She allowed a stroke of her wrist and a touch of the ring she wore that said she was his.

  He said, “Rowan, this is...you and I both know this is far beyond what anyone within the governance structure of the Vampire Nation supports. If they’ve sent this without the knowledge and express permission of the Voice there’s only one way this ends.” Scion or not, none of them could protect any Vampire in their territories if and when the First passed a sentence down against them. Tahar would be likely working on his arguments to keep his life and his territories. He and Takahiro had better hope Nadir took pity on them in how she framed this to the First. And that they knew nothing of it. If they had...

  * * *

  Honestly. Fucking Vampires were the most extra of beings on the planet. After rolling her eyes and making a jerk-off motion, Rowan said, “They declare any Hunters who are Vampires or who worked for Hunter Corp. in any other capacity outlaws to be arrested and executed true-dead immediately. Then these fucking shitlords further declare that by hiring them, Hunter Corp. is in violation of the Treaty. Which would then itself be null and void. This arrives on Nation letterhead, issued by Vampires who were part of the process as of two days ago.”

  Clive’s deep sigh amused her far more than the proclamation. “I still find myself absolutely astounded,” he said. “I’ll repeat there is no way I believe this is an official statement. Nadir doesn’t work this way. You said so yourself.”

  “I’m far more convinced this isn’t her because this is amateurish as fuck. She’s not an amateur. If she wanted anyone executed, she’d do it and then announce afterward.”

  Clive raised a brow but then nodded, accepting her point.

  “Did Nadir tell the Scions about the hire?” she asked.

  “Yes. It was a professional communication from her office to each Scion. A simple notification but she emphasized you had shared voluntarily and that no action on our part was expected or tolerated.”

  Rowan snorted. “Or is it even related to a leak from a Scion to one of these Vampires? They knew up front that I was going to hire Vampires. I said so. And I said it again after the first response from the shitlords. I think that’s what I’m going with because I can’t respect myself if I called them Vampire lords. It’s too ridiculous in this day and age and I will not abide it.” Amused, she shook her fist at the heavens in jest.

  “Equally possible,” Clive allowed with an amused expression. “I’d prefer the latter, to be frank, to the reality of a Scion giving this information to your shitlords.”

  Rowan waved a hand. “Let’s put aside this execution order for a moment. Do Vampires think we didn’t have this all looked over by legal scholars? Multiple Treaty experts and our attorneys all say we have the right to hire whoever we want. And I bet the Nation did too and was told the same because obviously. I do hope the Nation realizes I’m not throwing myself on this grenade to save you this time.”

  Growling, she said to David, “Get in contact with the other partners. See what they all think. We need to figure out how to respond to this.”

  After a few clarifying questions, David shoved two cookies in his face before grabbing his things and heading off to organize her world just the way she liked it best.

  Rowan took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she breathed out slowly. In again, held it and blew it out.

  Just a few feet away Clive was on his phone. Probably to Alice. His tone was terse, but not formal.

  When Rowan opened her eyes Genevieve texted, We should talk. Senate just received something from Vampires.

  Rowan texted back, Will be in touch in a bit.

  She told Clive, “Confetti.”

  He flinched slightly, not taking her meaning, and that’s when she realized she’d said what she had.

  “Oh, well look at that. There was confetti in my dream. I thought maybe it was part of the sea spray from the storm, but just now I think it was confetti, not that I know what confetti might mean. Like you know.” She mimicked tossing confetti into the air and then gave him a cross look. “I mean really. I have entirely enough on my plate just now and you Vampires can’t just chill out for a day?” She waved a hand at his phone, which continued to light up with texts. “We’ve already made our hiring decisions. Part one handled. But part two? Once I get up from this table I’m headed into a conference with the other partners. You’ll understand our reaction to this threat to assassinate Hunters will be severe.

  “Depending on how you handle this, Hunter Corp. continues to be open to hearing your concerns. A face-to-face meeting or two during the Joint Tribunal would be best or the old Vamps will misread everything on a screen. However, if the Nation doesn’t handle this correctly, we might not attend anyway.”

  Without using their other senses to translate someone else’s intent—their pulse rate, sweat, humans could rarely lie without their body chemistry putting out an acrid scent—they assumed someone was mocking or insulting because they didn’t understand current technology and didn’t bother to educate themselves.

  “That’s madness, Rowan. If Hunter Corp. drops out of the Joint Tribunal just four days shy of the first workgroup meetings, you’ll create a bigger schism,” Clive said.

  “We’ll create? Who. The. Fuck. Do. You. Think. You’re. Talking. To.” She shook her head and made a slashing motion with her hand when he began to speak. “This entire situation is of your making. We were prepared to ignore what most would have taken offense at. I assured the rest of the partners this was just Vampiric showboating, and here we are with execution orders. You all love games so much, play them with each other and leave the rest of us alone. If you don’t, you get what you fucking get, Scion.”

  Her phone joined his, reminding her with each vibration that she had work to do.

