"If you want the answer to that, you'll have to bargain for it."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Of course, he'd go there. Why would I think anything else? The Fae didn't do anything for free—especially one of Arlan's power and position. They believed in even exchanges.
"What do you want?" I asked, finding myself grateful for the magic barrier he'd erected. If Liam had heard us, he'd already be here forcibly extracting me before I could do anything stupid—his words. I preferred to think of it as taking a calculated risk.
"Make me a deal."
What nonsense was this?
He must have accurately guessed my thoughts on that subject. "Surely, you're not afraid."
I barked out a laugh. "I'd have to be a fool to be anything but afraid. You're powerful and not only because of magic."
When he spoke, I suspected others listened. If this gathering was anything to judge by, powerful Fae already flocked to his barrow despite it only being months old.
The political and magical landscape was shifting in Columbus and it had its roots in this barrow.
No wonder the vampires had been trying to get someone in here. If they didn't, there was a very real possibility they'd lose their status at the top of the food chain.
"You've also already conspired to kill me once." Call me stubborn, or scared, or whatever, but a thing like that tended to stay with a person.
"I try to kill everyone at some point," Arlan said without an ounce of apology. "My suggestion for you is to be bold and fearless. Otherwise, you paint yourself a target for those stronger than you."
"I prefer to think of it as basing my perceptions off past actions," I said with a tight smile.
"A drop of your blood; no more, no less. That's all I ask," Arlan suggested in that silken voice that coaxed and prodded at my mental defenses in a compulsion much more subtle than a vampire’s. "For that price, I will protect you from anything."
Was that all? Why not ask for my life while he was at it?
The Aileen of a few years ago would have been tempted. She was easily tricked into giving up things she had no business giving up. Today's Aileen was considerably wiser.
A single drop of my blood would open untold doors. There was no telling what he could do with it. Compel my compliance? Easy. Tailor a death spell? Of course.
"I'm not that stupid," I told him.
His face was still and calm. "It will bring no harm to you or yours. Of that I swear."
I shook my head at him. Did he really think I was that naive?
The charming facade of a gentlemen ripped, the true Arlan peeking through. That Arlan disliked being denied. He was willing to do anything to get what he wanted. "Yet you regularly share blood with your vampire lover."
I didn't react, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
His head tilted as he went for the kill. "Vampires don't need to feed on their own for sustenance. Does it ever make you wonder what he is after?"
My expression remained blank and closed down.
His smile this time was cruel. "Why did he choose you? A man with as many lovers as him, used to the finest of women—and he settled on you? In your place, I'd ask myself why."
He was good. If I'd been another person—one less secure, maybe a little younger—his words might have drawn blood.
But I wasn't that person and any doubt as to Liam's motivations had been put to rest when I'd seen his grief when he'd thought I was dead.
"Interesting tactic," I said in a detached voice. "If at first you don't succeed, resort to emotional manipulation."
Arlan watched me carefully, his gaze burning into mine. "You’re making a mistake."
My smile showed my fangs. "I'm used to that."
