“Dark Ones,” Finch murmured as Christian answered, “Yes. It is the way of things. Although perhaps not all Dark Ones are quite so determined to get themselves killed as is Ivo. Let us think for a moment before we act.”
Ivo was halfway down the hall when the others caught up to him, Minerva throwing herself in front of him to stop him. “Hang on, Ivo. You don’t have to go Terminator on everyone. Christian has a cat-caught-at-the-cream-bowl look that says he probably has an idea.”
“I would object to the comparison, but as time is of the essence, I will simply say that, yes, I do have an idea. The crowd is here for what purpose?”
Several deep banging noises emerged from the two front doors, right on cue.
“They want Minerva,” Finch said.
“They can’t have her,” Ivo said in a near growl, for the first time in his life considering the act of punching his friend in the face.
“They want the spell,” Christian corrected. “So I say we give it to them.”
“Are you insane?” Minerva asked him.
“Beloved, please. Let me handle this,” Ivo told her.
“Excuse me? Did you just tell me I couldn’t speak? Because if you did, I’m going to sock you in the gooch.”
Ivo narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar term. “Where—”
“Your crotch,” she said with what he felt was a far too pointed look at his fly. “And for the record, I don’t want to punch you there, because I want those parts hale and hearty later on. I have plans for them. Sexy plans.”
He resisted the urge to cover his privates with a hand, and instead gave her a firm look. “I am the Dark One. You will allow me to deal with others of my kind.”
“There’s an angry mob at the door, a curse by the actual leader of hell in the box that Christian is holding, and you want to stop for an exercise in protocol?” She took a deep breath, then, to Ivo’s surprise, made a deep bow as she swept a hand toward Christian. “By all means, be my guest. Deal with your fellow vamps.”
“Dark Ones,” Ivo corrected automatically, then turned to Christian and said, “Are you insane?”
“Dude!” Minerva said, and punched him in the arm.
Absently, he rubbed the spot as he continued. “You can’t give a spell of such power to a mob.”
“I have no intention of doing so,” Christian said, and gestured toward the stairs. “Come, there is a balcony on the second floor. We will go out there to speak to the mob that your Beloved has stirred up.”
“I’m not above punching your gooch, either,” Minerva told Christian as Ivo escorted her up the stairs.
“About that, I have no doubt,” he told her. Ivo cast a glance over his shoulder at Christian and Finch, but the latter merely looked annoyed, while Christian appeared to be amused.
He smiled at Minerva, who did a double take. “What?” she asked in a whisper as they reached the top of the stairs, and Christian moved past them to show them how to access the balcony.
“You threatened Christian. He is a very old Dark One. He has much gravitas. He is much respected.”
“Yeah, well, he’s also flipping me shit, and I don’t tolerate that from anyone.”
“I would have defended your honor,” Ivo protested.
“Of course you would. I don’t doubt that at all. But as I said before, I’m not a wimp who can’t fight her own battles. Well, some of them. For most of them, I would like your help.”
“We will fight together,” he said, the feeling of happiness flooding him. He had always had a vague notion of what it would mean to find a Beloved, but nothing had prepared him for the sense of joy that wrapped around him.
He began to mentally write a few lines of praise to Minerva’s shining spirit, which had turned his life from desolation to happiness.
“What are you muttering about?” Finch asked a moment later.
He paused, his eyes on Minerva, wondering if she would ever know just how much he loved her. “I was trying to find a rhyme for vulva.”
“You what?” Finch asked, clearly appalled.
