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“But I don’t live with my head up my arse,” he continued. “I know when things aren’t right, and that this world is a mess. I’ve been stewing in it for years. And I like Paris. I got a good vibe about him. I want to help. Plus, he’s a fellow executioner and we’re as loyal to each other as you are to blood.”
Those words caused me a pang of jealousy, along with a flutter of agreement. “You will join us on the proviso that I will rip your spine out of your body if you dare betray us.”
“Brutal,” he answered.
“And I’ll chew on your eyeballs,” Vaughn contributed.
“Got it. Don’t fuck with these vampires.”
“Or me,” Medusa said. “I’ll crush every remaining bone in your body.”
Declan cleared his throat. “Listen, before the sun comes up, I can swear myself to you. Pledge allegiance to the cause. A werewolf thing. Oath of Moon and Fang. Can only do it when the moon is out. What do you say?”
“I’ve heard of that,” Vaughn said. “Always wanted to see it.” He folded his arms and I noticed a shift in his posture, another lift of the sorrowful veil. “You’ve got me intrigued.”
Declan flashed him an amused smirk. “If it’s cool with the king, then I’ll swear the oath. But that also means if you fuck me over, I’ll be picking you out of my teeth in no time.”
Vaughn chortled sounding a little too delighted. “Noted.”
“Please,” I said. “Perform your oath. As king of the vampires, you have my word there will be no betrayal. And my word is binding.”
I ordered his chains be removed.
“Thanks.” The alpha stretched his limbs and went down onto one knee, bowing his head. “I pledge myself to the cause of ending these dark times.” A beam of moonlight cut through the room, bending around us, landing on him as a spotlight. “By Moon and Fang, I swear it.” He lifted his head, his mouth stretching, teeth enlarging into wolf fangs. White fur sprouted around his face, creating a mane. “I swear it. I bind myself to it unless the oath be broken by deceit.”
The moonlight vanished, and his face returned to its humanoid form. He got up and snapped his fingers. “Done. I’m fully onboard. Now, when can I go and get the rest of my pack?”
“The rest of your pack?” I questioned.
“Yes. They’ll follow me. The elf spell will make things easier, though.”
“We will arrange it as soon as possible,” I said.
“Cool.” He flashed Vaughn another smile.
My friend grinned back at him.
Interesting.
Medusa prepared to open a portal back to the Carving Glade.
The vampire guard with the techpad who’d stepped outside the library for a moment rushed inside with a mortal in tow.
Their mutual panic did not fill me with confidence. “What is it?”
“It’s President Walker,” the mortal man answered.
The vampire held the techpad. There, on the screen, was the President of the Human Domain, along with five other mortals, all High-Ranking members of the Global Order. They stood in a line on wooden scaffolding in a square within Oreflame’s financial district. They were all tied to poles, each one with a golden-eyed vampire holding a blade to their throat.
I appeared on the screen, dressed in an immaculate burgundy suit I would never wear.
By Selene, what was this?
Aidan…
My mind stuttered as I watched myself address the camera. “The time has come to break this charade. Vampires are about to take their rightful place as your masters.” I lifted my arms in an uncharacteristically dramatic gesture. “Be witness to the first bleeding of this fallen authority.”
Aidan…
