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“I think we’re spread thin as it is,” Benedict said, crouching to touch a footprint that was easily four weeks old, and looking over the property with an attention to detail that I respected. “Do I appreciate Conclave piling more on us while we’re searching for Samuel and the Sons? No, but it’s the job we were tasked with.” He turned, arching a brow at us both in turn. “And before you start with thein my day—”
I laughed, my shoulders shaking at Benedict's uncanny impression of Talon.
“Hey, in our day, hunting Samuel would have been ouronlymission. That’s what hunters were created for.” Talon’s spine stiffened. “Back me up here, Ajax.”
“That’s true,” I said, studying the landscape around the house. I felt the residue of old magic, foreign and unnatural to me, but nothing new.
“Well, we’ve evolved to multitasking,” Benedict said. “Believe it or not, bloodmadness hasn’t exactly been the issue for us like it was for you old-timers given our modern conveniences like…oh, Conclave. The treaty does more than make us the executioners of Edgemont supernaturals. It also provides for willing human feeders because they live under our protection.”
I scoffed. “If you think bloodmadness has anything to do with the willingness of the feeders, then you don’t know the first thing about hunting a bloodmad vampire.”
“You’re right,” Benedict admitted, rising to stand. “We don’t know enough. It’s why we’re lucky that we were successful in waking you, though our worry had mostly been the Sons, not bloodmads. The few who have turned bloodmad in the last century were all relatively young and alone. Easy to track. Easy to kill. I can’t imagine living when they were organized and a constant threat.” He turned to look at us. “Or how you managed to wipe out most of the ancient bloodmads before our modern…conveniences.”
“Because we’re that fucking good.” Talon smirked.
I glanced at the pistol holstered at my thigh and thought back to the swords we carried, the daggers and bows. “Have to admit, you have better weapons in this century, though I’m never against using my bare hands.”
“The whole indoor plumbing thing is nice, too,” Talon said with a shrug. “And electricity. That's a bonus.”
I nodded. “I’m a fan of television and movies, personally.” And roller coasters, though I kept that thought to myself. My time with Grace felt all the more precious because it was a secret—something I almost never had—from my brothers.
“And the incredible availability of information.” Talon folded his arms across his chest. “You can learn anything you wish in nothing but a few clicks on a computer or phone. It’s incredible.”
“It is,” Benedict agreed.
“But none of that changes the fact that our talents are being wasted tonight,” Talon said, bringing us back to his original point with a pointed look at Benedict. “It’s clear no one has been here in weeks. We’ve patrolled all the routes approved by the Witch Queen—”
“Got it.” Benedict put his hands up. “Let’s head back to the—”
Talon wended before Benedict could even finish.
“For fuck’s sake,” Benedict muttered. “Is he always this impatient?”
“Yes.” I scratched the scruff on my chin. “And in my brother’s defense, we’re used to answering only to the king, not a committee of other supernaturals. It takes some getting used to. For as fast as the technology is in this world, everything else moves a little slower than what we’re used to.”
“How so?” he asked with genuine curiosity.
“Had…Samuel happenedin our day, we would have taken off—the five of us—with single-minded focus. Hunting him. We would have left courtweeksago.” There was as much mercy in my voice as there was in my heart for Samuel—none. He had betrayed Saint, kept my brother chained to a wall and nearly starved, kidnapped our princess, and worked with the Sons of Honor to overthrow our king. “There would be no patrolling another species’ lands. No dispatching with werewolves who break your laws—” I winced. “I meanourlaws. I may have paused time to give us the precious months we needed to adjust to your century while you felt it was just days, but we’re still very much catching up.”
Benedict tilted his head. “I’m starting to understand that.”
“We put on a good front, but a year ago it was the 1500s to us.” I could escape time—and keep others with me in that sphere—for as long as I needed to, but only in my immediate vicinity.
He looked at me for a second, then nodded. “Noted. Should we head back?”
“Please, before the boredom kills me,” I said dryly.
Benedict laughed, and we wended, cutting through icy layers of time and space and stepping into the courtyard between Domum and residence.
“Took you assholes long enough,” Talon said in greeting from the center of the courtyard as Lyric, our queen, walked out of the Domum, escorted by Jocelyn and…Cassandra.
The noble female possessed classic vampirical beauty, there was no denying it. Her cheekbones were high, her figure long and lithe, and yet she didn’t move me the way a single glance at Grace did.
Weird. Vampires were biologically programmed to be attracted to the females who would give us the best chance at strong offspring—especially warriors, and yet I appreciated Cassandra’s beauty—even Lyric’s and Jocelyn’s—without so much as a stir of attraction.
Talon and I both bowed our heads at the queen’s approach.
“Guys.” Lyric sighed. “I thought we covered this. Stop it.”
