“I was busy, but I would have called you back. I never received any letters. Michail said you were staying at a great aunt’s house, but I had no idea who she was. But he said you were coming here, so I figured I would see you then and get all the details.”

  “She wasn’t our relation. She lied about it.” But Fiona didn’t tell her brother that they weren’t truly related.

  “What the hell. Why?”

  Now that would be hard to explain. Arman wondered what Fiona was going to say about that.

  “I thought it might have to do with an inheritance or something, but I have no idea.” Fiona began eating some of her chicken.

  “We’re going to go out and do some sword fighting after lunch,” Jasmine said to Justin. “You should come too and practice.”

  “Like fencing?” Justin said.

  “Like medieval longsword fighting,” Arman said.

  Justin smiled. “Oh, that sounds like fun.”

  “You’ll get a workout for sure.” Arman wanted him to know it wasn’t a game. He wished they could warn Justin about the danger Fiona was faced with. They’d had to tell Fiona because her life was up for grabs.

  After they had chicken, green beans, and fried potatoes, they all went to the armory to grab their swords. Arman gave Fiona a training sword. Caitlin had one also. They gave one to Justin, but he was looking over the real swords and Arman could just guess he wanted one of those. But he had to learn the right way to hold one and he might not have the time to get good enough to fight with a real sword.

  Michail and Shelly said they would watch. Arman was kind of surprised to hear it. Most vampires, or hunters for that matter, would take every opportunity to hone their skills in the event they had to use them.

  Fiona looked eager to fight. So did Caitlin and Justin. Arman smiled. That’s what they needed. Fire in their hearts. The determination to put in a good fight. Even Justin might need to use a sword if it came to that. But Arman really hoped he wouldn’t.

  “You didn’t tell Michail and Shelly about your dream,” Fiona said telepathically to Arman while they were watching Levka and Ruric showing the key movements, how to parry, thrust, stand, and hold the sword.

  “No. I think it’s best if we keep it among ourselves. They came down late for lunch and so did Justin. He shouldn’t know for certain, but I think it’s just safer if we don’t tell Michail and Shelly about our visions or dreams or whatever they are.”

  “You don’t trust them. But they saved my brother.”

  “Yeah, but I would rather be safe than sorry. When your parents arrive and confirm they are friends of theirs like they say, I’ll be convinced.”

  “Oh, you think they might have saved my brother on Regina’s orders? And then brought him here to sneak in like offering a Trojan Horse?” Fiona sounded shocked.

  “Anything is possible when it comes to powerful vampires. Regina could have learned that we fought with the Scots to overthrow the League here.”

  “Okay. Do the others know to keep quiet about it?”

  Arman took hold of Fiona’s hand and squeezed it with reassurance. “Yeah. We all have lived for so long, it’s instinctual.”

  “Oh, sure, that makes sense.”

  He hoped he wasn’t distracting her from watching the sword fighting lesson, but she’d asked an important question of him, and he had needed to ensure she knew not to mention any dreams or visions she might have in front of the sister and brother. He should have thought of it before, but he’d been so tired when they first got in, he had forgotten about it.

  “So what do you think of the sword fighting?” he asked her.

  “I’m eager to try it.”

  He smiled. “It looks like your brother is really ready to try it.” He watched him parroting Levka and Ruric’s moves with his practice sword and was really getting into it.

  Then it was time for the newbies to begin practicing and Arman paired up with Fiona. Ruric was showing Justin the moves. Levka was working with Caitlin again. She really was getting better at it. She knew the stances and she knew the sword movements. But what he was really surprised at was that Fiona was really capable of handling a sword.

  15

  Stasio, Michail, and Shelly were watching the rest of them practice at sword fighting, though Fiona was trying to concentrate on the mission—training and being the best she could be. Just like when she was training in martial arts and doing sword demonstrations. She was amused at seeing Arman’s look of awe and surprise when she could wield a sword so well. This came naturally to her, and she was really enjoying the workout. She wasn’t tired at all like she thought she would be. She hadn’t done martial arts in the time since she had moved to Portland.

