Ari nodded, understanding his concern. While Andreas had adapted well to vampire life, he still struggled with his belief that his soul was eternally cursed.
“Did she turn them down or not?” Daron demanded. “She cannot—.”
“She did,” Andreas interrupted, still watching her as if she might change her mind.
“A wise decision. But that brings us back to Ursula.” Daron heaved a deep sigh. “I see no alternative but to kill her. And it will not be easy. The O-Seven will be furious with us, but we cannot allow her to continue this slaughter. I am meeting with the princes shortly. I will call afterward, but I am out of ideas.”
Ari watched Andreas’s face as he disconnected. Daron had sounded so discouraged. “Guess I’d better get dressed after all. I assume we’re having a strategy meeting.”
“Yes, the conference room in twenty minutes.”
No one was late. The news of the second attack had already leaked throughout the vampire community. As his lieutenants sat around the table in the living area, Andreas delivered the latest details.
It wasn’t a comfortable meeting for Ari. The threat from Ursula had made everyone irritable, but other issues added to the tension. Glorius’s constant flirting with Andreas was getting on Ari’s nerves. In fact, she was on low boil. And this was her first meeting with Gabriel since she’d seen him kissing Claris. Perhaps due to their own stress, Glorius and Gabriel were both flaunting their behavior, as if to goad her. If that was their goal, it was working.
Ari clenched her fists under the table as Glorius rested her hand on Andreas’s arm for the third time.
“You worry too much, my prince,” the vampiress said in a soothing tone. “Why would Ursula come here? Riverdale is insignificant, far beneath her notice.”
“Au contraire.” Gabriel’s smile was wry, as he lapsed into one of the rare glimpses of his mother’s French upbringing. His fun-loving French expatriate grandmother had passed the language on to her daughter, who in turn had taught it to her son. He chose odd moments to show it off.
Gabriel stood, moved behind Andreas and Ari, and placed his hands on both chairs. “These two are why she’ll come here. The O-Seven is worried about what they did to Sebastian. Ursula will use the current rebellion as an excuse to eliminate them—if she can.”
Ari’s temper rushed to the surface. She pushed out of her chair and whirled to confront Gabriel. “Are you really blaming us for this?”
He looked confused. “That isn’t what I meant. I was stating the simple facts.”
“That isn’t how it sounded. If I’m such a liability, maybe I should leave.” She turned her head to glare at Oliver and Glorius. “Do you two agree with him?”
Now Andreas was on his feet. “Arianna, please. Let us not make the situation worse by fighting among ourselves. If you and Gabriel have issues, now is not the time.”
She wasn’t backing down. “I still want to know how the others feel. Well?”
Glorius shrugged. “It is what it is.”
Bitch.
Oliver took his time. “The O-Seven has had part of its focus on Riverdale since Daron settled here nine or ten years ago. Sebastian’s death reminded them of our existence and that we are growing stronger. It was inevitable.”
As she listened to Oliver’s measured words, some of Ari’s misdirected anger faded. She felt Andreas’s heavy gaze on her. “I’m going to get coffee. Can I bring anything else?”
Andreas asked her to bring glasses and two bottles of wine. She nodded as she left the room. She was tired—and irritable. Let them talk about her while she was gone. She needed a break and time to think about what Gabriel had said. Perhaps he was right that she’d placed the city in danger. That little gem of truth might take time to absorb.
Since the coffee pot had been turned off, emptied and cleaned, she brewed a fresh batch. She rustled around to find the glasses, selected two bottles of wine from the pantry rack—including the Chianti that was Andreas’s favorite, and found a tray to carry it all. By that time her anger had faded.
When she walked into Andreas’s study, the talking stopped. “Break time.” She flashed a tentative smile and set the wine bottles and glasses on the table, then took her own seat. “Do we have a plan?”
“We have decided that locating Ursula is our top priority.” Andreas paused, and everyone looked at Ari. “But our best chance at that may depend on you.”
“Me? How?”
“By going to the scene of the last attack. You may be able to pick up her trail or sense something else that we cannot.”
“I’ll try, but we have to make it a short trip. The rogue witches will be back, and I intend to be here when they come.” She offered a wry smile. “My bosses expect me to police Olde Town every once in a while.”
“I’ll guard Spirit Cave while you’re gone,” Glorius said.
