What the . . . ?

Carlos wasn’t entirely certain what to think when his eyes met the beautiful brown of his mystery lover’s. What he felt was somewhat of a mystery of its own. Unquestionably, he was shocked. He hadn’t ever expected to see her again, and yet, here she was. Not only standing in his palace but in his study. She probably didn’t have clearance to be there.

And yet, he also didn’t care. A grin spread across his face as he gazed at her: her shocked wide eyes, the deepening rose of her skin, the sweet scent of her humanness in the room full of vampires.

“Couldn’t stay away, huh?” he asked.

The human opened her mouth then closed it again. She rose a hand and stepped towards him. One of his generals held an arm out in front of her, stopping her from moving. A hostile expression was on the man’s face as his hand closed around her bicep. Carlos acted without thinking. He lunged forward, fist flying at the perpetrator’s face. The general’s nose made a satisfactory crunching noise and he stumbled back, choking.

“What the hell?” The man gulped at Carlos’ glare. “My lord, I mean . . . ”

“Keep your hands to yourself,” Carlos started to warn him, but before he was finished, Pan had lithely leaped forward.

Carlos growled a warning, but his manservant ignored him. Pan grabbed the human around the waist and spun her away from Carlos. The tea tray was knocked off her hands. It spun and landed on the desk, but the pot smashed and the cups went flying every which way. Tea sprayed into his face.

Pan lifted her skirt. The human made a strangled noise of protest. Carlos nearly lunged again. But Pan always did things for a reason and he’d never been the jealous type. As the king watched, Pan pulled a stake from a strap on the woman’s thigh. A silver stake, to be precise, shot with an iron.

“I told you the would-be assassin we caught at the border had a partner,” Pan said, his voice carefully neutral.

Silver and iron. The mortal weapon against vampires. Carlos’ heart plummeted. Then his hands clenched. Overall the years of his long, long life, he had never been taken so completely before. His lip curled back, flashing a fang at the human. Pan quickly relieved her of the rest of her weapons. Her gaze never left his. Why did she keep staring at him like that – as though she was in a dream?

He closed his eyes briefly, trying to figure out if his heart was still in his chest or if his anger had burned it all away. Don’t get angry. Especially not in front of the generals.

“It seems she was better than her partner. I’m impressed. You managed to get into the palace itself.”

“I . . . It wasn’t hard.”

The dazed look of her face melted off, replaced by a flash of anger. Then it transformed into fear.

Carlos stared at his mystery lover and would-be killer. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing fast, hands clenched as Pan handed her off to two generals that held her arms tightly. He opened his mouth and then closed it. It was a seriously ridiculous thing to feel, but right then it was like his world was crashing down all around him. As though Daye’s escape hadn’t been the worst thing that came from it. What spell had she put him under?

She closed her eyes and her expression smoothed out. “Well, I hope that your teapot wasn’t an antique. I don’t think there is any fixing it.”

His eyes blazed. She came waltzing into his life and then, when he thought he’d have a lovely memory to cling to for years to come, she kicked him in the head. And now she was trying to play it cool? Like what had happened between them wasn’t special?

“You’re not a very smart assassin, are you?” he taunted. “You could have killed me last night. Did your hormones just get in the way?”

Her jaw dropped, then her eyes narrowed. She had been sagging in the general’s grips but now she flung her head back and glared at him. “My hormones had nothing to do with it. And it wasn’t like you were holding back, either.”

Carlos breathed heavily. He had held back. A human off the streets wasn’t strong enough for a vampire at his full strength. He had actually been surprised at how well she held up. At some points, he wondered if she really was a human or a fae in disguise.

“The only reason I didn’t kill you last night was that I didn’t know it was you,” she continued. “If I had, I never would have slept with you.”

Carlos struggled against the relief that washed over him hearing that. Regardless of what they would or would not have done, he could not let emotion cloud his judgment. And yet his next words were angry. “Admitting you didn’t even know how to identify your target?”

“Vampires don’t take pictures, genius. How could I know that some badly-dressed superhero wannabe who runs around town and sleeps with strange women was the freaking king?” She smirked then, an arrogant light beaming in her eyes as she picked up the sole surviving teacup and downed its contents. “Although I guess it’s something to tell the girls back home.”

“You’re never going home.”

Her eyes widened again.

“What is your name and citizenship?” Carlos kept all emotion from his voice.

She didn’t answer.

“If you refuse to tell me, then you fall under the prisoner act of 1843, and—”

“Belinda.” She glowered at him. “My name is Belinda Greene and I’m a citizen of the United States of Human America.”