  But using a sword to end a vampire, that was a whole other story. She wasn’t sure she could do that. Then again, if a vampire was trying to kill her, she wasn’t going to just allow it. She still couldn’t believe she had disturbed Arman from the vision he was having. Or a dream. She wished they could know which it was. They wouldn’t know though until they had some confirmation. Like she was missing, everyone was searching for her on the night of the blood moon, and she was involved in a sword fight. Or maybe she wasn’t. Maybe it was one of the other people in their little party who was off fighting.

  She hoped that Arman would see more in another dream that would help them pinpoint what was going on. Or that maybe she would. She had no intention of leaving the mansion on her own.

  Her brother was taking a break and watching her now. So was Ruric. Then Caitlin and Levka took a break and observed Arman and Fiona practicing. When they finally finished, everyone clapped. Fiona smiled. She enjoyed that they thought she was halfway competent to wield a sword.

  They went inside to get some refreshments.

  “You did great,” Caitlin said. “I’ve been practicing for over a year to get to where I am and wow, I am so impressed at how well you did for your first time at it.”

  Justin agreed. “I was the real newbie at this. I should have taken martial arts like you did, Fiona.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve got muscles,” Jasmine said. “So once you get the moves down and they come naturally, you can really put those muscles to work on strong swings.”

  Which reminded Fiona why they were here, and she kept thinking Justin shouldn’t be. That he would be safer if he wasn’t near her.

  They all headed inside to get some refreshments.

  “Do you think my brother should be somewhere else? Somewhere that might be safer?” she asked Arman.

  “He needs to be here if he’s to be safe. If Regina were to get to him, she could force you to return to come to his rescue. This is where he needs to be,” Arman reassured her.

  “Okay, I just wanted to be sure.”

  Some of the kitchen staff brought them tea and shortbread cookies, then left them alone. The friends began drinking the assortments of tea from Scotch to heather and having cookies in the living room when Fiona looked at the new phone they had gotten her and realized Justin had to have his phone too. What if Regina and Tobias could find him through that? “What about Justin’s phone? Could they find him that way?”

  Justin was just then looking at his phone.

  Arman asked, “Hey, is that a new phone?”

  “Uh, yeah. That was part of what I won on this trip. But…you all won a trip here also? That’s sounds like way too much of a coincidence,” Justin said to Fiona.

  “Levka is a friend, and he knew I wanted to see you, so he arranged this whole vacation for you, for me, and some of our friends,” Fiona said, figuring it was time to change the story to one that made a little more sense, but she didn’t know how long they could keep the charade going.

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” Justin said. “Well, I’m glad for it. I’m having a blast. I’m just thrilled that I had the free time to come here and get to see you too.”

  Which wasn’t really the truth. Winter break hadn’t arrived yet, so he was missing out on his coursework, and she hated that for him. But she was glad that he had a new phone and couldn’t be tracked. Michail and Shelly must have thought of that. Which had to make them good guys also. At least she sure hoped so. But what if they gave Justin a phone that Regina had authorized?

  “Hey, who wants to go swimming?” Justin asked.

  “I’m with you,” Jasmine said. “I don’t have any assignments right now.”

  “If you’re going swimming, so am I,” Stasio said.

  The princes had given Levka a bit of a hard time over his interest in Caitlin, but that was before Stasio and Jasmine ended up being a couple.

  “Do you want to go swimming?” Fiona asked Arman. She knew they had to stick together, or at least they should.

  “Yeah, sure. Let’s do it.”

  “Great.” She was so glad she’d picked out a couple of bathing suits. The pool looked so inviting and she couldn’t wait to swim with the others, but especially with Arman.

  They all headed up to their rooms and got changed, Arman giving Fiona some space, but once she was dressed in her swimsuit, and had her coverup on, she found Arman coming to escort her. He was already dressed in blue swim trunks featuring hammerhead sharks. She laughed when she saw them. “So you’re a shark.”

