“What the fuck?” she demanded irritably. “Robbie’s been sitting on that house all alone for hours. We need to get there.”

“It’s a question of precedence,” Elke said. She sat one step higher than Cyn, leaning back on her elbows with her legs stretched out in front of her. To all appearances, she was completely relaxed, but Cyn knew she could be on her feet in mere seconds if a threat manifested. She also could probably hear every word the two vampire lords were saying.

“What precedent?”

“Several actually, that’s the problem. Raphael is Lucas’s Sire, which gives him precedence. But this is Lucas’s territory, and Magda is his child. And though Raphael was followed from the airport, most likely with nefarious intent, the other far more dangerous attacks affected both lords equally, whether intentionally or not.”

“Jeez, sign a fucking contract why don’t they? If I’d known they were going to call in a mediator, I’d have taken care of it myself while the sun was up. Can we go now?” she called loudly.

Raphael said something that made Lucas laugh. She gave him a squinty look. “What’d he say, Elke?”

“I couldn’t hear.”

“Bullshit.”

“You’re like a sister to me, Cyn—”

“I hate my sister.”

“Okay, bad analogy, but I’m not telling you anyway. You’re a friend. But Raphael owns me body and soul.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She glanced at Elke over her shoulder. “Think your lord and master is going to get his very fine ass in gear any time soon?”

“Are you ready, my Cyn?” Raphael said from way too close, his deep voice laced with amusement.

Her head snapped around to find him standing right in front of her, one hand held out. She scowled as she let him pull her to her feet. “I hate it when you do that,” she muttered as they walked toward the waiting SUVs. The two lords were traveling in separate SUVs. They’d agreed on that much early on. Ostensibly, this was because Raphael and his party would be going directly to the airport after dealing with Magda. But Cyn knew the real reason was because they were getting on each other’s nerves. She could feel their growing tension like a constant, and fucking irritating, buzz over her skin. It was a relief when they finally climbed into their respective vehicles and drove away from the house, putting some distance and cold metal between the two powerful lords.

“So what’s the deal?” Cyn asked Raphael once they finally hit the main road and started making good time. “You guys work out your issues?”

Raphael’s sensuous mouth curved slightly as he put his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. “The kill is Lucas’s. Magda is his child.”

“Well, that blows. Why’d I bother to track her down if we don’t even get in on the kill?”

He studied her for a moment, his eyes gleaming silver in the darkness of the backseat. “You’re so bloody-minded, lubimaya,” he said with obvious pride. “Is this is my influence? Or were you always this way?”

“I didn’t stab other children on the playground, if that’s what you’re asking. Let’s just say that living with you has freed up my more primal instincts and leave it at that.”

“So, it is me,” he concluded, chuckling happily.

Cyn slanted a quizzical look at him. “Most guys would be freaked out to discover they’re living with a homicidal woman.”

“But I,” he purred, skimming his lips over her cheek, “am definitely not most guys.”

Cyn turned her head to catch his lips in a kiss. “No, you’re not,” she murmured. “And thank God for that.” She kissed him again. “So why are we bothering, if we’re not in on the kill?”

“For appearances. Magda offended us equally, after all.” He paused a moment. “But mostly because Lucas thinks it will be fun to hunt together again.”

Cyn rolled her eyes. “Not much of a hunt. I already found her for you. And for the record, if anyone else asked … no, forget it. No one else would dare ask you to do something just for the fun of it. Except me, of course. But I don’t get why Lucas wants you to do it tonight. You guys are already on the verge of ripping out each other’s throats.”

Raphael was spared from responding to that when Cyn’s phone rang. Frowning, she took a quick look. “It’s Robbie,” she told Raphael before answering. “Everything okay?”

“Something’s going on, Cyn. There’s a new bunch of vampires who just arrived at the house, and I don’t think they’re friendlies.”

“The challenge is active,” Raphael said softly, his vampire hearing having permitted him to hear both sides of the conversation. “Who is it?”

“Do you recognize anyone?” she asked Robbie.

“No one I know. There’s five of them, but one guy’s clearly in charge. He’s big, nearly as tall as Raphael, but darker, Middle-eastern looking.”

“Aden,” Raphael said simply. He pulled out his own phone and hit a speed dial. “Lucas,” he said. “We have company.”

