“Maybe Niko planned it himself to make sure his family was safe.”
“I find that doubtful, but we will see when I receive the footage that was taken in his cell last evening,” Hadrian explained. “I will be notified when it is ready to be viewed.”
“Footage?” I asked him.
He scowled at me. “We say a dungeon, Jason, but do not be deceived into believing it in any way resembles that of the aula, the den of thralls, that you found yourself in last night.”
“Oh,” I said, annoyed. “So it’s not like something out of a horror movie.”
“No. It is a thoroughly modern facility. There are motion sensors, remote-controlled doors, pressure pads on the floors, vibration sensors, and biometric scans are done on everyone who enters or exits.”
I turned to Varic. “Why would anyone want to kill Niko? That makes no sense.”
He took a breath. “I think I have an idea.”
“My prince?” Hadrian asked sharply.
Varic didn’t look away from me. “Niko knew you,” he explained. “He’s lived with you in New Orleans. He knew how you do things, what you’re like, and I think whoever killed Niko went to ask about you. About what kind of man you are.”
“But why? I’m not this important. What could anyone possibly want with––”
“You’re my consort,” he said, his voice flat, hard. “You have the heart and ear of the prince, who will someday be king. You have more influence over me than any other.”
It was strange, but I’d been thinking about me as myself, as Jason, not taking a step back and looking at who I was in relation to Varic. Here, in the palace, in this world, I actually wielded a lot of power, because I was who the prince had chosen to stand at his side.
“You need to realize who you are,” Varic told me.
I did. Yes.
“The truth is, someone grabbed Nerilla, and they knew you wouldn’t come to me or Hadrian or Tiago first. They knew you’d go after her, no questions asked.”
I exhaled sharply. “I did check my phone several––”
“But not until you were too far down to get a signal, and I understand, it’s who you are, it’s hardwired into you, but that’s why you need someone with you at all times. You need your own shadow, because I made a mistake last night.”
I was quiet because he sounded not only sad but furious as well. The warning was there in his voice, simmering just below the surface.
“I thought you’d be safe in the palace, but I know better now. And because I can’t change the designation of my dreki, of Hadrian or Tiago, I need to find you your own hendr, your own champion, and I think I just figured out who it will be.”
“Who?” Hadrian asked him.
His gaze met his rekkr’s in answer.
And it took a moment, but then Hadrian gasped. “You cannot be serious. Your father would never agree to such.”
“It depends on how much he wants to be rid of a thorn in his side.”
“Oh,” Tiago chimed in, pulling his phone from inside his suit jacket. “That’s Eris; the king is on his way up the stairs.”
That was my cue, and I walked to the entrance of the loft with Varic, and the second I saw the king I called out to him.
“Welcome to our quarters, Your Majesty,” I announced as everyone moved aside so he could pass easily through the crowd.
The king crossed the threshold and walked up to me, watching as I bowed, fist over my heart as I was taught.
“Rise,” the king snapped at me.
I glanced at Varic as I straightened, and then I faced the king, who studied me for long moments before he turned to the open door.
“My king,” Gideon called to him from where he stood, having accompanied his monarch to our quarters, his face now an unreadable mask.
“Try and pass,” the king ordered his rajan.
Gideon shook his head. “I already know I cannot.”
The king turned to look at the others in the room, the queen, who was standing, arms crossed, staring at him; Hadrian and Tiago, both bent at the waist, bowing; and Dae-Jung, who was in the kitchen, in a similar position.
“Rise,” he ordered the room before pointing at the queen. “Did he invite you in, or did you merely cross?”
“I crossed,” she informed him.
He put the question to the others, and they all reported that they had crossed effortlessly. Facing Varic, his scowl was dark. “You hid this from me.”
“I hid nothing,” Varic responded, his voice utterly devoid of warmth. “It affects only where he and I reside, nothing more. Your court finds it interesting, as they have nothing better to do but plot, fuck, and drink.”
The king stared at his son and then suddenly laughed. “I look forward to seeing the great, sweeping changes that you make when you are king, my son.” Varic forced a strained smile as the king turned to me, his arm slipping around my shoulders as he eased me close. “Jason, I would ask you to invite Gideon in, but as this is your private residence, I will not ask for others.”
“Thank you,” I said, about to bow, but he held me fast, not allowing any movement. “Gideon, I welcome you to my home,” I called out to him.
He was standing directly at the threshold, over the area where the door rolled, and so he basically tripped into the space. Recovering quickly, straightening his soutane, he crossed to us as the king dismissed everyone else.
“I would speak to your consort, my prince,” Gideon said quickly.
“And I would speak to the king,” Varic told him as the queen joined them. I could see clearly now that the relationship Varic had with his father was combative, and that his mother was the buffer between them.
Gideon led me over by the windows and then rounded on me. “I suspect that the display of your power will not make you popular.”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing. It’s a barrier that doesn’t work in any space that isn’t my own. It’s the same for my vampyr juju.”
He squinted at me. “I’m sorry?”
“Normally, people don’t fight around me, don’t want to hurt each other. I can make everyone peaceful, but again, only in a space that I feel is mine.”
He nodded. “Well, I will tell you that I have not been in the prince’s quarters in hundreds of years and had not imagined it so changed, but it is very soothing here.”
I smiled, walked around behind him and then turned him, which he allowed me to do, to face the open windows. “Close your eyes, lift your head, and breathe.”
“Young man, I assure––”
“Please, rajan,” I said softly in his ear.
He did as I asked, and after a moment, I saw his shoulders slump and his face relax and heard him take a deep breath.
“You’re a witch,” he murmured, savoring the breeze on his face, “just as I thought.”
I smiled at him, and when he turned to look at me, he was smiling too.
Eleven
Varic, Hadrian, and Tiago had gone to the ultra-modern, high-tech dungeon, the queen had left with the king, and Gideon had excused himself while Dae-Jung fed me. I had an antipasto salad, some sliced bread with oil, olives, pickles, and crumbled cheese, and a large bowl of fruit salad. It was dark by the time I was done, which was not surprising as I’d slept away most of the day, recovering from the night before. Before he departed, Dae-Jung asked if I needed anything else, and I’d assured him that I was great.