She didn’t try to deny any of it, which earned her a few points. “What are your terms?” she asked coolly.

“I will agree to follow your rules once inside and you agree no harm comes to me or my team. I think that’s fair enough for now.”

“Ah, but you seek protection, do you not? Protection comes with a fee.”

I exhaled slowly. Of course she was going to make me work for it. “Then I guess the bigger question is, what do you want from me, Eudoxia? If protection comes at a cost, what is it going to cost me?”

Her face showed a hint of surprise. She hadn’t expected me to turn the tables so quickly. “The sunlight is burning my retinas. I will meet you all inside the foyer.” She flicked her wrist once toward the perimeter and left her perch without glancing back.

I turned to see the boys coming into the yard, Rourke in the lead.

“Jess,” Tyler called as he ran forward. “You can’t do this. You can’t make another deal with her. We don’t need protection that badly. The sorcerers are gone for now. We can hit the road and take off. Anything you agree to once we’re inside will put us at too great a disadvantage.”

“I believe he’s right,” Danny added. “We’ll be sitting ducks if we take up with these biters without a prior agreement. Anything you offer the Vampire Queen to keep us safe will be too high a price in my estimation. I say we cut and run.”

“Cut and run where?” I asked them both as they came to a stop, lowering my voice to barely above a whisper. “Right now she thinks the threat is sorcerers. We don’t have to mention we are having another issue. And don’t forget Naomi and Ray are inside. I’m not leaving here without them. It’s not ideal, but I agree to her terms and we stay. For one night. Enough to get in touch with my father, get the rest of our team, and come up with another plan.”

“We can’t forget the child oracle said we had to be in New Orleans,” Rourke added, directing his words at Tyler. “The sorcerers know we’re here. As soon as we leave the grounds, they’ll hunt us down. Even if we get out of town, there’s not another sanctuary near enough. I support Jessica. We stay here overnight, and if things improve, there’s a possibility we can head out tomorrow. If not, we renegotiate with the Queen. Jessica’s in more danger out there”—he pointed over the wall—“than she is in here at the moment.”

Tyler’s anxiety pinged through my system. He knew Rourke was right, but we all hated being in this predicament. This was a little more dire than being stuck between a rock and a hard place—it was more like being stuck between fangs and death. “Fine, but I’m not putting up with any of their shit. If they try to bite us, it’s going to be anarchy,” he growled. “I will kill any vamp who comes near me, no matter what we agree to.”

“They won’t risk biting us if their Queen doesn’t want a war,” I said. “And maybe it’s no accident we’re here.” I pondered that. “It makes the most sense. This is the first place Dad would look for us.” I glanced around the group. “I have to trust my instincts, and this feels right—”

Like a cue from a B movie, the massive front doors of the Coterie slowly creaked open on their own, signaling us to enter.

“Well, that was a bit creepy,” Danny said. “Let’s go on, then. We’ve reached our decision. And I don’t like the idea of leaving our mates in there any longer than necessary, so I guess it’s time to have a little fun fraternizing with the enemy.”

“That was a quick turnaround, Daniel Walker. From against to for in less than two minutes.” I chuckled as we all moved forward.

“What can I say?” he responded. “You’ve convinced me. And this choice happens to be a tad better than getting charred by an angry demon. As long as the vampires keep their distance, we should be able to cope. Plus, I wouldn’t mind learning a thing or two about their habitat. A bloke can learn a lot if he pays close attention.” He winked.

Rourke splayed a warm hand on the small of my back as we walked. Eudoxia is shrewd, but this is your game to win, he said in my mind. She’s not going to let this opportunity pass her by. Whatever she wants, she wants it badly enough to give you refuge, so use it to your advantage.

We ascended the massive marble steps and went through the open door.

That’s my plan, I replied. Once we have Naomi and Ray we can—

13

As soon as we stepped into the ornate mansion, with its dark mahogany interior, our mind-connection abilities snapped off. I wasn’t surprised, since that’s exactly what had happened to my father and me last time. Eudoxia had some sort of interference spell that kept mind communication closed. It made sense that she’d want to protect herself. If her minions could talk, they could plot.

The gigantic foyer was draped with gold fixtures and deep red carpets, all the furniture polished and well kept.

The Vampire Queen was nowhere to be seen.

