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“What?” Samantha screeched.

Amaliya shoved him. “What the fuck, Cian?”

“Listen to me. I would rather she come and make her move now instead of joining forces with Etzli and Santos. We can handle her and her minions, but we can't go up against her, Santos, Etzli, and the San Antonio Cabal. Let Rachon come. If she attacks, we kill her. And that will be a warning to anyone else out there that wants to attack us. ” Cian’s voice was firm. His mind was clearly made up.

“Why don’t you have more vampires in this cabal? There are only two of us! We’re so fucked!” Amaliya shook her head, agitated. “Why don’t we have a witch?”

“Yeah, what she said,” Samantha said.

“Because I didn’t want to deal with all this bullshit! All this political maneuvering! Dealing with the fuckin’ dynamics of the undead world!” Cian responded in a gruff voice.

“Well, you’re having to deal with it now!” Amaliya shouted at him.

“Because of you!” Cian snapped.

Amaliya sputtered she was so furious in that second.

“Fuck you, Cian!” Samantha said, stepping in front of Amaliya. “Fuck you! You decided to shelter her! You brought this on yourself! On all of us!”

“When did you two become best friends?” Cian looked amused and pissed at the same time.

Samantha threw Amaliya a dark look over her shoulder. “Yeah, why am I defending you? Is this that blood thing?”

Amaliya shrugged. She was still angry. They were all fucked.

“Rachon is coming. We need to deal with that. Then we deal with Santos and Etzli,” Cian said in a firm, authoritative voice.

“You’re not the boss of me!” Samantha set her hands on her hips and glared. “I think we should vote on this. ”

“This isn’t a democracy,” Cian shot back.

“Well, you’re a shitty dictator!”

Amaliya reached out and snagged Samantha’s arm and drew her to her side. A surge of power swelled up between the two women for a moment, startling Amaliya, but Samantha didn’t seem to notice. Recovering, Amaliya said, “He’s not going to listen. ”

“We’re so fucked,” Samantha sniffed.

“Could you just trust me?” Cian asked.

“No,” Amaliya said.

“Nope,” Sam answered.

Cian frowned. “Why not?”

“Because you’re not listening to the warning!” Amaliya exclaimed.

“Ghosts don’t show up for no good reason, Cian!” Samantha added.

“Oh, so you see a few ghosts and now you’re an expert?”

Amaliya and Samantha exchanged looks. Cian may be the badass vampire master of the city, but he was being an idiot and they both knew it.

“I would think that a good leader would recognize the assets he has around him and utilize them,” Amaliya said, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

“I agree with her!”

Cian frowned as he pointed back and forth between them. “I’m older, stronger, and wiser than both of you. ”