  He smiled and looked over her blue one-piece bathing suit. “We match. Minus the sharks, of course.”

  She laughed. When they arrived at the pool, Justin was already diving in and Levka and Caitlin were together at one end of the pool, kissing each other. Jasmine and Stasio soon jumped into the pool. Ruric jumped in and splashed everyone. They splashed him back, laughing, enjoying the moment.

  Fiona slipped into the water and Arman jumped in after her. She waited for him, thinking they could swim laps, but she wanted to see what he wished to do.

  Arman swam over to her and smiled. “We haven’t been at the estate for very long, and though I’ve swum in the pool a couple of times, I never thought I would be swimming with you⁠—”

  “The girl who spilled her soda all over you.”

  “Absolutely. I was afraid you would think we stalked you all the way to Dallas.”

  “I did consider that. But you waited two whole years to do it? I mean, yeah, seeing you and your friends was way too much of a coincidence, but still, it didn’t make any sense. And my dreams of you? They were never a nightmare but the most pleasant of dreams.”

  “Until that one night and I knew I was there with you and the blond guy warned me you were in danger, and I had to save you.”

  “If he is the same one, he told me to trust you. But he didn’t say who you were. I asked, and then he was gone. Like something had broken the connection. But even if he had told me your name, I might not have believed him, or trusted him.”

  “So swooping in and carrying you away from the school had been the only way to handle it.”

  She smiled at Arman as they both paddled in the warm water. “Yeah, that worked. Though at the time, I had serious doubts about you and the others.” She looked around to see where Michail and Shelly were, but they hadn’t joined them. “Do you think they feel like they’re not part of the group?”

  “Who?”

  “Michail and Shelly?” Fiona asked.

  “Maybe. We’re a tightknit group. It takes us a while to trust others. I’m sure they realize that, and we might make them a little uncomfortable,” Arman said.

  “That could be. The people here who make the meals and clean the rooms, are they all human?” Fiona asked.

  “Yeah. They’re paid well. They’re not blood bonds like some of the humans are in other vampire households.”

  “Blood bonds?” she asked.

  “Blood blonds work for vampires, but they also allow the vampires to feed off them.”

  “Oh.” Fiona wouldn’t like that one bit.

  “They’re not forced to do it. Which would make the vampires rogues. The blood bonds do it for the money and for the enjoyment they get out of it,” Arman said.

  “I can’t imagine.”

  He just smiled, drew closer, and kissed her. She welcomed the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, while he kicked his legs in the pool to keep them both afloat. “Kissing you is so much better than in our dreams.”

  “I agree.”

  The butler came out to the swimming pool and said, “You have company.”

  “Who?” Arman asked.

  “He says he’s Stasio’s cousin, Prince Gareth. And Jasmine’s brother, Brett, is here also. They both learned you are in trouble again and came to help you out.” The butler cast him a wry smile.

  “Thanks.” Arman was about to shout to Stasio, who was swimming under the water with Jasmine, when Gareth hurried out to the pool, yanked off all but his boxer shorts, and did a cannonball into the water.

  Brett had been right behind him, but he walked to the edge of the pool, folded his arms, and smiled.

  His job done here, the butler headed back into the house.

  Then Brett looked at Fiona and shook his head. “Don’t tell me you have convinced another woman to join your pack.”

  “She’s a huntress,” Arman said, “but she never knew it. Her parents were turned.”

  Brett’s expression changed from amused to worried.

  Arman nodded. “Yeah, she’s in trouble.”

  “I had heard you and your friends were in trouble, which is why I’m here,” Brett said.

  “We’re training her how to use a sword, but⁠—”

  “I’m a black belt in three forms of martial arts and have been trained to use a sword or two in demonstrations.”

  Brett raised his brows. “But not in a fight to the death.”

