“It is a choice that must be made,” Inessa spat, the curls quivering around her face. “I’ve long demanded she kill you not only to keep our secret, but to satisfy her goddamn vengeance. Only then could her heart be hardened, the way a cold assassin’s must be to fight every battle like it’s her last. There is more urgency to my demand now, though. She cannot have loyalty to a vampire and help lead us into the uprising as a slayer.”
“Maybe you’re afraid of her fighting on the right side.”
She regarded him like a simpleton. “There is no right side in a war. Only profiteers.”
Elias couldn’t mask his disgust. “Such as yourself.”
“Yes, I do like to keep a foot in both ponds, don’t I?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “My daughter has secured me the game piece, you say?”
He nodded curtly.
“Hmm. I’m surprised you allowed her to bring it this far, considering how valuable it would be to your king. You do know it contains names and addresses for every member of the North American slayerhood, don’t you?” Elias showed no reaction, though there was a heavy sinking in his gut. Inessa clucked her tongue. “It’s going to be very valuable in the hands of whoever pays me the most.”
Elias shook his head. “You’re loyal to no one but yourself.”
“A hardened heart frees one of their conscience and my daughter will learn that valuable lesson soon enough.”
He felt his wife before he saw her.
When she stepped out into the clearing, he wondered how she’d managed to approach without his notice. Either the riot of his heart had drowned her out—or she was just that damn good. Maybe a combination of both. The organ in his chest clamored all the louder now, though less out of anger and more out of anguish. Not for him, but for his mate.
The betrayal and disbelief on her face was haunting.
“Roksana,” he gritted out, lunging forward to insert his body between his wife and treacherous Inessa. But Roksana held up her hand, shooting him a brief, imploring glance that did nothing to deplete her tortured expression.
Though it made his bones want to rip free of his skin, he remained in place, muscles tensed and ready to cut through atoms at a moment’s notice. He would kill Inessa only if his mate’s life was in danger. If he only had one option, he would lose her love to keep her safe, though he would live in hell for the rest of his life.
“What secret does he keep?” Roksana’s voice was little more than a strangled whisper. “What pain and grief have you inflicted on me?”
For several breaths, Inessa appeared to be made of stone. He’d never been in the same place with mother and daughter at the same time, so their dynamic had always been a mystery. As much as he wanted to believe the Queen of Shadows purely evil, he couldn’t deny the way she hesitated and looked down, as if ashamed, before regaining her bravado.
“You will not dictate the order of this meeting, daughter. Especially not while reeking of vampire.” Inessa gave his mate a once-over that kindled a growl in his throat. “You will explain to me why your mission has not been completed in full. Not only does the vampire live, but you share his bed. Allow him to defile your body. I hope you’ve arrived prepared to meet your death for such a bold transgression.”
If possible, Roksana’s face lost even more of its color, but he recognized the stubborn set of her chin and the show of courage filled him with pride. “He did not murder my friends. I was mistaken. Elias saved my life. He does not deserve to die.”
“Does he not?” Inessa’s tone was crafted of silk, but her eyes were twin flames. “He is a vampire. Have you forgotten your vow?”
Roksana’s confidence faltered. “I have not.”
“Then why does he still plague the earth?”
“I love him,” Roksana breathed, her declaration seeming to slow to fall of snow. Or maybe the intensity of his reaction altered time, because he could have flown up to kiss the moon or tunneled to the center of the earth, her admission in Inessa’s presence shot him through with such power. Gratitude. Love so deep a bottom didn’t exist.
He expected a violent outburst from Inessa.
What they got instead was something twice as dangerous.
“It’s okay, daughter. I forgive you.”
Inessa reached out her arms with maternal compassion—and Roksana went with a sob.
Roksana’s head was a beehive.
Enfolded in Inessa’s arms, she forced herself to soften. To think. To reason, though she felt as if she dangled from the edge of a rocky cliff, two fingers left to keep her from plunging into the turbulent sea below.
The conversation she’d overheard played on an echoing loop in her mind.