Natalia removed her journal from her vest and set it down on the table, then flipped open to a page. “On behalf of my uncle, the Duke of Roselyn, Prince of the Unified Territories?—”
“Get to the point, Natalia,” Chastity cut in. “I don’t have all day to dally.”
“You should make the time,” Tyson said. The witch glanced his way. Her lovely gray eyes widening slightly. “To dally. That is.”
Natalia groaned, but Tyson took it as a good sign that Chastity seemed intrigued. Negotiations didn’t have to be boring.
“What’s your name again?” Chastity asked.
“I’m Tyson. Bastien’s heir.”
A faint crease appeared between her brows. “I didn’t think he had a son.”
“He doesn’t. I’m a court-appointed heir. The best of the best.”
“My, my.” She ran a tongue over her teeth, studying him in a way that made his cravat feel too tight. “And how old are you? I can never quite tell with vampires.”
“Old enough,” hereplied automatically.
She made a small, noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. “One day,” Chastity said, “when you’ve reached an appropriate age, however old that is for your kind, you’ll learn how to get your day’s worth of dallying done in an hour. You see, at forty, I don’t have time to let a man dally around. He needs to know how to get in and get out.”
“Please excuse my cousin,” Natalia said. “He talks twice as much as warranted.”
“That’s alright. I like a man who can make me laugh.At him.” Chastity picked up Tyson’s cup of wine and drained it. “Now, I think you had some treating to do?”
Tyson let the comment roll off him like it didn’t matter and forced a lazy grin. However, it didn’t fit quite right on his face.
Natalia was back in her books. Trying to look official. “We request modest accommodations for our host. Two days should be plenty. Bastien would also like to acquire two relics, if you have any for purchase. And, of course, whatever information you have on the weres that were locked in the tunnel.”
Natalia’s pen hovered over the page of her journal, ready to record exactly what Chastity would say. Tyson glanced down at his empty cup of shit wine and his lack of preparation for this meeting, and another crack formed in his carefully curated mask.
“And what will I get for all of this?”
“We are prepared to negotiate your integration into the Unified Territories, protecting your land and people, as previously agreed upon.”
“Stop right there.” Chastity held up a hand. Tyson knew it was more than a gesture, but a roadblock. “I agreed to join the Unified Territories when Hector was at the negotiating table. Now we’ve got Shayla. And she’s hellbent on renewing the war.”
“What do you mean?” Natalia asked, scribbling.
Chastity’s lips peeled back over her crooked teeth. “You saw those abominations down in the tunnels.” Her fist hit the table, stilling Natalia’s pen. “Those are just the ones we trapped.”
Tyson finally understood what Uncle Bastien meant about the negotiations in the Lawless Lands. One witch dies, and it destabilizes everything.
“We understand things have changed,” Natalia replied without missing a beat. “Hector’s death is regrettable. But we believe we can offer you protection even without Shayla’s cooperation.”
“Your belief,” Chastity said slowly, “is not good enough. Not with werewolves crawling through my tunnels.”
Tyson understood the sentiment. He was currently nursing a werewolf scratch or two that hadn’t healed because he hadn’t fed yet. They were ruthless creatures.
The red-haired witch continued. “I’ve got it on good authority that your Blood Treaty is failing. That covens are breaking with it. And some are even trying to join us on this side.”
“Have you had any visitors?” his cousin asked. “Witches who want to join you?”
Chastity shrugged.
Tyson didn’t need vampiric senses to know his cousin was getting irritated. He saw it in the tightness around her mouth. Natalia struggled to keep a lid on her temper on a good day. This negotiation could go south fast.
“Well,” Natalia said tersely, “I can assure you there is no cause for concern. My family has maintained five centuries of unbroken peace.”
