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Chapter fourteen

Thadlia held Rae’s stare with the same fervour she’d been downing the contents of her glass for the duration of the meal. The same zeal with which she tried to access Rae’s mind, even as she spewed her empty words for the rest of the table to hear.

Rae had been more than prepared for each of the council members to attempt it at least once over the course of the night, despite what loyalty they all pledged to their Lord.

But she’d felt nothing, until now, and realised that perhaps Thadlia was more powerful than the others. A little more cunning in her approach.

Rae had endured worse. And she could keep Aidan out, so the Provident who was somehow still blathering about the joy their union brought to the council was merely an irritation.

Aidan seemed equally unimpressed, and Rae knew, because she was familiar with the feel of his magic now, that he’d been practically dancing around her thoughts since they’d set foot in Cosia to offer some sort of…

protection, Rae supposed. So that his secrets were kept safe.

A smart move, but unnecessary.

Thadlia looked at Aidan as if she didn’t know whether to fuck him or murder him. She probably intended to do both. Had tried both, already, no doubt. Rae couldn’t say she blamed the female.

“To all you seek. Beatus vita.” Thadlia ended her speech, and the other Vampires chimed in, glasses dutifully raised to their Lord. Blessed life.

Aidan rested his hand over Rae’s, and she thought of how he’d unfurled her fingers from the door handle in the car earlier.

How he’d leaned across to fasten her seatbelt, and somehow had managed not to brush his body against hers despite how close they were, despite the size of him.

How he’d pinned her with his silver gaze, the scent of him washing over her.

How she’d let herself indulge, just for a second, in thinking he looked better in his suit than anyone had any right to.

Rae wasn’t above admitting to herself that if she wasn’t there for a job, she’d have told him to forgo the meal entirely. She watched him now as he silently raised her hand to his lips, diamond eyes flashing as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles before she remembered the others were watching them.

He could make them all believe anything he wanted, so this— this —was just to fuck with her. To remind her that he could take this all away in the blink of an eye.

But she was game.

“Tell me,” Rae murmured without breaking Aidan’s gaze; no doubt the rest of the table was listening to her every word despite the volume of her voice. “Will you continue to take her to your bed?”

Aidan’s fingers tightened a fraction on her hand as he lowered it back to the table, though she knew he could have crushed bone if he chose to. “Vampires are faithful to their Odaliks until death.”

The implication was loud and clear. Until her death, which could likely be imminent. Still, Rae didn’t let it fluster her. “You honour me.” She eased her hand out from under his to cup it against the side of his face and leaned in close to murmur against his lips. “Until death.”

His gaze dipped to her mouth, but she pulled away to feed another scrap to Quinn, her new best friend and probably the only good thing to come from this whole shitshow.

Baelin stifled a grin beside her. “Rae and Bae,” he’d said when he’d introduced himself properly after the ceremony the night before. “We were made for each other.” That had earnt a glare from Aidan, and Rae had decided she liked his Ascendant immediately.

For the most part, the conversation around the table had been dull, nothing of any use to her or Omnia, and Rae had been content to eat the food, which, as it turned out, was rather good, and chat quietly with Baelin as Aidan fenced questions from his council.

All updates had been about the Fae presence at the border, and Aidan had seemed disinterested in all of it.

“The Witch king is dead, and the Fae king is on his death bed,” the ass-kissing Provident Aidan had introduced as Sysmus said over his glass of, well, blood, Rae presumed, though she’d made an effort not to peek too closely at anyone’s beverages.

Aidan had nursed the same glass of visk for the whole meal so far and had even eaten a little of the food laid out for them, unlike the others.

“We can capitalise on this time of uncertainty,” Sysmus added.

“Alethea has been missing for a decade, and Casius hasn’t stopped sulking since,” another of the council members interjected.

It was common knowledge the Witch princess had jilted the Fae prince ten years prior. An arranged marriage, as most political marriages were, and one which would have likely ended in misery.

“You’d sulk too if you were publicly humiliated, Lorsan,” Thadlia said over her glass.

The Witches had been far more secretive since the disappearance of their princess.

