“Not really a theory.”
“Tell me,” she urged.
Xi paced across the room, following the same path she’d been using. Brigette hid a smile. It was nice to know that she wasn’t the only one who paced when she was trying to work through a problem.
Yet another thing they had in common, a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
“If I was attempting to remove Styx from his throne, I might try to make him appear to be a weak king who is incapable of protecting his people,” Xi slowly spoke his thoughts out loud.
“But?”
He smiled toward her as she easily sensed that he didn’t believe that theory. “But it’s a sketchy tactic. Not only do you risk being discovered and crushed by Styx, but there’s no guarantee that it would actually work.” He shook his head. “Who would go to such an effort without a guaranteed payoff?”
He was right. At first, Brigette had assumed that they were using the tactics of anarchists. The sort of small, bloody attacks that would eventually topple the ruling elite. But if there was a hidden player who intended to take the throne, then Maryam and Roban’s strategies were baffling.
She watched Xi pace from one end of the cramped space to the other. “What would you do?”
“If I had this group?” Xi halted, glancing toward her as she nodded. “I’d hit him swiftly and cause as much damage as possible before he knew what was happening,” he told her without hesitation. “Then I’d start making examples of any vampire who dared to challenge my authority. There’s nothing like a few heads on a pike to convince demons to accept new leadership.” He paused, his lips twisting with frustration. “This petty stuff is annoying, but it’s really accomplished nothing more than to alert Styx that someone is plotting against him.”
His words perfectly captured Brigette’s own dissatisfaction. None of this made sense. “I agree.”
They shared a glance. Then, without warning, Xi’s expression softened, and he slowly moved to stand directly in front of her.
“I thought you would be sleeping.” He reached to brush his fingers through her hair, his rich male scent teasing at her senses. “You must be exhausted.”
She tilted back her head, meeting his searching gaze. Less than a day ago, she would have destroyed any male who dared to touch her without invitation. Now she shivered with an exquisite sense of anticipation. She wanted those cool, clever fingers exploring more than her hair. She wanted them traveling down her body, removing her clothes, and discovering the erotic spots that she’d forgotten she possessed.
The room filled with the earthy scent of her musk, but Brigette pretended she was indifferent to the lingering stroke of fingers through her hair. She was good at pretending.
“I am exhausted, but I can’t sleep,” she confessed.
His face instantly hardened with concern. “Has something happened?”
“Nothing I can pinpoint, but there’s a change in the air,” she said, leaving out the fact that she’d been too worried about whether or not he’d return to the tunnels to sleep. That was on a need-to-know basis. And right now, he didn’t need to know. “Can you sense it?”
“A vampire can’t feel magic.”
“It’s not magic. It’s…” Brigette didn’t have the exact words to explain the tingle that vibrated through the tunnels. “A buzz, as if there’s a new energy.” She grimaced. “I can’t explain it.”
He closed his eyes, as if using his powers to try and detect the mystery buzz. At last, he gave a shake of his head and opened his eyes.
“The only thing I can sense is the coming dawn.”
She forgot the strange tingle, instantly intrigued by his words. “What does it feel like?”
“Heavy. As if the air is pressing down on me.”
That made sense. Vampires would need to have an early-warning system in place to protect them from the sun.
“I can’t feel the dawn, but I can smell it,” she murmured.
He arched a brow. “It has a scent?”
Brigette was confused by the question. “Everything has a scent.”
“What is it?” he asked, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw.
“Dew-sprinkled grass and a sun-kissed breeze.”
A slow, heart-stopping smile curved his lips. “You’re a romantic at heart.”
Brigette swayed forward, mesmerized by his soft caress. He was barely touching her, but the brittle shell she’d used to protect herself was shattering as if it were as fragile as glass.
Christ. How had she survived so long without feeling his fingertips stroking over her skin. Or the icy breeze wrapping around her like an embrace?
It was the sheer intensity of her hunger that had her sharply pulling away. This need couldn’t be natural, could it? It felt like she’d been bewitched.
She moved to press her back against the wall, needing as much space as possible between them. It was either that or she was going to throw him onto the nearby bed and ensure there was absolutely no space between them.
“I’m not a romantic at heart. I’m evil,” she rasped. “Or have you forgotten?”
Xi watched her with dark, unfathomable eyes, his hands clenching as if he was forcing himself not react to her fierce rejection.
“You make sure I never forget,” he told her. “Why is that?”
She hunched a shoulder. “Just stating a fact.”
“No, you’re trying to push me away.”
“Not very successfully,” Brigette retorted, knowing, as the words left her lips, that they were unfair.
Hadn’t she reached out to Styx? And hadn’t she made it clear that she expected to be included in any investigation? That wasn’t even to mention the fact that she’d melted with blatant pleasure each time Xi was near.
Xi, thankfully, didn’t point out her hypocrisy. Instead, he continued to study her with a somber expression.
“I’m stubborn enough to decide for myself who I desire as a friend.”
It wasn’t what Brigette was expecting him to say. Her defenses faltered in confusion. “A friend?”
“It’s a place to start,” he murmured.
“To start what?”
His lips twitched, then he clearly refused to be lured into discussing the magnetic tug of awareness that sizzled between them. No doubt, he sensed she was ready and eager to shut down that particular conversation.
“Why did you bond with Levet?” He abruptly changed the subject. “He’s not the easiest creature to like. In fact, he’s a pain in the ass.”