Our powers meshed and blazed, a light show seen even by the humans in the room, as if we were surrounded by an internal aurora borealis. My hands still on his crown, Edmund raised his head again and met my eyes, his brown and awed, mine reflecting in his, the golden glow of my cat. Our powers shifted, changed. Balanced. Without fully understanding how, without our former bond, I knew Edmund couldcallme, just as I could call him. That was pretty spectacular.
Edmund stood. He turned, a step below me, and faced the crowd.
I said, “Behold. The Mithran Emperor of Europe. Edmund the First.”
***
The party after was radical.
It started when the dance floor had been cleared and Edmund and I were standing—him with a lighter-weight crown, because honestly he’d have fallen over trying to dance in the heavy one—as a string quartet played the first notes of a waltz. Angie, who hadn’t visited withher vampire, due to protocol issues and people dying, raced up, stepped between us, and held up her hands. She said,“I know you can’t be my fiancé, but you can be my bestest vampire friend. BVFFs forever.”
“Angelina,” Molly gasped, horrified, as her daughter claimed the first dance with the new Emperor.
The plan had been for that first dance to be between the Emperor and the Dark Queen, but what good was having power if you couldn’t change things on the fly?
Edmund laughed, I shrugged, and Ed took her hands. Her feet followed the steps of his shiny boots as the waltz began. I took Bruiser’s hand and was led into the dance as well. Beside me, Eli led Liz onto the dance floor, while the vamps, humans, and witches watched.
Loud enough to be heard over the music, Koun said, “And so begins a new era of peace and cooperation between Mithrans, witches, Onorios, humans, and our queen.”
Ohhh. Perfect.Yeah. It was a good start to a great party.
When the first waltz ended, Ed led Angie to her father and handed her off. “I do not envy you the next decade or two,” he said mildly.
“Me neither,” Evan said gruffly.
Then the Emperor of Europe turned, walked to me, and lifted his arms. “My Queen. This is our dance.” The floor cleared, and Jane Yellowrock, the Dark Queen, and Eddie the Great, Emperor of Europe, danced across the ballroom floor.
The dancing and drinking lasted till dawn, which is when Bruiser and I fell into bed in the small quarters that used to be Leo’s. We did take the time to strip off our finery, let down our hair—in my case, literally—and rinse off the dancing sweat and the odors of food, and make love under the pulsating showers. Priorities and all that.
After amazing sex we fell into the bed and snuggled in together, face-to-face, arms resting on hips and waist. Exhausted. Happy.
Our eyes met and held, sharing love and promise. Our breathing evened out.
“I’m glad the crown came off so easily,” I said.
“Making love in it sounds painful.”
“Hmmm. We should be tired,” I said.
“Sometimes a good party and even better sex is energizing.”
“Sometimes.”
Bruiser raised his hand and stroked a strand of my hair behind my ear. His smile was soft. His eyes were full of emotion, of need, so intense it brought tears to my eyes. “I wasn’t supposed to love you. He wanted you for himself or for Edmund.”
“It wasn’t love at first sight for either of us.”
“I think I loved you from the first time I danced with you. Perhaps before that. Just a little. I never thought I would have you, though. I always thought you would end up where Leo wanted you.”
“I’m ornery. I tend to go where I want.”
“You are a cat, thank all that’s holy.” He slid a hand up and down my side, over the curve of my hip. “What’s next for us, my love and My Queen?”
“We have to deal with Mainet’s vamps in the scion room.”
“Ummm. That could be bloody work.”
“Isn’t it always? And then I have to have a meeting with the Blood Masters here and force them to pick a Master of the City of New Orleans.”
