“The other twelve families are represented in the Sons, whether by descendants or new initiates. The demons who attacked Avianna were swayed to the cause by the promise of nullifying the Covenant’s borders.”
Avianna swallowed, losing a little of her color. This was never the life I wanted for her. She was supposed to come back during a time of peace, not a time where war beat down our door.
“They’re pissed that the wolves have the nearest Dave & Buster’s?” Ransom asked with an arched eyebrow, leaning forward to brace his elbows on the table. “Or is it the amusement park in the Witch’s territory that had them ready to flip?”
Benedict snorted.
“It’s the borders themselves they wanted annihilated. They want free reign. It’s been a topic of discussion a few times over the last couple hundred years, but never as anything serious.” I leaned back in my chair and stroked my thumb over the back of Lyric’s hand.
“It’s fucking serious now,” Lachlan growled.
Everyone muttered an assent.
“We don’t know much yet,” I admitted. “But we need to gather as much information as we can so we can defeat this threat.”
“What are our assignments?” Benedict asked.
A slow smile spread across my face. These males never backed down from a challenge or ran at the first sign of struggle. They heard the worst and then went to work. And these females? There wasn’t an ounce of fear in any of the eyes in this room.
“Okay. Assignments it is.” I nodded. “Lachlan, we need Valor. She’s our only hope of learning just how deep this whole thing goes.” She’d disappeared in the chaos after I’d been shot, taking the Escalade with her. We’d tracked the car and found it abandoned at the edge of Demon territory, with no sign of Valor.
“We need Valor alive and unharmed.” Lyric lifted her brows at the Scotsman. “I know you’re not a fan—”
“Fan? She’s the actual enemy,” he muttered, folding his arms over his chest and scowling at my mate.
She smiled sweetly back at him. “But she’s my best friend, and when it mattered, she chose our side. She helped you rescue me.”
“She led us into a bloody trap with the Night Thistle,” he spat back.
“Ehhh…he has a point there,” Benedict agreed, tilting his head slightly.
“She told us when it mattered.” Lyric lifted her chin. “I would be dead if she hadn’t come to you. If she hadn’t risked her life to save mine. So again, bring back my best friend alive and unharmed.” Her voice held a tone of authority I’d never heard from my wife before and damn it if it didn’t turn me on.
“Yes, my queen.” Lachlan bowed his head once.
“Thanks!” She grinned “Oh, and start with the coffee shops. My girl has a serious caffeine addiction.”
Lachlan grunted.
I moved to the next pair. “Avi, your job is simple. Stay safe.”
“That’s ridiculous.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her gloved arms. “Lachlan gets go find the most important piece of this puzzle, and I get don’t die?”
Hawke scoffed and shook his head.
“Oh, I’m sorry, does Mr. Dark and Perpetually Angry have a comment?” Heat rose in her cheeks.
“A comment?” He turned that dangerous, narrowed gaze on her, and I prepared myself to interrupt if necessary. “Princess, you’re it. You’re the only heir he has until she,” he motioned toward Lyric, “gives us another one. We’re going to war, not the fucking mall, and if he falls, you’re the only leader the species has. So given that we’ve already had to save your little haughty ass from a demon assassination, I’d say stay safe seems to be a pretty necessary, logical order from your king. Just stick to the ballrooms, pasty-ass noble boys, and your bodyguard. Okay?”
Avi’s mouth snapped shut audibly and she jerked her attention back to me.
“I’d prefer you steer clear of the pasty-ass noble boys, but you’re of age, so it’s not like I can stop you.” I shrugged. “Other than his shit delivery,” I sent a glare down the table. “Hawke has it right. Olivia is with you at all times if you leave the estate, and I’ll assign backup to your detail when I see fit.”
“If I wanted a male to have control of my life, I’d just strip off my gloves and run around touching everyone until a mating mark brands my skin,” she snapped, then took a steadying breath. “But fine. For the good of the species, I’ll make myself…useful around here.”
“Maybe see if you can get Cassandra to actually leave,” Lyric joked.
“That’s a failed cause. Now that Alek’s mated, she’s looking for her next victim,” Olivia answered, breaking the tension.
Well, except between the glare Avi was shooting directly in Hawke’s direction that he couldn’t give a fuck about, having moved onto polishing his next knife.
“The next matter is Night Thistle,” I said with a long sigh.
Silence reigned.
“I swore we burned the last patch of it in 1802,” Lachlan muttered.
“I thought so, too. It never sat well with my father that we’d given it to the Sons of Honor as a way to balance the scales, a way to prove they could trust us, and as usual, he was right. Even from the grave.” I kissed the back of Lyric’s hand. “Lyric’s blood is something we have yet to understand, but she saved me. Only problem is, she had to be near death to do it, and that’s not something I’m willing to risk again, even if she is.”
“I am,” she said loud and clear. “There’s no reason for any vampire to fall to Night Thistle when it’s within my capability to save them.”
I gritted my teeth, pushing down the retort that had led us into a three-hour fight last night. There was no chance in hell I was handing my wife out like some kind of Butcher’s Block feeder. No fucking way was I letting some other male put his mouth on her, his fangs in her. Just thinking about it had mine elongating.
“This is where we think we come in,” Gabriel said, clearing his throat and rolling his shoulders back. “Remediums are exceptionally rare, and we are lucky that our queen valiantly risked her life for her mate—”
“Oh, God, just stop,” Julian interrupted, rubbing his forehead. “At the chance that you might actually rip my fucking head off, my lord.” He opened the metal case in front him, and a swirl of vapor rose from the chilled interior. “I may have taken a sample of Lyric’s blood while I monitored her pulse.”
My head tilted and a growl worked its way up my throat.
“You know,” he continued. “That night. When she saved you.”
“I know what fucking night,” I snapped. “You stole Lyric’s blood?” The glasses of water on the table began to rock violently.
“Okay. Let’s just back this up a little,” Lyric stood up and moved.
Right into my lap.
Green eyes filled my vision. “Love, you know I would have given it to him, anyway. It was the smart move to make. Just think, if they wanted another sample when my blood was at its max potency, we would have to drain me almost completely—”