There had once been talk of an alliance with the Vampires; the union between Witches and Fae was intended to be a bridge between the Orders, but the Witches had closed off all communication after their princess went missing.

Rae thought of Aidan’s words from the night before, how he’d seemed to believe that Demesia, even the continent, truly could be something better than what it was.

Perhaps the Witches could have secured some kind of an alliance between the Orders as they’d intended.

But Rae knew better. The Witch king had been a bastard, would never have intended to follow through on his promises, and Mazyr was better off without his lies.

The Witch prince, however…

There was a true opportunity for peace. For something better, as Aidan had put it, though she hadn’t yet worked out what the Vampire Lord stood to gain from it and didn’t doubt that there would be something in it for him.

Everything Aidan had done had been to get him to his position, to secure his status.

“The younger sister would make an excellent queen,” Thadlia added.

Rae was inclined to agree. Casius had been nothing but an overbearing prick when she’d met him, not that he would remember; he’d been so drunk he could barely stand.

“Fae culture dictates it’s the queen’s firstborn child who inherits the throne.

Casius is the rightful heir regardless of his ineptitude.

Cheers to another long and painful reign by a male with more gold than sense.

” She downed the contents of her glass and excused herself to a few quiet chuckles from the table.

With the weight of so much attention on her, Aidan’s included, she needed some air. The great room was becoming stuffy, the Vampires louder and louder as they knocked back more of their rikoli, the blue liquid constantly being refilled from decanters by the waiting staff.

Quinn padded along silently beside her as she ignored the passing glances from the table, sinking her fingers into his fur in silent thanks as snippets of the conversation carried to her.

“Alethea can’t run forever,” Rae heard one of the bloodsuckers say as she neared the end of the great table. How little credit they gave the young Witch.

“Don’t be a fool,” another Vampire shot back. “She wouldn’t have lasted more than a year without her father’s protection.”

The table broke into laughter as Rae neared a steward. “Is there somewhere I can get some fresh air? Somewhere quiet?”

The female smiled politely. “This way, please.”

All the talk of Witches and Fae, when there had still been no word from Nim or Reed.

She was out there somewhere, and the thought of her in a cell, or worse, wasn’t something Rae could let herself dwell on tonight, choosing instead to believe Reed had whisked her away for a few days for more of his romantic nonsense.

It was just the type of gesture Nim loved, the kind of spontaneous suggestion she was always babbling about as she worked.

Rae spun her thumb ring with her forefinger and willed herself not to worry.

She’d opted to leave her PAD at the manor, reluctant to risk communicating with her recruits under Aidan’s watchful gaze, and besides, so far she had learnt absolutely nothing that was of use to her.

None of the Vampires mentioned the testing that was going on across the city or the missing citizens, which meant they could be working against Aidan too. That came as no surprise to her either.

The steward opened a balcony door, and Rae stepped out into the night air with a quiet thank you, Quinn’s head passing her hip where he flanked her side.

Beyond the balcony, lights from nearby buildings illuminated the docks, a few boats bobbing up and down against the current.

Demesia had long, arid summers. Too long, in Rae’s opinion, but it meant the air was pleasant even when darkness had long since fallen over the city.

“I’m sorry I can’t give you five minutes of peace.”

She didn’t need to turn around to know Baelin had followed her.

Aidan had probably commanded it the moment she’d left the table.

Rae held back a sigh as she turned to face him, though, in truth, she didn’t mind.

She could see why Aidan had chosen him for his Ascendant, and it told her just as much about Aidan’s character as it did Baelin’s.

She clicked her tongue at his apology, rolled her eyes but shot him a grin.

“I thought that might be the case. Can I borrow your PAD?”

Baelin gave Quinn a scratch on the head, his soft brown eyes darting up to meet Rae’s. “There’s been no sign of her, Rae.”

Rae questioned whether she should tell him how important Nim was, tell him just how much the Witch meant to her. She held out her hand instead. “It’ll make me feel better.”

He slid a hand into his suit jacket, the PAD lighting up as he pulled it out, frowning at the message. Rae knew at once something was wrong; a lock of dark hair fell across Bae’s eyes that he didn’t bother to swipe away. “Fuck.”

“What is it?”

