“Cherish, the gem of Winter, what say you to the scepter of Summer? Will you bend? Will you fight? Will you yield? Will you…” He stopped then as our gazes locked, and within that moment, a lifetime of knowledge passed between us, and my will to fight—my will to destroy—faded like cloth left out in the sun too long.

“Cherish…” The triumph was gone. He stood back, letting me go, staring at me, fear and bewilderment crowding his expression.

I could have destroyed him then. I knew it, I could have ripped out his throat and taken him down, devoured him. But I was as trapped in the spell as he. I searched my memory, trying to decipher what emotions were playing on my senses. I’d never felt like this before, never wanted someone this way. Never wanted to…spare anyone. I’d killed hundreds of people over the years, and never once had I questioned what I was doing.

“Shy…” My voice was shaking, and I began to tremble and then cry. “What’s happening to me? What’s this feeling? I don’t want this!”

But he stepped forward again, slowly this time, and held out his arms. “Cherish?” It was a question, no longer a demand, and try as I might, I could not resist answering. I stepped into his embrace and he pressed his lips against mine, his tongue seeking mine, his arms holding me tightly.

As our lips met, the world shifted, and we were bound, and I knew then I was forever lost. The gem of Winter had fallen into Summer’s hands, and the only thing I knew was that we had both sealed our doom with a kiss. A kiss that I would willingly die for.

Chapter 8

As Grieve and I fell back, his fingers stroking my hair, his razor-sharp teeth and fangs shimmering in the dim light, I came out of my flashback. A noise startled me into realizing that someone was knocking on the door. I wanted to talk to Grieve, to see if he remembered our first meeting as Shy and Cherish the same way I did, but there was no time. I pulled a robe around me as he shifted into clothing again and answered the knock. It was Rhiannon.

She peeked in, blushing lightly, but she merely said, “Lannan’s back and boy does he have news. You’d better come out now.”

If Lannan said he had news, it was probably important. I scrambled into my clothing. Grieve pulled me into his arms.

“I know, Cicely.”

“Know what?”

“I know what happened during the blood fever. Chatter told me.”

Damn it! Grieve had known I’d had to drink from Lannan, but I’d kept from him that I’d almost fucked the vampire. The blood fever had held me in thrall and I’d opened myself to him. He’d been barely inside me when the others found us. Ever since then, my body had responded to Lannan in a magnetic way and I knew that it had something to do with drinking his blood, but there had been no choice. Crawl, the Oracle of the Crimson Court, had almost drained me, dragging me into the shadow realm, and only Lannan’s blood had saved me.

“Chatter told you?” I was going to throttle him.

Grieve smiled, faintly. “He felt it better I know than find out from Lannan. I understand why it happened. I hate the thought, but I understand that if you’re ever in that predicament again, it may well have to happen again. But if he hurts you—I will destroy him.” The smile left his face.

I paused, not knowing what to say. “I cannot help that my body responds to him, but my heart resists. I can’t stand his touch, yet when he puts his hands on me…But know this, my love, I will never willingly walk into his embrace. I will never jump into his bed—not by choice. The blood fever—there was no choice. It’s like…”

“It’s like the hunger I feel since Myst turned me,” he whispered softly. “This is why I say what I do. I truly do understand. I resist my nature, but if Myst were to appear here, in front of me, the will to disobey would be hard-pressed. So yes, my love, we both are ruled by compulsions stronger than us, yet we fight against them.” His lips sought mine and I sank into his kiss, again, floating on the waves that rippled between us.

After a moment, he let me go. “We’d better join the others.”

I stood back, letting him lead the way, loving him more than ever.

Lannan was sitting at the table, leaning back in his chair, looking vaguely amused as we appeared from the doorway. I steeled myself for some snarky comment, but he just nodded for us to sit down.

Without preamble, he said, “Regina has removed Geoffrey as Regent.”

We all stared at him; the announcement was out of the blue. Totally unexpected. Regina, Lannan’s twin sister and lover, and the Emissary to the Crimson Court, was a scary-ass vampire who gave new meaning to the concept of Type-A personality. She was ruthless and controlled more by her head than her lusts, which was the exact opposite of Lannan. But this was going to extremes, even for her.

