Cain forced his breathing to slow and his heartbeat to settle. “I know. We’ll proceed as discussed: tomorrow we’ll start interrogating the members of the king’s guard. Each of them separately. We have to figure out who’s loyal to me.”

“You know, about Faye . . .” Wesley interjected.

Cain glanced at the witch. “I don’t want to talk about her now.”

“I was just thinking, maybe I could try to brew a truth potion or something,” Wes suggested.

Haven slapped his brother over the back of his head.

“What?” Wes complained, rubbing his head.

“You’re not gonna start brewing some stupid potion that’s probably not even gonna work and will most likely end up blowing something up.”

“Pessimist!”

“I’d rather be a living pessimist than a dead optimist!” Haven replied.

Cain turned back to Thomas, ignoring Wesley’s scowl. “Get in contact with Eddie and Blake and see if they have any leads on John. Since he’s not shown up here at the palace, at least we can assume he didn’t come back here to warn anybody of our arrival or the fact that I have amnesia. We have to find him.”

“I’ll talk to Eddie shortly.”

“Good. Get some shuteye. All of you. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”

“Don’t you want one of us to stand guard?” Thomas asked.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll sleep with a stake under my pillow.”

Cain turned to the middle door and opened it. Instinctively he reached for the light switch next to the door and flipped it. Then he closed the massive door behind him, shutting out all sounds from the foyer. He could barely hear the opening and closing of the doors to the other two rooms, so well insulated was the suite.

Cain looked around. This was the room from his dreams. He’d made love to Faye here. He’d experienced ecstasy here. In the elegant bed truly befitting a king, he’d slept with Faye in his arms. He recalled the many dreams now that he’d had over the last few months. Many had taken place in this room. And she’d been in every single one of them, always taking center stage, always in his arms.

But tonight, he’d be alone. Because Faye had given herself to another man, and right now Cain couldn’t help but feel enraged about it. If he went to her now to question her, there was no telling what he would do. It was best to leave this task to a later time, when he’d sufficiently calmed down and was able to let logic rule instead of jealousy.

15

Cain knew he’d only slept an hour or two before a sound woke him. Silently he slipped his hand underneath his pillow and palmed the wooden stake, while he continued to lay on his side, facing the door. He hadn’t really expected that the assassin would make an attempt so soon after Cain’s return, but was glad he’d prepared himself nevertheless.

He focused his eyes, adjusting them to the darkness in the room. But even though his vampire vision worked perfectly, he saw nobody coming from the door. Continuing to breathe evenly so he wouldn’t alert the would-be attacker to the fact that he was awake, he waited. The sound of footsteps coming from behind him where the entrance to the passage into the tunnels lay hidden was faint as if the intruder walked barefoot.

He would have to allow him to come closer, before he could jump up from the bed and tackle the person who meant to harm him. Tense seconds passed when a scent drifted into his nostrils. His heart stopped and in the next split second he rolled to the other side, reached his arm out and grabbed hold of the intruder, while his other hand pressed the stake against a heaving chest.

“Cain!”

He’d recognized her even before she’d spoken, but that hadn’t stopped him from wrestling her down onto the bed and immobilizing her by pinning her with his body. Only now that he was sure that Faye was unarmed did he remove the stake from her chest and reach for the bedside lamp. When its light bathed the room in a soft glow, he looked back down at her.

“Why are you attacking me?” she asked, a twinge of panic in her voice, while her eyes stared at the stake he was still holding.

Instead of an answer, he asked, “How did you get in?”

She gave him a bewildered look. “Through the secret passageway.”

So she knew about the tunnels. Had he himself told her or had she found out some other way? Had he once trusted her so much to confide this secret in her?

“Why are you here?”

From the way she was dressed, he already knew the answer. Only a thin silk negligee covered her enticing body. He felt it rub against his naked torso. Lower down, his bare legs slid against hers, and the skin-to-skin contact heated his body. In a few seconds, his cock would be as hard as an iron rod if he didn’t separate himself from her this instant. Unfortunately, he couldn’t command his body to release her. Instead, he kept pinning her down onto the mattress, one hand encircling her wrist, the other braced next to her head, still holding the stake.