Her cheeks heated. “Right. Hecate.”
“Remember, we—the Night Bloode—are a clan.” Macy sounded proud to claim them as her own. Not a typical reaction when dealing with creatures known as death-bringers and blood-drinkers, the scourge of the magir world. “We’re small. Most vampire clans are like the local upir clan in Seattle, maybe thirty to fifty strong. Several clans make up a tribe, which can be made of thousands of vampires. It’s all about units. Clans make up tribes which all add up to the Bloode Empire.”
“So what tribe are you? There are ten tribes, right?”
“Yes, but we’re made up of vampires from six different tribes. It’s unheard of. The only reason these guy haven’t gutted each other is because Hecate’s using a spell to make them think they’re kin.”
Kaia blew out a breath. “But doesn’t that scare you? That they could turn on one another at any time?” Just one vampire could decimate a small town. Dozens of them could conceivably topple a city.
“Nah. Hecate’s powerful, and this clan’s patriarch, the leader, is very levelheaded. You know how rare that is for vampires. Normally, they just want to kill everything in sight. But Varu’s mated. I think his mate calms him. I know I’m a calming influence on Duncan.”
Rustling in the background and raised male voices told Kaia she was no longer private on her call. “Thanks, Macy. For explaining and the advice. We’ll have to do dinner soon.”
“Hold on. Before you escape, catch me up. You dating anyone at the moment?”
Kaia groaned. “Not you too.”
“Sorry. Did your mom give you the inquisition already?”
“You don’t sound sorry.”
“Well, she’s got a right to worry about her virgin daughter. Damn, girl, you’re nearly twenty-five.”
“Shh. Macy,” Kaia hissed. She heard more than one male in the background perk up as the voices grew louder all at once.
“Virgin? Yum!” “I can use her in a spell. Hook me up, Macy.” “Oh, I bet she tastes sweet. Is she cute? Is she witchy like you?”
“Damn it, Kraft, that’s my sister we’re talking about,” Macy growled.
The vampire said something in German, if Kaia wasn’t mistaken, before giving a laugh that sounded like the low growl of a wolf.
“I’m hanging up now,” Kaia said, mortified. Dang it, Macy. You big blabbermouth.
“Sorry.” The noise behind Macy grew quiet again. “I wouldn’t hound you about dating if I thought you wanted to be alone. But I know you, and I know how much you want to find that special someone. You’ve been dreamy about boys forever, and I don’t mean that in a negative away.”
Because everyone knew sea nymphs were easy. Except for Kaia, a freak among freaky sea people. “I do want a boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep my way through a pack of lycans or a school of mermen.” No matter what most people thought of sea nymphs, they weren’t all nymphos. And yes, Kaia heard herself saying that and wished she didn’t still find the terminology oddly funny.
“I’ve heard lycans like to share. Yum.”
Kaia cracked a laugh. “Stop it. I’ll tell Dad.”
“Please, don’t. He still thinks of you as his baby.”
Unlike her mother, who would love nothing better than to use Kaia’s loss of virginity in some enchantment to gain power. Her mother had mentioned that once, years ago, and the horror on Kaia’s face had been enough to get her to not mention it again. But Sabine never forgot anything she might use to increase her magic.
“No men, human, magir, or otherwise. Alive or dead,” she added before Macy could say something corny about vamps doing it better. Kaia couldn’t imagine anyone wanting a relationship with a vampire. Sure, they were preternaturally handsome. But that was to lure prey.
Kaia had enough issues with self-esteem that dating someone who wanted to devour her, blood and bones or both, didn’t bear thinking about.
“Well, whatever. If you change your mind, let me know. Cho and I know a few guys who might be perfect for you. And they’re non-vampire, I swear.”
“Ugh. I know what that means. No demons.” Cho was half demon.
“That’s racist.”
“I’m a water person. Demons are all about fire. Do the math.”
Macy chuckled. “Fine, fine. Anyway, good luck with Sabine. Let me know if you need help with anything.” She paused. “You are keeping your distance, right?”
“I’ll be fine. I won’t do more than scry from the safety of my own home.” She crossed her fingers.
“Good luck. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
After disconnecting, Kaia made plans. But first, she had a dinner to make and some K-Drama to stream. Danger could wait a bit. Romance and adventure couldn’t.
CHAPTER
THREE
House of the Night Bloode
Mercer Island, Washington
“I’m telling you, something’s wrong,” Kraft said, irritated. Why did no one fucking listen to him? Sure, he was the youngest of his clan, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t sense danger.
Mormo frowned. “It’s only been his third night away. He’s checked in twice already, and we agreed he’d scout around and be back by Friday. Why all the concern for the vryko? You know he’s just as comfortable in water as on land.”
“I know, it’s just...” How to say what he felt without sounding young and anxious? Or like he missed the big bastard? Because he didn’t.
“Kraft, go help out with the lycan in the basement, would you?”
Kraft had seen the reaper and draugr muscling a raving lycan from the garage into the basement. The lycan didn’t look willing to play nice. He snorted. “You mean, before Khent raises him from the dead?”
“He won’t if he knows what’s good for him,” Mormo muttered before turning in a dramatic sweep, his dark robe skirting out from his lean form, and stalked upstairs to a level of the house that shouldn’t exist.
Fara, his patriarch’s mate, called their home a mansion. Macy called it a lair, which he preferred because it sounded much cooler than “large house owned by a goddess.” Situated on Mercer Island, their lair had two levels, a main one and a lower level that led out into a spacious lawn that overlooked Lake Washington. They also had a long dock in the shape of an L, where they could sit out at night and watch the moon or fool around with the boat Mormo had purchased. Yet Mormo’s second floor—above the main level—didn’t exist outside the house, and the basement had so many twists and turns that the home took up space on a different plane altogether.
Kraft had only gone up to the magician’s floor a few times, only ever with Mormo or Varu, his patriarch, present, and he didn’t like it. The area felt too heavy with magic, too much of the goddess’s presence lingering over everything, the cloying feel of witchy divinity saturating the furniture and walls. He had a more sensitive nose, mostly due to his ability to shift into a wolf, so perhaps only he sensed it.
The others, with the exception of Rolf, took an avian shape when they took an alternate form. Kraft was partial to fur, not feathers. And his magic wasn’t as sophisticated as those of his kin. Like Orion, Kraft relied on physical strength for power, controlling his environment with his body, not his mind.