But to go back….She shuddered.No.
“I’ll go to Paris,” Chas said flatly. “I can get in to him?—”
“No, Chas,” Maia interrupted. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Be still, Maia,” her brother snapped, and received a warning glare from Dimitri.
“And you attempting to kill Moldavi wouldn’t necessarily stop Napoleon,” Voss added. “Although?—”
“Attempting to kill him?” Chas echoed. His voice was sharp. “A poor choice of word?—”
“Cezar could stop him if he wanted,” Narcise said slowly. “He’s got the new emperor under his thrall.”
“It does seem more than a bit convenient that Bonaparte has been sitting for months with his army ready to cross the Channel at any moment…and now Moldavi claims he will invade at last,” Dimitri mused. “I’m inclined to believe that your brother,” he said, looking at Narcise, “is indeed behind all of this.”
“And if he’s influencing Bonaparte to invade, then he can stop him as well,” Narcise said. And her Mark panged sharply…because she was thinking about what it would be like to return to Cezar. To put herself back under his control.
A little shiver caught her by surprise—a ripple of fear and trepidation—but then she remembered Sonia’s vision.I’m his greatest fear. How can that be? And how could I use that?
It made her stronger. She could go to Cezar knowing that. And if he feared her, then it gave her the chance to destroy him.
If it were on her terms….
Narcise’s heart began to pound harder. Could she actually go back there? She remembered the comforting feel of the saber…the way Cezar’s eyes lit on her, with both delight and hate.
Another shiver started in her belly. It could be true. Shecouldbe his greatest fear.
“You aren’t considering going,” Chas said, breaking the silence. “Narcise.” His voice was strung tightly and she saw the fear in his eyes.
But it was the weight of Giordan’s stare that she felt the most. Heavy, silent, dark…resting on her like a boulder.
“He fears me,” she said, thinking aloud. “He fears me more than anything in the world.”
The twinge that had begun to inflame her shoulder eased a bit more. She had power.
“But how will that help you?” Chas said, his voice low, as if he were fighting to keep it so. “Once you’re back there with him, you’re under his control. In that place. He’s got damnedfeatherseverywhere, Narcise.”
“There’s something else,” Maia Woodmore said quietly.
“Maia,no,” Dimitri said, his voice like a whip. “I forbid you.”
She looked up at him, a steely but determined expression on her face, and lifted her chin. “Youwould want to know.”
He glared at her with his mortal eyes, the burning no longer an actual glow, but no less furious. “Maia. You don’t understand.”
“Allow me,” Giordan spoke again. He shifted in his chair, dragging Narcise’s gaze toward him. His movements were so studied and casual that their easiness seemed forced. “I suspect Narcise isn’t the only one Moldavi wants returned.”
Dimitri made a soft, sharp curse under his breath and turned to look at his friend. “Naturally,” he admitted.
“Just to clarify,” Maia broke in in her imperious voice, “Moldavi promises to stop the invasion if NarciseorMr. Cale returns to him. He doesn’t specifically requireboth?—”
“I’ll go.”
Narcise’s breath caught at the blank expression that had settled over Giordan’s face as he spoke. Like a mask. Empty, emotionless. She recognized him…and yet it wasn’t truly him. His eyes…they appeared dead. And they were looking at her.
Her heart was thudding in her chest, but she wasn’t certain why. The image of Cezar and Giordan rose once again in her mind and even the memory of the stew of smells around him came with it. Her belly lurched and she bit her lip, thrusting the thoughts away.
Dimitri started to say something, but Giordan’s voice slashed out. “Don’t be a fool. You haven’t the means to stop me.”
