Hope and purpose he’d been instrumental in her losing in the first place.
“What happened when you drank the concoction?” Elias asked Tucker, desperate to change the subject. “Were you surprised by what you desired most?”
Tucker almost never lost his grin, but it faltered now. “It doesn’t matter.”
Elias frowned. “Tell us.”
His friend seemed almost embarrassed, picking up his glass of blood and taking a quick sip. “Home. All right? I saw…home.”
“The home you grew up in?” Jonas asked.
“Uh-uh.” Tucker shook his head, his gaze fixed on something invisible in the distance. “A different one. A place I’ve never been before, but I knew it was home.” He barked an unnatural laugh. “Talk about unfair. I saw a white picket fence and Elias gets fire powers. Why is no one losing their shit about him being a human torch?”
Jonas’s lips jumped at one end. “It is pretty badass. Can you control it?”
“Not when Roksana is in danger.”
“So, basically never,” the king drawled, shifting in his chair. “Excellent.”
Elias studied the glossy surface of the table, but he was really seeing fire engulfing the ceiling of the mansion in Moscow. Feeling the undiluted rage taking him over, stretching his muscles, making them pop. A gun pointed at Roksana. His mate.
Jonas’s paperwork burst into flames.
“Son of a—” The king whipped off his coat and patted out the fire. “All right. We’ve got a problem here.”
Tucker was laughing so hard, he almost fell out of his chair.
The king tossed aside his charred coat. “You risk discovery if you go out in public, Elias. How can I allow that?”
“You’ll have to find a way, because I’m going with Roksana to Coney Island to trade the marriage decree for Tilda’s game piece.”
The two vampires faced off over the table. Elias wouldn’t give an inch and Jonas gave nothing away. “You have chosen her side, then,” the king said, finally, his face unreadable. “You’ll openly allow her to give this advantage to her mother.”
“Her mother will kill her if she doesn’t hand over the game piece.”
“What if I told you thousands of vampires could die if she does turn it over to Inessa?” Elias reeled, but Jonas barely paused to let that statement sink in. “There is more happening in the vampire world than she realizes.” Jonas scrutinized Elias for long moment, as if judging how much he knew, but Elias forced his face to remain impassive. “Right after I became king, Inessa contacted me about a protection deal.”
Several beats of silence passed. “The leader of the Russian slayers wanted protection from vampires?”
“No.” Jonas stacked and shuffled the partially burned paperwork. “She offered us protection from the North American network of slayers. Said she was close enough to the American leader to make the deal happen with no issue. When I refused…the rise in slayings began. Most of the casualties are among the Freshly Silenced, of course. The helpless and weak.” Visibly troubled, he pushed a hand through his hair. “After studying the finances of my predecessors, it appears the High Order were paying off Inessa for a long time to keep slayers…ineffective in the States. I can only assume she has finagled a deal with the Russian High Order. There appears to be an unholy alliance between slayers and vampires. If they expect the same fealty from me, they can go fuck themselves.”
Guilt bled into Elias’s chest. He’d known about the alliance between Inessa and the vampires since that night in Vegas. Fear for Roksana’s safety had kept the information locked inside of him, safer than any vault. His loyalty to her was absolute. But now Jonas was telling him his silence had visited death upon the very vampires he’d been helping Jonas nurture? Christ, no matter what path he chose there was a cost. Goddammit.
“Unfortunately,” Jonas continued. “I’m not the only game in town. Not anymore. There are vampires who were loyal to the High Order we eliminated. They don’t like my efforts to integrate the Freshly Silenced into society. They think we risk being discovered if we forgive mistakes by the newbies and take the time to teach them how to live effectively. They’re bloodthirsty and unforgiving and they loathe change. Not convenient when we have an entirely new High Order to elect here.”
Tucker propped his elbows on the table, visibly processing everything Jonas said. “So…Inessa could make a deal with these old-school jerks instead of us. That’s what you’re saying.”
Jonas let out a long breath. “They’re not enthusiastic about dealing with her, either. Slayers have always been the enemy.” He paused. “But that’s why Inessa’s eagerness to trade the marriage decree for the game piece at Enders is concerning. It could be a bargaining chip. A way to persuade the Elders to side with her—and if that happens…”
“Overthrow,” Elias finished, knots tying in his stomach. “And Roksana has no idea about any of this, so she could unknowingly hand her mother a way to take you down.”