Shit. Zack was staring. A stone dropped into his gut. Staring at a vampire was against the rules, and staring at the coven master was a massive breach of protocol. Panic crackled up his spine, and he fought to keep his breathing normal. He couldn’t afford for his fear to overtake him.
Zack dipped his head, spun toward the direction of the stairs, and managed three steps before he heard Seamus call out, “Wait.”
There was no one else he could mean.Fuck. This was not how this was supposed to go. They were doing recon! They weren’t supposed to deal with Seamus tonight. He was supposed to be busy at his club, Devil’s Cove.What the fuck is he doing in the suburbs?
Seamus’s steps were quiet, but the coldness that came with him set off Zack’s internal alarms. His tattoo grew warm, flaring to life to shield his mind.
Two seconds into their meeting, Seamus was attempting to use mind tricks on him.
Zack laid his palms flat against his thighs. If he left them free, he might clench his fists, and that could be perceived as a challenge. He couldn’t risk a fight.
Roger claimed each vampire had their own scent of the grave, but to Zack, Seamus was the first one to stand out. He smelled of dirt and blood—there was no mistaking the pungent coppery tang in the air around him. He strolled around Zack until they were face-to-face.
Seamus’s good looks made Zack’s skin crawl at this close distance. His smile was too practiced, the smoothness of his skin too flawless. His vibe passed from hot to monster-in-sheep’s-clothing.
An itch to run worked up Zack’s arms, but he had to stay put. No excuse to run away would be good enough if Seamus didn’t want him to go. Not according to vampire rules.
“My, my, you’re gorgeous.” Seamus cupped Zack’s jaw with an icy grip and tilted his head up until their gazes met. Red muddled Seamus’s otherwise blue eyes. Older vampires had trouble fully shifting their eyes back to human color. Nell’s were a beautiful shade of ruby brown. Seamus’s irises looked infected.
Instinctively, Zack took a step back.
Seamus allowed his hand to slide off, and he chuckled. “I only want a better look at you. Did you know you have the prettiest gray eyes? And such long lashes for a man, though I suppose that could be mascara. Makeup is fashionable for men your age, isn’t it?”
Holy fuck, are we seriously talking about trends?Zack struggled to find his voice and to keep it level. “Not exactly, master. And I’m not wearing any mascara.”
“Wonderful. I wonder who’s laid claim to you.” Instead of waiting for an answer, Seamus grasped the crest tag on Zack’s collar. He shouldn’t have needed to—and Zack suspected it wasan excuse to get close again—and he made a show of examining it. “I haven’t seen that kraken in decades. Is this some deceit?”
“No, master,” Zack said. “I was going to get my master for you.”
“I could snatch this tag off and claim you for myself,” Seamus mused, as if robbing another vampire meant nothing to him.
And the look in his eye said he didn’t give a damn what Zack thought about becoming his. That if he wanted, he’d justtakehim.
Every single nerve in Zack longed to put his fist through Seamus’s face. He had to fight the impulse to clench his fist and had to force himself to breathe so his jaw wouldn’t continue to tense.
“I think you’d be disappointed in me, master,” Zack whispered.
“I’m not sure I would be,” Seamus replied. After a hint of silence that he was deadly serious, he chuckled and shook his head. “At least you have spirit, unlike his usual shrinking party favors. Go on, run and tell Roger that I’m here. I’m dying to see him again.”
“Yes, master,” Zack said and hurried for the nearest staircase.
He didn’t escape Seamus’s aura until he was halfway up to the second floor. The farther he was, the more his tattoo returned to normal. Had Seamus been actively using his power? Or had he just oozed that much magic?How the fuck are we supposed to murderthat?No wonder Roger had said killing Seamus wouldn’t be simple. A vampire with that magnitude of power could survive the basic staking. Zack’s silver dagger would bypass that, but would it really be enough to kill him?
The sooner we obliterate him, the better. Zack sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He’d survived his first encounter with the enemy. He had data. He could work withdata. They could start making plans.Assuming we make it through the rest of the night.
CHAPTER 15
“You must tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself all these years, mon cher,” Candide said as she hung on Roger’s arm. Having just left Kit, Zack, and Takashi, she was leading the way to the third floor.
Roger kept his stride a slow saunter to match her pace. They had perfected walking in tandem centuries ago. Having her against him like this was a comforting motion in his step. “I’ve been naughty, of course.”
“Naturally!” Candide squeezed his arm. “Your pets are delicious. You usually only keep boys, but that feels like an assumption with one of them. What gender is your fox?”
“Nonbinary,” Roger replied. “Not my first to be so.”
“That’s right. You had that darling pet in … was it 1935?”
“’37.”
