Killian finally joined us, Celestina and Josh flanking him. “Please, sit down.” He motioned to the table as he circled around to the opposite side.
I chose a spot with plenty of space on either side for my fellow wizards. Unsurprisingly, Killian sat down directly across from me.
Three members of the kitchen staff bustled in, pushing carts laden with baked snacks and choices of drinks, which they unloaded onto the table.
I grabbed a homemade glazed donut and thanked the staff.
April and June followed my example and piled treats on a small plate, as did Felix. Great Aunt Marraine sipped at some kind of fruity drink that I dearly hoped didn’t have alcohol or this meeting was going to be a lot more interesting than I wanted, and Momoko only took a cup of tea while Mr. Clark declined any refreshments—though he shook his head in amazement.
“This food is amazing,” Felix whisper-hissed to me.
“Yep,” I agreed.
“Shall we begin?” Killian asked.
I took a bite of my donut—which had the most delicious glaze that it made me instantly drool. “Yeah.”
“Very well. I, Killian Drake of the Drake Family and Eminence of the Midwest, would like to extend an official invitation for an alliance between us,” Killian said.
I ate another bite of my donut and critically eyed him—though it was pretty hard to be critical when I was eating heaven covered in a sugary glaze. “Why?”
“It would be beneficial to both House Medeis and Drake Family,” Killian said. “In multiple ways, of course, but first and foremost it would give us a united front and shared forces and intelligence against the Night Court.”
“You expect more trouble from them.”
Up went one of Killian’s eyebrows—the angle of it indicated he was somewhat surprised. “You don’t?”
“I do.” I watched his eyebrow return to its regular position as I ate the last bit of my donut—which I had eaten too fast and was now left feeling a little mournful at its passing. “I think we have a little time, though. They’re going to get the book thrown at them for attacking you in the Curia Cloisters—particularly in the middle of a multi-race meeting. It’s going to take them some time to recover from that.”
“Agreed,” Killian said.
“But we’d better use the time to our advantage and prepare for a war,” I said. “Before I thought they’d just plague you for a few decades before giving up. But since they broke Cloister law…” I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to stop until they kill you, or until you crush them.”
Killian’s shrug was miniscule. “That is roughly what I’ve estimated as well. At worst, they’ll declare war on us. At best, we might get a certamen.”
Certamen was a super old term used to describe what was essentially a trial by combat.
In an effort to minimize loss of life among supernaturals and limit—if not outright ban—war between us, roughly a hundred years ago the movers and shakers of supernaturals had gotten together and come up with certamen.
With the drain of magic, war became dangerous for our entire community—which was already pretty fragile. Certamen was supposed to limit the slaughter because it was kind of like a cross between a duel—with all its rules—and a one-battle war.
Opponents were given one opportunity to face each other on the battlefield. The winner of the fight picked the terms of surrender for the loser, and whatever enmity or event that had pushed the two sides into the certamen was considered solved.
There usually were some casualties, but the numbers were tiny compared to the wars that used to last decades between feuding factions.
There hadn’t been too many conflicts in the USA, so I had never met anyone who had taken part in a certamen before. They were more popular in Europe—I suspect because all the Houses, Courts, Families, and Packs over there had a much longer and far more bloody history with each other than we did here in the relatively young country of the USA.
“And,” Killian continued, “you’ve made your House a secondary target by standing with me.”
“I didn’t stand with you.” My voice was sharp, and I pushed my empty plate away from me. “What they did was wrong. It was illegal, dishonorable, and it risked the lives of everyone in that room. I stood against them.”
“Perhaps,” Killian said. “But you said we needed to use this time to prepare. I assume, then, that you agree to my proposal?” To his credit, Killian didn’t look smug, or smirk, or show any kind of emotion that would show insincerity for an alliance. He appeared to be completely serious.
And I had to think he was.
Killian was brilliant. Even if he’d changed his mind and decided he wanted me around again, he wasn’t oblivious to the way my much smaller group of wizards had turned the tides on the fae. We were worthy of his respect, and an excellent chess piece for him to use. He really did want this alliance.
Which was great, because I did, too—with some big caveats.
I glanced at Great Aunt Marraine, who was seated next to me and patted my thigh under the table. She’d gone through my list of requests with me line by line every day since she’d learned about the meeting. We could do this.
I took a deep breath. “I’ll agree to an alliance, should you agree to my requirements.”
“Name them,” Killian said.
“I want a written, signed agreement that we’ll share all information and intelligence we receive about the Night Court and their plans,” I said. “You will not conveniently leave out any details, or fail to tell us about a new movement.”
Again, up went an eyebrow. “You don’t want me to act without your knowledge.”
“Yes.” My smile was brittle. “Because you’ve proven to be untrustworthy.”
“Fair enough. What else?”
“I want Gavino.” I held my breath and tried to gauge his reaction.
Killian narrowed his eyes. “What?”
“I want Gavino to live at House Medeis for six months, and work as a trainer for my wizards,” I said. “During that time he won’t be available for regular vampire duties—so you can’t use him as your plant and yank him out whenever it suits you. But if we’re going to a fight then we’ll agree he should stand with the vampires.”
Killian rapidly blinked, then looked quizzically at me. “You want him as a trainer?”
“House Medeis now has a large gym, including a pretty nice arrangement of weights and lifting machines,” I said. “I’ve hired a martial artist and a weapons trainer who come by once or twice a week, but I want my people to have the same base fitness training I had. If possible, I’d also like him to train us in more self-defense maneuvers.”
Killian turned to look at Gavino, who had first looked shocked and maybe a little terrified at my initial suggestion, but was now thoughtfully folding his arms across his chest. The big vampire nodded at Killian.
“That could be arranged, provided you’re willing to make allowances so he can live at House Medeis,” Killian said.
“We’ll get him a blood delivery, and provide a room with the right kind of drapes to block sunlight.” I sat straighter in my chair.