Navya held his gaze a second longer before turning and walking toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Vitus demanded.
She didn’t slow as she made her steady way out of the room. “There is no need for my presence here any longer.”
Outrage settled on Vitus’s features as Jabari and Tse followed in her wake. “You can’t do this.”
Ahrun studied his fingernails. “It looks to me like it’s already done.” He looked up sharply. “Unless, of course, you wish to challenge me.”
For a second, I thought Vitus would do exactly that. The impulse practically screaming from his body. To my surprise, he backed down, stalking out of the ballroom in a silent fury.
The enforcers were the last to go. The same one from the field offering Liam a respectful nod as he passed. His gaze lingered on me for a second, his lips tilting up before he was gone.
Thomas released a harsh breath. “That was close.”
“It always is,” Ahrun agreed. He stopped in front of me, lifting my hand to his lips. “It’s lovely to see you again, my dear. I was quite impressed with the way you shifted responsibility for Dominick’s death. Thomas chose wisely with you. You’re an excellent addition to our line.”
Connor snatched my hand out of Ahrun’s grasp, sending him an unfriendly look.
“Little sparrow, do you still carry a grudge from all those years ago?” Ahrun asked with an amused chuckle.
Thomas rubbed his forehead. “Father, please stop provoking my children. They’re not the only ones with reason to be upset with you.”
Connor wrapped an arm around my shoulder, still glaring as he guided me away from the ancient. I shot a questioning look at Liam, asking if he needed my help. He waved me away in dismissal as Ahrun faced Thomas.
Nathan stepped over the vampire he’d reduced to a lump of meat, moseying toward us. “What did I tell you about having fun without me?”
“It looks to me like you had plenty of fun on your own.” I shot the body a significant look.
Nathan blew a raspberry. “Child’s play. Nothing more.”
I shot a glance at Liam and Thomas’s serious expressions. “Have you met Ahrun before?”
“He was a force to be reckoned with before his devolution.”
I sent him a curious look, catching both admiration and caution in those words.
Nathan met my gaze with a serious one of his own. “His return means a shift in the balance of power in our world. A lot of things are going to change from here on out.”
Why did I feel like I was the one to blame for that?
twenty-two
AweeklaterIpushed through the doors of the Blue Pepper to find Dahlia tending bar.
“The repairs are coming along nicely,” I observed, walking over to her.
You could barely tell a person had been murdered in here and the ceiling set on fire. At least, as long as you ignored the smell of ash and death. And the singe marks on the ceiling.
Maybe that was why the bar was empty even on a Friday night, when usually you’d have to fight your way through a press of bodies to order a drink.
Dahlia finished drying the glass she was working on and set it down before picking up the next one.
I leaned an elbow against the bar. “Remember that favor you asked me for?”
Her eyes met mine.
I nodded toward the doorway where Ahrun had just walked into the bar. He scanned the place, spotting me and then Dahlia a second later. Realization showed on his face as he moved toward us. “It’s been a thousand years since someone dared lure me into a trap.”
