Kaj peered down at the large vampire at the opposite end. Though he’d had some time to get used to the fact his males were back with him, he still found himself sending up a silent thank-you to the deity upstairs. To have gotten them back after he’d been certain they had met their demise was likely far more than Kaj deserved, but he wasn’t about to question the Almighty’s reasons. They were here. That was all that mattered.
“You do realize there are five more warriors who’ve yet to mate,” Kidel noted as he strolled into the room, pulled out a chair, fell into it.
“Yeah, but for now, they’re not emitting that fucking energy.” Blaz chuckled. “See what I did there?”
Considering the immense stress Kaj was under, he welcomed the levity. As it was, he’d been going over and overand overthe conversation he’d had with Michael a week ago. Only seven days he’d been pondering the archangel’s request for him to resurrect the original vampire. Who, the male had so kindly told him, was currently riding shotgun in Oliver Calazans’s body.
Oliver freaking Calazans. Obsidian’s mate’s brother.
For fuck’s sake.
A ten-thousand-year-old all-powerful vampire soul smashed into a five-foot-seven-inch human. Kaj couldn’t fathom how that was even possible, yet he didn’t doubt for one second Michael had pulled a stunt like that.
And while they’d both known Kaj couldn’t really say no to the request, the archangel had still granted him time to consider it. Being familiar with Michael’s thin patience, Kaj figured that clock was quickly running out.
Kaj pushed to his feet. “I need to talk to Mirakel.”
“He’s still back at Angel Central,” Blaz stated. “Said he had something to take care of.”
Blood needs, more than likely. For whatever reason, Mirakel had stopped allowing the Fae to come to his private quarters, though from what Kaj knew, the male was continuing to feed from the same female … whatever her name was.
“Thanks,” Blaz said to theheurospwho delivered his morning meal.
“You’re most welcome, sire.”
Blaz rolled his eyes and pointed his fork at the male walking away, mouthingsire, and shaking his head. As a member of the Zenith, Blaz was used to being considered the upper echelon, but thevestrahnwho regularly waited on them had never referred to them using any sort of honorific.
“He’s spending quite a bit of time there,” Kidel noted, as though he just realized Mirakel had been gone a lot.
“I think he’s got a thing for Briony.” Blaz grinned before shoveling eggs into his pie hole.
Yes, Briony. That was her name.
“She’s a pretty one,” Kidel said. “But the rumor is, she’s never been with a male.”
Kaj cocked an eyebrow.
Blaz gasped as though that was a preposterous thought.
“What?” Kidel offered a sheepish shrug. “Males talk, too, you know.”
Oh, Kaj knew. They were a gossipy bunch, this one.
“I was about to head over,” Huracan’s deep voice boomed from the next room, where he reclined casually in a dinky leather armchair, ankle resting on the opposite knee, his iPad propped on his thigh. “Want me to track him down?”
“Whoa, dude. Didn’t see you there,” Blaz said. “Snazzy outfit. You got a hot date?”
Huracan rolled his eyes, focused on Kaj. “Want me to send him this way?”
Kaj took a moment to decide if making the trip over was worth it. From here, at least the echo of pain he felt in his chest whenever Acadia fed another male was bearable. When he was at Angel Central, it was brutal. Sometimes he thought she did it on purpose, choosing the exact moment of his arrival to open a vein to one of those greedy angels.
Not that he blamed her. Kaj had taken to feeding from other females because he had no choice. Problem was, he was going to have to increase his volume. As it was, he was skipping a couple of days, and in order to be in top fighting form, he needed to feed daily. If he’d had a female vampire nearby, he would’ve opted to feed from her so Acadia didn’t think he was trying to rub it in her face. That was absolutely not his intention. In fact, feeding in general had become an exercise in futility, something he wished wasn’t a requirement to his mere existence.
But he couldn’t avoid the place forever. They had too much shit to do for him to be hiding out from a female.
“I’ll find him,” Kaj told the male. “I need to check in with Bijou, anyway.” He peered down the table. “What’s the word on the security?”
“I’m finishing up the controls for the cameras,” Blaz noted. “We’ve got ’em installed, just need to sync, then I’ll work with Reidar to get everything tied together. They’ve given us access to their exterior feeds already.”