Ari looked at her in surprise. Maybe the vampiress was more than an obnoxious flirt.
Glorius caught the look and returned a smirk. “It means Gabriel and Oliver will have to do all the rest. The house, the club, the compound, and deal with the nest leaders. The cave’s the easiest job.”
Ari wasn’t fooled. The vampiress had chosen the riskiest assignment where she might have to face the coven with little backup. No one mentioned that, and Andreas simply thanked her.
Glorius stood to leave. “I assume you’ll be going to Canada tomorrow tonight. What happens if you find Ursula?”
“Then we talk with Daron and the other princes. Arianna and I will not attempt to kill or capture her by ourselves.”
Glorius arched a delicate brow. “There will be no capturing of that one. But it’s good to know you won’t endanger yourself.” She swung her hips toward the door. “I’d hate to lose you, darling.”
Gabriel gave a snort of laughter. Oliver got up shaking his head as if he didn’t understand any of them and followed her out.
Ari looked at Gabriel. “You think that’s funny?”
“I do.” He studied her with a lazy look. “Still pissed about Claris?”
Andreas stood. “Dawn will be here in an hour, which gives the two of you a time limit to work out your issues. This is the last I want to hear on this particular subject.” He walked out and closed the door behind him.
Ari pushed her chair back to follow. “I already told you how I feel, Gabriel. There’s nothing more to say. Except…” She stood and looked down at him. “If you hurt her, I’ll never forgive you.”
“Ari—”
“Do you love her?”
He bolted upright in the chair. “Christ, I barely know her. What you saw…the kiss, it was our first, and we were caught up in the moment.”
“Do you kiss every woman you meet?”
“Not every woman.” He relaxed back in his seat again. “I haven’t kissed you yet. Not that I would try,” he added, seeing her sharp look. “Andreas would kill me.”
“Nooo, I would. Now you’re making a joke of it.”
Gabriel sighed. “It is my fate to be a passing fancy. Your friend is still in love with her wizard. Trust me on this, Ari.”
“Yeah, right. It’s getting close to dawn. You better hurry.” She flashed him a reluctant smile as she turned toward the door. “It really isn’t you I’m worried about. I’m afraid I can’t trust Claris not to lose her heart.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The following evening Ari and Andreas accompanied Prince Bolivar as he approached the entrance to the destroyed Canadian compound. Ari looked around, absorbing the scene visually, keeping her other senses blocked. She wasn’t ready for any emotional input. First, she wanted to understand the mechanics of what had happened.
“These are reinforced steel doors.” Bolivar pointed to the main entrance leading into the underground vampire court. The prince was tense, visibly shaken. “Swatted down. There’s only one dent in the metal.”
A single massive blow. Nothing less than Ari had expected. Everyone knew Ursula had super strength. But what Ari was looking for tonight was any evidence of the vampiress’s mental powers. The enforcer hadn’t attempted to bespell Ari at the meeting in Toronto, nor had she displayed any psychic ability in countering the witch coven’s attack. She always used brute force. And that was unusual. Enough to draw Ari’s attention.
She accompanied the vampires inside the compound and looked around the deserted rooms. Broken and tumbled furniture lay scattered across the floor. Not a gory scene. The blood and bodies had already returned to nature through the process of accelerated decomposition inherent to vampires.
“What happened once she was inside?” Ari asked.
“She killed everyone.”
“Killed them how?”
The prince stiffened, visibly offended by her blunt question. “Dismembered.”
“Did she bespell them first?”
“No. You want all the bloody details?” he asked angrily. “Here, listen to it yourself. Does it sound like they were hypnotized?” He pulled out a cell phone, punched in a string of numbers, and put it on speaker. “I was in a meeting, so it’s all on voice mail.”
At first she heard a normal voice. The caller was informing his prince of a break-in at the compound. Then the screaming began, and the occasional high-pitched laughter that Ari recognized as Ursula’s. The sounds sent prickles over her skin. Ari wanted to ask Bolivar to turn it off, but she forced herself to listen. When she heard the cell phone in the recording clatter to the floor, the sounds of tearing flesh and slurping were almost unbearable. She didn’t look at Andreas or Bolivar. Both vampires were shielding, but the pain would be in their eyes.
The screams continued until the voice mail ran out of message space.
“Goddess, help us,” Ari said under her breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” Bolivar’s voice was tight.