  “You can help train her since you’re a hunter too,” Arman said.

  “Yeah, but she doesn’t need to fight one of my kind. She needs to know how to fight one of yours,” Brett said.

  Fiona realized what Brett said was true.

  Jasmine and Stasio came up for air and they saw Gareth swimming out to them.

  Brett called out to them, “Hey, so when’s the fight coming?”

  “Ohmigod, Brett. You didn’t tell me you were on your way here,” Jasmine said, hurrying to the side of the pool and climbing out. She gave him a big hug and got him all wet, just like Justin had done to Fiona when she first saw him in the pool last night.

  “So you both came here to help us out?” Fiona was amazed.

  “Yeah.”

  “Even a hunter? I guess because he’s Jasmine’s brother.”

  Then the butler returned with two more guests. “Prince Cadfael and Prince Llewellyn have also just arrived, my prince.”

  Arman said, “Good to see you, Cadfael, Llewellyn.”

  “As soon as Gareth said you were in trouble and needed help, we were on our way.” Llewellyn glanced at Fiona. “And you are the source of all the trouble?”

  “Fiona…uh, Fairhaven. Glad to make your acquaintance.” She guessed.

  “They are hunters also. So is Fiona,” Arman said, sounding like he hated mentioning it again to other hunters.

  Both of the men smiled at her. She assumed they were bachelors, and that the guys might be interested in a huntress to date. But she was so hooked on a hot-blooded vampire, she really wasn’t interested in dating hunters. Go figure.

  Her brother was swimming laps and didn’t hear the conversation or notice that anyone else had arrived. Talking about upcoming fights and hunters would really have him wondering what was going on.

  Brett, Cadfael, and Llewellyn declined swimming and sat poolside having drinks. Later, it was time to get out of the pool for the rest of them, dry off, and change.

  “Lunch, right?” Cadfael said. “Levka said your chef does a great job on meals, which was the main reason we came.”

  Everyone laughed.

  16

  Arman couldn’t believe that all these bachelor hunters had shown up to help protect Fiona. He was glad for it as far as keeping her safe, but not as far as her finding someone else to be interested in. Which was not fair in the least to Fiona. She was a huntress, and she would do well to be with other hunters as much as Arman hated the idea. If she had a hunter in her life, he could continue to protect her until she had the fighting skills that she needed to protect herself.

  Arman glanced at Levka, who inclined his head to him. Levka would know just what Arman was thinking, but he also acknowledged he understood. Arman sighed.

  Fiona saw the exchange and took hold of Arman’s hand and squeezed it. She said to him, “Don’t worry. I’m not running off with one of the hunters. I don’t dream about them.”

  He smiled at her, but still, he couldn’t help feeling that it wouldn’t work out between them. He would live well beyond her short life. He needed a vampire mate. But he didn’t want to turn her unless she practically begged him to.

  Even so, he made sure that he kept Fiona as far from the hunters as he could at the table, and his friends had helped to make that happen too. He saw the smiles on Gareth and his brothers’ faces, indicating that they were totally amused to see the vampires protecting Fiona from them.

  Arman wished Justin knew what was going on. He was the only human at the table and so clueless. It was going to be hard to keep the secret of what they all were from him, Arman believed.

  Michail and Shelly showed up and sat down to eat at the table with everyone, while introductions were made all around. They told Gareth and his brothers how they had brought Justin here so he could see his sister and that he had won some money and the trip here.

  Arman was sure Levka had filled the brothers in on all that was going on. But he was just as sure Levka hadn’t told Michail and Shelly that he had invited the hunters to the party, so to speak.

  Once they had eaten fish and chips, they all headed out to do more weapons training.

  “I’m glad we’re practicing sword fighting again,” Caitlin said. “I need to keep working at it just in case I need it for a fight in the future.”

  “That goes for me too now,” Fiona said. “I guess. I mean, I took martial arts because I liked it and I thought I might be able to use it to defend myself, but not quite like this.”