We stopped in front of an overgrown cave imbedded on a hillside. Vines spread over the embankment and grew along the edges of the cave’s mouth, blurring exactly where the ground ended and the cave began. Rene set me on my feet, but between the thick, impenetrable darkness of the deep woods and my fear of the coming confrontation with Bex, I could already feel the confines of the cave’s walls closing in around me. I leaned fractionally over its edge, peeking into the abyss. Even as my eyes adjusted, they couldn’t penetrate through to the cave’s bottom. Assuming the cave had a bottom.
Rene pulled me back. “We’re waiting here. Many of our newest coven members still haven’t fed.”
“Is this the entrance to your coven?” I asked, surprised.
Rene nodded. “I don’t want the first human they lay eyes on after waking from their day rest to be a night blood. They wouldn’t be able to resist drinking from you, and once they started, they might not stop. Your blood is like—”
“Like cinnamon and spice and everything nice,” I said, drolly. “Or so I’m told.”
He smirked. “Yes, it is.”
“I appreciate your concern, but if you didn’t want me in harm’s way, why bring me to a coven full of unfed vampires?”
“It’s not you I’m worried about. You would survive, but they wouldn’t.”
I frowned. “I would survive, and they wouldn’t?”
“Bex would never tolerate another vampire in her coven draining a night blood.”
I stared at Rene, incredulous. “Bex would kill a vampire for attacking me?”
“Of course. Night bloods are potential vampires, and the only vampire who can transform a night blood is Bex. An attack against a night blood is considered an attack against Bex herself.”
I nodded. His logic made a strange sort of sense, more sense than how Dominic ruled his coven, and I wondered at the difference. Maybe Bex was more powerful and therefore better able to control her vampires. Maybe Dominic only seemed less powerful because his Leveling was approaching in two weeks. Or maybe Dominic was not as effective a Master—all possibilities worth considering, but I knew better than to utter them aloud, especially the last. Even 300 miles away, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dominic overheard me. I’d regret it, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
“What have you brought home, Rene? I thought I taught you better than to play with your food?”
Bex materialized in front of us. It must have been a trick of the darkness and her own speed and stealth because actually materializing from nothing was impossible, even for a vampire. Then again, so much lately that should be impossible was real; I couldn’t really question what may or may not be possible. I only questioned what occurred: I was alone with Rene one moment, and the next, Bex was in front of us, her reflective, yellow-green irises refracting the moonlight.
I tried to breathe normally, knowing their senses could detect every minute internal change in my body, but I couldn’t help it. My body started to tremble.
“Master.” Rene bowed his head. “I present a new night blood in our territory. She calls herself DiRocco.”
I took a calming breath, but the tremble in my chest worsened. The vial of Dominic’s blood was a hot weight around my neck. I caught myself reaching to touch it and forced my hand to remain at my side.
“DiRocco, I present—”
I waved my hand at Rene dismissively, annoyed at his formality while Bex was frying a laser through my chest with her unwavering, alien eyes. “Yes, I know, you present Bex, the Master Vampire of Erin, New York, from Chemung to Wayne County and everywhere in between.”
Bex grinned. “Walker taught you well.”
“Walker doesn’t speak of you in that way.”
Rene looked between the two of us, weary regret heavy in his expression. “You’ve already met?”
Bex lost the grin. “Why would Lysander concern himself with my expanding territory?”
“Dominic makes everything his concern.”
“That I most certainly believe. What I’m not quite certain I believe is why you were brought here.” Bex shifted her gaze from me to Rene with a flick of her golden-green eyes, and I almost felt bad for Rene. Almost.
Rene cocked his head, not looking particularly worried about being on the business end of that look. “She’s a new night blood in our territory. I wasn’t aware of her presence, and I definitely didn’t know that you were previously acquainted. Upon discovery, why wouldn’t I bring her to you?” Rene narrowed his eyes, and despite his obvious loyalty, returned Bex’s laser look with heat of his own.
Bex lifted her chin defensively. “She might be new to us, but she’s not new to our territory. She’s Lysander’s night blood, and by bringing her to me you risk—”
“When has territory ever stopped you from claiming what’s yours?” Rene interrupted. His chest vibrated in a low, rattling growl, and his lips thinned across his sharpened teeth. “DiRocco is in your territory, and anything in your territory is rightfully yours to take. Lysander knew that when he allowed her to leave his territory. You shouldn’t need me to explain this to you.”
I pursed my lips and wondered if what Rene was saying was accurate. He seemed to be a font of vampire etiquette, and if Bex’s expression was any indication, Dominic had thrown me to the wolves, almost literally. Except wolves might have been preferable.
“She doesn’t want me as her night blood,” I interjected, hoping to turn the heat under someone else. Walker was certainly a subject of contention between them, so I’d play on that. “Or at least, she doesn’t want me enough to risk war with Dominic. The only night blood she’d risk anything for is Walker.”
“By pursuing Walker, she risks everything,” Rene growled.
“Enough,” Bex growled back.
“Other night bloods exist beyond Walker.” Rene continued. “They might not be the night bloods you want, but they’re the night bloods your coven needs. Your love of Walker has blinded you from the destination we’ve worked so hard to reach, and if you continue leading us astray, someone will come along to right our path.”
Bex’s chest rattled. “Is that a threat, Rene?”
“Never, Master. I serve only you, but as your loyal servant, I fear for the stability of our coven.”
“I’ve lived many lives with many covens, and I’ve transformed many night bloods. In all that time, I’ve gained something that I didn’t possess in my former life as a night blood, nor after I was transformed, for many, many years: patience. Walker is my night blood, and when he’s ready, I’ll be there. Looking back years from now at the time it took for him to accept his destiny, you’ll see that the extra time we waited was a mere blink in our existence. Y’all haven’t realized this because you’ve only lived one human life, but when you’ve lived five, ten, one hundred human lifetimes, you’ll understand this inevitability.”
“I understand, Master,” Rene growled through clenched teeth, his tone anything but understanding. “But in the meantime, while you’re exercising patience with Walker, other night bloods are ripe for the transformation.”
“Night bloods must be chosen carefully. If they’re unwilling—”
“Walker is unwilling!” Rene snapped.
“DiRocco isn’t worth the trouble that changing her would stir with Lysander,” Bex finally admitted, and as the words tumbled from her lips, she realized her mistake.
“You