  David interrupted. “We’ve got a conference scheduled shortly from the chapterhouse. London, Las Vegas, Paris, Kano, and Moscow.”

  “Okay.” She stood but before she could take her own plate to the sink, Elisabeth clucked at her and snatched it from Rowan’s hands.

  “I expect you’ve got a long hard night ahead of you both. Alice will take care of Scion Stewart and I know our David will be sure Rowan drinks her tea and has some fruit later. I’ve packed up a basket for you to take along,” Elisabeth said.

  Rowan thanked her and once she turned back to the kitchen, talking with David about something or other, Clive stood, looking reluctant.

  “Go to work,” she told him. He was concerned for her and that was sweet. But he had to be Scary Scion Stewart and stop worrying about her. “I’m getting on a call in less than half an hour so I need to get moving.” She blew out a breath. “I’m fine,” she said quietly. “You should be more worried about those shitlords who just went around the tenth-most-powerful Vampire in the Nation. I don’t need to do shit because whatever she has planned will be way worse.”

  He hated to leave. Yes, she was fine, but for how long? And what if she lost consciousness again? What if after he was gone, she began to believe he had any part of this foolish gambit? Or that regardless, Vampires were all now the enemy? She’d taken so many terrible blows, suffered so many losses.

  As if he’d spoken aloud, Rowan put her hand on his forearm and then slid it down to tangle their fingers together. “We’re good,” she said. Echoing their conversation from the night before.

  “I implore you to remain safe. Wherever you are. Remember to eat, and drink water. Shall I come pick you up on my way home?” he asked.

  “Let’s hold that in reserve. I don’t know where I’ll be yet. You be careful too. These Vamps are working overtime to start a skirmish. To what end who knows? You all have plans within plans within plans. But some of those plans might be to strike out at the Scion of North America. Then I’d have to go berserker. Yadda yadda yadda, rivers of blood, drinking from the skulls of my enemies and all that. I really have a tight schedule so don’t get hurt.”

  They were a pair. Both strong and yet worried for the other. But he healed a hell of a lot faster. The idea of a world without her fire was unthinkable. If he did think about it, it brought him to a place where he could do nothing but worry. In the end, it would break them if he ever tried to cage her.

  Chapter Eleven

  When Rowan arrived at the office, Genevieve was there. Malin, the receptionist, handed Rowan honest-to-goodness handwritten phone messages and said coffee had been made in preparation for her arrival.

  Maybe this one wasn’t employed by a serial killer to spy on her like the last one had been.

  “The Conclave has been made aware of the response to Hunter Corp. by the Nation,” Genevieve said when Rowan and David came down the hallway.

  Rowan sighed. “They sent it directly to you, or to the Senate?” Every single aspect of this communication had been shaped to cause offense.

  “They sent it to the Senate Information Office and it was forwarded to all the Senators from there. My assistant sent it to me.”

  Rowan took a sip of coffee before she could do something other than snarl. They didn’t even send it to all the Motherhouses, but they sent a copy to the Conclave? “This whole thing is mystifying. Not that they’d play games—that was expected—but this threat to execute Hunters? We’ve been getting along reasonably well of late.”

  “Except for all those Vampires trying to kill you for years,” Genevieve said.

  “If I recall correctly, so have a lot of witches. Plenty of humans too,” Rowan replied. “But you know how this goes. Only trying to kill me an eighth of the time is successful diplomacy with Vampires. And look, if they’re not afraid of me—and they will be by the time this is done—they sure as fuck should be terrified of Nadir. There’s no place they’re going to be able to hide from her.” She saw the blueberry muffins with that brown sugar stuff on top and considered it. She’d had a slice of cake not too long ago, but it did seem like a rule to have something with a cup of coffee, and she was very polite and liked to adhere to baked-goods-based etiquette.

  After balancing a muffin and her mug, they headed toward the conference room on the third floor.

  “I’ll be interested to sit back and watch how you handle this. Obviously the Conclave is not going to threaten to execute witches who are employed by Hunter Corp. Even if we disagreed with it that would not be our way. As the liaison between the witches and the Hunters, I’m on your side. I hope the Nation understands what happens when practitioners work with Hunters against them. That’s how the Treaty came out to start with.” Genevieve went on a bit in French, calling the Nation the fools they were.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to catch up. Care to share anything right now?” Rowan asked quietly when David left the room with Vanessa to do something troubleshootish about the call they were about to get on.

  “Most of it is personal. It can wait.”

  “Things with Dust Devils are well?” Rowan asked. Genevieve wanted to talk about it, to share this thing going on in her life and Rowan wanted to be sure her friend understood she wanted to hear about it. Cared about the things Genevieve was experiencing.

