Page 39

Sherrod

W e were nearly late for the banquet, which would’ve driven Lady Seraph into a fit for certain. As it was, we waltzed in a bare two minutes before it was supposed to begin. For a group of psychotic murderers, flesh peddlers and black market traders, the Syndicate was insane about punctuality.

The banquet was in the largest room on the upper level of the station, surrounded on three sides by windows that showed the inky black of space. On a dais at the apex of the room was the head table, where the fighters would sit with the heads of each syndicate.

Then on the floor, each syndicate had a grouping of three tables where their higher level underlings would be seated.

Some would be distant family like cousins or uncles, but most would be the muscle of the syndicates.

This was as much of a chance for a show of strength as the choice of fighters for the tournament was.

So the tables were crowded with muscly men and a few women whose bodies showed the evidence of many fights.

My eyes skated over to Zephyr at my side, wearing a lighter red halter dress with a top that hugged her breasts, but fanned out into a flowing skirt around her hips.

Her back was bare, the waist of the dress stopped just above her plump ass.

I spied a bruise from my teeth where her throat met her shoulder, barely covered with concealer.

I was never one to be possessive about a lover, until now.

The sight of my mark on her, the way she’d been tempted to just let it show but only covered it up on Zelena’s recommendation had me practically preening.

Until my back gave a twinge as I moved and the undershirt scraped against the copious nail tracks she’d left on me. Zephyr seemed to notice and her red tinted lips curled up in a self-satisfied grin.

“We are animals,” I murmured.

“Because I like my marks on you?”

“And mine on you.”

“I’ll do worse to you later.”

“Is that a promise?”

We grinned at one another and I was half tempted to say fuck this banquet and take her back to the room so I could hear her scream all night.

“Ugh, you two are impossible,” Zelena complained, though the smile on her face took the bite out of it. “You just need a week to fuck, don’t you?”

“A month,” we both said at the same time.

“Talking at the same time, isn’t that adorable,” she said with an eye roll. “All right lover boy, you and I are over at the second Krynn table. Zephyr is on dais with the other fighters.”

I wanted to keep her by my side, let everyone in here know that this woman was mine and they could look but they’d never have her. Zephyr was more than capable of handling herself among this group, that wasn’t the question. I just didn’t want her so far away from me.

She must’ve seen that in my eyes because she pulled me toward her and planted a deep, long, inappropriate for public consumption kiss on my mouth. Not that I really cared what was appropriate at the moment.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “everything is going to be fine.”

“Damn right it is.”

I gave her hand a squeeze and followed Zelena to our table.

“Well now,” Zelena said as half the eyes in the room were on us and the other half on Zephyr, “that was a statement.”

“Getting in her pants is a non-issue with the Krynn sponsorship locked down.”

“Maybe, but that does put a target on you. Keep that in mind and don’t go to any meetings alone.”

“I wouldn’t at this point, but thanks for the reminder.”

We made nice with the people at our table, all of them upper level associates and a few newly promoted men and women that I didn’t recognize.

That was the one thing Lady Seraph did right, in my opinion.

She didn’t care what someone’s gender or species was; if they were good at their job and loyal, they got promoted.

As a result, the three tables that were Krynn had the most diverse group around them.

Lady Seraph herself was at the head table next to Zephyr and an enormous Damodrid male who was the other Krynn sponsored fighter.

Che’Pry loomed behind Lady Seraph, his eyes taking in the room with a cold indifference that was unnerving even for this crowd of cold blooded killers.

That was possibly why the heads of the other syndicates at the head table seemed so on edge.

But then I noticed the woman and three young men at the primary Bryson table. It was Lady Bryson with her three sons, the heirs to the Bryson Syndicate. I glanced at the MacPhearson table and saw his husband and their four children as well.

It was then that Zelena leaned over, a tight smile on her face.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” she whispered.

“You mean the heirs all together in one place? Yeah. What the fuck?”

“No idea. But the one table that doesn’t have family…”

“Is ours.”

Because Lady Seraph had them all murdered. Except for the one that got away, Zelena’s niece, Prina.

