Page 43 of Blood as Sweet as Roses
Crimson
I rise the next evening in an irritable mood. I tell myself it’s only the situation with Kai that’s bothering me, although I know the truth is much worse.
The more time I spend with Paige, the more difficult it is to keep her at arm’s length.
I worry that I’ve made a mistake in allowing her to travel to Silverlake City with me.
As much as I want her by my side, I have to be aware that favouring her too openly presents a risk for both of us.
If the other vampires and witches know how fond I am of her, it will put a target on her back.
Especially with that stupid prophecy that claims any human I love will be my undoing.
And As ridiculous as it sounds, I can’t help but feel…
confused by my relationship with Paige. I’m used to always being in control, to keeping myself at a distance, to minimizing my emotional attachments to avoid situations like this.
But Paige has a way of knocking down my defenses.
I find myself revealing more and more of myself, and it’s dangerous.
It’s not just the prophecy. The more I share with Paige, the more…the more she means to me. The more painful it will be when…
No. I can’t allow myself to go down this road.
I can only handle one situation at a time.
And right now, I have to be focused on the escalating threat of the disgraced northern vampires, who are certainly vying for my territory.
I need to cement my alliances clearly and firmly, and ensure that my clan gets a good deal if we reach any agreements. That’s what I need to focus on.
All of this is on my mind as I dress and prepare for the evening. There’s a small dressing-room adjacent to the room that houses my coffin. It’s not as elaborate as the bedroom in the main suite, but I don’t want to dress in front of Paige.
Pushing my thoughts of her aside, I enter the main suite through the hidden door in the ensuite washroom. It’s almost impossible to detect, and it keeps my resting place safe.
Unfortunately, Paige is awake, and taking a bubble bath.
Her thick, wavy black hair is piled up on her head in a messy bun, a flyaway strand sticking to her wet cheek.
She gasps when she sees me appear, a delightfully tempting sound.
The sudden, pounding increase of her heart reverberates in my ears.
And the sight of her, skin fresh and moist and covered in lathering bubbles, whets my appetite. But I don’t have time for that right now.
“Excuse me,” I tell her with a brusque nod, keeping my eyes level with hers, although it’s difficult. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“It’s all right, sir,” she replies, eyelashes fluttering shyly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know the entrance to your crypt was in here.”
“Don’t reveal its location to anyone,” I answer.
My words are sharper than I intended them to be. Her shoulders slump slightly, and there’s an agonizing expression of disappointment in her eyes. I hate disappointing her, and I know my tone is harsh, but this is how it has to be. It’s for her own safety as much as mine.
“The first evening consists of strategic meetings with the other groups in the region,” I tell her. “I’ll be engaged for the majority of the night. You should go upstairs and enjoy the restaurant, if you haven’t already, and the other amenities the hotel provides.”
She sits up in the tub with a frown. “Can I join you for your meetings, my king?” she asks. “I can help, maybe, I can take notes or…”
“That won’t be necessary,” I reply. “If I need you, I’ll call for you. But the conference should be well-stocked with distilled blood.”
Her eyes fall, and there’s a piercing pain in my chest.
But this is what I have to do. It’s too dangerous to have her involved in my clan’s operations.
And it’s too dangerous…for her to believe that our relationship is anything more than sex and blood. The closer we become, the harder it is for me to deny the way I feel about her. To deny the reality that one day, she’ll…
But I push those thoughts away again. I have other matters I need to attend to.
Without another word, I exit the bathroom, and go up the elevator to the event hall.
“And in closing, the Hecate coven believes that reintegrating our prisoners into magical society will not only reduce the strain on resources, but it will help strengthen our relationships with other magical clans and covens.”
The pale, red-haired good witch beams proudly out at the other witches, vampires and shifters.
We’re gathered around a massive, round oak table in one of the hotel’s conference rooms, in various states of engagement.
Only higher-level representatives are here, two or three from each group, with a contingent of independent witches and bear shifters taking up the remaining seats.