One of his generals snorted. “American. Of course.”

Carlos nodded. He’d look into her and start arranging for the proper diplomatic channels for her punishment here. He gestured to the generals. “Get her to the dungeons. Lock her in isolation until I can verify her story. I don’t want any interrogations. We got enough from her partner, anyway.”

Belinda was silent again. She remained silent as the two generals escorted her from the room and handed her off to the guards that had come running at the commotion. Carlos stayed where he was, staring down the long expanse of the hallway as she walked away. It wasn’t until she was near the end that she suddenly jerked and yanked at the guards’ grips.

“I won’t go quietly!” she screamed.

***

Belinda had planned to say more than that. She had planned to make this assassination attempt a pseudo-political statement to throw them off the trail of the Guild. When the king had said they got all they needed from her partner, she knew he had to be lying. If she could keep the Guild out of this, she might still have a chance at survival . . . She had a clean record. She could argue that assassinations just weren’t her thing.

However, as soon as she made her declaration, her stomach revolted. Before she could even process what was happening, vomit spewed from her mouth. All over the two guards guiding her away.

Carlos stepped forward, concern morphing his expression. It didn’t last long, though, because in the next second they were gone. Her stomach kept continuing to try to empty itself as the guards pulled her along. Neither of them made any indication that they were covered in vomit, but Belinda supposed that that was their professionalism. They didn’t have her running while she hunched over, retching, so that was at least a good thing.

Female guards took over at the dungeon. They had Belinda change into a pair of blue scrubs and then put her in a cell. It was actually pretty nice, but why the king would keep prisoners in his own home was beyond her. Why didn’t he have them kept in an actual jail, like normal people?

Because he’s not normal people.

With a groan, she collapsed onto the bed. Every inch of her seemed to be on fire and she shook uncontrollably. Her throat was parched, back aching, head spinning.

They poisoned me. But how? All she had drunk was the tea!

She wasn’t sure how long she was there, too hot for the blanket yet too cold without it, before the fae that had recognized her came in. His jaw was set to a hard line but his eyes widened at the sight of her. He dropped to one knee and rested his hand on her head, then sprang to her feet. He shouted something she didn’t understand, then picked her up. Belinda groaned, but she felt like she was about to die anyway, so what did it matter, really?

Within moments, they were in a hospital. Or a hospital wing attached to the palace. She wasn’t sure if enough time had passed in order to have left the building.

Her heart leaped to her throat when she heard Carlos’ voice. “What’s happening, Pan?”

“I found her like this,” Pan replied. “She’s got a temperature; her blood pressure is skyrocketing and you can see how much she’s shaking.”

Belinda rose her head, looking for Carlos. He stood near the man with violet eyes – she realized that was Pan – with a frown heavy on his face. His eyes were on her, though and she couldn’t stop her heart from fluttering. Maybe somebody had poisoned her, but he wouldn’t allow her to die. He’d protect her . . . She reached a hand out towards him before she could stop herself.

“This could be a trap,” he mumbled to Pan.

“It’s not a trap!” Belinda glared at him for a moment. “Maybe when I’m feeling better we can have sex again.” What? She must be delirious. With a groan, she fell back. “If I promise not to tell can I just go home?”

“You’re not going anywhere. Is this part of her . . . illness or is she playing games?”

Belinda opened her mouth to respond to that but decided that it wasn’t all that important. There was something more pressing in her mind. What was it? Oh, right. That she had to kill her mystery secret lover. The best fae king she knew about. A powerful vampire that had saved the human states more than once by taking on other fae.

And if she didn’t?

“They’re going to kill me.” Wait, was it past her deadline? Had the Guild put a poison capsule in her body? Had they opened it when she failed to call in that her assignment was complete? Was this her punishment for not killing him? “The Guild! They did this. They’re going to kill me unless I kill you.”

“As tragic as that is, I’m not going to just let you kill me.” Carlos came closer to her and frowned. “Your Guild can’t reach you here.” He turned back to Pan. “What’s happening with her? This looks like silver-iron poisoning, but she’s human.”

Pan hummed for a moment and then moved to her side. He placed a hand on her head and another on her stomach. A glowing light, swirling blue and red together, started to glow around him and after a moment, he stepped back. The glow faded and he gave one quick nod.

“She’s got silver-iron poisoning all right.”

