Thank fuck for Lionel. The vampire supported nearly all my weight without visible effort as we walked to the base of the massive steps. Otherwise, I would have collapsed in a pathetic heap at the threshold.
Kyros was a lot to handle when he lost control, but his six-hundred-year-old father was completely muted right now—his eyes not shining in the least—and I had no thought but to lose control of my bowels and curl into the fetal position. This creature was so powerful, he couldn’t hide it.
Breathe, Basi.
King Julius could be in no doubt about the effect he had on me, yet the Vissimo didn’t relent in his stare. I was nothing to him. A pitiful human not worthy of empathy.
I’d have to conquer my reaction to him before Ingenium ended.
Lionel halted us beside Kyros.
I worked to straighten my spine, to ignore the weak sputtering of my heart as I met King Julius’s gaze. For as long as I could anyhow—about two seconds at a time.
“This is it?” he spoke without removing his gaze from my face.
“I’m Basilia Le Spyre,” I answered, locking my knees and releasing Lionel—for better or worse.
The king smiled, displayed his teeth.
I clamped my lips against rising bile.
“Did I speak to you, human?” he asked, a melodic lilt to his voice.
That was a rhetorical question. I was certain of it.
“Answer me.”
Or not! My heart stalled and restarted. Blood pulsed in my ears. Recognising where one beat began and another ended was impossible.
“I’m unsure, King Julius. You looked at me, but I thought it strange you referred to me as it.”
The fear wasn’t mine this time. As though I needed to feel Kyros’s as well.
“You’re a modern-day woman,” he said dismissively. “Predictable.”
Oh, really? He wouldn’t be saying that by the end.
There wasn’t a speck of warmth in this being. Rigidity. Power. Steel. The Vissimo was a siege: an apocalypse.
I absolutely did not want to get on his bad side.
One blink. That’s how long I’d survive if I decided to be a smartass. Thousands of people depended on the jobs the Le Spyre estate generated internationally. Then there were those on my property whose lives were more directly at risk.
Guess I was eating humble pie for lunch.
Bowing low, I said demurely, “My apologies, King Julius. I read the situation wrong.”
“Spineless too,” he stated, allowing me to see his disgust once more before shifting his gaze.
I nearly fell flat on my face, but I kept my shoulders back and my chin tilted, smiling inwardly at the thought of Grandmother’s secret office.
Kyros stole a quick look my way.
The king arranged the folds of his coarse sarong. His attention had terrified me so much, I’d registered nothing but his cold eyes. Topless, with a goatee, he looked like a mix between a sexy pharaoh and rugged shepherd. “Heir, explain yourself.”
Kyros was the outward picture of calm. Within, anything but.
He climbed two stairs and sank to his knees. “King Julius, Miss Le Spyre’s acquisition rates are 25 percent higher than the best performing of my realty staff. I had previously asked her to hold a once-weekly class for my staff to improve their manner with humans in the hope of boosting the overall acquisition rate. I met her again today to renew my request.”
King Julius’s brows climbed. “Requesting, heir? Do you not share a blood bond with this human?”
Okay, the human thing was going to get old fast.
“Yes, Father. Three, as you know.”
Was I alone in feeling the iron beneath Kyros’s words? The glimmer in Julius’s eyes made me think not.
Careful, Kyros.
The king growled. “Then it is your property. You do not ask a dog whether it wants to round up sheep. You do not request that those in your power complete a task. Have I raised you to be weak?”
Wow. Talk about old school douchebag. The temptation to woof was real, but his eyes flickered my way. This was as much a test for me as for Kyros.
“My mistake, Father. Thank you for your wisdom.”
The iron was definitely noticeable in Kyros’s voice this time. I sent him a tendril of caution, having no idea if the warning reached him or not.
“Human,” the king said in bored tones, “do you think yourself above my heir’s request?”
I forced myself to meet his gaze, managing one second. “I do not.”
“Do you believe yourself to have some hold over my eldest son to deny his demands?” He leaned forward on his throne.
My chest clamped for a full three seconds before the fear from his tiny actions loosened. “I don’t believe the lessons will have the effect he desires.”
This was the perfect chance to get onto Level 66 on a permanent basis—if I didn’t die.
I cut the king off. “The problem in your strategy is more deep-rooted than simple lessons can fix.”
How many siblings gasped behind me? All eight?
The only sound in the low-ceilinged and gold-draped chamber was my ragged breathing.
“Problems in my strategy,” the king said softly, his lips white.
Mentally, Kyros was waving his hands in the air and holding a sign that read fucking stop.
Too late.
King Julius’s question was rhetorical this time, but I was already knee-deep in shit. “Yes, your… majesty. Ingenium is a game between two Vissimo clans, but the game board is a human city. I believe it a major weakness that you don’t have more humans involved. I can understand the need to keep most at a distance—the CEOs and such, but the minds of Vissimo and humans work differently. Our desires and priorities aren’t the same. That is a deficit that can be filled. My question to you is: Could the game plan of Clan Sundulus be further honed? Surely both clans are neck and neck. A tiny advantage could be the difference in winning.”
Sweat trickled down my back. Would it look bad if I sat down for a rest? Probably.
“Indeed.” The king sat back.
Was I meant to answer? Kyros sent a negative blast.
I remained mute.
“The game is so evenly balanced that a 2 percent difference would be enough to trigger the end cascade,” he said, eyes flaring.
I gagged twice, slapping a hand over my mouth.
“Father,” Kyros said sharply.
King Julius muted again, and I mentally walloped Kyros upside the head. Good one, moron. That was a freakin’ test too.
“What are your recommendations, human?” the ancient vampire asked.
This guy had to have three brains working at once. His subject and mood changes were a six-way tug-of-war.
I paused. Somehow, leading in with I can join your inner-circle meetings every night seemed bound to raise suspicions.
“I hadn’t thought that far,” I told him, casting my eyes downward.
Kyros tensed.
His father scoffed. “Humans. So full of opinions, so lazy with solutions.”
That was me. Lazy Basi. And hopefully alive Basi.
“Children?” The king addressed the vampires behind me.
Neelan stepped forward. “Form a focus group from those blood-compelled to our family. See what ideas they formulate after each roll, but leave them in the dark to those we take and implement.”
King Julius didn’t react other than a slight shifting of his gaze.