Right now, the Hecate witches have the floor, with Callista Craft presenting their proposal.
Her bright green eyes shimmer. “And it will be fun!”
“Well,” the High Priestess of the Hecate coven chimes in.
She sits beside Callista in a robe of rich yellow, her long rope twists tied up in a matching silk scarf.
It complements her warm, hazel eyes and the golden glow of her brown skin.
“We’re not releasing our prisoners for fun, Callista.
We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do… ”
“I think it’s insane,” counters the leader of the northern wolf shifter pack. He gives the High Priestess a dark look. “I admire your conviction, High Priestess Moonfall, but are you really going to release all of those evil witches and vampires into our region?”
“He might be right, Amara,” sighs one of the independent witches, her red hair the same shade as Callista’s. “Some of those vampires and witches are locked away for a good reason. We don’t even know how long some of them have been imprisoned. It could be very dangerous to try and free them now.”
“Vampires go insane after only a few years locked in a coffin,” I add darkly. “They’ll have uncontrollable bloodlust when you release them. It would be more merciful to just stake them.”
“We have an integration plan for the vampires,” Callista says, pulling out a golden file from the stack in front of her. “We consulted with a group of vampires on how to ensure they’re safely reintegrated…”
“You’re going to safely reintegrate ancient, blood-starved vampires?” Sabina scoffs. “Who do you currently have in your prison?”
The Hecate witches glance at each other. Clearly they’re not willing to release that information yet.
“We’re planning to start with the least dangerous prisoners, then work our way up to the older evil witches and the ancient vampires,” Amara explains.
“I think it’s a great idea!” declares one of the evil witches, swinging her long legs off the oak table. “The Cave still has witches who have been held captive since the Wicked Wars, some from the War of the Final Fire. They’ve been locked up for too long, and they deserve a second chance.”
“I agree with Xia,” Murad echoes with a thoughtful nod in the witches’ direction. “A restorative justice model is a wise approach. I trust you, High Priestess Moonfall, to ensure it’s rolled out in a safe and thoughtful way.”
“Yes, I’m sure nothing could possibly go wrong,” Renata mutters sarcastically. Celine elbows her sharply in the ribs.
“Thank you for your support, Murad,” Amara replies graciously.
She stands up to her full height as her hawk familiar lands on her shoulder.
He surveys the other magical representatives with sharp, beady eyes.
“And while we value your input, ultimately the Cave and its prisoners belong to the Hecate coven, and we are committed to moving forward with this plan. If anyone would like to participate in our reintegration strategy, please reach out to either Callista or myself. We will be contacting the covens, clans and packs of the prisoners directly in the upcoming months.”
“Do you have any dragons?” one of the wolf shifters asks.
“No,” Amara answers. “The last of the dragon shifters were killed during the War of the Final Fire.”
“Good thing, too,” another wolf shifter mutters. She runs her fingers along the raised, white scar of the dragon burn that takes up most of her left arm.
I’m growing tired of this conversation, and I’m not interested in getting into a nostalgic debate about the dragon shifters or the War of the Final Fire, so I give Amara Moonfall an impatient look.
“If we’re not voting on your proposal, then could we move on to discussing the situation with the disgraced northern vampires?” I ask.
“Yes, that’s next on the agenda,” Renata replies, running her finger over her clipboard.
“Do you require any further input on your proposal, High Priestess Moonfall?” Celine asks.
“No, but thank you, Celine,” Amara replies, giving the vampire a disarmingly soft look.
“Good,” I interject. “I’m deeply concerned about Oana Ionescu and Cedric Ducharme…”
“Do we need to stay for this?” the Alpha of the wolf shifters asks.
“It’s not shifter business, you can go,” I reply curtly. The wolf, bear and panther shifters take their leave, yawning and stretching. But I’m glad to have them out of the conversation. Our relationship with the shifters has been shaky, and I don’t want them involved in our strategy.
“Damien and I have been tracking Cedric and Oana for months,” Celine says. “But their movements have been unpredictable. Sometimes it looks like they’re targeting Crimson’s territory in the east, and sometimes it seems like they’re planning a strike here.”