  Genevieve nodded. “I know. It seems incongruous, but they really do seem pleased to help. To make me happy.” Rowan’s friend gave that Gallic sniff that meant three things at once. “I bought wallpaper some years ago. It’s quite ridiculously sumptuous in blacks and deep greens shot with gold.” She blushed. “Even I am embarrassed to admit how much it cost. Still, I have always imagined it hanging in my bedroom. I’ve wanted a lush, sensual place full of textures and fabrics that soothed and cocooned. I returned home from a two-day Senate meeting to find Lorraine had led a group of Devils to a storage facility in Los Angeles where many of the things I’ve collected over time—for my eventual home—had been gathered. They’d hung that wallpaper, set up my bed. All the things I’d been setting aside for centuries and they’re now in my house and I find it’s rather as lovely as I’d hoped it would be. And just a few days ago, a group of them showed up and let her boss them around for hours while helping build some containers and then they filled them and some big pots placed wherever Lorraine felt would grow best. And the magic there? The herbs and flowers and other things they’d planted that day have all grown and matured. Rosemary now hangs in the air along with the sage and sand. They flirted with her and complimented her cooking and if for nothing else I’d love them for making her happy.”

  “I’m glad to hear they’re such a big part of making that house into your home. Home is a relationship as much as a place,” Rowan said.

  “Yes! That’s it exactly. More than that, being here right now with all of you is important.” Genevieve paused. “Even this stunt from the Nation. I cannot help but think...it feels like it should be happening.”

  Rowan nodded. Agreeing. “I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop. There’s more coming.” And then she had to explain the saying to Genevieve.

  The smile on Genevieve’s face rendered Rowan’s friend even more beautiful. Soft and pleased with her whatever it was with the Dust Devil. She looked to the doorway and said quickly while they were alone, “Darius kissed me earlier. Under the moon. He touches me like I’m his and I don’t stop him. This is altogether new, and I’ve been alive long enough that I try to resist this giddiness. I know I should hold back until I understand better what it is that drives me toward him.”

  “Aside from the face? The body? The intelligence and power? The way he looks at you like he wants to spread you on a piece of toast and take a bite?”

  That had her friend laughing and waving a hand, the jingling and clacking had become part of the whole Genevieve package in Rowan’s mind. “I am ever so pleased you are my friend. You do know just what to say when I need to hear it. There’s simply no one else now that I’ve met him.”

  “I understand.” And she did. Rowan was herself in an unlikely relationship with a powerful, ancient being who did whatever the hell he wanted and what he’d wanted was her.

  “That you do comforts me. I can look at you and your Vampire and understand a relationship, a working, happy one, is possible between two very different beings.”

  Shortly after, David came back in, and Genevieve headed to her office to deal with something she said she’d received earlier that night. He’d also supplied her with a refreshed cup of coffee she suspected was decaf, but as he’d replaced the muffin she’d demolished with a fresh one, she didn’t say anything but thank you and settled herself in camera view as the meeting started.

  * * *

  Clive told Alice on his way into his office, “Please connect me to Nadir at the earliest.” The sun would be rising soon up in the Wetterstein where the Keep was located, and Nadir made her home at the side of the First. But she was old enough she’d be awake and aware for a few hours more.

  “She’s called twice. I have her direct number so once you’re ready, I’ll put you through.” Alice’s features, normally so calm, had tightened around her eyes. She knew what this situation could blow up into.

  He’d only barely taken his seat when Nadir’s call came through. “We need to keep this brief. I just received a message that Rowan will be calling in five minutes,” she said immediately.

  “Good luck with that,” Clive replied. She’d need it. They all would.

  “After I stanch this bloody wound with Hunter Corp. I need to deal with these creatures Tahar and Takahiro invited in and set free. Tell me what the temperature is with her?”

  “She expected the worst of us, time wasting and other silliness. And we gave it to her. The first response annoyed her, but as I said, she was expecting it and was prepared to move on, understanding it would come up in some guise at the Joint Tribunal. Now it’s far worse and it’s not just Rowan who is angry. All of Hunter Corp. has had it. What does he know?” Clive asked of the First.

  “I’ll brief him after sundown. He’ll prefer things to already be handled and then, I imagine, he’ll contact Rowan directly. Andros is on the wing.”

  The air left Clive’s lungs in a surprised rush. Andros, one of the First’s Five, was silent death. A combination assassin and spy. That he had gone to deal with these lords wasn’t a good sign for the fools.

  As for the direct call from the First, Clive would need to monitor his wife’s emotional state, so she was in the right frame of mind when her father contacted her. It made Clive angry that he had to, that the world rested so squarely on Rowan’s shoulders when it came to the First’s possible cataclysmic moods.

  His anger didn’t matter. So he put it away.

  “This means the Nation has declared them outlaws?” Clive asked carefully. It wasn’t against Vampiric law to hate humans.

  The real Vampire issue was that they’d spoken with authority they did not have. They represented themselves as speaking for the entire Nation and that was their crime. And that was a thing that may have signed their arrest warrant.

  Clive bloody hoped so. Xenophobic Vampires were one thing. Threatening Hunter Corp. pretending to be the Nation was another entirely.

  “They have been called to appear before the First by sundown. I will hear their perspective and go from there.” No doubt, if Clive had been there, the anger in her words would have sliced him to the bone.

  “All right. There needs to be a meeting of the Scions. I’ll have Alice coordinate with the others and your office.”