“The beast is all but latent for the first several years of life. Pups look like wee humans. But they’re much stronger, o’ course. Better senses too.” He grinned fondly at the picture. “I love bairns. How they think. How they feel everything so passionately. They are a reminder for older immortals to view life with a fresh eye.”
Gazing at that smile of his, all of a sudden Ren understood exactly what a biological clock was. But to have children, she would need not to be a virgin. . . .
When Ren sat, Ellie traced over to hand her a glass, then took the couch across from her with her own drink: something that looked like watery blood. Her glass was oddly shaped, the rim coated in white crystals.
Ellie said, “The salt brings the tequila and blood together in a surprising way.”
If you say so. Ren sipped her delicious brandy and remarked, “The king can hardly take his eyes off you.”
“He’s whupped. But so am I.” Whupped must mean in love. “Munro’s eyes were locked on you too. Good gawd, he’s a long, tall drink of wolfy water.”
Possessiveness simmered in Ren. He’d looked amazing in his formal dress, and she’d been proud to be on his arm.
Ellie leaned forward and said, “By the way, I’m so sorry Leo sicced fire demons on your asses.”
“No hard feelings. At one time, I’d planned to assassinate him.”
Ellie nodded without surprise. “He gets that a lot.” They shared a grin, any potential awkwardness out of the way. “So, what was your life like in Transylvania a hundred years ago?”
“Busy but fulfilling. I performed in the circus during the days and hunted immortals each night.”
“It must’ve been hard to learn about your, uh, death.”
“It was.” Lothaire’s revelation had rocked her. “But I needed to find out what had happened.” She only wished that her loved ones had known she’d gotten a chance to live on. Would they believe she was now sitting in Dacia, sharing drinks with a vampire queen? “Considering my hunting past, I hadn’t thought to find such a welcome here.”
“Girl, immortals have given me so much shit, I get where you were coming from. I was possessed by an evil deity, and if some carnies saved me from her, I would’ve sung their praises. And then when Leo kidnapped me? I would’ve given anything for some circus folk to put the hurt on him. He was a huge dick.”
“He was a big private detective?” Ren couldn’t imagine Lothaire as one.
“Oh, no. Dick is a way of saying someone is a jerk. You know, a pecker. That vamp gave me so much grief, I ended up loppin’ off his head.”
Ren blinked. “Loppin’ off?”
“I cut off his head. Well, almost. And I didn’t mean to. I ended up leaving a sliver of skin, so he regenerated. I’m glad he did. I love my guy so hard—my arrogant, crazy, red-eyed guy. He churns my butter for sure. But I can understand anger against immortals.”
Ren was grateful that Ellie spoke with such frankness. “Did he really transform you without your permission?”
She nodded. “That’s when I took a sword to him.”
What would Ren do if Munro turned the ring from halfway around the world? Or worse, if he did it while looking her in the eye?
“But then Leo ended up saving the lives of just about my entire family, so I forgave him.”
Could Ren forgive Munro in the same situation? “Did your transformation hurt?”
“Nope. In the blink of an eye, I went from human to vampirEllie. I was super tee-ohed at first, but when I figured out my new abilities—like teleporting and being strong as all get out—I loved it.”
Supernatural strength was one of the traits Ren most envied in Loreans. “I suspect Munro planned for us to talk about this very subject tonight. He wants me tempted by the possibility of eternal life.”
“Are you?”
If Ren became a Lykae, she would never age or suffer sickness. She could regenerate from injuries and challenge evil immortals with ease. “Maybe? If there was an alternative to Dorada, I’d consider it.”
Ellie sipped her drink. “Do you love Munro?”
Ren hesitated. “I would if he accepted that the decision to become a Lorean must be mine.” As she’d told him: she wanted to live on her own terms.
“I can see why you’re leery about everything. Is he putting a lot of pressure on you?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “And turning my species is not something I want to get bullied into.”
Ellie raised her glass. “Sing it, sister!”
“Much less that he’s willing to give an open-ended vow to the Queen of Evil for the privilege.” One more soldier in Dorada’s army of debtors?
Ellie’s face fell. “We’re hearing some disturbing rumors, Kereny. When Leo bargained with an immortal, they would be mad as a hornet that they owed him, but in the end, they got what they wanted. Rumor has it that no one is getting what they want with Dorada. More like twisted versions of their wishes.”
As if Ren needed another reason to vanquish the sorceress.
“When Balery gets here, she can roll the bones for you and see what your future holds.”
“I’d really appreciate it.” To have her fortune told by someone who could actually see the future would be a novel experience. “And please call me Ren.” She was hitting it off with a vampire!
“I knew I was gonna like you! Cheers, Ren!” Ellie traced over so they could clink glasses. “How do you think the guys are doing? I mean, what would they even have to talk about? I’d love to be a fly on the wall. . . .”
FIFTY
“Shall we disembowel the pachyderm in the room?” Lothaire intoned as he took a seat in the billiards den. “Or discuss it? Or whatever one does when an elephant appears indoors.” He sipped his glass of blood mead.
“Come again?” Munro sat across from the king and took a swig of whiskey. He was antsy to separate from Kereny, and Lothaire’s all-seeing demeanor kept him on edge. “Elephant?”
“The fact that you also came here to help Kristoff with his”—Lothaire made air quotes—“‘escape.’”
Even if Munro hadn’t been warned not to lie to Lothaire, he didn’t see the point of it. The vampire was too clever. “Aye. We can talk about that.”
When a mangy-looking dog strutted into the room to sit beside Lothaire, he absently petted it. “Lachlain sent you here on a mission, no? Those Forbearers have become strong allies to the Lykae. Your king would want to reward them by rescuing Kristoff.” Exactly what Lachlain had told him.