Anna polished off the last of the lasagna before her sticky-fingered companion could snag a bite. “If this is anything to go by it’s going to be a fabulous success.”
Together they demolished the fruit salad, and with a deep sigh of pleasure Anna wiped her hands and set aside the tray.
Once Anna was comfortably settled on the mound of pillows at her back, Darcy returned to gazing at her with that open curiosity.
“Cezar mentioned that you are a lawyer?”
“In L.A.”
“Do you like it?”
Anna shrugged. She had chosen to enter law school only after a large corporation had purchased an entire block of low-rent apartments where she was living and happily tossed the elderly and poor onto the street so they could make a profit.
There would always be injustices in the world, but Anna was tired of sitting on the sidelines. She had decided that day it was past time to get into the game.
“I like it when I win,” she admitted with a rueful smile.
“That makes sense.”
There was a short silence as Darcy tilted her head and studied Anna with a strange intensity.
At last, Anna cleared her throat in discomfort. “You can ask whatever you want, Darcy,” she said, repeating her guest’s words.
“I was raised to believe I was human so this whole demon world is new to me,” she admitted, startling Anna. “I know you’re not a vampire or werewolf, but…”
Anna recalled Darcy mentioning that she had been genetically altered, which would explain why she hadn’t realized her heritage. It made Anna feel even closer to the woman. She wasn’t alone in this wild and wacky world. Darcy would understand her confusion.
“Actually, I don’t know what I am,” she confessed, feeling oddly relieved to unburden the secret that had kept her trapped and separated from the world for so long. It seemed that the truth really did set you free. “I hoped that Cezar could tell me.”
Darcy didn’t appear at all shocked. Actually she looked nothing more than curious.
“Why Cezar?”
Anna blinked at the unexpected question. “We knew each other long ago. Centuries ago. When I spotted his picture in the L.A. Times, which mentioned that he was in Chicago, I flew here to confront him. I thought…” She grimaced at her naïve assumptions. “I blamed Cezar all these years for making me different.”
“Why would you blame Cezar?” Darcy wondered, then as Anna blushed at the intimate memories, she offered an impish smile. “Ah, never mind.”
“I was a fool to come here.” Anna gave a shake of her head. “I came here for answers, but every time that vampire makes one of his cameo appearances in my life everything goes to hell.”
“You weren’t a fool, Anna.” Darcy reached out to lightly touch Anna’s arm. “As difficult as it might be to discover the truth, anything is better than wondering and fearing that there’s something wrong with you. Trust me, I know.”
“Yes.” Anna managed a weary smile. “You’re right.”
“And you can be certain that both Styx and I will do everything in our power to keep you safe.”
“You’re very kind.”
Darcy waved aside Anna’s sincere gratitude as she rose to her feet, a smile on her lips. “And you know, Cezar is rather fine even in the vampire world, where fine has a whole new definition. There’s no reason you can’t enjoy the view while you’re here.” She ignored Anna’s startled expression as she crossed to the door. “I’ll let you relax in peace and return later with something for you to sleep in. If you need anything just poke your head out the door and give a yell. I have excellent hearing.”
Anna couldn’t help but laugh. The woman was simply impossible not to like.
“A werewolf thing?” she teased.
“There are some good points to being special, although if you call me Cujo I won’t be happy.”
“Special?”
“That’s what we are, Anna, don’t ever believe otherwise.”
Special? Hmmm. Better than freak, but still a big, fat leap from normal.
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
Cezar paced Styx’s private office with a restless impatience. Under normal circumstances he might have been delighted to have the opportunity to explore the rare scrolls that were carefully stored in a glass case, or the vast leather-bound tomes that lined the walls and detailed the history of vampires. Or even the stacks of petitions that were piled on the mahogany desk.
As the king of all vampires, Styx possessed the grueling burden of leadership, but he also was given access to the priceless treasures that had been collected over the millenniums.
Tonight, however, Cezar couldn’t appreciate his surroundings. Instead he battled the searing need to bolt from the room and find where Anna had been taken.
Was she alone and afraid in a strange room? Had she been fed? Did she need…
Dios. He growled deep in his throat. The woman was driving him nuts.
Thankfully his dark broodings were interrupted as Styx entered the room and firmly shut and locked the door. Cezar was certain that the room had been soundproofed and suitably hexed to make their privacy complete.
Styx was nothing if not thorough.
“You have the fairy secured?” Cezar demanded as Styx crossed the room to perch on the edge of the desk. Dressed all in black, the king appeared precisely as he was. A large, lethal predator who would kill without mercy.
A hard smile touched the vampire’s lips. “She is in a cell that has been built specifically to dampen her magical abilities.”
“There might be those who will attempt to rescue her.”
“The estate is fully monitored and I left a guard at the door to the cell. Trust me, no one will get past Gunter.”
Cezar offered a small bow. He had chosen wisely in coming to his leader. “Thank you, my lord.”
Styx gave a wave of his hand. “You have only to ask, Cezar, and I will do whatever is in my power to assist you.”
“For now my greatest request is that you protect Anna.”
“Of course.” Styx folded his arms over his chest. “Have you discovered who is threatening the woman?”
Cezar grimaced as he slipped off the jacket to his tux and tossed it aside. The white satin tie was given the same treatment.
“Morgana le Fay.”
A shocked silence filled the room. The Queen of Fairies was shrouded in mystery to most demons. Although it was rumored she could enchant with a glance and lure even the most powerful of demons into her clutches, she so rarely left her secret lair it was impossible to know what was genuine fact and what was mere legend. She was as much mist and smoke as real woman.
“You’re certain?” Styx at last demanded.
“As certain as I can be at this point.” Cezar gave a furious shake of his head. “Dios, I have been so stupid. So blind.”
“How could you have known?”
Cezar returned to his pacing, knowing that he couldn’t keep secrets from Styx if he wanted his help.
“I met Anna nearly two hundred years ago in London,” he grudgingly confessed, twisting the heavy signet ring on his finger. “At the time I didn’t realize that she was anything more than a beautiful woman that I desired.”
“What happened?”
“I seduced her.”
“Hardly an unusual activity for you during those days,” Styx pointed out dryly. “As I recall you seduced several London ladies.”
A smile touched Cezar’s lips at the memory. Ah, yes. For nearly three hundred years he had used his powers to indulge his love for women. It hadn’t mattered if they were human or demon. Just so long as they were beautiful.
They had been fine years, but the insatiable desires that had once plagued him had come to an end the night he had met Anna Randal.
She had taught him that there were depths to passion he had never before experienced.
And while he had been reveling in the taste and feel of her, he had been oblivious to the evil that hunted her.
“Not like Anna,” he rasped. “I sensed she was more than a mere mortal the moment I touched her, but I ignored my instincts. I wanted her and nothing was going to stop me. If I had just listened…”
“What?”
“She told me of her cousin Morgana, but I never considered the possibility that it could be the queen.” His hands clenched at his side.
Styx pushed from the desk to cross the room and lay a heavy hand on Cezar’s shoulder.
“Why should you?” he demanded. “Humans have always believed her to be nothing more than myth and legend. They readily name their daughters after the treacherous bitch even today.”
Cezar smiled wryly. “I think it was more the fact that I was fully distracted at that precise moment. And, of course, there was that nasty meeting with the Oracles only moments after enjoying the delights that Anna had to offer.” He shuddered at the memory of the brilliant flash of light followed by the entrance of the eight ancient Oracles. He had been lying in the bed naked and utterly sated when they arrived, their grim expressions revealing the depth of their anger. “They were not happy that I had tasted of the next Commission member.”