I lean in slightly, lowering my voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“I think together, our clans could become very, very powerful.”
I see his nostrils flare at that. Ah. I’ve hit the nail squarely on the head.
Desire for power is this man’s weakness. I can practically taste it in the air.
He lifts his hand and snaps his fingers crisply. “Leave me. All of you.”
“But Father!” One of his sons—who also has a woman seated on his lap—immediately objects. “You can’t really?—”
Vlad whips around and glares at the man with such venom I’m impressed. “Do you dare defy your father’s order?”
For a moment, they scowl at one another in a familiar power struggle. Oh, I know it so well. The defiant son. The tyrannical father. A tale as old as time.
In the end, like the compliant boys they are, they stand. Abandoning their feedings, they file toward the door with sullen obedience.
Several shoot me killing glances as they pass, and I make a show of trying to memorize their faces. Though honestly, they all look so much alike it’s difficult. Romulus is the one who’s betterwith tedious details like that. But when I actually care about something, I can manage.
I think I’ll remember which of these are the troublemakers and which merely follow orders.
Finally, Vlad and I are alone. Well, probably not truly alone—he’s too smart for that. But alone enough.
“Make it good,” Vlad says coldly. “You’ve got three minutes before they come barging back in.”
I merely arch an eyebrow. “It’s in your best interest to keep them at bay longer than that.”
Then I drop my glamour with a flourish and allow my wings to unfurl behind me to the rafters in their full, magnificent glory. My tail whips free, too, dancing in the air. And I let the angel spark I rarely allow free reign glow from within my chest like a star.
“Behold,” I say dramatically, spreading my arms wide. “An angel of the Lord.”
Vlad lifts a hand and stumbles backward as if my light will sear him to a crisp.
I chuckle and drop the light show. No point in overdoing it.
Vlad growls—low and threatening—and the next thing I know, he’s coming at me faster than even I can track. One second he’s across the room, the next he’s got my wings and back crushed against the stone wall. His arm is at my throat, fangs bared inches from my face.
“Why shouldn’t I rip your throat out right here?” he snarls.
I can only laugh—breathless from the pressure on my windpipe but still amused. “Why? Because I revealed we’re powerful creatures? That’s hardly a reason for violence.”
“You are from Heaven, and I’m from Hell,” he spits. “We’re natural enemies.”
I roll my eyes dramatically. “We’re not from Heaven, and I don’t know where you’re from. I was just kidding with the whole‘angel of the Lord’ shtick. Yeah, we’re angels, but that’s just what the humans call us on this plane. We’re from a different realm and snuck our way onto this one.”
I grin at him despite the arm at my throat.
“Probably like your ancestors somehow did. We’re just a non-native species, that’s all. Immigrants, if you will.”
His eyes widen when I speak of his ancestors, and his arm loosens ever so slightly from my throat. “So it’s true,” he whispers, almost to himself. “Spirits from other realmscanbreak through.”
I shrug as much as I can while pinned. “I’m not a spirit, but sure, pal. We figured out how to get here, and the humans sometimes worshipped us as gods.” I flash him a winning smile. “It was fun while it lasted.”
Vlad’s eyes light up at that—greed blazing bright. He drops his arm completely, stepping back.
“Tell me more. Tell me everything.”
I hold up my hands playfully. “Ah ah ah. Tit for tat. I’ll share when you do. I have a little problem I need your help with.”
