Crimson Truth (Onyx Assassins 4)

“I know,” Alek said. “I’m thrown. I didn’t expect this betrayal.” He blinked, and the sliver of vulnerability he’d shown disappeared. He looked to Hawke. “Find the other Hunters,” he said, entirely in king mode now. “Bring them here.” He glanced at Benedict. “You’ll need to be here so we can question them, see where they stand on this.”

Hawke moved like the night, blending into the shadows before blinking out of sight, and Benedict merely nodded. Alek turned to Lyric, his eyes softening. “Would you try and contact Olivia, please?” He asked with such a softness to his voice that my cheeks heated. I suddenly felt like I should be on the opposite end of the room, or in another wing entirely. “She and Ransom will need to return from their trip immediately.”

“Of course,” Lyric said, sliding her hand over his cheek. “I think they said they were silencing all forms of communication, but I’ll do my best. Olivia will be…” Her voice trailed off.

“Fucking pissed,” I filled in for her, and she cringed but nodded. Once again, I swallowed that guilt. Avi had been with me. I should’ve been able to protect her, as Olivia would have, had the bodyguard not been on her honeymoon. But again, I hadn’t expected an attack at one of the vampire clubs in their territory. If the princess was supposed to be safe anywhere, it should’ve been on her own land.

Lyric and Alek held some unspoken conversation before Lyric filtered out of the room with an uncanny grace. It was like she’d always been meant to be a vampire and never human. I bit my lip to keep from smiling, remembering the chaos that stirred up when she mated the vampire king. Mother had been furious at first, which I lived to see, but she eventually came around. She was the one who’d spotted Lyric’s special rare bloodline of being a remedium, a potent healer.

Speaking of my mother…

“Hey, Bennyben,” I said, and Benedict’s eyes blazed at the too-cutesy nickname. I almost snorted, but I was too angry to laugh. Still, I filed that name away for the next time I wanted to rile his perfectly calm demeanor. “You might want to get mommy dearest on the phone,” I said, arching a brow between him and Alek. “I wouldn’t want word of me being carted into your estate to get to her, and she think the wrong thing.” Our two territories had a tentative peace, but the line was easily blurred when we started crossing into each other’s lands. I had asked permission before to visit Avi, but I hadn’t earlier. Plus, my mother was volatile at the best of times, and despite my aversion to claiming the throne, she had grand plans for me. Grander than I’d ever allow, but that was an ongoing battle I’d yet to win. Either way, if she found out I was being held at Alek’s estate, she wouldn’t hesitate to show force to ensure I returned home in one piece.

“She’s right,” Alek said, taking the already ringing cell phone from Benedict’s outstretched hand.

“If you’re calling a Conclave, I really would rather you do so tomorrow, Alek,” my mother’s voice crooned over the phone. “I’m in the middle of a crystal spa service and would prefer to stay in balance.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Conclave will be held soon, but I don’t have an official date yet,” Alek said, his voice grave. He glanced at me, holding the phone before his lips as the line was on speaker. “I wanted to inform you that Jocelyn was involved in a vampire matter tonight—”

“Oh, that girl,” she hissed over the line. “What havoc has she created now? I will pay for any damages.”

I flipped off the phone. We’d never seen eye-to-eye, and sometimes I wondered if she wished she’d had Luna first and me second. I couldn’t blame her. My little sister—only by eighteen months—was the perfect daughter and would be the perfect heir to my mother’s throne. She was compassionate where my mother was cold, and careful where I was reckless.

“No,” Alek said, stopping her ramble. “This is a more severe matter,” he said. “One I will educate you on later. For now, I wanted you to know that she is here as my personal guest and will be treated as such.”

“Oh,” my mother said, her voice pooling with relief. “No money then, perfect. That’s fine, Alek. She can hold her own against your lot if you choose to cross her, which I wouldn’t recommend doing. I’m being called back for my amethyst treatment now, so goodbye for now.” She hung up the phone, and even I was surprised by her dismissal of the king.

She’d grown more and more agitated with the hierarchy lately, and I couldn’t understand why. Alek was the first king to bring about a profound peace and systematic cooperation between our species, and I fucking loved it. I remembered a time when we weren’t allowed to step toes across the boundary lines, and now we could venture wherever we wanted. Not that many of the supes did. Most liked to stick to their territories, but me? I loved the thrill of experiencing anything outside of the coven lands, and vampire clubs had much better music.