Detrand

Samira stood beside me on the shore waiting impatiently for the rowboat to emerge through the fog. A strange darkness engulfed the harbor and my strigoi senses were on high alert.

I turned my head slightly, just enough to study Samira’s face. Her long, black hair was pulled back but it still blew about her face, catching in between her long eyelashes. She was Rowan’s replacement; she’d been a present from the Master Strigoi of the neighboring city and one I regretted accepting. In the weeks after accepting her, she’d proven to be a vengeful and powerful strigoi.

I knew that she would kill me if I didn’t watch my back.

I also knew that she held a deep seated hatred for her master and so I kept her.

Her dark eyes were intense and they followed the men as they drew closer. Unable to determine if she was hungry, I pushed my senses out gently to discover her mood and her face snapped to me.

She had to look up at me to meet my eyes because, even though she was tall for her gender, she was still shorter than me. I held her stare, daring her to say something but she just looked back at the boat.

“We don’t partake of the staff. If these men work for me, you’ll find your meal elsewhere.”

She nodded and I turned back to the small boat. As soon as it hit the bank, I vaulted over the rocks to land gracefully beside it and then climbed inside. Samira was just as nimble and soon we were gliding over the water.

When the rowboat hit the side of ship, I grasped the rope ladder and climbed aboard. Captain Williams was waiting for me and he held his hand out to help me climb into the ship. Although I could’ve easily jumped inside, I took his hand and stepped into the boat.

Still holding my hand, he shook it vigorously. “Detrand, Sir. Good to meet ya. I’ve heard lots of stories about you, most of them good.” His laughter rumbled from deep within his large chest and it rolled out over the water.

I didn’t attempt to smile in return but only nodded. He moved forward, ignoring my seriousness and I followed him to the cargo hold with Samira at my heels.

“You’ve already seen the goods we’ve moved to harbor?”

After I nodded, he continued.

“As you can see, we’ve moved the rest up here. Your assistant can count them and then make payment to my porter, John. In the morning, we’ll move these out and collect the ones you have waiting.”

I moved as he talked, mentally counting the boxes and going over the list I’d memorized from the shipping log. I probed him softly and once I was assured that his intentions were honorable, I gave him a nod.

His grin spread out over his face. “Great, now let’s allow the hired help to work their magic and go have a spot of rum, shall we?” He laughed again and my glance at Samira affirmed my feeling that she didn’t appreciate being called the ‘help.’

I grinned and his smile slipped off his face. My teeth were sharp and gave any living pause, and then I held out my hand to gesture that we move to his office. After swallowing hard, he smiled back at me even though this time it was forced, and he tentatively led me to his office.

Soon we were in his office and he was pouring a liberal glass of the amber liquid on the low wooden table in front of me. “I arrived by way of the Americas.” Even though I knew this already, I nodded and took a small sip. Holy hell it was sweet. Laughing at the expression on my face, he poured a glass for himself. “This particular supplier adds more molasses than what’s customary.” He flashed a grin. “And I like it that way.”

He took a large sip, his eyes twinkling in pleasure as it went down his throat. I waited for him to take another before I spoke.

“I would like to renegotiate the deal that Agosto had with you.”

Frowning, he lowered the glass back on the table a little too harshly then he raised his eyebrows. “And which part of the contract would you like to renegotiate?”

I pulled it out of my inner pocket and spread it out on the table. “I would like to add tobacco to our list of goods, among these other things.”

He paused for a moment, speculating. “This would require me to add a stop to my journey. I would have to check and see if I would have the space, plus the men to load them…” He continued to mumble, mostly to himself, but I knew that he would find a way to fulfill my request because the temptation of the added income would overpower any complications. After arranging a price for the addition, we shook hands and left to check on the payment.

Samira was waiting outside of the office and as soon as I saw her, my expression darkened. “What’s happened?”

“Everything is well with the shipment but there’s a problem at the docks.”

“What’s wrong?”

She hesitated, trying to articulate the problem. “Stefano’s sent word that a new group of shifters has arrived, and they’re dumping some of the goods into the water.”

