“You’ve been in New York for over twenty-four hours and didn’t call me!” My mother’s voice was a nasally whine.

“Mother, stop being so dramatic.” I frowned. “I’m sure you’ve already heard from your sources that I’ve been a little tangled up since getting into town.”

I decided against telling her I’d actually arrived in New York three days ago. It had just taken me two and a half days before I worked up the resolve to go to Vaughn House.

“Yes,” she sighed. “I heard your father really rolled out the red carpet.”

I snorted. “Yeah.”

Athena Persimmon Vaughn, though no longer with my father, still retained her title of Baroness and all of the privileges that came along with it. She had her own mansion on a five-acre plot of land in Sleepy Hollow, just on the border of the annexed border of the New York Haven. It was close enough to the Vaughn estate that she wasn’t completely out of the loop when it came to Court matters, but it was far enough away that my father didn’t have her coming over to borrow a cup of sugar every time she wanted to catch up on the inner gossip.

Not that she needed to physically show up to get her fill of the scuttlebutt. A good majority of the household staff remained loyal to her and were all too happy to provide her with the daily minutia of the comings and goings. It drove my father crazy, but not enough to fire everyone and have to retrain a new staff from scratch. He was a creature of habit and though gossipy, the staff knew how he liked his pillows fluffed and his meals served.

Beyond that, the staff never crossed loyalty lines to share with the Court at large. They knew better than that. Gossiping with Athena was one thing, since she was still technically the lady of the house, though she no longer resided there. Any leaking to outside sources would result in a punishment far more severe than a slap on the wrist or dock in pay.

“I warned him,” Athena continued. “I told him to play nice or he’d only drive you farther away. I hear he ignored me as usual and took the domineering route.”

“Why weren’t you there last night?” I asked.

Athena muttered something I couldn’t quite catch, as though she’d moved the phone’s receiver too far from her lips. Even so, I was fairly sure I heard at least a few curses. “He wouldn’t allow it. He claims it’s for bad behavior on my part, but I assure you, I don’t know what bug he has up his rear. I can’t set foot on the grounds or he’ll have that brute, Gerald—or, Jerrod?—escort me away. It’s downright humiliating! I’m the Baroness after all!”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, as I’m sure you already know I’m not at the mansion now.”

“Yes. I spoke with your father this morning.”

“Oh boy.”

“Yes,” the sour note was evident in her tone. “He’s in a foul mood over this whole mess.”

“Naturally,” I said, rolling my eyes. “How dare someone have the audacity to get themselves murdered in the middle of his fancy party? Don’t they teach etiquette in schools anymore?”

Matthias glanced at me, his expression perplexed.

“Yes, yes. It will blow over,” Athena assured me.

“I hope so, because in the meantime, I’m under twenty-four-hour guard duty,” I told her, looking at Matthias. “Any outings have to be approved by my nanny.”

His jaw tensed and he went back to reading his tablet.

“Well, tell them you need to see your mother. If they give you trouble, let me know. I’ll call your father and rattle his cage.”

Oh, yes. That was just what we needed.

“I’ll see what I can do after dusk,” I replied, shifting my eyes to study Matthias’s profile.

He was ignoring me.

“Why wait? You’re at the Poseidon; have them get you a black-out cab.”

Right. I’d nearly forgotten about black-out cabs. Too much time in the human world, I supposed.

“All right,” I agreed.

“See you soon,” my mother chirped and then hung up.

Matthias glanced up. “Your nanny?”

I shrugged. “It fits, doesn’t it?”

“Well, besides the parts where I apply for the job and receive a paycheck for my troubles.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed up from the couch. “We’re going to see my mother. Have your concierge call us a black-out cab.”

“We?”

“I’m going one way or another. If you want to find out what happens to you on the chance my father finds out you let me out of your sight, be my guest and stay here.”

He scowled at me but put aside his tablet and stood. “We don’t need a black-out cab,” he said. “My SUV is usable during the day.”

“Excellent!” I went to the kitchen, snagged breakfast from the fridge, and then dashed back up to the guest room to grab my purse before we left.

