No wonder there were multiple grim faces in here. Tee spoke up, her voice cold as she glared at him. “Because you’re weak, and you fear what you don’t know, you would threaten innocents?”
He looked taken aback, especially when he stared at her beautiful, flawless face. “I … I’m the president. I must ensure my safety. My country’s safety.”
Her glare didn’t falter, and he almost shrank back against it. “What are you?” he whispered.
“Sorceress,” Tee said with pride. “Magic user, just the same as Louis.”
The president’s eyes flicked to me for a moment before they went back to Tee. “You’re very beautiful,” he said slowly, almost mesmerized. “Like an angel, or a fairy. Far more beautiful than a human woman.”
A low growl ripped from me, the darkness pushing my possessiveness up another notch. “Why did you call this meeting? My elders said that there were very few humans who noticed the spell that briefly revealed our existence. We have no reason to be here today.”
Especially since there were now a ton more humans that knew, and no matter the threats, people always talked.
“I need to gain control of this situation,” he muttered, before finally standing. He was half a foot shorter than me, and he didn’t like that, but he held his ground. “I cannot have beings that I cannot control running around my country.”
I let out a low rumble of air. Exactly what I thought was going to happen. It was about to be a pissing contest. “We have existed side by side with you for centuries,” I told him bluntly. “There was never a time humans were here without supernaturals. It started with the ancient Atlanteans, and then it was the fey, when most of us crossed over. You have nothing to fear from us; we aren’t about to start controlling humans now.”
The president seemed to think on those words, watching me closely. As if he needed the distraction, he turned to Jacob and Justice then. “What are you two?”
Jacob grinned, but it wasn’t a nice smile. It was one that promised death if this fucking idiot didn’t rein himself in. I wondered what the protocol would be if Jacob did actually rip the president’s head off.
“We’re fey,” he said shortly, smoothing back his blond hair. “Elemental in nature, we can control fire, wind, water, air … among other things.”
Someone close by started murmuring, saying something about movies, but they cut that off as soon as the president glared in their direction. He then faced us again before walking closer, as if to prove his own bravery. He leaned back on the front of his desk, parting his arms. “What would you have me do?” he said softly. “Just allow you all to go back to your lives? To have an entire section ofsupernaturalsliving in America, not paying taxes, not participating in our country, not … protecting our country.”
And that’s when I realized what he wanted. What this entire meeting was about.
The president wanted to build an army. He wanted supernaturals to go to war for him.
Before he could say another word, I released Tee and let my power pour from my hands. It arced between my palms in bolts of lightning. Dozens of guns were suddenly firing at us, but a second burst of power shot a shield around us, blocking any attack. The president remained on the inside of our shield, his face drawn in terror as he looked around, realizing the position he’d put himself in.
My magic continued to shoot back and forth, and I had to admit, a lot of it was for dramatic effect. Because I had a fucking huge point to make.
“We will go to war for no one,” I said quietly, stepping closer. He shied back, halfway up his desk now. “If you try to use your influence to make that happen, I will end you where you stand and deal with the consequences of that later.”
He choked. “You’ll be hunted.”
I shrugged. “Right now I’m prepared to negotiate, because I don’t want a war. But I have all the power here; you need to remember that.”
My energy didn’t want to go back inside. Ever since the darkness, it had been so much harder to control, but with a little help from Tee I pushed it down. The four of us were eyeing the president closely; his normal skin color had paled to something almost sickly.
“I want to know everything about your society,” he said slowly, as if he was trying to reorganize his thoughts. “I want a direct liaison … one who can teach me and also … protect me from attacks. While I figure out how we’re going to coexist.”
He clearly wanted a supe with him that he could study, to no doubt weed out our weaknesses. He then swung in Justice’s direction. “I want her!”
Jacob’s growl ripped across the room, and I felt the heat of his fire before it even appeared in his hands. The president was fascinated with that, his eyes locking on the small flames. “I will not negotiate anymore,” he said, swallowing hard. “For now, I will keep this above top secret. I will allow you to go back to your way of life, but I expect to be involved in this new world. Which means you need to leave one of your people with me. One you trust. And I choose her.”
“Not without me,” Jacob said gruffly, but he did extinguish the flames.
The president seemed to consider this for a beat before he nodded. “Yes, okay, I will agree to that. You two will be brought into my Secret Service guard, and you will be with me day and night.”
“For how long?” Jacob bit out. “I have another community that I’m a leader in, and I need to be able to check back in on them.”
“Same,” Justice added.
The president seemed to consider this, and even though I could sense his nerves, he was hiding it better now. “Three months. Then we can meet again. Figure out the future for both of our peoples.”
Jacob turned to me, and I could read the worry in his face. He wanted me to say no, but for now I thought it was a good compromise. The president was going to realize quite quickly that he couldn’t control us like his humans, and that we were to be feared and respected. It was good for him to find that out now.
