Blood Queen

"The terrorist? That Rahim Alif?" Grace asked.



"Yes. Lissa captured him—recognized him by his scent. You won't ever fool Lissa; she never forgets what you smell like. She scents your blood, somehow."



"Yeah, we got that already," Mack said. "She remembered both of us because she saw us when we were little." He pointed between himself and Justin.



"Where is she now?" Charles asked.



"Probably on the roof," Karzac tossed his napkin on the island. The Larentii had sat down at the island after enlarging the seats to fit their height and were listening to the conversation.



"She always liked to get on the roof," Charles agreed. "Used to sit on Merrill's roof all the time."



"I'm going to the roof to find her," Karzac said.



"I'll come with you," Charles picked up his plate and glass of wine.



"I will come," Radomir said. All three of them folded to the roof.



* * *



If I thought I was going to be alone to cry my eyes out, I was proven wrong after ten minutes.



"Lissa, want something to eat?" Charles plopped down beside me and held out a forkful of pot roast.



"I'm not hungry." I wiped my eyes on a sleeve. No doubt, I looked like crap, but Charles was ignoring that. "It's nice to see you, Charles." I would have hugged him, but he was eating.



"Lissa, you are underweight right now. Are you going to force me to stand over you at mealtimes?" Karzac sat down on my other side.



"That wouldn't be uncomfortable or anything," I mumbled against my knees. I'd let my forehead drop to the tops of my knees so Charles, Karzac and Radomir wouldn't see my blotchy face. Radomir had come, too and settled down next to Charles.



"We can make arrangements for you to meet with Flavio, Gavin and Anthony," Radomir offered. "Just to see whether your presence sparks a memory in them."



"And if it doesn't? That sounds like the most awkward thing ever." I was depressed and couldn't shake it off. I wasn't prepared for Gavin's stone face if he didn't remember me or our time together.



"We can meet in Flavio's study—he took Wlodek's manor after my sire gave up his position as Head of the Council. He had no need of it after coming to the Saa Thalarr. I can convince Flavio to bring Gavin and Anthony in, and I can ask some of the others to come—those who are now Saa Thalarr," Radomir offered, his dark eyes concerned. He wanted me to agree. I felt uncomfortable about the whole thing.



"Gavin and Anthony still remember all of those who became Saa Thalarr," Charles grinned. "They just don't know about Flavio and me. Flavio helped the Saa Thalarr in the past, so he was given blood as payment. He walks in daylight, now. He can fold space too, but only on Earth—he isn't allowed to go off-planet. I'm a Spawn Hunter for the Saa Thalarr, but that doesn't interfere with my duties as Flavio's Chief of Staff."



"This may work, Lissa—we can introduce you to Gavin and Anthony as a friend and if nothing happens, then we'll know for certain," Radomir sighed.



"And it won't be disappointing in the least when they don't recognize me," I muttered. "I'm not sure I can handle that."



"Lissa, you'll want to know, eventually. And this will be your chance to make a decision—on whether you want Gavin back in your life. Come, this could work. And even if they do not recognize you, at least you can build a relationship with them if that is what you want." Karzac rubbed my back gently.



"Fine," I huffed.



"I'll set it up for tomorrow night," Radomir said. "I know Flavio isn't doing anything other than slavedriving, and Gavin and Tony recently returned from the states."



"No pressure," I sighed.



Karzac, Charles and Radomir eventually convinced me to go back to the kitchen. My plate was still sitting at the island and someone had used Power to keep it warm for me. Karzac sat with me, chatting while I ate as much as I could. Charles and Radomir had gone off to visit Flavio to set up the gathering they planned. Karzac told me all about current events on Refizan.



"Do you ever hear any news of Gabron?" I asked. I was too stuffed to eat another bite, and my plate was still half-full.



"No, but the vampires there continue to retain their secrecy. We can search him out soon if that is what you want."



"I'll think about it, but he may have forgotten about me, too," I said. Yeah, I was depressed. While we sat there, two men folded into the kitchen. They startled me and my heart began to pound in my chest at the sight of them. Karzac had his hands on me quickly, regulating my heartbeat, somehow.



"Anything left for us?" One of the two said when things calmed down after a few moments. I knew the scent—these two were Dragon's twin sons and Devin was their mother. They had the signature Asian look about them, along with very long, very black braids hanging down their backs. They were dressed in what looked like ski outfits and the long skis and ski poles in their hands weren't a giveaway, either. Tinted goggles were pushed back on both foreheads; they were identical in looks but I could tell the scents were different. Just their appearance made me smile, once my heart was back to normal.



