Carlos rolled his shoulders as he cast off the cloak he’d worn for his night off. He grinned to himself, considering all the dangerous fae he’d put down that night. The full moon was a dangerous time for humans, what with all the black marketers ghosting around. Even though he had plenty of law-enforcement officials out patrolling the streets, once in a while, he liked to deal with the trash himself.

He was only glad that vampires couldn’t have their pictures taken. Even portraits always ended up distorted due to some inborn magic that protected their identities. If that hadn’t been the case, everybody across the kingdom would recognize him on sight as their king and he’d never be able to get away with anything.

“Morning, Pan,” he greeted his manservant as he came into his apartment.

“Carlos.” Pan nodded towards him.

The fae’s keen violet eyes coasted over Carlos’ form, a hint of a smile on his berry-red lips. Pan was in every way the typical pixie. Slender, toned body with berry-brown skin and slim, pointed ears. Not many faes had that ancient look these days, the bloodlines having diverged into many different houses – vampires and demons included.

“You look like you had a good night.”

Pan picked up a brush and gestured for Carlos to sit, which the king did. This was one of the downsides to being a vampire: he didn’t have a reflection and therefore never knew exactly what he looked like. It also meant that things such as brushing his hair or shaving were best left for those who could actually see what they were doing. There were a lot of perks to being a vampire, though. Strength, longevity, and the ability to take on pretty much any other fae in existence made up for the lack of reflection.

“I did have a good night. Hunted some demons, rescued a damsel in distress—”

“And got quite the reward from it, too.” Pan’s voice was amused. “You had some sexy times, didn’t you?”

Carlos rolled his eyes at the term, but he still grinned. “Yeah, I did.”

“Was it good?”

“The best I’ve had from a complete stranger.”

Carlos lapsed into silence as his mind drifted to the beautiful rose he’d shared his night with. She had been good. She knew exactly what to do with her body and had left him like putty in her hands. If it wasn’t for his pride, he would have begged her to come live at the palace and be his queen.

“She was magnificent. Rose-colored skin, the most beautiful brown eyes. Like brown and amber. Just . . . beautiful. Very muscular, not much of an hourglass figure. But it didn’t stop her from being all woman. Such boundless femininity in a tight little package.”

Pan made a choked noise in his throat. “I hope you used protection.”

“Vampires can’t accidentally have young with humans.”

Pan gelled Carlos’ hair while he let out a soft whistle. “A human? Wow. Okay, you got me. That is impressive.”

Carlos chuckled. Humans were highly sought by the fae. Not just for illegal trade in body parts, but as partners, lovers and friends. Pretty much anything that humanity stood for. Being so long-lived had its drawbacks. Humans reignited a spark that was difficult to maintain. The problem was that humans oftentimes feared the fae, hated them, or thought that they were just unworthy of their attention. Carlos had never met a human as eager to have a fae – let alone a vampire – as his little mystery lover had been.

“Quite a feat.” Pan nodded appreciatively. “So . . . was she as good as they say?”

For some reason, Carlos didn’t want to divulge more information about his human. He and Pan had been able to talk about their various conquests together for almost as long as they had known one another, but this human – this unnamed human, since they hadn’t bothered with names – was . . . special. Not for any particular reason other than the fact that she just was.

“Concentrate on your tasks, Pan, rather than my love life.”

Pan’s eyes widened. “Love?”

“As an euphemism for sex.” Carlos pushed his servant’s hands away from his hair. It had to be sufficiently styled by now. “How is the investigation into my assassination by the bounty guild over in Oregon?”

Pan gazed suspiciously at him but shrugged. “We apprehended a member of the Guild at the border crossing. He’s denying any assassination orders, of course. There was a woman with him, though. She got away before we could get her.”

“A partner.” Carlos shrugged. “Ah, well. She’ll make an attempt soon enough and we’ll be ready for her. The bounty hunter that was captured – human or fae?”

“Human.”

That was odd. Why would they send a human after a vampire? Yet, it wasn’t impossible. In fact, humans had devised many different ways to slaughter fae, but it was still unusual. Perhaps the guild thought that by sending a human, they’d have a better chance at accomplishing the mission. Fae did tend to underestimate humans. It was difficult to say. His contacts in the Guild had warned him about the assassin but hadn’t been able to tell him anything else. Not who had put the bounty on him. Not even the names of the assassins sent after him.

“I want increased security—”

A sharp jolt beneath his feet made him topple over. The world shook, groaned and shook again. Pan hit the floor, instinctively shielding his king.

Carlos’ stomach dropped out as a wash of magic rolled over him. Another shockwave wrenched through the palace. This time, bits of plaster fell from the ceiling. The magic tasted like ash and brimstone in his mouth. Pan shivered. Mists closed over Carlos’ vision for a moment before he threw himself to his feet.

“It’s Daye,” Pan gasped. His eyes were huge in his skull and he began to tremble from head to toe. “How? She’s meant to be trapped forever.”

Carlos gripped Pan’s arm. “Focus! We can’t let her escape.”

The magic was stronger than he had thought possible after being locked away for so many centuries. She hadn’t had human sacrifices to maintain her strength – let alone this. And yet, the taste of it was unmistakable. Carlos steadied himself as another shockwave hit. Pan stumbled to his feet behind him and together they hurried out of Carlos’ apartment.

Carlos called the guard and raced to the deepest part of his castle where the dungeons for the most dangerous of his enemies were kept. As he descended, his men and guards around him, he felt the magic getting stronger and stronger.

A loud, keening scream filled the corridor. Carlos picked up his pace, rubbing his hands together to create the sparks of fire that only vampires could see with. When he rounded the corner outside of Daye’s cell, he stopped. The demon-fae hunched over a guard, hands plunged into his chest as she drained his lifeforce.

