Dacia, the Realm of Blood and Mist
The big leech traced Munro and Kereny into a spacious room, releasing them there. None of the other swordsmen followed.
Munro held her arm until she’d steadied herself. Then she pulled away from his grip.
Stelian raised a dark brow at that but didn’t comment. “This villa will serve as your quarters whenever you visit.” More than once? Lothaire must be serious about having an ambassador.
Munro glanced around the luxuriously furnished space. One half was a living room, the other half a formal dining area.
“You’ll be expected to dress for court,” Stelian said, doing a shite job of concealing his avid dislike of Munro.
Never seen a werewolf juggernauting toward full beast mode, leech? Lachlain had told him that Dacians worshipped control; a Lykae’s beast must be horrifying to these vampires.
But Munro wasn’t surprised to have lost control after that heated fight with his mate. What if the Dacians hadn’t shown? Would his beast have hurt her?
Must find Dorada.
Stelian said, “You’ve been provided garments and anything else you might require, and you’ll be served your evening meal here shortly. Afterward, the king and queen extend their invitation to visit them at the castle, an hour after sunset when the great clock chimes.” He gave Kereny a formal bow, ignoring Munro, then traced away.
As soon as they were alone, Munro checked his phone for reception. Zero bars. As usual. He told her, “Going to case the place.” He strode past the long dining table into a luxe bedroom suite, scenting for dangers. He detected no others within the villa, and his Instinct was fairly quiet, considering Munro was inside a vampire realm.
He released a pent-up breath and returned to the main area to find Kereny doing her own investigation. He headed to a set of double doors that he guessed led outside. Now that he’d had a chance to cool off, he flushed to recall everything he’d said to Kereny, but he understood the wellspring for his anger. Just when he could shuck off his worry about his brother, another replaced it.
Damn it, how to get his mate to want immortality? To want him?
What if it was never to be? Mayhap he would always need more from those he loved than they were able to give.
FORTY-SIX
When the wolf opened the villa doors and stepped outside, he whistled low.
What could elicit such a reaction from a long-lived immortal? Ren placed her bag on the dining table and headed in his direction, noting the splendor all around her. Stelian had traced them into a suite of rooms more opulent than any she’d ever seen.
She walked out onto the balcony, and her lips parted at the kingdom that lay before them.
Dacia was located inside the hollow interior of a giant mountain range. The ceiling of the cavern soared above, must be a staggering peak on the outside. At the pinnacle was some kind of shimmering crystal, the size of a hay cart. Below it, an enormous black castle stood on a rise.
Spread out from the keep were villas that looked as if they’d been carved from the very bones of the mountains. Swaths of mist twined around them.
Dacia was a wonder, a place of mystery and majesty. Such a sight dampened her temper and made her curious about the royals who inhabited that castle in the mist.
Some of the tension had left Munro’s shoulders as well. She noticed that the two of them had moved closer to each other at the balcony rail.
As they shared the view, she replayed his words. He was the first person ever to call her selfish, but she could see why he might—wrongly—think her so. He was also wrong to believe she saw him as an animal. She’d accepted his species totally. Even if there was some way for him to become human, she wouldn’t change him.
Munro gripped the rail. “I regret the words I spoke in the heat of anger. I took my frustration out on you, and I’m sorry for it.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry too. We’re both under a lot of pressure.”
“My thoughts exactly,” he said. “Seems I almost walked us into a trap in that village. Jels needs to go down.”
“He will.” As soon as I can take Dorada out. “Only a matter of time.”
Munro gazed out at the scene and said, “Though I’m uneasy in a vampire realm, I’m glad to have beheld this sight.”
“After warring with the Horde, was it strange to meet with members of the same species?”
He nodded. “Vampires have been our bane for eternity, decimating our royal line. A hundred and fifty years ago, they killed Prince Heath and captured King Lachlain. My king only recently escaped their torture. The Horde burned him alive for all that time.”
“They kept him,” she murmured, wondering what the warlocks would do to her and Munro.