An hour and a half later, we climbed out of Matthias’s SUV that, as promised, had been enhanced with magic to allow for daylight travel. The sun was beginning to set as we parked outside the old servant’s entrance. My mother’s mansion had a stone archway that provided shelter from the elements, so we scurried to the side door and knocked.

A striking young man opened the door. He wasn’t hulking per se, but he was broad shouldered and more than a few inches taller than me. He flashed a smile, but his eyes lacked any hint of warmth. “Afternoon,” he said, the word a purr on his full lips. “The lady of the house will be downstairs shortly. Let me show you to the sitting room.”

“Splendid,” I replied, forcing a smile.

The man ushered us inside and led the way through the modernized home. It was clear that my mother had gutted the property and started from scratch to update everything to her tastes. The sitting room was a large room with sleek furniture in a neutral color palette. A fireplace dominated the majority of the far wall, comprised of metallic and glass tiles. Blue stones sat at the bottom of the hearth in place of logs, making it appear as if the stones themselves were the source of the fire. The light bounced off the stones and cast a warm glow through the large room, a strange dichotomy of warmth and cold.

The man gestured at the couch and informed us that Athena—excuse me, the lady of the house—would be with us momentarily.

“You know, it really should have been clear from the beginning that these two weren’t going to end up in camp happily ever after,” I said as we waited. “Their styles could not be more different. They were doomed from the start.”

Everything about my mother’s home stood in stark opposition to the Vaughn Estate.

Matthias frowned at my observation. “What does architectural preferences have to do with whether or not a marriage is doomed?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “I mean, I’ve never been married, but I think if I had to argue with someone over every vase and paperweight, eventually one of them would find itself lodged in his head.”

“Ouch.” Matthias winced but then flashed a sly grin at me. “So, instead of a cage fight, your father should have set up an interior decorating competition to determine who you should marry? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Maybe.” I nodded and then smiled up at him. “Although, I don’t know how you’d fair in that contest.”

He bristled. “What’s wrong with my place?”

“Nothing.” I laughed softly. “It just doesn’t look like you had anything to do with the decor. My guess is that you walked into the open house and said I’ll take it all and that was it. The staging furniture, art, and area rugs. Did you even have to buy your own dishes?”

His lips twitched. “You think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?”

I held up my finger and thumb, holding an inch of space. “Little bit.”

“Well, your grace, I’ll have you know that I not only picked out the dishes, but I’ve also added a few potted plants.”

His facade cracked and we both laughed together.

“Oh! Well, aren’t you two simply a vision!”

My smile drooped at my mother’s voice. I turned to see her standing in the doorway, her arms open wide. All smiles and sunshine.

“Darling!” she trilled, swooping forward. She was swathed in a violet wrap that billowed behind her as she hurried toward me, her arms out wide. “I can’t believe you’re really here!”

She wrapped me in a tight embrace and I choked on a gust of second-hand hair spray as her blonde tendrils smothered me. She must have applied half a can before coming downstairs to meet me.

“Can’t. Breathe.”

Athena laughed, the sound high-pitched and girlish. Turning to Matthias, her eyes took on a new glint of excitement.

Oh brother.

“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of an introduction,” Athena purred, giving Matthias a once-over that was a little too slow to be appropriate. “Are you new to the guard force? I hadn’t heard of any new arrivals, and I would remember you if we’d met before.”

I cringed. Was there a blanket nearby that I could crawl under?

Her reaction shouldn’t have been a surprise. Matthias fit her MO to a T: tall, dark, handsome, and young.

Or, at least young looking. I realized I actually had no idea how old he was.

Athena herself was well into her three-hundreds, but had aged herself to look just over fifty.

Begrudgingly.

If she could have, she no doubt would have reversed the aging once she separated from my father. Unfortunately for her, the process only worked in one direction.

“This is Matthias Hartford,” I told her, an unintentional edge to my voice. “He’s one of the suitors and my temporary—” I paused, remembering he hadn’t liked the term nanny.

