just to pass through your land. Nothing more.”
“What made you think I’d have allowed it? Or that my border patrols wouldn’t have killed you on sight?”
“I was short on options,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “Mathis was sending someone to kill me, and I knew it. I had no time. If I stayed in No Man’s Land, it was a guaranteed death, and there would be no bartering my way out of their attack. You stepped in earlier when you didn’t need to, so I hoped if it came down to it, you might feel bad for me and let us through.”
“You do realize I’m a tad harder to manipulate than Mathis, don’t you?”
She shrugged, unapologetic in admitting she’d hoped guilting me would have worked. “If that didn’t work, I suspected you might allow it just to piss him off. In a certain way, I was right. That’s why you lied, isn’t it?” Her brazen appraisal of me was . . . refreshing. I chuckled under my breath.
“Blood and Beryl is your House now,” I reminded her once more. “You’re free to roam the lands as you wish. You will be protected.”
“About that . . .” she said, reaching to the backpack between her legs. Dannika pulled out a small package. I glanced over to see what she had. Blood vials. Shifter blood, no doubt. “I have payment for what you did back there.”
“Payment?” I asked casually.
“This isn’t the payment you want, is it?” The tone of her voice said she already knew the answer.
I angled my head slightly, extending my fangs and winking at her. “Smart girl.”
She placed her hands on her lap, the sound sending a small clap into the air. “Are you going to continue being annoyingly cryptic or tell me what it is that you do want?” She gestured around us. “It’s not like I have anywhere to go or anyone to tell. As you like to remind me, I’m part of your House now. While it might seem minor to you, my entire life just changed. I was forced to leave my family and my home because of the asshole who treated me like shit my entire life. I’m grateful to you for you taking me in, but I’m not stupid, and I’d really appreciate it if you just got to the point right now.”
A flash of sympathy washed over me. While I looked at her and saw this exotic creature I wanted to know, on the surface, plain as day, was a woman still grieving a life she’d lost mere hours ago.
“Sometimes I deal in trade, in which case the shifter blood in those vials you have would prove quite useful. Sometimes I deal in information, and that has its benefits.” I pointed up ahead, indicating we were almost to my home. “And sometimes I deal in favors.”
“What does that mean?” she asked. Her shoulders tensed, and her voice filled with uncertainty. A part of me prickled. I knew why she recoiled the way she did.
“Relax. I don’t trade in sexual favors. That’s a consensual matter. This is business.” I watched as she loosened slightly, nodding her head in what looked like relief. I flicked my eyes to look at Nova—who hadn’t taken her sights off me—before looking back to the road. “You’re right that I expect payment. While I sympathize that you were put in a difficult situation, the events of tonight made you a very valuable person for someone like me. I took you out of the line of fire and in return, you are going to be the catalyst I need.”
