Page 50 of Fighting for Her Heart

“Your two shadows have something to do with your arrest?” I ask quietly, nodding toward the other vampires.

They stand, the male holding the female’s hand as she rises, and then they cross to stop in front of our table.

The tall male clears his throat. “Greetings. I am called Timur, and it is my great privilege to introduce her Highness, Princess Anastasia.”

“Anna is fine.” The female smiles as she reaches across the table to shake my hand. “You are called Ryker, correct?”

I nod.

“And you are Axel, the hybrid,” she says. “Very pleased to meet you.”

Her voice is soft and light, and her accent is pretty, maybe a hint of Russian?

“Princess?” Axe says, his voice full of sarcasm.

“Silly, isn’t it?” Anna laughs, a sound full of music, and then she smiles at Axe. “Especially silly since I was not born intoVampiricRoyalty. My Maker is King Dunkan, and since I had no family…” she looks down “…he adopted me as his daughter.”

Ah, now I know who she is!She was human royalty too.

This tiny, sweet vampire is Anastasia fucking Romanoff. According to rumors, the Vampire King found Anastasia dying in the forest after her family was massacred, and he turned her to save her life.

Nora returns from the ladies room and sits down.

“This is Evanora Cross,” Axe says. “She’s with us.”

The princess nods toward the witch, before once again addressing the full table. “I am here in Philadelphia on King Dunkan’s behest.” Her voice is more serious now and her narrow shoulders seem to expand. “Octavia has confessed her crimes and petitioned the King’s mercy. I have come to America to oversee her case and restore order to DEFTA.”

Tavi downs her Manhattan and once again holds up the glass. The waiter has a full one at the ready again, this time setting it down as he takes the other from her raised hand.

“We are still gathering evidence,” Anna says. “Ryker and Axel, I understand you were held captive in the illegal dungeon in question?” She turns to Nora. “Are you the human who was held with them?”

Nora shakes her head. Anna’s eyes narrow slightly, before she nods at both Axe and me in turn. “As we conduct our investigation, I would very much appreciate your cooperation.”

“Cooperation?” Axe says loudly. “If it means locking up this one—” he glares at Octavia “—I’ll tell you whatever you fucking want.”

Nora shrinks back and Anna startles at Axe’s booming voice, but then the princess smiles and nods, before turning to me.

I shrug. “Sure. Whatever you need.” As a rule, I’m not the cooperating type, but agreeing seems the best course at this moment. And Tavi does deserve to be punished.

“Thank you,” says the princess. “Please forgive my intrusion, I will leave you to finish your conversation.”

The tall vampire with her nods, and then takes her hand as he escorts her back to the other table. It’s clear that the dude is infatuated with Anna, but less clear to me that it’s mutual. They sit again, facing us. Seems a princess should hire guards to follow Octavia around rather than doing it herself, but maybe her presence here today is more about meeting us? Who the fuck knows—or cares. Hardly top priority at the moment.

“So, Tavi.” I shake my head. “Sorry to hear about all this shit you’re dealing with…” I’m very muchnotsorry.

“I deserve it.” She downs another drink and the waiter appears with yet another.

“No fucking kidding,” Axe mutters under his breath.

“Any idea where the witches went?” I ask, trying to hide my shock at her admitting wrongdoing. “Are they still hanging around?”

Tavi’s gaze rises from the table, her eyes filled with fear, and then she narrows them. “Why do you care?”

I shrug, as if it doesn’t really matter. “Just wondering if they’re still looking for that human chick who was trapped in the cave with us.”

Tavi’s eyes widen. “You told me shedieddown there.”

“Pretty sure she did. But this lady here is her ma.” I tip my head toward Nora. “On the off chance the wench could still be alive, Nora wants to know if her daughter’s in danger. Maybe even being held captive by your witchy pals.”