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He didn’t leave through the door, vaulting over the balcony wall instead without waiting for her response.

Rae leaned forwards just in time to see him land his manoeuvre, murmuring into an earpiece.

Now that she was at the perimeter of the venue, she could feel the wards again, just as when she’d entered with Aidan earlier, but something about them had changed.

She raised a tentative hand into the air in front of her just as Quinn growled, leaping up onto the balcony wall and following Baelin into the dark.

Even Rae knew better than to stand and wait out there alone. She reached for the pencil dagger strapped to her thigh as the balcony doors opened behind her, moving the blade out of sight.

Kuron, Lorsan’s Ascendant, flashed her a smile, canines extended to their full length.

Rae didn’t need a second warning. “Aidan asked that I remain with you until… well…”—a crash sounded from within the restaurant, shouts and cries following it, and the Provident arched a brow—“things quieten down.”

He took a step closer, and Rae chanced a look over her shoulder to see if there was any way she could climb down to ground level. She’d never make the jump as Baelin had, certainly not in her current attire.

“We took bets, you know.” Kuron stalked closer still, and Rae ran through her options.

One, try to fumble some excuse about her feet hurting and remove her heels.

Too slow and clumsy. Two, ask him to remove them, but the thought of him touching her made her want to gag.

“On how long he’s going to keep you alive. ”

Three, let him take the final step to put him within arm’s reach, and hope she could stab him in a few choice places to give her a couple of seconds head start on throwing herself over the balcony.

The fall would not land well. Fuck. Rae remembered to laugh as dryly as possible.

“Who’s to say I won’t be the one to get bored first? ”

Kuron closed the last of the distance between them, and Rae stepped into him, bringing the blade to his throat.

The scent of rikoli and blood hung heavy on his breath. “What would your lord think of you raising a blade to one of his councilmen?”

“He’s not my lord, and last I checked, you’re Lorsan’s bitch.”

Rae half expected Kuron to lunge, but something in his expression crumpled, canines receding into his mouth, his breathing growing heavy.

The balcony doors swung open and Aidan strode through, sliding an arm around Rae’s waist and tucking her into his side, his hand blazing through the flimsy fabric of her dress. “My Odalik can do whatever she likes with her blade,” he said far too casually. “I gave it to her.”

Rae didn’t lower her weapon. Didn’t acknowledge Aidan’s arrival or the way her heart hammered in her chest, but Aidan carefully rested a hand over hers, unfurled her fingers, and took the dagger, examining it closely, because he certainly hadn’t given it to her.

Kuron hadn’t moved, a sheen of sweat coating his forehead and his skin paling as he watched them both.

“A gift,” Aidan said darkly, “that she was to use however she saw fit. Perhaps you should demonstrate for us instead, so that she doesn’t have to ruin her beautiful dress.”

Kuron’s hand shot out for the blade, palm upturned, fingers curling around the hilt as Aidan handed over the dagger.

Rae swallowed.

“Where shall we have him demonstrate, lux mea ?” Light of mine . “With his tongue, for speaking to my Odalik with such obvious disdain? With a hand, for coming within touching distance of what’s mine? Or somewhere lower? Something he’s more likely to miss.”

Kuron moved the blade like a puppet on a string, the tip slicing the skin beside his lip, trailing down his arm to his other hand, moving across to press against his groin.

A pained groan escaped him as he pushed the dagger against his trousers, and Rae watched, frozen somewhere between fear and disgust as his hand shook, as if he were trying to fight against Aidan’s hold on his mind.

“If only we had more time,” Aidan said dryly. Rae looked up to meet his gaze, half remembering he still had his arm around her as Kuron collapsed, the blade clanging to the floor.

She had known what she was getting herself into when she agreed to be his Odalik.

Had seen him kill the Witch with nothing more than his bare hands, but knowing what Aidan was capable of with both his physical and Provident skills against the other Orders was one thing.

Experiencing him using his abilities on his own kind was something else entirely.

He frowned at her as he reached for the blade, wiping the bloodied tip on Kuron’s suit and handing it back. “We need to leave.” He glanced out into the darkness of the dock as if something had drawn his attention. “Now.”