Page 61 of Kingly Bitten

“I see. And what’s your purpose here?” Jace demanded.

“We’re to retrieve the files from server 47 and rendezvous with the Bunker 27 unit in nine hours to complete the information transfer. We’re also sending a virtual copy to the servers at Bunker 37.”

“Under whose orders?” Jace pressed while I considered the familiar bunker numbers and their uses.

Hive mind research andErositatesting.

Vigil One swallowed. “Prince Lajos, Your Majesty.”

“If I phoned him, would he confirm that mission?” Jace asked, his tone sharp and edged with lethal intent.

The Vigils clearly felt the weight of his words because they all shivered in response.

This being was powerful. Old.Deadly.

I hadn’t really felt it before now, my experiences with Lilith having numbed me to the superiority of her species.

However, seeing the reactions in these humans told me Jace hadn’t exaggerated his societal position. Just hearing him voice his name had been enough to demand submission from these warrior humans. None of them had their weapons drawn. They were even displaying their necks in a manner that invited Jace to take a bite.

“Yes, Your Majesty. These orders came directly from him to me as the unit leader.”

“Not through a sovereign or a regent?” Jace didn’t bother hiding his surprise. “But directly from Lajos himself?”

“Yes, my lord,” Vigil One responded, his voice shaking a little. “I-I can try radioing him, if—”

“That won’t be necessary. My sovereign will handle it. Right, Darius?” Jace prompted, glancing over his shoulder to where the other regal vampire stood.

“Of course, my lord.” Darius bowed his head slightly, then hooked his arm around Juliet’s waist to take her with him.

I highly doubted he truly intended to call Prince Lajos, unless they were friends. I didn’t know much about the royal vampire other than Lilith had seemed fond of him and he owned the territory formerly known as Hawaii—and I’d learned that from Jace’s review of the leaders and their current regions.

I tried to recall what Lilith had said about him in previous conversations, but nothing important flashed through my mind.

“What’s the purpose of the second unit?” Jace asked, reigniting his line of questioning. “Why are both of you needed here?”

“They’ll be providing the escort to Bunker 27,” Vigil One explained. “It’s located in Majestic Clan territory.”

Jace’s eyebrows flew up as he shared a look with Damien.

The humans didn’t see it because they were all still staring at the floor. Did they wonder at all how Jace had found them here? Or what had brought him here? They weren’t making any moves to question him, nor did they show any signs of thinking through his presence at all.

It was as though they’d all fallen into an ingrained subservient mode and all that mattered now was doing whatever Jace demanded. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the royal over their specific regions. He was Prince Jace and standing before them all right now, thereby marking him as their current superior.

I knew this mentality existed in the current world. But witnessing it was an entirely different experience.

I’d submitted to Lilith. Just not like this. I’d never knelt or bowed, just answered her questions and offered my neck. I’d treated Jace similarly, giving him the information he desired, with a little bit of strategic negotiation. He hadn’t frightened me.

However, seeing him now and realizing how much power he held at his fingertips, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made a severe error in judgment.

“How far along are you in your task?” Jace asked after a beat.

“We’ve only just begun the download, My Prince.” Vigil One slowly pointed to where their kit had been hooked into the server.

Damien followed the trajectory of his aim and took over the controls. “You have a live transfer feed engaged.”

“Yes, to Bunker 37,” Vigil One confirmed. “We’re sending a copy to the servers there, then we’re hand-delivering the other to Bunker 27.”

Rather than reply, Damien began fussing with the connection, perhaps searching for anything that might be nefariously engaged or an alarm signal of any kind. But after a beat, he looked at Jace and said, “From what I can see, he’s telling the truth.”