“You don’t believe in small talk, do you?” I wasn’t sure what to say, although a slew of questions flooded my brain. Was Geoffrey dead? Well, of course he was dead, but for good? What the fuck had happened?

Lannan let out a low chuckle. “Small talk is for small minds. Yes, it’s true. Poor Geoffrey is no longer Regent, effective immediately. I will serve in his place on a temporary basis.” He stood up, a feral grin spreading across his face. “I am now Regent. All of Geoffrey’s contracts revert to me. Including yours. You now serve me directly.” He caught my gaze, challenging me.

Oh fuck. I stared at him, a wave of panic starting to crest through my chest. According to Ysandra, my contract with the vampires held sway. No court in the land would deny its validity. Meaning I was walking a very slippery slope now that Lannan Altos was my master. And it was obvious, he was enjoying my discomfort. This was not the time to mouth off to him.

“Nothing to say, my lovely Cicely?” He was baiting me. I could feel it in his tone. Trying to goad me into something stupid.

Everyone waited for me to respond. I could feel all eyes on me, waiting. Shaking my head, I fumbled for something to say. Finally, I found my tongue. “Congratulations, Lannan. Please, tell us what happened. Where did Geoffrey go to? Obviously, he took Leo with him. And did he try to hurt Regina like he threatened?”

“Such concern for my sister. She’ll be touched you inquired.” Said with a hint of sarcasm. Then, “Geoffrey would be tortured by the Queen if he touched one hair of my sister’s head and he should know that, but I could not chance that he’d gone insane and would carry through the threat. Which is why I left when he ordered me to do so.”

He leaned forward then, pushing up the sleeves of his casual jacket. His arms were scarred, ancient scars that told me Lannan had seen many battles before his mother turned him into a vampire. He noticed my gaze and slowly winked at me. Flustered, I turned my head.

“My sister found out when Geoffrey ordered that my stable be integrated into his. Regina shares my bloodwhores and did not take kindly to the thought. She confronted him. He told her that I’d chosen to leave, that I had—perish the thought—fallen for you and that I stormed out when you did. My sister is no fool. She went to Lainule, found out the truth of why I left, and went to the Crimson Queen. And if there’s one thing our Queen does not look kindly upon, it’s traitorous activity.”

The thought of being on the wrong side of the Vampire Queen’s wrath was almost enough to make me feel sorry for Geoffrey. Almost. Again, a wave of anger swept over me. I’d actually come close to liking the vampire. He’d seemed the most levelheaded of them all, but in this town, in the world I lived in, nothing was as it seemed. Betrayal hid under the guise of friendship, and aid manifested through the hands of the enemy.

“What did the Queen do?” Peyton asked, before I could get to the question.

“It seems the Crimson Court immediately revoked Geoffrey’s status as Regent and told my sister to take a contingent of guards and remove him from office. If he resisted, they were to crucify him under the open sky, where, at daybreak, he would fry like a fish, impaled on a harpoon.” Lannan snorted and the cold joy in his voice left me chilled through.

You’d do well to remember that Lannan is not your friend, nor anyone else’s friend. He may be an ally, but never forget what he is: a vampire, a predator who is older than the castles of Europe and who feels no remorse for anything he does.

Ulean’s words rang through me like a silver bell—clear and alarming. Lannan was no simple hedonist. And I’d better play my cards right, now that he actually did hold the title of master over me.

“I suppose some of his loyal followers found out, because by the time Regina and the guards reached Geoffrey’s mansion, he was gone, along with Leo and a number of guards.” Lannan shrugged. “This all happened in the past two days.”

“Then the day-runners we killed this morning—”

“Were loyal to both Geoffrey and Leo. They must have sent them from their hiding place.” Lannan cocked his head, a knowing smile on his lips. “Which means…come now, Cicely, you can figure it out.”

I knew what he was hinting around at. “Which means that the one we have tied up in the other room can lead us to where they are.”