I shrugged. “And? They can do whatever they like with their goods, as long as payment’s been made.”

“Salina isn’t with them; they don’t appear to be part of her pack.”

Frowning, I moved towards the stairs to leave immediately. The Captain followed close behind me, calling to his men. “Men, lower another boat, I’m off to the shore.”

His men scrambled at his direction but I strode towards the boat that brought me in. I jumped into it, not bothering to wait for the Captain, and as soon as Samira landed beside me, I ordered the men towards the shore.

* * *

The docks were in a commotion. A brown-haired shifter with a large nose and eyes spaced too far apart was slicing open the bags of rice with a large knife. It spilled onto the street as his companion, a small but tightly wired woman, flung bits of rice into the air, laughing shrilly.

Grant, one of the men who worked for Stefano, was chasing another shifter, who gripped a small box in his arms. The shifter grinned slyly at me as I approached the docks and I noted that his front tooth was missing and that someone had hacked at his hair with a dull knife. He slipped through Grant’s arms just as they clasped around him, and ducked into the group of humans working for Stefano. Grant roared and barreled through the group and they parted like falling trees.

As soon as we arrived, I jumped from the boat and searched for Stefano. Samira pulled her knife from her boots and went after the large-nosed shifter. He yelped when he caught wind of her and shot through the crowd to the streets.

I found Stefano struggling to contain a large shifter. Stefano held the shifter’s arms behind his back and worked to push him to the ground, but the shifter seemed to have a strength beyond what was normal.

Captain Williams and his men boarded the docks and his men spread out to quickly protect the goods while the Captain came to stand behind me. Noting that the goods they were destroying were not to be delivered to the shifter home but rather the fae, I growled, asserting my dominance over the shifter. “King Orin had better have requested his rice mashed with dirt, or someone will die tonight. Whom do you represent?”

The shifter stopped struggling and Stefano yanked him up with his arms locked behind his back. “Looks like they’ve drifted in from another town.”

I stepped closer and the shifter looked at my mouth. Smart, or I would’ve compelled him to leave the city and never return. “What’s your name?”

“King Henry!” He exclaimed this loudly and the other shifters, who had stopped what they were doing to stare at me, called out in large cheers and stomped their feet.

“Long live King Henry!”

“Here, here!”

As their laughter roared through the bay, my strigoi threatened to emerge. I was ready to kill this dog and get rid of all of them, but I pushed it down and lowered myself to his ear.

“Well, King Henry, if you don’t learn some manners, then I will slice your throat open and feed you to the fishes, do you understand?”

He looked up at me now, a sneer on his face. “I don’t take orders from vile creatures, and neither do my men.”

I lifted the corner of my lip, showing my teeth. “Then surely you aren’t their leader and they are lost, wondering the streets looking for a home.”

Stefano laughed, but the shifter growled and turned his head to spit on Stefano’s shoes. Stefano yanked the shifter’s arms up, causing him to howl in pain.

Samira returned with the large-nosed shifter, who was holding the side of his head, blood dripping from it. She gripped the back of his raggedy shirt tight as she brought him to me and threw his ear to the ground at my feet. Jerking her arm, she caused him to fall to his knees and he looked up at me with fear in his eyes.

Samira’s eyes were triumphant, almost challenging me. I met her stare, considering her. She’d been given to me as a punishment by her previous master because she’d gone on a rampage, completely erasing her own humanity, and had killed over a hundred humans. She was unable to return to her master until she’d served me and I was satisfied with that service.

Judging by her attitude, that would be several hundred years from now.

I pushed my senses towards her, commanding her obeisance and she looked away.

I turned my attention back to the shifter. “I will ask you only one more time, what is your name?”

The shifter merely growled in response but Stefano answered me. "They call him Bane."

I lowered my voice so that the Captain wouldn’t hear me. “Bane, have you checked in with the local pack?”

He looked into my eyes for only a second before looking away again, growling. “I’ve no need. I’m the leader of this pack, and we’re only here to stay for a few nights.” Then, amazingly, he straightened, showing that he was stronger than he let on and met my eyes.