A moment later a voice chirped from the top of the staircase. We all glanced up to see Valdov leaning over the banister. He brought his long white fingers together in his standard steeple pose as he cackled, “So the rutting was a success, I gather?” At our last unfortunate meeting, he’d guessed correctly that Rourke and I were a mated pair.

I took a step forward. “It was actually mind-blowing, but we’re not here to discuss private affairs. Where is your Queen? She said she’d meet us here.”

“Eudoxia is lying down, mending her eyes. Sunlight is so very powerful and nasty on us, you know.” He made a clicking sound with his tongue. “She handled the threat against us perfectly, however, and with great authority. You have been ordered to deal with me. When she wakes at sunset, she will meet with you then, if you … er … decide to accept our demands.”

“I’m not swearing anything to you, Valdov,” I said, clearing things up from the start. “You have no honor and I wouldn’t loan a guy like you five cents. I’m certainly not going to bind myself to you. So you and your Queen are going to have to rethink your tactics. Go see what else she has in mind and we’ll wait here admiring her Ming vases.”

Before any of us could blink, he launched himself down the stairs in a rage.

As he came at us, his face slid and his fangs elongated. We all took a few steps back because it was so unexpected. “You will not question my honor!” he slurred through his pointy incisors. He huffed to a stop a few feet in front of me, his eyes fully black, no white showing. “You are below me in every sense, you rotten mongrel. Do you hear me? You will swear whatever I ask in return for the Queen’s favor. There is no other compromise! You should count your blessings you are even allowed to stand here in our home.”

I didn’t flinch.

His power was strong, but nothing like his Queen’s, and I’d learned a thing—or several—since we’d last met. “If there’s no compromise, we’re leaving,” I said. “I don’t need anything badly enough to swear to you, Valdov. You can tell your Queen you let her prize slip right between your bony white fingers. I’m sure she’ll be extremely happy when she wakes up and finds out I’m gone.”

As one, we turned and headed toward the door. It was a power play, but we had no other choice. I would leave if I had to. I couldn’t trust Valdov to keep his word. It was too risky. Once we were outside, we’d regroup.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, mongrel?” Valdov snickered behind me. “A certain vampire or two you’ve become … acquainted with … perhaps a bit too deeply?”

I stopped midstride.

Motherfuckeronacracker.

“Did you honestly think we would not notice she had changed? You cannot possibly be so naïve.” He strolled toward a big open room to our right like he hadn’t just gone bat-shit crazy on us. I refused to acknowledge him or look his way. “She reeked of your blood, you know. And the abomination she brought with her? He shan’t be allowed to survive the night.” He tut-tutted as he picked up a knickknack and pretended to examine it. “We choose our humans extremely carefully, and with the utmost discretion. His making was nothing less than a … travesty. An utterly uncouth individual cannot become a Nosferatu. Do you know, when we hauled them away, he had the nerve to try to bite me, all the while ranting and raving about the ‘ass kicking’ he was going to mete out once he became free? Can you imagine? A fledgling that stunk of werewolf was going to give me retribution?” He threw his head back and cackled.

It was an ugly sound.

I clenched my teeth. Unable to contain myself, I glanced up and said, “They came here for protection. They are part of my group and will not be harmed.”

A slow, evil smile slid across his ivory features. “Ah, ah, ah.” He wagged his cruelly sharp nail at me. “You have chosen not to swear anything to us, remember? They came of their own free will into our home. Naughty, naughty Naomi, with a broken bond to her beloved Queen, and that … abomination. They are ours now to do with as we please—”

Rage covered my eyes in a film of red, churning my irises a deep, menacing violet. I reacted before I knew what I was doing, my wolf fueling me, my Lycan form morphing instantly, faster than it ever had before.

I had Valdov by the throat.

We were on the stairs.

Someone had me by the shoulders, but I didn’t move. Not even an inch. “Listen to me, Valdov,” I said, my voice gravelly, my vocal cords strained, “you will let all my friends go and we will all leave peacefully, or you die here. Do you understand me? No compromises.”

Genuine surprise lit his features so completely, I almost laughed. He had never guessed my true strength and now he paid the price. As much as he had tasted my power, he had chosen to categorize me as a nonthreat. I squeezed a little harder to prove to him how big a mistake he had made.

“Let him go, Little Wolf Girl, or you will not enjoy my wrath.” A commanding voice full of power shook the walls of the house. Picture frames bounced and delicate artifacts tinkled on tables.