Gareth was standing on the right hand side of the desk and I stood proudly next to my mate. Three times I’d had to pull back the magical black glitter that covered my arms. It simply wouldn’t do to have the visiting Vampyres see me all sparkly. I’d save that for the finale, if I needed it.
We presented a frightening picture. The power gathered in the room was unheard of and sent the message that we weren’t fucking around very clearly.
“Bring them in Venus, and then you will stay,” Ethan said. His eyes glowed green and his power literally filled the room.
Damn that was hot.
“As you wish, my liege.” Venus bowed respectfully to hide her grin. She wouldn’t have missed this showdown for anything. The only ones of our inner circle that were missing were The Kev and Gemma, but Ethan had thought it wise to have only Vampyres present for the initial meeting. Pam was an Angel, of course, but she was mated to the king—everyone expected her presence. Fairies would make the visiting group more wary than they already were.
I agreed.
“Asscrackada,” Pam said as Venus left to retrieve the guests. “What’s this shit I hear about you tying the knot in Hell?”
Everyone gaped at me and Ethan, except for Gareth who was already privy to the horrendous news.
“I cut a deal,” I said with a careless shrug to hide the fact that it really bothered me. “Satan’s going to close the portals, and in exchange, I’m going to trade vows with Ethan in Hell. No biggie.”
“I call bullshit,” Pam said. “That sneaky motherfucker is always up to no good. How are the Vamps going to be able to go to Hell at all?”
“I’m working out the details tonight. Satan will be here later,” I told her with a smile plastered on my face that I was fairly sure came nowhere close to reaching my eyes.
“Do you want me to stay?” Pam asked. “The crafty bastard’s a little afraid of me.”
“As he well should be,” the King said affectionately to his mate. “You are as frightening as they come.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Pam said to the King as she lovingly stroked his face and planted a big wet one on him.
I almost laughed at the juxtaposition of their words to their actions, but I held it back. They were a very magically powerful pair and had gone through Hell to be together—their adoration moved me. Actually, all of us had had travelled to Hell and back to be together—Heathcliff and Raquel, and me and Ethan, and we were all stronger for it. A meeting with some pissy Vamps would be a piece of cake.
“I can handle Satan,” I assured Pam.
“You can handle anything, Assbag.” She nodded and winked.
I idly wondered if she would ever get tired of turning my name into something paired with the word ass. Secretly I hoped not, but I gave her an enormous eye roll to make her happy.
“Any word on Vlad’s whereabouts?” Gareth asked Heathcliff and Raquel for an update on the search.
“We have a few leads and the Angels are cooperating. We’ll get him, I promise,” Heathcliff said.
Gareth nodded curtly and leaned on the edge of the desk. None of us knew how much time he had left. The whole situation was sickening and made me furious.
“How are Lelia, Alexander and Nathan holding up?” Raquel asked Pam and her father.
The three other Royal siblings who had also been cursed were being cared for in the King’s South American Palace. The fact that four were in danger of dying made finding Vlad all the more urgent.
“They’re not in as bad shape as Gareth,” the King said, watching his son with concern. “We believe they might have more time.”
“Vlad’s a damned fucktard and when I get my hands on that little pissant he’s going to wish he’d never been born,” Pam hissed and began to light up like a firework.
“Dial it back,” I instructed firmly. “We all want him dead, but right now our focus is on the shitshow about to go down right here. One hellacious problem at a time.”
“Astrid is correct,” Ethan said quietly as the Vamps were on the other side of the door now. “We deal with the matter at hand and then move on. Am I clear?”
“You are,” Pam replied tersely. “My apologies.”
“Can I ask a quick question?” I inquired.
“How quick?” Ethan shot back.
“Really quick.”
“Yes,” he replied as he checked his weapons.
“Why is it that the people you’ve hired to run parts of North America—for lack of a better word—are so dangerous?”
“Because we’re a race that respects violence. I trust them enough and they fear me enough to make the situation as stable as an unstable situation can be.”
“Do we think they might be opening the portals?” Heathcliff questioned.
“I sure as Hell hope not, for their sake,” Ethan muttered.
I hadn’t even considered that it could be Vampyres doing this. I’d assumed it was coming from Hell. Never assume, Astrid…
It was however, an excellent question considering the fault would lie with me because of my association with Satan. It would be a very smart way to discredit me to our race, not that I needed a whole lot of help with that. My plan to make the undead pay their fair share had made me beyond wildly unpopular.
“How are we gonna do this?” I asked, wondering if I should say anything at all since I was the one truly out of favor with my kind.