A pang hit her stomach, making her curl inwards, moaning. Sweat dripped down her forehead and more shivers made her writhe. A pair of strong arms held her in place. Pain lanced through her arm. She glanced down to see a needle protruding from her arm. Her jaw dropped. What were they doing? That was all sorts of wrong.

“It’s an antidote for silver-iron poisoning,” Pan said as he injected a golden liquid into her. “Probably from when you drank that tea earlier. A low dose so it’s not that bad.”

Not that bad? She glared at him, trying to free herself. He wasn’t making any sense! “But I’m human! I can’t get silver-iron poisoning. Let me go. Stop putting that stuff in me right now.”

Pan removed the needle and stepped back. Carlos released her and she jumped to her feet, ready for a fight. That she was feeling better already didn’t even cross her mind. She was surprised by the reaction she got, though. Carlos threw his hands into the air and started to use every cuss word that she knew. He even switched languages a couple of times. She stared at him for a long time before shaking her head.

“Stop that,” she snapped at him. “I want you to tell me what you did to me right now!”

“What I?” Carlos’ jaw dropped. “What I did to you? Are you serious right now?”

Belinda narrowed her eyes. “I’m the one puking my guts out, so yeah. What you did to me.”

Pan stepped between them. His eyes twinkled and a grin spread wide over his face. As if she hadn’t been trying to kill his king. As though she hadn’t been mysteriously poisoned. As though this was a joke, not a deadly serious situation. She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

“What he did to you appears to be that he got you pregnant,” Pan said jovially. “It’s the only reason why a human can get silver-iron poisoning.”

Pregnant? Was he serious? Belinda stared at Pan, jaw dropped. Her mind curled around itself. If what he was saying was true – if she had really poisoned herself with the silver and iron – then the only logical explanation would be that she was pregnant. But if she was pregnant and that baby was her mark’s . . . 

She started to laugh. So hard that her stomach ached and tears streamed down her face. Then she vomited again and passed out.

***

Carlos acted on instinct, catching Belinda as she fell. She was so soft and warm in his arms that he completely forgot that she had been there to kill him. All he remembered was how beautiful she was and her arrogant little smirk that had instantly made his heart soar. He set her gently on the bed again and smoothed her hair back, eyes dark with worry. The smell of her vomit was sickly-sweet – the sign that the antidote had worked.

“So that’s what Daye meant,” Carlos mumbled, more to himself than to Pan. “My blood will raise her children. She wasn’t talking about killing me, Pan. She was talking about killing my child. My blood.”

Pan gripped his shoulder tightly. “Daye might be powerful, but she’s not so powerful as to be able to steal the human away from you under your nose. Once she’s conscious again, we’ll have to explain the situation to her.”

Carlos grunted in his throat. He straightened and shook his head, his eyes darkening. “She’s not some random human, Pan.”

“Certainly not. For her to get pregnant like this, she must have some fae blood in her. If she’s got enough, you might even be able to trigger immortality if you—”

“She was sent here to kill me.”

Pan closed his mouth, grimaced and nodded. “Yes. And that.”

“Who knows, maybe Daye even sent her to seduce me and carry my child so she could have easier access to my blood. I have to keep her imprisoned.”

“I don’t think she was sent to seduce you. When I interrogated that other assassin, it seemed like a straight-up killing assignment. But you know who we can get more information from.”

The Guild. Carlos ordered the doctors to take care of Belinda and to clean up the vomit before he left the hospital room. He returned to his office and locked the door. The broken teapot had been taken away and the carpet just had a small damp place on it that indicated where the tea had been spilled, but that was it. He ripped off his tie and rested his head in his hands for a moment before he grabbed his phone.

The bounty hunting guild wasn’t exactly a secret one. He’d actually employed their services a couple times himself. Apparently, though, they figured that taking him out was worth more than continued patronage.

“Hello,” he said in his most dangerous voice when his call was answered. “This is King Carlos. I have the two assassins you sent after me. Don’t bother trying to deny it. I heard about the bounty. I am just calling to let you know that I am not pleased. I have bigger problems to deal with than petty guilds, but I will not hesitate to send my men to wipe you out should you attempt such a thing again. Understood?”

There was a long silence on the other line before a male voice spoke. “Uh . . . on behalf of The Guild, I apologize?”

Carlos rolled his eyes. “I’ll be keeping your two assassins, too. They’ll be facing vampire justice.”

He hung up then. With a deep sigh, he shook his head. Assassins, demons, and babies. After it was all over, he was going to need to take a vacation . . . but there was no taking a break from parenthood. Anxiety rose up his throat. He was going to be a father. And that was more terrifying than the demon.