Fuck me, they were like Ursula’s eels from The Little Mermaid.
“Well, no,” I said, lifting a shoulder. “He stays here.”
They froze, staring past me to the house.
I smiled. “Just kidding, boys. You should have seen your faces.”
Their almond-shaped eyes blazed hazel, and my palms slickened with sweat.
“Our master has placed twenty-five of us here permanently,” Laurel stepped forward, chin tilted high as she surveyed them. She peered straight ahead into the dark as well to where the third must be lurking.
“Twenty-four hours a day,” she added.
“Do not speak in our presence, Indebted,” the third hissed before slipping from the shadows to stand in the middle of his brothers.
My chest clamped at the sight of the three vampires who’d attacked me and Rhys. If not for the fourth Fyrlia prince down in the basement and the intervention of Kyros’s siblings, I’d be ash right now. “That’s some elitist complex you’ve got going there.”
“Spoken by a fellow elite—though a mere human one,” the third purred, stepping closer.
Indebted flanked me in a blink. Hands bunched in the back of my nighty, ready to yank me from danger.
Headlights blared bright, the roar of engines bearing down on us. Two black SUVs screeched to a stop and the back door of the front vehicle was flung open.
My eyes registered a grey blur before one of the Tonyi triplets doubled over.
I focused on the new arrival, drawing her name up from my time in the basement. Gina. The eldest royal child of Clan Fyrlia—though she considered herself the second, with Kyros as the real crown prince of their clan.
“Get in the car,” she snarled at her brothers.
The triplet on the right sneered. “You—”
She snapped out a fist and he reeled away, clutching his nose. “Father has been informed of your little trip.”
Their expressions smoothed.
Whoa. At least someone had these psychopaths in check. I did not want to meet the man who’d spawned them. Actually, make that either king. Their spawn were scary enough.
The triplets shot three matching smirks my way before stalking to the car.
Gina turned, scanning me from head to toe. I did the same right back as the car containing the triplets sped away.
“Gina.” I greeted.
She arched a brow. “Miss Tetley. Or should I say Miss Le Spyre?”
The Vissimo peered past me to the estate. “Quite the secret you kept. Can’t say I blame you—knowing who your true mate is.”
Fresh hurt stabbed me, but I worked to keep my face and voice free of the emotion. “Why are your brothers visiting me in the middle of the night?”
“Because they’re bitter and twisted inside,” she answered.
Couldn’t argue with that.
She pursed her lips. “I have the misfortune of being their sister. I don’t have the fortune of being blind to their faults.”
“They’re seriously messed up,” I told her. “An impartial clan ruled the matter between me and your family closed and done. Are they going to be an ongoing problem?”
Turned profile, she glanced at me. “I don’t need to answer that, do I?”
I sighed. Thought as much. “Just so you know—because you seem to have some hold over them. My Vissimo will fuck them up if they step foot inside this property or go for me elsewhere.”
“Vissimo,” she murmured, eyes running over the ranks around me. “Interesting.”
The same word applied to her.
Clan Sundulus painted their enemy clan as mindless savages. That wasn’t to say that this woman wasn’t part of what happened in the basement. She’d watched on. She’d held a blade to my throat to force Kyros to stop fighting. But Gina possessed reason and restraint. I saw her as no different to Kyros or any of his siblings.
I narrowed my gaze, forgetting for the moment that it was the middle of the night and I was surrounded by beings with fangs. “What do you think of Ingenium, Gina?”
The ghost of a smile floated on her lips. “What an unusual question, Miss Le Spyre. In apology for my brother’s misdemeanour tonight, I’ll answer it.”
How nice.
She faced me. “Ingenium. I think that it’s a great thing I’m immortal. The idea of wasting my entire life engaging in this bullshit farce would otherwise have driven me insane long ago.”
I blinked. Wow. Really honest.
Weirdly, her answer did feel like a boon. “Thank you.”
Gina dipped her head.
I smiled sweetly. “Now fuck off. I don’t like being woken in the middle of the night.”
She quickly recovered from her shock, laughing quietly. “I might like you.”
“Mutual,” I said before thinking of it. “Shame we’re on different sides.”
“Are you on their side, Miss Le Spyre?” Gina asked. “You and Kyros are separated. Tell me, is there trouble in paradise?”
Understatement of the year.
A lie hovered on the tip of my tongue, but I stopped myself from aligning firmly with Clan Sundulus, considering my reply. Should I look a potential gift horse in the mouth?
“I’m on no one’s side but my own.” Holding her gaze for a leaden moment, I spun on my heel. “Nighty night.”
Her laughter followed me inside the gates. “Goodnight, Miss Le Spyre. Be a dear and say hello to my brother Kyros, won’t you?”
I hummed. “Serious.”
“Fucking serious.”
“Fucking serious, Tom. You watched Grandmother’s recording. I need you to work for me. And I need to buy your house.”
Her throat worked. “The house is in my name. I had the mortgage transferred to me because Dad’s credit history is bad and the interest rate was sky high.”
“Things would be easier if your father doesn’t have to be involved, obviously, if you decide to sell,” I said carefully. “You’d receive the house back for free after I win—” I cut off, gurgling.
Ugh.
She shook her head. “If you win, I’ll pay you every cent for the fucking house that you gave me. Tetleys don’t accept handouts.”
Boy, didn’t I know it. Nothing made her angrier than charity—thus why I had to give her my hand-me-downs for Christmas.
“Just think about it,” I said. “You know why I’m doing this. You know why Grandmother did it. If you work for me from the estate, it means I can better ensure your safety too.”
Tommy shook her head, eyes fixed on the desk. “I just— My world was flipped a week ago and now there’s this to add to the shit heap.”
Guilt churned low in my gut. “I know.”
“Lucky, bats are my spirit animal.”
I frowned at her, then rolled my eyes. “Because bats sleep upside-down and your world was flipped?”
“That right there is why we’re friends. You speak Tommy Tetley. Yes, lovely. I’ll work for you—for double my current pay, not triple. I don’t know jack shit about HR. When I’m earning you buttloads, we can talk again.”
I studied her. “You have a way with words, friend.”
“When do I start?”