It was a challenge.

I stared him down, trying to determine what to do. Scum like him could create a lot of trouble, and they should be put down as soon as possible. However, our relationship with the shifters was strong, and I wanted to consult with Selina before I killed any more shifters.

The last one I killed had attacked my family, and therefore retribution was mine to take. But these shifters hadn’t done anything as severe. Until things were established with Selina, I would pay the fae for the damaged goods and require that the shifters offer reparation and a promise that this wouldn’t happen again.

“Stefano, please escort these men to the local shifter pack, and make sure they are handed off to Salina.”

Stefano nodded, and Bane sneered at me, determining unwisely that I was too weak or afraid to kill him. I hoped that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to discover how wrong he was.

* * *

After I returned home, I resisted the urge to go to my Firewitch and instead, settled on the sofa to await her to come to me. I could sense her presence upstairs and held myself in anticipation as I waited for her to carry herself down the stairs and into the sitting room.

Realizing that I was grinning like a fool, I turned my face into a scowl just in time as Adelade turned the corner and entered the room. She was wearing a dark green velvet dress that brought out the blue in her eyes. It also allowed me just the slightest peek into her bosom that whispered promises of more to come and I took pleasure in watching her move when she wore it.

As soon as she saw me, her eyes grew wide and I knew that I’d startled her. The smell of the dianthus from the garden tickled my nose and I knew that she must’ve been in the garden. I called her my Firewitch, for thus the dianthus was nicknamed.

The name suited her; she was fiery and had bewitched me as strongly as if it’d been done by a witch. Plus, she was incredibly stubborn. All things. The name suited her.

“Detrand, you startled me.” She put her hand to her chest.

I grunted in response but noting that she was going to pass by without stopping, I reached out and took her hand. Now she nearly jumped because I’d moved too fast for her. I ignored it; she would get used to my movements.

“Adelade, sit down.” I pat the seat next to me.

“Okay.” As she sat, I struggled to form my thoughts into words but she spoke first.

“Detrand, I wanted to thank you for retrieving my mother’s vanity and my letter from my father. I cannot show my appreciation enough.”

I grunted, though the warmth of her gratitude flowed through my body. After saving my life, Adelade’s blood ran through me and I could feel her desire pressed against my vein walls. And her resentment. In my attempts to keep her protected, I’d managed every detail of her life and it vexed her deeply.

I wished to explain to her that everything I did was for her own benefit but I knew not how. So, I spoke the first words that spilled off my lips. “Tonight I will train you with something new.” I would do anything in my power to protect her, teach her anything she needed to know.

Her eyebrow went up, but she said nothing, then finally nodded. She shifted on the sofa, coming closer to me, and I could smell the delicious aroma of her blood. I held myself so that I didn’t lean towards her in response.

“Did you kill them?”

Surprised, I stared at her in response.

“I felt you earlier. Your rage was so passionate that Lula had to hold me forcefully so as not to attack anyone near me.”

I frowned and bit my lip. “I’m sorry for your troubles.”

She waved her hand. “It passed quickly. You have learned to control your rage and I will also.”

I couldn’t answer her for a moment. I was amazed at the way she considered her situation, for her emotions were not her own, they were mine. Yet she held it as of no consequence.

Now that my blood ran through her body, she was constantly inundated with my emotions. We were like twins, in tune to the other’s emotions, but because I was a strigoi it was much easier for me to ignore her feelings. Yet I endeavored to contain my own, to make it easier for her and thus far she was maintaining some sort of normalcy.

She held a tissue in her hand; it was rumpled and bloody. She must have retired from Sophie’s room, who was still recovering from the house fire.

“Is Sophie doing better?”

Adelade’s eyes drifted towards the stairs. “She is improving.”

Sophie petitioned to bar me from her room and, so far, I’d honored her request and so was unaware of her condition.

“And will she arise this evening?”

Adelade looked away and a sadness tugged at my chest: Adelade’s emotion. “I don’t think that she will.” She looked back at me. “She’s still recovering.”

