“I understand what must be done,” I told him, hoping it wouldn’t get too crazy.
He was right, we would have to not only tolerate this man’s personality, but also pretend to fit in with a king who held a yearly fight to the death for freedom.
Couldn’t wait…
Chapter Eight
We steppedout of the room and made our way through the hotel and to the outside. There was a driver waiting for us, a male werewolf, leaning up against a bike with a carriage on the back. It reminded me of the tuk-tuks in Thailand.
“Mr. and Mrs. Drake?” The guy waved us over to the sleek black carriage, the steel glint of the slave collar shining at his throat.
I grinned atMrs. Drake. It sounded good. I couldn’t wait to marry Luka.
Luka greeted the poor wolf slave, and as we settled into the back seat of the carriage he jumped onto his bike and started pedaling. A light rain fell on the city as he took us down a row of market stalls and then into a wider downtown with bigger buildings. There were lots of people living in these buildings. I counted hundreds of windows and dozens of street carts selling food. The cobblestone pathways made it seem European, but the rest of the vibe was Old World Asian. It was a fascinating place. Troll, vampire, witch, fey and wolf all mixed around together, although the trolls and wolves were clearly of a lower level. Their clothes were dirtier and they walked with their heads low, collars at their throat. It killed me to think that two entire races had been broken here in this city.
The driver rode us past loud bars, pool halls, and other boisterous places to a street that started to thin out from tightly packed buildings to homes with trees. There were houses here, yards, children, families. Well, pureblood fey, vampire and witch families, from what I could see. It was a twenty-minute ride until we reached an even nicer neighborhood, one with a guard gate.
“Here to see King Constantine.” The driver bowed his head to a tall sleek vampire, who stepped out of the guard booth.
The guard looked at Luka. “Invitation?”
Luka produced the paper document and the guard looked it over, before peering at me, letting his eyes linger for a moment longer than was polite.
“Is there anything else?” Luka’s voice could cut glass.
The guard met my fiancé’s eyes and handed the invite back. “Have fun.”
The gate opened and then we were driving in. Everything was smaller here, the gates, the roads. I didn’t think they had cars here, just the bike carriages.
When we pulled up to the house, I noticed a row of motorcycles and other bike carriages lined up awaiting guests. They were all black. How very vampire.
“Thank you.” Luka reached out kindly and squeezed the werewolf’s shoulder and he stilled.
“Uh … you’re welcome, sir.” The wolf didn’t seem used to being thanked.
‘They’re not used to be treated kindly by our people.’Luka’s voice in my head was a welcome thing. I had a feeling I would need that to get through this night.
“What’s your name?” Luka asked the wolf as we disembarked from the carriage.
The man was about thirty, short but muscular and rough. He had a face full of fine scars, and an unkempt beard. Just behind his eyes was a cagey look that said this man knew how to fight and wouldn’t hesitate to defend himself.
“Tink,” he mumbled.
Obviously it was a nickname, but from the look of his build and shorter stature, I could see where he got it.
Luka nodded, handing him a twenty dollar bill. “Thank you, Tink.”
The guy looked at the money for a moment, blinking stupidly, and I wondered if they didn’t use American money here.
“I’ve already been paid by the king as a part of my service contract,” Tink said, and attempted to hand Luka the money back.
I reached out and pushed his hand away. “It’s a tip.” I winked.
He nodded and stuffed it back in his pocket, looking at Luka and I like we were aliens.
‘We’re being too nice,’I told Luka.
‘Yes, we will need to blend in better inside,’he responded through our bond.
