“Astrid, you take the lead,” Ethan said with an evil little grin. “Let’s unnerve our guests a bit. It will be interesting for them to see we’re both in charge. It might also throw them off enough to play their cards.”
“The pleasure will be mine,” I replied with an enormous smile and a disrespectful curtsey.
“Oh shit,” Pam muttered with a laugh. “I suppose today is as good as any to die.”
“No one’s going to die—although, it would be it would be lovely to shed a little blood,” Raquel chimed, giggling.
I loved my sister-in-law.
“Is everyone armed?” Heathcliff asked as he popped his neck and checked his weapons.
“Oh my Uncle God,” I griped. “I’m not going to start a war.”
“Famous last words,” Gareth commented with chuckle and a feral grin.
God, we were a violent bunch.
And the fun began.
There were four—two men and two women. They were as beautiful as I expected them to be. The women were blonde and statuesque and the men had darker coloring. They were a pretty picture on the surface, but what lay beneath was anyone’s guess. Each of them oversaw a section of the North American Territory and reported to Ethan. The sheer power the new Vampyres added to the room would have made it hard to breathe if I needed to—which, thankfully, I didn’t. In a less violent race they would be called governors or mayors—in our world they could be labeled somewhat hostile allies.
They were not elected. The four had been appointed by Ethan centuries ago and could only be removed by death. Before my time, several had been removed at the hands of my mate, but this particular group had been stable enough for the last several hundred years.
However, today they seemed anything but rational. An unhappy Vampyre was a dangerous Vampyre—this group was unpredictable.
“Welcome,” Ethan said without getting up.
The slight didn’t go unnoticed, but was politely ignored. Each came forward and bowed to Ethan and the King, and then moved back to the appointed sitting area.
The women, Trista and Mary, each took a seat and the men, Francisco and Spike, stood. It was very clear by the tension in the room they didn’t like what they saw before them anymore than they liked each other. This was going to be delightful.
“Shall I start?” Trista inquired staring daggers at me.
I smiled and waved. I hadn’t had the pleasure of making her acquaintance yet—and it wasn’t a pleasure at all.
“Please do,” I said evenly.
“She’s running this meeting?” Spike inquired with raised brows.
“She has a name,” I shot back with a cool smile. “It’s Astrid. And no, I’m not running anything at the moment. This is my home and you are our guests. I was simply being gracious. Is that a problem for you, Spike?”
“Not at all, Your Highness,” Spike said with a small smirk and a bow. “Just clarifying, Astrid. Your house. Your rules.
“Spike, may I ask you a question?” I inquired.
“By all means.”
“Do you watch Buffy the Vampyre Slayer?”
His laugh was delightful and filled the tension-laden room. “As a matter of fact, Astrid, I do. It happens to be the greatest television show ever made. I’ve memorized most of the episodes.”
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I might like Spike. The TV obsession was a little off, but let’s face it, we were all a little off.
“Are we done with the pleasantries?” Mary asked tonelessly, as she examined her manicure. She obviously didn’t find Spike’s quirks as amusing as I did.
“I wouldn’t call them pleasant, but yes,” Ethan said in a cold voice, making the guests slightly uncomfortable.
The exchanged glances were a bit unnerving, but what did I expect? These Vamps were old and angry. I was new and an unwelcome game changer.
“The Demons are wreaking havoc in our territories. This is unacceptable,” Trista went on with acid in her tone. “This lands squarely in your court. It’s interesting that it occurred so soon after your mating, Ethan. The timing leads us to believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg due to the… heritage of your mate.”
“Trinka? May I call you Trinka?” I asked politely, taking a page from Pam’s book by mangling her name.
“My name is Trista,” she corrected me with a sour expression.
“That’s what I said, Trunkie,” I replied with an innocent smile. “I will freely admit my heritage is dubious, even by my standards.”
“Which are very low,” Pam added with a sassy grin.
“Thank you, Pam. My hanging out with you can attest to that.”
“Amen to that, Assmunch,” she said with a thumbs up.
Trista stiffened and Mary’s eyes narrowed to slits. Francisco simply watched without expression except for a raised brow and Spike seemed to be enjoying himself.
“So be that as it may, my suspect heritage is actually in our favor at the moment,” I explained, walked to the front of Ethan’s desk and perched on the edge.
The grin on Spike’s face put him on my good list. The utter confusion on the three other faces fed my need to screw with them. With a quick glance to Ethan to make sure that he was with me, I continued.
“I find this difficult to believe,” Mary said talking to me, but eyeing Ethan like she wanted to eat him.
“Scary, while I appreciate both your concern and your lack of manners. I can assure you that the portal issue will be taken care of shortly. However, my suspect heritage didn’t open the portals. Someone else did,” I said, watching closely for any sign of guilt in the group.