“I’m supposed to keep her out of trouble,” Matthias offered, stepping forward to extend his hand to Athena.

Her eyes danced. “Oh! You’re Arthur and Cynthia’s son!”

“Yes, my Lady.”

“First bornling?”

“Yes.”

“Very nice,” Athena replied, still openly ogling even as she took his hand. She twisted her wrist, offering her knuckles to him. I rolled my eyes.

“She wants you to kiss her hand,” I said, frowning at my mother. “I would say it’s a formality thing, but really she just thinks you’re hot.”

“Lacey!” Athena tittered a girlish laugh and continued gazing up at Matthias.

I groaned. She was actually batting her lashes.

Some things never change.

“Mother!” I snapped. “I haven’t seen you in five years and this is how you want to spend our time together?”

Athena gave a put-out huff and dropped her hand. The maple-syrup-sweet smile vanished too. “Honestly, Lacey, I don’t know why you always insist on humiliating me.”

“Pretty sure you’re capable of doing that all on your own,” I quipped.

Matthias wisely opted for silence and began circling the room, admiring the art.

“Let’s sit,” Athena said, gesturing at the couches. “You have to tell me everything! What’s it like being back home again?”

We sat on opposite couches, separated by a glass coffee table, and I leveled her with a hard stare. “It feels like cannonballing into a pool full of piranhas.”

“I didn’t know about the tournament,” she said and judging from the bitter twist of her lips, she was telling the truth. She hated to be left out of anything. It was a tool my father used with expert timing to drive her to the brinks. And they wondered why I wasn’t sprinting for the alter? Gee, a real puzzler. Someone should call Sherlock and Watson in for a consultation.

“There were rumors that your father was getting ready to ask you to come home. I don’t know how he found out where you were living all this time. You know that neither Gemma nor I told him.” She paused, giving me space to agree. I wanted to believe her, that she hadn’t sold me out, but I wasn’t 100 percent certain yet.

“Where is Aunt Gemma?” I asked. “She wasn’t at the gala last night, either.”

Athena sat back and huffed. “Oh, your uncle took her away on some last-minute business trip of his. She will be so upset to have missed your big party.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I imagine people will be talking about it for some time. The grand finale was to die for … quite literally.”

Athena recoiled. “Must you be so morbid?”

Matthias caught my eye as he continued to circle the room before stopping to inspect a large abstract painting.

I sighed. “You might not have known about the tournament, but you had to know that he was dragging me back to see me married off.”

She nodded, relenting the point. “It’s only natural, Lacey. You’re the—”

“Don’t say it.” I held up a finger. “I swear, if I hear anything more about legacy or heirs, I’ll explode.”

“That would be a neat trick,” Athena snapped, her warmth evaporating with each passing second. She gave a long-suffering look at Matthias. “She’s always had a flair for the dramatic.”

“Wonder where I picked that up,” I muttered.

Matthias coughed into his fist.

“Mother, please.” I leaned forward, my hands clasped together in front of me. “You have to help me convince father that this tournament is a bad idea.”

Athena’s pencil-thin eyebrows lifted. “You honestly think I have that kind of sway? He’s made up his mind, Lacey. There’s nothing that can be done to stop the tournament now. Especially following last night’s unfortunate events. The Court will be in a frenzy until this murder is solved. A game will be the ideal distraction to get their minds off it.”

My mouth opened but I was rendered speechless. We might not see eye to eye, but she’d always been my ally before. Now, it seemed she was letting me hang out to dry on my own.

Athena softened again. “I know it’s not the way you would have planned it, but it’s for the best, hummingbird.”

I frowned at the nickname. “How many times do I have to ask that you not call me that?”

“Why ever not? It’s adorable!” Athena turned in her seat, beaming at Matthias. “When she was small, she was so fast, she’d just flit from place to place, all over the mansion. So, we took to calling her hummingbird.”

Matthias chuckled.

I pointed at him. “That’s quite enough, Matty.”

That swiped his grin away.

Good.