I nodded, understanding that Sophie had no desire to see me or anyone else. Ever since the fire, only the staff, her thralls, and Stefano’s men to repair the home, had entered.

We fell silent and the tension between us grew like a thickness in the air. Adelade’s hand was next to mine and I touched it softly with the tip of my finger. A warmth spread up my arm, and Adelade’s lust leaked into my senses both from inside and out. She wanted me as much as I wanted her, and it was exquisite torture to be near her.

“You will meet with me this evening for training?” I couldn’t stop the hope that filled my chest.

Her eyebrows lifted. “Of course. And Lula has agreed to attend.”

“She is over the final death of Rowan then?”

Adelade shook her head. “I don’t know.”

I looked towards the window, running my finger up the inside of her arm. Her breathing was shallow and she closed her eyes to contain the feelings rushing through her body. My desire to take her into my arms was so overwhelming, that I struggled to sit still.

And yet, I questioned my own intentions. Could I stain her with my blackness, just because I longed for the light that she held? If she saw the monster inside, would she really want me?

I stood up abruptly and bowed slightly. “I’ll meet you at the docks then.” She stared at me as I moved and it burned into my back. I gripped my hands tight making them dig into my palms as I walked away from my Firewitch.

* * *

As soon as Adelade entered the warehouse door, I turned away from her to hide the way her presence lit up my face. I chided myself and forced myself to look serious then turned back to her. Lula was by her side; their arms entwined cheerfully. Adelade laughed and the sound washed over me, causing a tingle to move through my chest.

As I moved towards them, Lula curtsied and I noted the paleness of her skin. “Detrand. How is your evening?”

Grunting, I held out my hand towards Adelade. “Landon?”

“He’ll be here shortly.”

Adelade took my hand and I steered her towards the back. As usual, she was wearing those wretched pants but I paid them no notice and, when I looked into her face, I noticed that she held a smirk on it which disappeared quickly. Then her face turned serious and I saw the glint in her eyes. She pulled something from the folds of her pants.

“You said we’re to learn something different. So I’ve brought some knives from the kitchen.” She raised her eyebrow, waiting for my reaction.

I took them and turned them in my hands. One of them was quite dull but the other was very sharp. Casually noting Landon’s entrance, I threw the dull one to the side and handed her back the sharp one and she grinned.

“The knife can be used in many ways because any part of it can be deadly, even the handle.” I took her hand, ignoring how soft it felt in mine and showed her how she could use the end to hit something.

She nodded and I pulled away from her. “However, a knife is your last resort because that means that your enemy is very close to you. If they are more skilled, then they could kill you easily.” My chest tightened at this thought, and I imagined following her everywhere to keep her safe. “It’s better for you to run away.”

The look on her face told me that she wouldn’t be running away from a fight anytime soon, so I continued. “If they are bigger than you,” I eyed her speculatively, “which most of them will be, then you must be quicker than them. So we will practice moves that will make you faster.”

Lula and Landon began practicing with a knife that Landon brought and she was coming at him while he dodged her thrusts.

Ignoring them, I pulled Adelade’s hand to me and showed her the different ways she could hold the knife. It was very similar to the stake but she would have to keep her hold on it differently so that it didn’t slip and slice her palm. Then I moved her arm, showing her the different ways she could move. “Now practice.”

I pressed down the feelings that threatened to emerge as I watched her move. Her arms were graceful and the tendrils of hair that escaped her bun stuck to her face, which was growing wet and sticky with sweat. I stepped back, allowing her to practice without my interference. She would need to have the moves down before I would test her. She only gave me a quick glance as I moved away from her and towards Lula.

Lula moved towards Landon and he barely escaped her in time. She nicked his forearm and she tried to hide her grin. Her face was pale against the moonlight and her moves had become much more graceful and nimble over the weeks. In fact, she was almost too quick. I watched her speculatively, my thoughts churning. How much blood had she given and received from Rowan?

