Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

I flopped into the back of the limo before Rene closed the door behind Cassara. The vehicle pulled away from the building, and I hoped it was the last time I would be forced to visit the coven. How ironic when I had grown up looking for Ursula's approval.

Cass crossed her legs casually and leaned back in her leather seat. "Ursula is a piece of work, but she lets her anger get the best of her and she is already regretting her outburst."

I crossed my arms. "She regrets nothing. She has always taken pride in making those of us with little magic miserable. It's the coven way or the highway, and she was happy to show me the door."

Rene's finger traced my neck lightly. "I am afraid I have to agree with Cassara in this case. She has no control over you now. Until she allowed her anger to lash out, she had a viable claim to you as a witch. This turn of events is better than I could have hoped."

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

Rene pulled me closer to him. "You are solely mine now. Her outburst was detrimental to her position. She gave up the only rightful claim she had on you. All because you opposed her."

I glanced at Cassara. "You would never give up one of your own for trash-talking you."

Cass laughed. "I would have been kicked from the clan a thousand times over by now if Rene was so easily offended. Had I known Ursula was so vain, I would have verbally attacked her myself. I am going to start a pool at the clan on this one."

Rene gave Cass a withered look. "Surely you have better things to do."

"Not really. Vampires love to gamble, and it is only a matter of time before Ursula contacts you and wishes to mend fences."

I blinked several times. "A pool? Like guess the weight and sex of someone's baby before it's born? You would gamble on Ursula's indiscretion?"

Cass nodded. "With pleasure and the whole clan will love it." She began to text into her phone as I leaned toward Rene.

"She is kidding, right?"

Rene sighed. "I am afraid not. You being ostracized from the coven will be common knowledge soon. And the high priestess will regret her decision on this. It is a viable pool and vampires do like to gamble on more... unique bets."

I wasn't sure that the clan would care what was going on with the coven let alone bet on it, but I was still too mad at Ursula. If I was honest, it was the assumption that she was taking something of value from me, when the vampire overseer had been far more welcoming than she ever had. Even when his emotions were as warm as an iceberg.

When Rene wasn't emotional, he was at least civil. Ursula used threats and power to coerce her subjects into doing her bidding. Rene had fought for the right to be overseer, and the majority of his people respected him. Yes, they feared his power, but he didn't abuse it, and I felt he was far stronger than any of them realized.

We exited the limo as soon as it pulled up to the mansion, and Rene led me back to the foyer. It was abuzz with activity, like a hive that had been kicked.

Many vampires who had avoided my gaze now looked at me with open appreciation.

"What is going on?" I asked.

Dimitri approached us, and I forced a smile to my face. Cass didn't bother.

He nodded to me. "The clan is excited about this new pool. We rarely get to bet on witch-related matters. But Ursula's indiscretion raises certain issues. I am concerned about Raven's safety."

"Why?" I asked before I realized he was speaking to Rene.

Dimitri clasped his hands together and I could tell it was difficult for him to address me as an equal. He and the clan were just beginning to realize how important I was to Rene. "Ursula and her coven are trying to manipulate the clan. She wanted to use you. Her mistake will cost her, and I like having the advantage. Of course, she could simply try to kill you as she has in the past and that would alleviate this mistake. We should take extra precautions. Davon has returned, and I have asked him to personally watch out for Raven. He has always been good with the newest members of our clan."

Cass frowned and Rene looked like he was frozen in place. "Who is Davon?"

Cass folded her arms. "He is Dimitri's brother. Be wary of him."

Dimitri sighed. "Davon would never hurt anyone."

Cass grunted. "I'm not worrying about him hurting her. I'm worried he will try to get in her pants. Your brother is a notorious flirt and not super discreet in that area."

Dimitri glanced away. "We all go through certain stages of development. Especially those of us who are immortal."

Cass grunted. "He is almost as old as you are. He should have sowed his oats by now."

Dimitri had an almost-defeated look, which was rare, and I had to think he wished his brother were more like him. That, of course, made me curious. "I'd like to meet him."

Rene moved closer to me. The shift of position was subtle, and Dimitri smiled. He held up his hand and motioned to a group of men in the corner of the parlor.

I noticed the resemblance as soon as the young man in a pristine dark-blue suit approached us. His dark hair and eyes were identical to Dmitri's, but he had a warm smile, and he held a crystal tumbler in his hand. His pink tie had a cartoon character on it, and I loved the mix of couture and whimsy.

He stopped beside his brother and looked Cass over suggestively. "You are looking as fine as ever, Cassara. When are you going to give a lowly vampire a chance?"

She grunted. "When pigs fly. I am not your type, Davon."

He winked at me. "You can't blame a man for trying." He held his hand out to me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Raven. I've heard a lot about you."

"None of it good, I'm sure."

He kissed my hand gently and Rene pulled me against him. "I disagree. The clan gets a little too stagnant, if you ask me. You have made life a lot more interesting. I bet that Ursula will call Rene at six in the morning."