Athena shrugged and turned back to me. “Lacey, your father and I both want you here, at home. It’s time you start learning to lead the Court.”

“Why? Is father planning on finding himself at the business end of a wooden stake in the near future?”

Athena gasped.

“Oh, please!” I scoffed. “You’d do it yourself if you thought you could get away with it!”

She glanced at Matthias with a wry look. “She doesn’t mean it.”

Uh, yeah, pretty sure I did.

“This may blow your mind, Mother, but I was happy living among the humans. And while I don’t agree with Father’s leadership style, I don’t envy him the job.”

Athena considered me for a long moment. “I don’t know what you expect me to do, Lacey. This is your duty. There aren’t provisions or work-arounds in the case that an heir refuses his or her responsibilities. It’s obviously far too late for your Father and I to produce more offspring. And even if we did, you would have to be killed to make way for them to get to the front of the line.”

The walls of the sitting room were starting to shrink in on me. The air too thin. Maybe it had been pie-in-the-sky but I’d honestly thought she would take my side and help me. I knew she’d push marriage onto me. I wasn’t that naive, but I thought she’d at least honor my plea against being forced to ride into the sunset with some blood-soaked Neanderthal fresh from a cage fight.

I regretted coming to see her. My mother and I had always had a complicated relationship, held together mostly by duty; hers as a mother and mine as a daughter. Beyond our love of high fashion, we had virtually nothing in common and my respect for her had flown out the window quite some time ago, probably around the time she’d paraded her first age-inappropriate boy toy around Court.

It suddenly hit me that not only was she incapable of doing anything to help me, she also didn’t want to.

I wasn’t sure which realization was more devastating.

I rose.

“Where are you going?” Athena protested.

“It doesn’t seem like there is anything left to say,” I told her. “I came to you for help and you’ve told me you don’t want to.”

Athena balked. “That’s not fair, Lacey.”

I shrugged. “Seems nothing about this situation is.”

“What do you want me to do?” her voice was higher and more frantic.

“All I’m asking for is some time! I just got back and all of this is happening too fast. We both know Father isn’t planning on giving up the keys to his little kingdom anytime soon, so why does it matter if I marry now or in a hundred years? We’ll all still be here, won’t we?”

“You know it can take decades to produce an heir,” Athena replied. “And that’s when actively trying. Although,” her eyes drifted back to Matthias and she added, “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve heard the line-up of suitors is quite appealing.”

Unbelievable.

“Mother!” I snapped, drawing her attention away from him. “Five years, ten, twenty, it shouldn’t matter! This whole idea of heirs in a vampire society is baffling. Especially nowadays with the havens. It isn’t like the old days where vampires were constantly at war or being mowed down by mages and wizards who fancied themselves vampire hunters. Stars, we don’t even go to war with the wolves anymore! What is the urgency?”

Athena’s face fell, the fine lines at her mouth becoming noticeable as she dropped her honeyed smile. “You’re right in that we’ve come a long way. Things aren’t the way there were when your father and I were young vampires. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still danger lurking. Nothing is guaranteed. Last night should have proved that point clearly enough when Ivan Murrad’s head was found on your bedroom floor!”

The icy fear I’d been holding at bay came racing back, clenching me in its fist.

I shrank back as if I could scuttle away from the thought itself.

Realizing her misstep, Athena reached for my arm. “I only mean that the future isn’t guaranteed, Lacey. Not even for us. Your father only wants to know that his legacy is safe. That’s all. Can you really fault him for that?”

I clenched my jaw. There wasn’t a good response to that. At least, not one that would make me look like anything less than a heartless monster.

I looked away, unable to hold her gaze, and instead found Matthias’s. A strange mix of emotions played at his eyes. “We should get going,” I said, more to him that to Athena. “Thank you for the invitation. It was good to see you, Mother.”

“Lacey, please don’t do this. Stay.” She chased after me as I backtracked through the house. “We’ll have dinner together! Edison is an excellent mixologist!”

“Another time, Mother.”

Matthias followed behind, murmuring pleasantries to Athena as he passed.

Then we stepped into the night.