She noticed my careful gaze and lost her concentration, which Landon took advantage of and managed to stab her with the rubber tipped blade. His eyes never left her, even as I moved closer to them which should’ve made him uneasy. Although he regularly attended to Stefano, it appeared that Landon’s affections were divided. His cheeks reddened when she touched his arm to inspect the nick she gave him but he moved away, chiding her for the loss of concentration.

Thoroughly chastened, Lula began again and after watching her for a while, I was certain that Lula had received an incredible amount of vampire blood. I considered what to do with this information and then decided that for now I would do nothing. It would eventually wane and she would return to normal.

I returned to Adelade and moved in, simulating an attack. She reacted swiftly, but not fast enough, and then she was on the floor and I was over her. She was breathing heavily and as she looked up at me, my eyes locked onto hers.

I allowed her emotions to flood over me and I basked in her humiliation. I grinned and she frowned. Standing up, I held my hand to her, but she twisted on the ground and pushed herself up.

I took the discarded knife off the ground and held it up as if I were preparing to attack. “Always hold the knife in front of you, never behind you. You may prefer to swing back to give yourself some momentum, but in those seconds, an attacker could kill you. You understand?”

She nodded and wiped her hair out of her eyes, and the crystal blueness of them looked into the darkness of my soul. My heart beat faster. Could she see the real me? I shook my head.

“Again.”

I approached her again and after a while we changed tactics so that she attacked me, but time and time again, I disarmed her. We worked tirelessly through the night, even after Lula and Landon were gone. Her body slowed and her thoughts drifted as she tired, but I didn’t let up. She didn’t complain and her strikes became more sure and her movements hit their mark over and over.

I knew the sun would rise shortly and I needed to return to my home, but the desire to stay with my Firewitch was so strong that I delayed leaving.

She stopped to wipe her forehead and suddenly the need to kiss her overcame all sense that I gripped her waist, pulled her close and lay my lips on hers.

* * *

She returned my kiss with a passion so strong that she dropped the knife to the ground and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her tongue entered my mouth, and I sucked on it as my hands ran through the tendrils of her hair. She moaned, causing me to growl as my strigoi threatened to emerge. I gripped her hips and lifted her; her legs wrapping around me as I moved her towards the back wall.

We hit the wall and her hand immediately went for my shirt. She swiftly unbuttoned it and then her hands were on my chest, feeling the tight ridges of my muscles. I held her gently because I didn’t want to break my little flower even though I wanted to touch her in ways that she’d never been touched and make her feel things she’d never felt.

My tongue moved towards her neck and her pulse beat rapidly as I kissed it, filling every space with my lips and tongue. I moved lower until I was over her breast, my tongue teasing her through the material. She pressed her hands into my back, urging me on. I caught a glimpse of her face, thrown back in pure delight.

I unhooked her top button and slowly moved to the next one, drawing out her suspense. She tried to help me but I softly nipped her fingers until they were back on my chest, exploring me urgently. I groaned at her touch and rushed to finish with her buttons, my hands unusually clumsy, until her shirt was open to me.

She was beautiful. I leaned my head against her, feeling such an immense gratitude that she would allow me this favor and she arched her back, begging me to continue. I kissed her collar, taking my time to worship her body until her breast was in my mouth and I was sucking it softly. She gasped my name and the sound of her submission to me tore a heat through my body so intense that it was like no other. Her hands pressed into my chest, warming me and it began to spread through my body.

Dropping her, I moved her so that she faced the wall and I pressed against her, letting her know the way that she affected me. I moved my hands to cup her breasts as I scraped my teeth against her neck. Her moans grew louder as I moved down her back, biting her softly.

A protectiveness rose up in me, and I longed to claim her so that no other hands would touch her, ever. I moved her hands so that they were over her head in complete submission to me.

She was mine. She would have no other.

I leaned into her, one hand holding her wrists while the other one ran softly down her naked back. She pressed into the wall, my touch making the lust leak out of her and into my senses.

