Page 25

"I don't give a damn about whatever it is you say you want, or if you do or do not want to bone my baby sister, you will stay the hell away from her," Zane warned under his breath.

What in the hell is the problem now?

And what kind of teenager says bone?!

"As usual you are speaking of things of which you have no understanding of," Viggo said in that annoyingly level tone of his.

"Are you trying to have sex with my baby sister?!" Zane asked. "Because that is beneath her, but it better be the only thing that is beneath her because if I find out you have been beneath her in the sex sense, I will stake you myself."

"Master Li," Azrael warned.

It was a good thing I was catatonic, or whatever it was, otherwise I would have been dying of embarrassment and becoming an only child because I was going to kill my brother!

"Yes, propriety," Viggo scolded, indifferent. "I accompanied Ariadne to the hospital since I was present when she fell ill-"

"Who?" Zane asked.

He truly is blond.

Viggo sighed heavily, not at all impressed with my brother's lack of intelligence. "Ariadne is your baby sister's name," he reminded him.

"Huh, it is, isn't it?" Zane huffed.

"Yes, it is," Viggo confirmed. "If it would not have been for my quick intervention, and that of Rabi Pachi, your precious baby sister might have been lost to us-"

"To us?!" Zane shrieked. "Since when were you invited to the party?"

Jolyn groaned. "Would you two give it a damn rest already?!" she complained. "I have a splitting headache, and you two are being ridiculous. If it wasn't for Viggo, those Upír would have killed her. Get over it and take your pissing contest and cock wielding somewhere else."

Wait, did Jolyn seriously just say that?!

In the four years I have known Jolyn, never had I heard her say 'damn', let alone 'cock'.

Something has to be seriously wrong if Jolyn is invoking her inner Ari!

"Fangula is right, regardless of how extremely un-Christ-like her message is this time," Harper said, his tone questioning.

So, I'm not the only one that caught her Ari-like language.

"Whatever your bloody issues are, you need to get over them," Harper scolded. "Ari doesn't need you bloody wankers stressing her out any more than she already is. Do you understand?"

"Remember who you are speaking to," Viggo warned.

Yeah, calling a Vampire Prince of one of the first Five Houses a wanker is the last thing a Sentinel-in-training should do.

"I know exactly who it is I am speaking to," Harper retorted. "But Ari and her well-being and safety take precedence over that of any crown, as does that of her brother. You of all people know this, Prince de Babineaux."

"You are correct," Viggo said in resignation. "I will be the bigger creature, in more ways than one, and take my leave so they may reunite and catch up when she wakes. Do not get between them, never get between them," he warned. "When she is conscious, please give her my regards."

"Prick," Zane said, not making any attempt to hide the fact he just called a Vampire Prince a prick in front of an audience. "And I mean it. Stay the hell away from my baby sister, and keep your cock in your pants."

"And if I do not?" Viggo asked, seemingly uninterested.

"I will make you."

I didn't need to see Viggo to know that he was giving my pesky brother a look.

"If your sister was not able to beat me in combat training, and it was insultingly easy to beat her, you would be beaten before you even attempted it. And for informational purposes, what if your baby sister does not want me to stay away from her? What if she wants me around?"

What a smug jerk!

But the smug jerk has a point, I do want him around.

Zane chuckled. "Trust me, de Babinbitch, Ari has way better taste than you."

"That is merely one overly protective brother's opinion," Viggo said. "I will be seeing you around, Philoi."

The stream of profanities that flowed from Zane's lips was amusing, to an extent, but they lulled me back to the darkness of unconsciousness...

"I was very concerned with what transpired at our last meeting, My Precious Pet."

My eyes snapped open before they darted all around.

I was standing in the middle of the darkened audience chamber from the last procedural nightmare.

Instead of the breast-presenting corset gown and audience of soulless Devilry like before, I was wearing a white ceremonial robe that concealed me completely. The area was numbingly cold, and empty aside from the two thrones, one of which the King of these nightmares was sitting on.

That's what I've deduced is happening, though I'm not sure how it was even possible.

Somehow, this annoying old guy is the root source of my creepy nightmares.

The area looked the same as it did before, but something tugged at me.

The thrones were on an elevated platform that I hadn't given much thought to before, but it stole my attention now.