“Classic Oana move,” Damien says with a sigh. “The more chaotic she behaves, the harder it is for us to plan our next move.”
“Any word of where they are now?” I ask. “I checked in with our team earlier this evening, but they reported that they’ve lost track of them.”
Celine frowns. “Us too.”
“Could they be targeting the Night clan mansion?” Murad wonders, his brows creasing. “We left a few of our best fighters just in case…”
I catch Murad’s eye and shake my head, almost imperceptibly. I don’t want to give away too much about our defenses, even to our allies.
“Knocking out Cedric’s glow operation seems to have helped,” I continue. “It weakened his operational sway and political capital on the east coast. But I think he’s still trying to win over some of the independent vampires in the region, and perhaps even some of the witches.”
“Oana knows some of the Artemis witches,” Xia adds somberly. “She might try to leverage that connection if she’s vying for your throne, Crimson.”
Fuck. I didn’t know that, and I’m not happy about the possibility of Oana allying with the largest witch coven on the east coast.
“Then it’s even more important for us to take her out as swiftly as possible, as well as Cedric,” I declare, turning back to Damien and Celine. “Are you both willing to collaborate on this?”
“Yes,” Damien answers with a nod. “It’s dangerous to allow them to continue amassing power, especially if they’re threatening our territory.”
“We’re willing to do whatever’s needed, Crimson,” Celine adds.
“Excellent. We need support from all of the vampires in the region, and the witch covens, if you’re amenable.” I gaze pointedly at the High Priestess of the Hecate coven, which is the largest on the continent. It’s bigger even than the Artemis coven, and I’d like their support in this.
“We’ll certainly provide whatever we can, although I must admit that tracking down vampires isn’t typically in our wheelhouse,” Amara Moonfall replies, with an apologetic look.
“We’ll help,” Xia offers, speaking for the independent witches.
“Good.”
Then I turn to the only vampire who hasn’t spoken yet this session, which is very odd for her.
Amrita Vyas, who has the unusual honour of being both a vampire and the High Priestess of a witch coven, sits quietly in her chair beside the independent witches, her eyes cast downward.
Her owl familiar sits on the table before her, cleaning his feathers with his beak.
“Amrita, can we count on your support?” I ask, a firm note in my voice.
She looks up at me as though she’s just realized that there’s a meeting happening around her.
“Oh! Sure, whatever you need, Crimson,” she replies briskly, with a wide smile.
Xia, who’s seated beside her, looks down at her lap. “Amrita, have you been on your phone this whole time?”
The vampire-witch holds up an obnoxiously large iPhone, with a glittery purple phone case.
“Lexi gave it to me!” she declares proudly. “I love it! I can’t believe I never discovered smart phones before. Alexander Graham Bell would be delighted if he could see this.”
“Why would you give her a cellphone?” Renata sighs to Lexi. “You know that once she learns how to post, she’s going to go viral and then we’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Well, I don’t see what’s wrong with that,” Lexi counters haughtily.
“What’s wrong is that we need her coven’s support to take down Oana,” I answer, giving Amrita a serious look. “We all need to focus on this threat. It’s imperative for the safety of our region.”
And for the stability of my throne, I think, but I don’t add that.
Amrita frowns, and her expression shifts. There’s a thoughtful twitch of her lips that doesn’t bode well, and I wonder if it was a mistake to distract her from her phone.
“I’ve been worried about Oana, too,” she finally says. “She’s the only other vampire on the continent as adept at using magic as I am. And while Cedric is predictable in his stupidity, Oana knows how to keep us all on our toes.”
The comment about magic stings, but she’s right. Murad, Sabina and I have some limited magical skill, but it’s always been Amrita and Oana who truly shined in that department, at least out of all of the vampires.
“What do you suggest, then?” I ask, feeling a little wary.
Amrita gets a dangerous gleam in her eyes. “I think a magical problem calls for a magical solution. We should ask the fates for an answer…”