For the briefest of moments, Carlos’ courage quailed. Daye’s form wasn’t as monstrous as it had been when he had locked her away, deep in the veins of the earth. It was no less terrifying, though – skin as white as death with eyes like ice. Her face, as if carved from stone, had not changed. Lips twisted into a triumphant sneer, a burning light in her eyes. She dropped the dead guard and breathed out a waft of black smoke before turning to face him and his men.

“My king.” Her voice was like the cracking of a bay. “Such an honor for you to come visit the likes of me.”

Carlos remained steady. “I don’t know what you’re planning, Daye, but you’re not so powerful that you can kill me. If you return to your cell, then I will spare your life.”

“Spare me?” Daye laughed. “You are not so powerful that you can kill me, my dear Carlos. I will have my revenge on you. I have waited in the dark all these centuries. And now? Now your blood will give me my children.”

Not if he had anything to say about it. With a shout, Carlos charged the demon, his men close behind. Before he reached her, though, she disappeared in a swirl of mist. Carlos stopped short, eyes widening at the empty space around them.

“Did she just—” Pan came up beside him. “Are you freaking kidding me right now? Daye could never teleport like that! How did she manage to learn a new spell locked away down here? Someone’s been feeding her mages.”

“Somebody who is going to die.”

Carlos spun on his heel and marched away, expecting that the guards would follow after him. They did without a word. Pan walked beside him, twin daggers in his hands, ready to attack if Daye appeared again.

Once they reached the main levels, the king called his most trusted advisors to his office, sending the rest back to their post.

“There is a traitor in the palace,” he said as he unlocked his filing cabinets. He pulled out the file he had on Daye and handed it to Pan. “I want you to digitalize this and distribute it. And in the meantime, we need to look for who has been feeding the demon.”

Pan nodded.

Carlos glared at his advisors. They had all been with him a long time and he wasn’t going to start accusing them for no reason, but there was still a nagging thought at the back of his mind. How had Daye managed to regain so much strength with none of them knowing? A good king did not blindly accuse his followers – but neither did he underestimate their greed. Any one of them could be tired of being a mere general.

“Gentlemen, we have a traitor to catch.”

***

The uniform that would get her into the palace was at the drop-off point. Once she arrived at the palace, she found it in an uproar. It was easy for an unknown entity to slip in through defenses that were already in chaos. The iron-silver stakes weighed heavily under her old-fashioned skirt, the packet of poison in her pocket almost as heavy.

There were few ways to kill a vampire. Iron was potent against all fae, but it wasn’t fatal to vampires. Not on its own. Silver managed to strip vampires from many of their more lethal properties and also made them vulnerable. A combination of the two was the only sure-fire way to kill one.

Belinda was quick to find the king’s study – just in time to see him and a bunch of other men enter. She ground her teeth together as she stared at the door. The king was the only mark. But her deadline was getting closer, and if she didn’t finish her assignment in time . . . She touched the packet of poison. In a single dose, it would be enough to kill a single vampire. Mixed into something for several vampires, it would only incapacitate them.  Then she could kill the king and leave without any of them raising the alarm.

It was a risky plan, but if she stayed in the palace, she was going to be found out. She didn’t have time to wait. It wouldn’t kill the other vampires, and they’d be able to pick up the pieces of their kingdom that were left by the king’s death.

And if I don’t kill him, I’m the one that’s dead, she reminded herself as she hurried to find what she needed.

Fortunately, she knew there was a standing order for tea to be delivered to the king at this time. It wasn’t hard to find the servant bringing it up. With a carefully-chosen drug administered to the neck, that servant was snoring in the closet while Belinda shook the powdered silver and iron into the tea. It was specially made to suspend in liquids, so a couple quick stirs and it was ready.

Belinda closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer to every god and goddess she knew of that it would work and then headed for the study. Nobody looked at her when she entered.

“Are we certain that Daye is that strong?” one of them said. “I know what I saw, but if we’re wrong...”

A pixie with purple eyes nudged the vampire in the side and he fell silent. Several of them glanced at her as she set the tray on the desk but none commented on her presence. She found her curiosity piqued, though. ‘Daye’? Was that a potion that allowed them to walk in the daylight? She knew that vampires used to be relegated to the night, burning up as soon as the sunlight touched them. Could they be talking about whatever they took to make it so they could exist in sunlight? Or at least, that was what people said. But they also said that vampires could turn into bats, so . . . 

She pushed the thoughts from her mind. That wasn’t important. Only getting the job done was. She began to pour the tea.

“We can take it from here,” a deep rumbling voice said.

The hair on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end. Shivers –both pleasant and unpleasant – traced down her spine and her tongue was suddenly too big and dry for her mouth. She looked up, her entire body on fire in an instant. Her heart started dancing the rumba at double-time as her eyes met . . . his.

She had, of course, noticed how handsome he was the previous night. But today? It was like looking at a completely different man. Last night he’d been wild, untamed, his hair a mess with fighting and lovemaking. Now it was smooth, brushed and gelled. Gone were the worn casual clothes, replaced by a dark suit that was perfectly fitted so as to show how muscular a frame he had while at the same time giving him a refined, polished edge.

Belinda would have swooned, if not for the situation she now found herself in. As his eyes widened in recognition. As realization swept through her own body.

This wasn’t some random vampire.

This was the king.

Her target.

“You,” she breathed heat sweeping through her.

Had she slept with her target? Had he known it was her? Had they been watching her since she crossed the border? Did he rescue her and seduce her as part of a sick game? Her knuckles turned white as she clenched the tea tray.

Stay calm, she told herself. Stay in control.

The king smiled at her. “Well, this is unexpected.”