I groaned. She wanted me, and my poison had yet to run through her body. She wanted me for what I was and not for the addiction that my poison created. A shudder ran through my body and her name was on my lips. “Adelade.” It was a sigh and a wish, a hope that I could find love again.

At the sound of her name on my lips, she opened herself to me, and I could see her every desire. She only longed for a home and to hold the heart of a secret love. Angry, I pushed my senses past her now thin walls to discover the man who held her heart and I stopped suddenly to discover that the man was me. I stood still in shock and she tried to face me, but I gripped her waist and pulled her back against me. Her hands rose over her head and wrapped around my neck, baring her perky breasts and I fondled the tips as she moaned.

So I was the secret that she held deep in her heart.

My hands moved lower, so soft and gentle as not to break her. I wanted to touch every part of her body, give her every pleasure that she could desire. Not because of my lust but because of the hope that she managed to slip into my life, unknowing.

And then my hands slipped beneath her pants and I touched her gently. She was moist, and I longed to taste her sweetness on my lips but instead I gently exposed her secret place to my touch. She sucked in her breath and gripped my neck tighter as I caressed her, and I couldn’t help but hold her tight also, afraid that she would slip through my fingers like an apparition.

Her soft noises grew even louder and her chest rose in sweet anticipation of the pleasure that my fingers would bring. I pressed myself against her harder, wanting to tear her clothes from her and mark her sweet body. My hardened core was so hot and the temptation to be inside her was almost unbearable. My fingers moved deftly, exploring her until her build-up was too great and she cried out. As she fell over the edge, she shuddered under me and I stroked her bare shoulder in delight.

I pulled her around to hold her tight. She collapsed in my arms and I pushed away my desire to take her. If I took her as my mate, I would do it in my own time and in the place that she deserved, not in this filthy warehouse. She murmured in my ear, and I kissed her hair softly, gripping her neck tight while I pulled her shirt gently back around her. I realized that the sun would soon kiss the earth and that I needed to rush to avoid its glare.

“Adelade, you will be the death of me.”

* * *

I returned just in time and collapsed in my bed, my thoughts on my Firewitch as I drifted into the nothingness of the day. I’d wished to throw her over my shoulder and fly through the streets, bringing her to my bed to sleep the sleep of the dead with me. But any resistance she would’ve given me may have delayed me and required me to find another place to sleep for the day, unprotected. I wasn’t sure if she’d appreciate being carted off like a canvas of apples, and so I left her content in the warehouse.

My wretched familiar met me in my sleep. No matter my attempts to work with him, usually the crow was unattached and disobedient, going and doing as he wished. But this time he took me on an excursion. We flew high over the mountains of a desert plain, the whiteness of the sands stretching in an unending horizon.

Adelade was below me riding on the back of a thick stead. We circled over her as she raced through the dry desert, her hair waving in the wind as she dashed forward on her black horse. She was searching most urgently for something. Though I knew not what she searched for, I could feel the intensity of her chase. We ran through the night and when I awoke the next evening I felt no rest.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I shot up out of my bed. Something was amiss. I threw open the door to my bedroom to find Adelade sitting just outside it. Her hair was rumpled and she was still in her night robe. She’d slept through the day. She stood as soon as I opened it.

“Sleep well?” I teased her. Had she dreamed of me also, or was she on her horse, searching endlessly for… something?

Smiling, she rubbed her eyes. “Not quite.”

My gaze drifted to her shift, which was tied up to her collarbone. I grinned, the temptation of this evil witch was too much. I hooked my finger at the top of her robe and slowly pulled her to me.

She opened her eyes cautiously to stare at me but I ignored her look. I deliberately pulled on the end of the string, untying the knot. “Yes? Is there something that you needed?” I unraveled the string through the next loop to reveal the top of her collar and her heartbeat picked up.

“Actually, there are several things that need to be taken care of. A messenger has delivered news that King Orin is expecting a visit today?” Her statement ended as a question; she’d had yet to become aware of the knowledge and hierarchy of the fae.