“Why are the children here?” Zelena hissed before taking a large drink of champagne.

“That’s a very good question.”

Sometimes the wife or husband of a syndicate head would accompany them to this kind of thing.

Usually if the marriage was new, it was a way to show off the alliance they struck.

Sometimes one of the children would accompany their parent instead of the spouse, but it was usually a youngest child, not the direct heir.

This was the first time I could remember when the spouses and children of every single syndicate were in attendance.

“Dear goddess, the Reynolds children are young,” I muttered.

The oldest’s feet didn’t even touch the floor and his sister was still a babe in arms being rocked by what I assumed was a nanny.

The question of why they were all here was burning in me, and as I looked around, I could see that I wasn’t the only one disconcerted by this. Many of the people at the second and third tables for each syndicate seemed surprised too.

Sitting in the center of the main table, the newly crowned head of the Reynolds syndicate stood. He tapped his fork against his glass and brought some quiet to the room. I was impressed that even the younger kids seemed to recognize that this wasn’t a time to act up and kept quiet.

Lord Reynolds was a short male, stout and barrel chested with sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes.

He sported a scar that ran diagonally from his left temple all the way over his nose and to his upper lip, creating a sort of permanent leer.

I had only met him once when he was younger, before his father died.

He’d been a crafty teen who used humor and a playful grin to hide what was a frighteningly intelligent mind.

“I wanted to welcome everyone to this Blood Celebration, and congratulate the fighters from the female and male tournament groups. May you all fight with honor.”

Everyone that could raised a glass and toasted the fighters.

“This celebration is important to renew our commitment to keeping peace within our borders so that business is not interrupted. Yet, it’s also important to show that we are not just business people, but part of a family.”

I glanced at Lady Seraph, wondering if she felt the slight at his comment. But she didn’t seem fazed. On the contrary, her smile was feline in its satisfaction and cunning. It sent a chill through me.

What is she planning?

“My father always said that family was the most important unit in any group. The family bound by blood has an unbreakable bond that insured the continuation of our legacy and create peace out of war. That’s why I am proud to announce that Lord Bryson’s oldest son, Jack, will soon be married to Lady Seraph Krynn. ”

A collective gasp went through the crowd, followed quickly by forced applause as everyone had a comment to make about the strange match.

Jack stood to his feet, a tall, lanky nineteen-year-old who seemed less than pleased with the announcement. And, to my further shock, Lady Seraph walked down from the dais to her betrothed and took his hand, planting a soft kiss on his mouth.

“I am happy to put an end at last to the tension between our two families,” her throaty voice rang out once the room quieted. “Peace is good for business, and there is nothing a Krynn loves so much as what’s good for business.”

A nervous laugh coasted around the room, but the Krynn tables were oddly quiet, though they were grinning the widest of all. Everyone in this room knew that there was one thing a Krynn loved more than what was good for business, and that was revenge.

She’s planning a coup here, though I’m not sure how. And I would bet all my credits that Che’Pry is part of it. But as Cypher or Norris?

“Who’s idea was it to have everyone’s family here?” I whispered to Zelena.

“No idea. I doubt Lord Reynolds would have agreed if they thought Lady Seraph was planning something. I’ll put out some feelers.”

I nodded, my stomach knotting painfully. Zephyr caught my eye, a small frown causing her forehead to wrinkle above her nose. I shook my head slightly and smiled at her. She got the message and relaxed her facial muscles, letting a slightly bored expression set on her face as she sipped her drink.

The rest of the night went on in a round of toasts and applause for the male and female fighters that were sponsored by the families.

The final ten of the initial free-for-all were technically part of the tournament brackets, but only the top five were eligible for sponsorships which awarded them elite training and awards, even if they didn’t progress any further.

Vixen was missing from all of it, and I heard several people question where the vicious fighter had gone.

In her place was the fighter who had made it to number six in the final round of the free-for-all.

She looked nervous but thrilled to be on the stage and I wondered if she really knew what kind of danger she was in just by association.