He smiled, broad and shameless. “Pissy it is.”
“Keir, leave it,” Wolfe cautioned. “Maybe ending the council can help us find our mysterious them.”
“If being in the midst of those rats for every ridiculous meeting didn’t produce a suspect, then being out of their chauvinist circle couldn’t possibly help.” Arianne rubbed her temples, the stress of the night no doubt gathering into another one of her headaches. This wasn’t the worst situation they’d been in, but certainly not the best.
“Wolfe’s right. Someone wanted you dead before, but without the buffer of the council, you’re in complete control. This is exactly what they don’t want.” He leaned forward. “I’m willing to bet they’ll be furious when they find out what you’ve done, if they don’t already know. They’ll act fast and get sloppy.”
“You hope,” the captain said.
“I’m counting on it,” Keir said with a sharp nod. “And Lady, I’m sleeping on the couch in your room.”
“Actually.” She straightened her shoulders. “You’re going to Balinese as my emissary.”
Keir bolted to his feet, anger in each heavy step that brought him face to face with his lady. “Less than twenty minutes ago you dismissed your council. For that act alone, someone will want your head. I’m not leaving.”
“I need you to do this for me,” she said evenly.
His jaw locked so tight his words slipped through his teeth. “Not leaving.”
Arianne didn’t back down. “I trust only you and Wolfe. As my captain, Wolfe cannot be gone for several days. It would raise suspicion, and I need him by my side. You must go.”
“Send a Guardian,” Keir demanded.
“Exactly which one of that easily persuaded herd should I trust to speak in my name without starting a war?” She glanced at Wolfe. “No offense, Captain.”
“I don’t trust them,” he admitted.
They had a point. He’d grown up slipping money to Guardians to look the other way while his father committed one illegal offense or another. “Have this man from Balinese take your message back with him.”
She shook her head. “Why would an official from Balinese make such a dangerous journey through Paris and a possible demon infestation, after such a long silence between our cities, and not bother to obtain proper documentation from his lord? I have no letter from Lord Navarre, no seal of Balinese, nothing but this man’s word that what he says is true. I don’t know him, and I won’t trust him.”
She had no intention of changing her mind. Looked like he was going on a trip. “What do you need me to do?”
“Convey my concern for the reappearance of demons, and for the safety of Balinese. Offer our aid, if needed.” Lady Arianne moved swiftly to her writing desk, produced a piece of paper, filled his name in the blank, then signed the bottom. Two quick folds, and then she stamped the rose stamp of Galbraith into the red wax, the excess oozing from the edges. She handed the paper over to him. “Your identification papers. Balinese will not know of your past crimes, not that it would matter. As my emissary, they cannot touch you. Leave tonight. The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back.”
Keir nodded, still processing the swift change of plans. He would do anything for her, but leaving her life in jeopardy was not going to happen. “So Wolfe’s sleeping on your couch. Right?”
“Wolfe.” She turned to her captain. “Don’t you dare give them the pleasure of assassinating me.”
A slow, genuine smile spread across Wolfe’s face. “Can’t wait for them to try.”
“Captain,” she said sharply, and Wolfe snapped to attention. “Since you’re staying, kindly remove your shoes. I don’t want to hear you plodding around my home.”
Arianne left them and closed the double doors of her bedroom behind her while Wolfe obediently kicked off his shoes.
Keir could only imagine how difficult it was for a woman like her to live in a world of men. As far as he was concerned, she was entitled to her headaches and brooding thoughts, her biting words and coveted time alone.
“How far apart have the attacks been? Monthly?” Wolfe pulled the tie from his long hair, combed his fingers through it, then secured the tie back in place. “Damn it, after what she just did, it’ll be every day.”
“She knows.”
Wolfe shook his head and lowered his voice. “I can’t do this without you. I can’t protect her and the entire city.”
Keir laughed. Nothing was beyond the capabilities of Captain Wolfe Rye. “You just don’t want to be locked to her side for that long.”
Wolfe crossed his arms over his chest. “The woman has the temperament of a viper. I don’t know how you do it.”
“Neither do I, but I know why I do it.”
Arianne Talvane, Lady of Galbraith. To simply call her royalty was a vast understatement. She was everything. The only direct blood tie able to rule when her father died, she remained the sole heir to Galbraith. Without her, the city would fall to chaos and the aristocracy would fight for their right to rule. Which apparently, someone wanted.
Wolfe scrubbed his hands over his whiskered cheeks. “I just want her safe.”
Keir pulled a small slip of paper from his shirt pocket. He dangled the paper, trapped between two fingers, before the captain’s face.
Wolfe snatched the paper, investigating each side. A single phone number, nothing more. “What’s this?”
“If you need anything.” Keir nodded toward the paper. “Call that number.”
Wolfe eyed him suspiciously. “Whose number is it?”
“Exactly who you think,” Keir said with a smile.
“No.” Wolfe glanced over his shoulder, making sure Arianne was still on the other side of the door. “I’m not calling her cousins. You have no idea what they’re capable of, what they’re like. Why do you think she’s never called them herself?”
“Don’t know. Truth is, I’ve never met them in person.”
“I want nothing to do with those two buffoons,” Wolfe said more adamantly.
“They have no idea she’s in danger. Tell them what’s really happening here and they would protect her with their lives,” he said, certain of their loyalty.
“At least tell me whose number this is.” Wolfe held up the paper and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Christos.”
“Thank God for that. He’s the sane one.” Wolfe tucked the number into his pocket.
Keir bent forward, his elbows on his knees and his head bowed.
Wolfe slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’ll come back. You’re like a damn cockroach.”
He’d never left Arianne for more than a day. “Balinese is on the other side of Paris. So far away.”
“The largest vampire city in all of Europe. The city of peace.” Sheer awe filled the captain’s voice.
Vampires rarely strayed from their homes, and few had actually seen the legendary city. The lord of Balinese was said to be fair and just, accepting with open arms any who had broken the laws in other cities, so long as they did not break them in his city. Breaking a law in Balinese gave a whole new meaning to speedy trial.
The task of relaying a message should be quick and easy. Hand the letter to the lord, exchange a few words, and then