"You're Dragon's," I said.



"Nah, Crane's," one of them grinned crookedly at me.



"Do not attempt to tease Lissa, Drew, she knows better," Karzac informed the one who'd spoken. "Lissa, this is Drew," Karzac indicated one of the twins, "and this is Drake," he nodded toward the other.



"Nice to meet you," I said. "I wasn’t aware that Dragon had children."



"You need to meet our older brother, Dragon Taylor, then," Drake grinned. "Grace is his mother."



"Grace had quadruplets," Karzac sighed. "One child for each of her humanoid mates at the time."



That caused my eyes to pop. "You're kidding? That can happen?"



"Not normally," Drew flopped onto a chair at the island. "Are you going to finish that?" He nodded toward my half-empty plate.



"It's yours if you want it," I said, pushing the plate toward him. He dug right in. I slid my glass of wine over, too, and he accepted it with a muffled thanks; he was already eating.



"Hey, is there any left for me?" Drake sat down next to his brother.



"I'll check," I said and went to the huge bank of refrigerators in the kitchen. I found leftover pot roast and vegetables, heating it in what Karzac called a zap oven. Drake started eating as soon as he got his plate, and I filled a wineglass for him and topped off Drew's glass. "Karzac, do you want tea?"



"Karzac only likes his tea a certain way," Drew said, winking at me. Karzac surprised him greatly.



"Lissa made tea for me long before you were even a thought," Karzac snipped. I made tea for Karzac, just the way he liked it. I remembered; vampires have good memories. He sipped from his cup while I sat next to him again.



"So, who are you?" Drake asked. He was about to scrape up the last of his mashed potatoes and gravy.



"This is Lissa, the Vampire Queen," Karzac informed him. Drew almost choked on his wine. "The one who popped all the heads off the Ra'Ak and the High Demons?" He sounded very surprised.



"If you and your brother would show up for more than food now and then, you might learn a great many things," Karzac scolded.



"Feather, Christi and Kerry wanted to go," Drake defended himself. "So we couldn't turn them down. We're so seldom all home at the same time."



"Which one of you did the time bending?" Karzac asked gruffly.



"Feather," Drake grinned.



"Hmmph," was Karzac's response. I was enjoying myself. These people were family and they were acting like it. That made me happy.



"How was the skiing?" I asked.



"Great. We went to Chleroa. Those mountains are amazing."



"I never tried to ski," I said. "Maybe I'll try it, sometime. If I'm about to hit a tree, I can mist right through it."



"That would be handy," Drew laughed. "Bro here had to fold away from that rock pile he was about to run over."



"That'll get you a thrashing in the dojo tomorrow morning," Drake threatened.



"You're on, dude. Let's see you do it," Drew countered.



"So, did your dad teach you bladework, or did your Uncle Crane?" I was curious.



"They both did, and whacked us around pretty good," Drew admitted.



"They still whack you around pretty good," Karzac huffed.



"Well, we're off to get out of these clothes," Drake stood and stretched. "Dad will haul us out of bed if we're not there on time in the morning." He and Drew folded away.



"They seem like a lot of fun," I said.



"Did you like them?" Karzac smiled at me.



"They're young," I said, although their scents said a hundred years. "Sometimes it's nice to be around youthful exuberance."



"You should go to bed soon, it is getting late," Karzac said. "And I will place you in a healing sleep if you ignore me."



"Is there a picture of you next to the word autocrat in the dictionary?" I asked.



"My picture is also next to the word curmudgeon. With me, the terms are interchangeable."



"Stop it," I smacked his arm lightly. Karzac grinned.



The suite I'd been given had a bedroom, an attached sitting room, a huge bathroom and an empty walk-in closet. Pajamas lay on the bed when I walked inside after telling Karzac I could find my own way. There was also a note lying on the pajamas.



"These are Fox's," the note read. "Fox is mated to Wlodek, Weldon and three others. Her clothes were the closest we could come to something that would fit you—Devin and Grace."



The pajamas consisted of silky pants, coupled with a stretchy top that had thin straps. My kind of pajamas. I gathered them up and took them into the bathroom to take a shower. When I crawled into bed later, feeling much better after bathing and washing my hair, I fell asleep quickly.