“Hmmm…” I nodded, having completely forgotten to make arrangements to pay for the goods destroyed the other night. I would attend to that later. I pulled the string through another hole, displaying the top of her breast. This was much more interesting then entertaining the Fae; the anticipation of feeling her naked under me consumed my thoughts.

“And a rather large man named…” She struggled for the name, completely distracted by what I was doing, “Grant?”

I nodded and she continued.

“He’s delivered a message from Stefano, to tell you that he delivered the shifters to Salina but that there’s been no response from them.”

She gripped my waist as I undid the next loop, the tension between us charged the air and her body tensed with want. The top of her shift was completely untied now and I pulled half of it open gently to reveal her breast, which pebbled at the end with the cool air. A warmth spread through my chest and traveled lower, and a low growl rose from my throat.

“Detrand?” Her voice came out a squeak and I knew that she was doing the best she could to deliver her message.

I looked into her face, admiring the tinge of pink on her cheeks. “And how is it that you know so much about my business?”

She looked abashed now. “The servants couldn’t awake you of course and so they rustled me from my sleep.”

“And why would they do that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I was wondering the same thing. I had to wait outside your door for you to arise, just as they would’ve had to do.”

“I’ll attend to that soon enough.” My eyes drifted back to her breast, trying to decide if I was going to give into the temptation to pull her into my room or taste her right here in the hallway.

“Grant sounded… most urgent.”

When I said nothing but ran my hand down the side of her waist, she continued.

“He’s still in the hall. Waiting.”

Damn. I frowned. “Rowa—” The ending stuck in my throat and I lay my forehead on the top of Adelade’s head for a moment, holding on to her by her waist. I could feel her heart beating wildly through my fingertips and it made my breath quicken. I rose my head. “Samira?”

Samira responded from the room down the hall, opening the door. She was dressed in a black dress, the top fit tightly but the bottom moved loosely as she walked. She wore pants underneath, characteristic of the warriors from the mountains beyond this city. She appeared silently, only noting with her eyes the way my hand caressed Adelade’s side.

“Sir?”

“We need to prepare to make reparations to the fae, and then resolve this issue with the shifters. Have you been in contact with Salina?”

I was speaking words but my thoughts were only on the beautiful woman next to me. I wished I could leave Samira to this business. Or that Salina would control the shifters.

“Salina didn’t respond to my note and I’ve already made reparations to the fae.”

“Hmmm?” My attention was on the smell of Adelade’s blood. My fingers were inching up towards the opening in her shift again.

“I paid the fae four times its worth last night.”

I knit my brows, disappointed. I would have to attend to this. King Orin would manipulate the situation into getting something that he wanted from me.

“Did you eat last night?”

She nodded, and I reminded myself that I would need to bring in more thralls. Usually Sophie took charge over that; she would rather bring in willing living rather than hunt through the streets. But her most dedicated thralls were attending to her in her room helping her heal, and so I would need to find others so that Samira wouldn’t stalk the streets. I didn’t trust her not to leave a trail of bodies in her wake.

“I’ll prepare to leave then, wait for me by the door. I’ll be there shortly.” I paused. “And tell Grant that he can go.”

Samira made a noise that sounded something like a murmur, but she bowed and walked away. As soon as she was gone, my attention was back on Adelade who was watching Samira curiously as she moved down the hall.

I cleared my throat and when she turned back to me, she held a look of determination. “I’d like to go with you. And possibly Lula would also.”

I grunted. My thumb was just under her breast now and I stroked her silky skin, inching upwards. Like hell she was going to go with me. “You’ll just be in the way. And the shifters are dangerous.”

She folded her arms across her chest, barring all access to my favorite part of her torso. I looked up, frowning. She looked me in the eyes stubbornly.

I sighed and lowered my forehead to hers again. She wouldn’t be swayed.

I stood up straight, grasped her chin, and pulled her lips to mine. I kissed her deeply, enjoying the heat that rushed through my body and the way that she pressed against me. Then I released her. “Fine. You two can go.”

She flashed a grin.

I shooed her down the hallway and as she rushed towards her room, I called towards her. “Get ready quickly woman, I’ll not wait for you.”