A soft, white light dimly came from between the cracks in the slab of granite the stones were on.

An exasperated sigh stole my attention to the male sitting there; his elbows were resting on the arms of the throne, hands folded together under his chin, his attention on me.

Instead of wearing the face of one of his underlings like before after I saw Viggo murdered, he looked like, what I'm presuming was, himself. The razor-fine slices on one side of his face were healed, but faint white scars remained.

I took pride in that.

Slight black and faint purple spidering still blemished his pale skin around his neck and crept up the underside of his jaw and chin, but I'm not entirely sure why they are still visible.

If he's so powerful that he can pull me into whatever this is, surely, he's powerful enough to heal some wounds a Mundane caused in a dream.

"Are you ignoring me now?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Just looking at you. Which part specifically concerns you?" I asked.

"The most recent," he admitted with a sigh.

I nodded.

So he is responsible for what happened at the hospital.

"I have to agree that a whole hell of a lot went sideways very quickly," I said, and he nodded his agreement. "What is the purpose of killing a bunch of innocent people who are just trying to earn a paycheck? They had nothing to do with your plan or would have stopped you or whatever it is you are trying to do. They were just trying to survive."

To my surprise, he gave me a look, one I hadn't gotten from him before.

"Interesting," he said. "I feel obligated to remind you that sometimes body counts are inevitable when plans get complicated," he informed me. "That is a lesson they should have taught you in your first year at that prestigious Academy of Thaumaturgy."

"I learned that lesson when I was a child. It was a lesson from my grandmother," I informed him.

And now he was glaring at me.

Apparently, Grandma Li is a touchy subject.

"Indeed," he sneered. "Tell me, how did you do that? So much planning, binding, and boring Mundane life, and yet it went PBBBBT," he said, sticking his tongue out then blew.

I gave him a look; how I was ever scared of this guy to begin with was beyond me. "Did you seriously just do a mouth fart?" I asked.

"That sums it up better than any words I could possibly come up with can," he said, making a face. "I am used to things going wrong very quickly, that happens anytime an ambitious creature of power tries too much all at once. It always blows up in their face. That is why I have learned to exhibit patience, plan accordingly, not rush into things, and utilize all resources available. And then you did this," he said, waving around the area as if that was reason enough to be throwing a hissy fit.

I looked around.

"I mean, with a little dusting and an industrial vacuum it wouldn't be so bad," I offered with a shrug.

Instead of going off or pulling his high and mighty King and Lord routine again, he rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"You truly inherited the very worst of her," he informed me.

Yeah, I hear that often when it comes to my sense of humor and how it mirrors my grandmother's.

"So much planning, so many resources I have gone through, and you are not remotely grateful. You truly are a little brat, in her image in many ways, are you not?" he asked, eying me.

"I've been called worse," I offered. "But I'm like a foot taller than Grandma."

He nodded his agreement.

"At least you didn't compare me to my mother. I'd devour your darken soul and light your old ass up again for that one!" I said, tauntingly wiggling my fingers at him, and he chuckled. "So, what do you want?"

He shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly. "You are not ready to know that, not just yet, My Precious Pet. But soon. Until then, stop interfering and stop whatever it is you are doing. It is dangerous, very dangerous."

I started to ask-

"Otherwise, when we meet again it will be in person, and I will be bathed in the blood of all those you love. Do you understand?" he asked, but didn't sound interested in the answer.

I smiled. "I heard your offer, now hear mine. When we meet in person, out of wherever this is that you keep hiding because you are scared of me, and don't deny that you are scared because your fear is palpable, it will be your blood that is being spilled, by me," I cheerfully informed him.

He gave me a look; it was a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "You will mind your manners and tongue when speaking to your master, otherwise I will take from you all those you cannot afford to lose," he warned.

I smiled wide. "Big words coming from an old guy hiding in dreams and pulling strings from the shadows where he cannot be hurt... Oh wait, you can be. The scars on your face are proof of that. That's why you were wearing the face of one of your underlings before," I mused. "Trying to hide the damage this little Mundane did to you in your little play place."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

"Why do you not fear me?!" he asked, exasperated.

"I fear no creature," I sneered then ran towards him as fast as I could and jumped, a flying kick to the head would shut him up real quick.

Before I could make contact, the area exploded in light.