“We’re minutes away, Rob,” Cyn said quickly, half listening to Raphael’s call. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I don’t think they saw me, and I’m not sure they’d associate me with Raphael, even if they did. You need to get here, though.”

Cyn disconnected and caught the tail end of Raphael’s conversation with Lucas. “The decision is yours,” he said, and disconnected.

Cyn took one look at his carefully blank face. Not angry, not anything. It was his vampire lord face, remote and unemotional. “What was that?” she asked.

Raphael shrugged. “Magda belongs to Lucas, but Aden is within his rights to challenge her.”

“Doesn’t he have to wait until the Council makes it official?”

“She’s made it clear that her intention is to compete for the territory. Not only to Aden, but to others. That effectively began the competition, at least where she was concerned.”

“Well, damn. This just gets worse and worse. Now Aden gets the kill.”

Raphael laughed, hugging her close. “My poor Cyn.”

She sat up suddenly. “There,” she said, pointing out the black SUV where Robbie waited. “The house is that white one with … oh,” she concluded, realizing there was no need for her to point out the house. The human guards were gone, but Aden was very much in evidence. Backed by two other vampires, he was approaching the closed front door of the house. He turned at their approach, and strode out to meet them with a welcoming smile. It was the first smile Cyn had seen on his face.

“He looks awfully smug,” she said sourly.

“Come,” Raphael said, blatantly trying not to laugh as he took her hand. “Let’s see what Aden has to say for himself.”

By the time they were out of the SUV, Raphael’s stoic lord of the universe mask was firmly back in place. He nodded as Lucas joined them, then they both turned cool gazes upon Aden.

“My lords,” Aden said, clearly striving for solemnity, but it was a losing battle. He was too obviously pleased with himself to manage it.

“You knew she was staying here?” Lucas asked. His manner was not altogether friendly, and Cyn felt the first prick of unease. There was a lot of power in those three. Raphael and Lucas were both proven commodities, and Aden obviously had power of his own if he thought to rule the Midwest. With tensions already running high, the likelihood of everything going south was terrifyingly high.

Aden’s smile disappeared. Smug or not, he was smart enough to see the risk and avoid adding to it. “I did not know where Magda was, my lord. I did, however, assume she was in town, given the attack last night. And, so …” He turned and gave Cyn a sly look. “I had someone follow Ms. Leighton and her friend this afternoon.”

Raphael grew very still. Not a good sign.

“We suspected there was a tail on us,” she said casually, trying to break the tension. “But we thought we lost them.”

“You did,” Aden agreed. “But you got them close enough. There aren’t that many houses out here, after all.” What he left unsaid was that as a potential vampire lord, he was powerful enough to sense Magda’s presence once he got close enough.

“I’ll send you a bill,” she said, slipping her arm through Raphael’s. “It won’t be cheap.”

“Quality never is,” he said, with a slight dip of his head. He turned his attention to Lucas. “But there is still the question of Magda, my lord.”

Lucas scowled and was about to say something when the front door opened, and a curvy, dark-haired woman appeared. No, not a woman, a vampire. As were the two young men who crowded behind her, as if she could protect them.

“Magda,” Raphael told Cyn softly.

Magda paused briefly, eyes wide as she stared at the welcoming committee of vampires on her doorstep. She was a beautiful woman. Cyn acknowledged that much as she watched Magda visibly attempt to gather her courage, to wrap herself in the arrogance of someone who knew the value of her own beauty. But she couldn’t do it. Not with two vampire lords waiting for her, not when she’d tried to kill those same vampire lords less than twenty-four hours earlier.

Magda closed her eyes as if in prayer, then strode forward. Juro immediately stepped in front of Raphael, even as Nicholas moved to intercept Magda before she could reach Lucas. She flashed an angry glare at him—she had enough arrogance left for that—but then her gaze found Lucas, and there was nothing but pleading in her eyes. She dropped to her knees, then lower, prostrating herself before her Sire.

“Sire,” she said, her voice muffled as she kept her eyes downcast, her face nearly touching the ground. “I was a fool. I beg forgiveness.”

Cyn stared at the prostrate female in disbelief. Did she really think Lucas would forgive her for trying to kill him and Raphael? For taking a shot at Kathryn? Something of her surprise must have alerted Raphael, because his fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around hers. Cyn glanced at him, then followed his gaze to Lucas.