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He glares at me. “I know about what happened between you, Pyre and Eilish.”

Surprise echoes through me but I try not to show it. “So what?”

“So we all have claim to her as we mentioned before.”

“And?”

“And I think we need to sit down and figure out what the fuck this looks like moving forward.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve never had to share a woman before and I’m fairly sure you haven’t either.” He takes a breath. “Not to mention the fact that we all hate each other.”

I glance at Cambion. “Some more than others.”

“That’s all I have to say.” He starts to walk away but then turns around again. “And before you and Pyre go off to fuck her again, I’d appreciate a heads up.”

“Fuck you!” I respond, anger seeping through me. “I don’t fucking owe you anything.”

“Then you won’t care if I take her with Myerdoth or maybe Kolvar or fucking Cambion for that matter?”

“As long as Eilish wants it, I don’t care who you fuck her with.” That’s a lie but I’m not going to tell him as much. Dragan can go fucking die and rot in hell for all I care.

I walk away from the gargoyle to find Aima sitting on top of the wall not far from the line of tents. I jump up to join her.

“I never thought anything was beautiful about the mortal realm, but the stars are lovely here,” she says. “Oronrel used to have the most breathtaking skies, but now it seems like the stars are hiding beneath a thick fog of deceit.”

“May I?” I ask, motioning to the bandages on her side. She nods and I peel them back. Pyre is right—the magic here is different, sluggish and thin, but I use one of my potions to apply a poultice to her wounds. “That should speed up the healing. You’re strong; you’ll bounce back in no time.”

She nods and we both grow silent, watching the stars and the mercenaries below as they bustle about their business.

“Are vampires usually this quiet?” she asks.

“I’m just trying to figure Cambion out,” I answer with a shrug. “And that’s taking up most of my thoughts because I’m so damn confused.”

“Confused about what?”

“Eilish trusts him and the others insist Cambion isn’t our enemy, but he’s made no effort to prove me wrong in my assumptions. And to know he wiped Eilish’s memories?”

Aima shakes her head. “Cambion isn’t who you think he is, Baron. I’ve known him for a long time, but if I thought for a second that he was a threat to our cause, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him myself. He screwed up in a lot of ways, yes and some bigger than others, but we all have.”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

“Then maybe you should start listening?”

I snort a little and we watch the clouds obscure the moon. My senses are heightened at night and I smell other vampires within these walls, vampires I have no intention of ever meeting.

“Baron!” Kolvar calls. “Come meet the other clan leaders.”

Aima gives me a look filled with amusement as I leap from the wall, landing on my feet in front of the satyr. He raises a brow, but says nothing. We walk to the gate, where a collective of males stand looking mildly constipated. One of them is a vampire. He watches me as though there’s some unspoken truce between us. There’s no such thing. I trust vampires about as much as I trust elves, and that isn’t much at the moment.

“Baron, King of Death, these are the clan leaders.”

Each of them bows his head in a sign of respect, but I don’t return the gesture.

Kolvar clears his throat before continuing. “Hemoteph of the Olveroth, Belroth of the Adamante, Imatriat of the Thradsaryl, Prince Novak of the Sunder’s Might, and Draken of the Mournblades.” He looks from them to me. “You will need to get to know them, for Lady Fulthain has named you one of her ambassadors and a representative of The Vindication.”

Lady Fulthain? It takes me a second to figure out the satyr is talking about Eilish. Once that surprise registers, I face the next one: Eilish wants me to be a diplomat? I resist the urge to laugh, but just barely. Luckily, Flumph is close enough to hear our conversation. The sprite nearly faints from his fit of giggles, until I peel him off the floor and hand him over to Kolvar.