“I think so,” Gethin said carefully, pleased Dalziel evidently trusted him. “Not Rosie?”
Charley rolled his eyes with a derisive snort. “They’ve spent so much time in bed together recently, I’m fairly sure he knows if she’s got any birthmarks on theinsideof her various body cavities. I doubt there’s much Rosie could get pastDaddy.” The ‘Daddy’ had a faint bite to the word, but all Gethin could read from the boy was amusement and perhaps a smidgen of grudging respect.
Dalziel paused a few feet from the big front door and spun Charley around to face him.
“And you, my sweet, mouthy offspring made entirely of chaotic energy, need to think before you speak. Think before youthink,to be honest. Look at me, Charley.” He took Charley’s face in his hands and stared deep into the boy’s eyes.
“You will hesitate and think properly before answering any and all questions you are asked tonight. Do you understand me?”
Gethin shivered. He knew vampires used thrall to feed, and that sires forced obedience from their progeny to keep them safe, but watching Dalziel use it on his own child felt unnatural. Except, he supposed, Charley was more vampire than he was anything else and this was to keep him safe.
Charley nodded, his body sagging slightly with the weight of the command. But his smile was as bright as ever while they stood behind Dalziel as he flung the door open to welcome the newcomers.
Gethin had met Fae before, but never royalty. He was determined not to react, but as the party approached, it was difficult not to be awed by their presence and beauty. Ethereal and shimmering, the shimmering no doubt a party trick for effect, the three halted in front of the house looking like the otherworldly beings they were.
“Holy shit,” Charley breathed beside him. “They look like motherfucking storybook elves.”
“Where do you think the stories came from?” Gethin whispered back, his eyes fixed on the three. He could feel Charley’s heartbeat accelerate as the strangers stepped closer still. He reached out to clasp the kid’s wrist in a way he hoped was reassuring.What a way to meet the long lost relatives.
All of them were tall; even the female was at least six foot, the other two on a par with Gethin’s own six three. But where he was built like the alpha wolf he was, all shoulders and thighs, biceps and brawn, the Fae were as slender as saplings. The king, Volik, was Nordic pale, with clear, light brown eyes and strands of hair in every shade of blue, pink and purple that hung in a waterfall past his waist. His cheekbones could cut glass and his stare was imperious, lending a dangerous edge to his androgynous beauty. The woman was darker skinned than Volik, a golden hue, with eyes like rubies, her hair every autumnal shade Gethin had ever seen, again falling in perfect swirls below her waist.
The third in the trio was dull in comparison to his companions but nevertheless still a stunningly gorgeous individual, with tumbling chestnut locks and purple eyes. His clothes designated him of lesser standing than the other two, but all three gave the impression of having been dressed by an artist whose only remit had been ‘excess’. They were dazzling, and they knew it.
Dalziel stepped forward. “My Lord Volik, you are most welcome to my home. If you would do me the honour of introd—”
“My queen, the Lady Neele,” Volik interjected. Gethin couldn’t get a good read on him, but he seemed tense.
Dalziel’s eyes widened a fraction, then he executed a formal half bow. “My Lady.” He straightened. “We are honoured you made the journey this evening. I welcome you all to my home for the express purpose of this extraordinary Council Meeting. If you require rooms, I shall ask my man to prepare them for you, but I am afraid I have some urgent family matters to attend to, so I will need to unfortunately insist that your visit is a short one and does not extend beyond sundown tomorrow. Is that acceptable to you?”
Neele raised two perfect auburn eyebrows in his direction. “It would appear there are many demands on your time, Dalziel. We shall not tarry beyond your stated boundaries. One room will suffice.” Her gaze flicked to the brown-haired male. “He will not need one. For now.”
Dalziel showed no sign her words puzzled him, although Gethin caught a strong blast ofWhat the fuck?The vampire stepped to one side and indicated they should enter. “Please do come in. My son Charley will show you the way to the meeting room. Unless, that is, you have need of some time before you join us…?”
“That will not be necessary.” Volik’s eyes swept quickly over Gethin from head to toe, then his frosty demeanour softened a fraction as his gaze settled on Charley. His hand shot out from under a fur-trimmed sleeve to capture the boy’s chin in his fingers.
“You…are Malin’s child.”
It wasn’t a question but Charley nodded, although he kept silent. His sapphire irises shone in the magical glow the king was projecting about the dimly-lit hallway.
The king patted his cheek with one long finger. “We shall talk later. Onwards. We shall require refreshments.”
Gethin said hurriedly, “Someone will bring food and drink for you as soon as you’re seated. Dalziel is an excellent host.”
The arrival of the Fae caused a flutter of excitement in the meeting room but everyone quickly settled down.
Dalziel waited until Pavel had retired once more before nodding at Justin, who shot him a tense grin. The shifter cleared his throat.
“Well met, one and all. This is an extraordinary meeting, with some new faces around the table. We are honoured to include not only the Fae king, Volik, but his beautiful bride, the Lady Neele, to our gathering.” He paused and waited for the king to wave a hand in acknowledgment. “We should also particularly like to welcome Alexander, who has remained off the collective Council radar since its inception, a feat of either great stealth or…?” He let the sentence hang and quirked his eyebrows skywards, causing a ripple of amused interest amongst the assembly.
Alec grinned, showing his impressive fangs, then got to his feet. He bowed to Justin, Dalziel and Volik, ignoring the other magical folks completely. He said, quietly but clearly, “Good evening, everyone. I would like it stated in the minutes that I use this meeting to formally decline any claim on Dalziel Millar’s title as Senior Vampire of the United Kingdom. That is all. I thank you for your time.” He sat down as fluidly as he’d stood.
“Noted,” Eleanor said briskly. She looked to Justin, who looked relieved. Dalziel’s expression was impassive and Gethin couldn’t get a fix on his emotions. Damn it, the man would be a fantastic poker player.
Justin quickly welcomed Charley and Luc to the meeting, explaining they were considered less than negligible on the risk front and had been granted permission to attend. Then his gaze rested on Sorley. Gethin felt the vampire tense, but he nodded politely when Justin formally introduced him to everyone.
“We all know why we’re here. We have to stop these attacks. One man has died. There’s reasonable evidence to suggest he might not be the last. The murderer, because let’s face it, we can’t call him, or her, anything less now, strikes seemingly at random, with no obvious pattern to the attacks apart from them all having taken place at night. We have no reliable information about themat all.”
Marlowe, the mage, raised his hand. “There is, I believe, a pattern.”
