I smirked and inclined my head toward the beastborn guard. “Small pictures have big ears,” I reminded him, something Papa had always said to Dad when I was little and trying to eavesdrop on their conversations. “Anyway, it was a stupid idea to begin with.” I sat down on the edge of his bed. “How are you doing in here? I know it must feel like being in a cage.”
“It’s a lovely cage with all manner of interesting people. I don’t mind it.”
“I know you miss Dad too.”
“I do, but I’m hopeful that he’ll visit me again, one way or another.”
This was not the first time Papa had pined for my dad. Their early days had been full of discord, largely due to Azrael’s interference. And this time was no different.
“The shadowborn Grigori said that Azrael will be visiting me in dreams,” I told him.
“Sounds dangerous.” Papa studied me closely. “You’d better take Henri along with you.”
I mulled it over. “I don’t want Henri to see those things.”
Papa patted my hand. “He’ll understand.”
Of course, you would understand, but that wasn’t really the point. “He already feels responsible. I don’t want to cause him any more grief.”
“Sharing grief makes the burden easier to bear.”
“Then I don’t want him to see that side of me. The killer. That last time with Dad…” I broke off, imagining his lifeless body in my arms and the vacant look in his eyes. And me, drenched in his blood, inside and out.
“Bring him with you, Vincent,” Papa said again. “Whatever the trauma, his and yours, you can heal together.”
I ruminated on my conversation with Papa while I waited for you to sleep off the effects of the drugs. The more I thought about confronting Azrael, the more it terrified me. He couldn’t hurt me in dreams, not physically at least, but there were all kinds of ways he could damage me psychologically. And the idea of going back to that prison cell, even in my mind…
“Vincent?”
I glanced over to where you were just waking. “Hey there, tough guy, how you feeling?”
“Thirsty.”
I handed you the glass of water I’d set on our bedside table, but you only stared at it suspiciously. “It’s okay. I got it from the bathroom.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“A few hours.”
“What happened?”
“You got disqualified.” I frowned. “For using seduction, but so did Hyas because the water you drank was drugged. Ashur’s too.”
“Drugged, huh?” Your expression, when you looked at me, was similar to Papa’s, but I only smiled innocently. “And what of the alliance?” you asked.
“Well, I pulled a Queen Elizabeth and told the Council they could kiss my sunborn ass, and if they tried to force it, I was leaving and taking my lands with me. It was much more eloquent than that, I can assure you.”
“And they accepted it?”
“I threw a fucking fit, Henri, especially when I realized you’d been drugged.”
You smiled and flicked a lock of my hair. “I would have been honored to be in an alliance with you.”
“You just want to fuck me in public.”
You chuckled. “If that’s what it takes to keep your other suitors at bay, I’d certainly make the sacrifice.”
“I wouldn’t want you getting too comfortable just yet. You might start taking me for granted.”