“That’s my girl.” Lannan stood, crossing his arms. “Our plan is simple: We get to them before they get to us. Geoffrey is no longer welcome in the Court. No one will blink if a certain warlord disappears off the face of the planet. And mark you—we’d best destroy him because he will seek to destroy us. Now his only hope is to harness Myst’s people for his own, and he can’t do so with her at the helm. If he captures you and turns you as was his original plan, you will take the place of your long-distant mother. But this time he intends to keep control.”

I shuddered. “I’ll slit my own wrists before I let him do that to me.”

“Make no mistake, Geoffrey is cunning and wise. You are no match against his wits. And should you believe otherwise…Cicely, you think I’d make a vicious and deadly lover, but be advised that Geoffrey’s attentions are not without their own perversions. I lent several of my stable to him before I realized they were coming back traumatized and maimed.”

I blinked. For Lannan to call someone perverted was a terrifying thought, considering his own nature. “We have to talk to Erik again, before they figure out we killed their posse.”

“Being that it’s past nightfall, I guarantee you, they’ve already figured that out.” But Lannan motioned for us to bring the man in.

Grieve and Chatter rose and, without a word, retrieved our prisoner, holding his bound arms between them. They thrust him into a chair, none too gently. Chatter looked at Grieve. Grieve nodded, and stood back, his form blurring as he shifted into his wolf form. Baring his teeth, with a low growl, he posed, ready to leap at Erik. Chatter released the gag from the day-runner’s mouth.

I sucked in a low breath. They weren’t kidding around. But then, with Geoffrey and Leo on our asses, we couldn’t afford to play nice.

“We know what happened with Geoffrey. We know that he and Leo are off on their own, and we know why you’re trying to kidnap me as well as Rhiannon. You have a chance to make this right. You have a chance to live.” I wasn’t sure I could promise that, but we had to get him to talk.

He shook his head. “I’m not stupid. I know I’m not getting out of here alive. I’d switch sides, but you’d never trust me. Would you, Rio?” He glanced over at Rhiannon, who paled.

“I don’t know. You were Leo’s friend. He’s a vampire. and if you asked him, he could help you far more now than he could before. But then again…you never expressed an interest in being a vamp, did you?”

Lannan waved his hand at her. “Move. I can take care of this.”

Rhia backed away without a word. Lannan knelt down, staring into Erik’s face for a long moment. Erik tried to look away, but Chatter reached out and held his head steady. I could feel Lannan’s glamour weaving around the man. He could force his will on Erik and he had no compunction against doing so.

“Talk to me, Erik. You will tell me the truth. You cannot lie to me, and if you try, I will drain you down and bleed you out slowly and painfully so that you beg for death.” Lannan’s voice wove sinuously through the room and my hand fluttered to my throat. “Do you understand?”

My wolf shivered. I looked at Grieve, who was watching me, still in wolf form. His eyes were glittering, fastened on me, and I knew he could feel the response that Lannan’s command stirred in me.

Erik’s eyes fluttered, and I could tell he was resisting. I knew that look, I’d been there before.

With a shudder, Erik croaked out, “Yes, I understand.”

Lannan laughed, then glanced at me, and licked his lips. In that instant, I could feel his energy wrap around me like a snake, sliding up my body. I struggled for control. I couldn’t let Grieve see what Lannan could do to me. He knew, but knowing was not the same thing as having your nose rubbed in it.

“Very good, my little pecker.” Lannan returned his attention to Erik. “So tell me, Erik, and remember—no lying. Where are Leo and Geoffrey hiding?” His fingers stroked Erik’s chin.

With a shudder and a look of revulsion on his face, Erik stammered out his reply. “They are hiding in the basement of Inley.”

Lannan startled. He frowned. “Did Icarus give them permission?”

Erik nodded. “Yes, for a price. Geoffrey has to bring him fresh bloodwhores. Ten of them over the next year.”

Nodding, the vampire stood up. He gave Erik a considered look and then, without warning, jerked his head to the side. We could hear the cracking of bones as Erik slumped in his chair. Rhiannon gave out a choked cry, turning away. I stared in horror as Grieve transformed back.