Cass nodded. "That's a good bet. Gives her time to have a bad night's sleep over it and catch Rene before he retires for the day."

I stared at Davon. "Are you a member of Shadow Bone?"

Dimitri nodded. "He was visiting another clan. It is the reason he was not at your introduction ball, Raven."

Davon took a sip of his drink. "Had I known there would be so much strife as a result of your integration, I would have returned sooner."

Dimitri smoothed his tie. "That is hardly seemly."

Davon shrugged. "True though. This place has the frivolity of the Alaskan tundra at times."

Cass bit her lip to stop from smiling. "How long have you been back, Davon?"

He raised his glass to his brother. "I have been back a week, but I have been... getting acquainted with my clan members."

Dimitri huffed. "The female ones."

Davon smiled. "Women make this world worth living in, Dimitri. If you could pull your head out of your ass once in a while, you might see that."

I pursed my lips to stop from laughing. I never expected to like anything with the last name Galloway, but Davon was the complete opposite of his brother. I would take a harmless playboy over a vampire with political aspirations, any day. At least you knew what a ladies' man was after.

Dimitri glanced away in irritation before turning to Rene. "May we have a word in private?"

Cass glanced at the hallway. "I need to check in with my team. Rene, are you staying in the parlor?"

Rene touched my back. "Stay here with Davon. I will just move to the corner to speak with Dimitri."

Dimitri huffed. "She is safe within these walls. Almost the entire clan has returned and there are no off-site visits without supervision during protective protocols."

Rene stared at Dimitri for several seconds. "You seem to have forgotten that Marie was on site when she was killed. I trust no one with Raven's safety. She will remain in my line of sight, no matter where we are."

Dimitri's lips pursed. "Of course." He followed Rene when the overseer walked toward the corner of the room, passing several clusters of well-dressed vampires.

The room was alive with chatter, and I had to wonder if I was the topic of conversation.

"It isn't that you're a witch," Davon said.

I turned to stare at him. "Pardon me?"

He motioned to the vampires surrounding us. "They don't fear you because you have magic. They fear you because your existence threatens their view of the world. Don't let it get you down."

"That obvious, huh?"

He bumped my shoulder playfully. "I hear that Isra Nassir is one of your best friends. I love Club Spice. Very entertaining."

I laughed. "I'm sure the ladies love you there."

He winked. "They do, but I only go for the shows."

"Isra is also my daughter's father."

He arched an eyebrow. "It takes a very sensual woman to convince a gay man to... experiment. I have met Isra. There isn't a heterosexual bone in his body."

I laughed. "You are so right. We had both lost people and had a brief sexual relationship." I didn't usually divulge my past so quickly, but I found my lips moving before I considered the consequences. Davon was endearing, fun, and had kind eyes. I liked him and I could see why he was popular with the ladies. He didn't strike me as the kind of man to lead you on. Nobody who shared his bed expected it to be permanent or the relationship to be monogamous.

He nodded. "Grief messes with you. Dimitri never really recovered from our parents' death or the unfortunate chain of events after. He comes across as pretty stiff, but you will learn not to take him too seriously. I don't."

"Your parents were killed? Was it vampires?"

Davon shook his head. "They were vampires and a rogue witch killed them just after I was turned. She had fire magic and vampires are not flame retardant. There hasn't been a witch with fire magic since to my knowledge, so there is that, but I am not a super fan of the empowered." He winked. "Present company excluded."

Part of me wanted to be honest and tell him I had just learned I possessed that magic, but honestly, I had no idea how to call on it. The tests forced certain magics to the surface, but that didn't mean a witch would learn to harness their power. My fire magic could be a minor ability that produced no more than a lighter of flame when not fed by the coven's magic. "I am sorry about your parents and the coven is not exactly my friend anymore."

"Yeah, they get all uppity when you don't obey them. It's the reason I hate politics. So boring. Who wants those responsibilities, anyway?"

Davon reminded me of Isra in some ways. Jana would love him but knowing his fondness for women, there was no way I was introducing him anytime soon.

Cass strolled up to us. "Davon, I hope you are playing nice?"

He winked at her. "I would love to play with you, but you keep turning me down."

Her hand strayed to the silver staff at her belt. "I'm too much woman for you, honey. Run along. I need to speak with Raven."

Davon shook my hand again. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Raven. I hope we can spend more time together in the future." He bowed respectfully to Cass and sauntered off before striking up a conversation with a tall blond woman in a long red dress.

I stared at him for a few seconds. "Okay, I gotta say it. Davon is not what I expected."

Cass grunted. "Be careful Raven. He isn't the most… stable among us."

I turned back to her. "He hurts people?"

She shook her head. "No, not physically. Just don't count on him for... anything. He loves the ladies, but he is unreliable when it comes to anything of real importance."

"He did say he hates politics."

"That is true. It's his one redeeming quality. He prefers to party, and he isn't all that discreet about it. Protective protocols are going to put a major crimp in his lifestyle."

There were several gasps, and we turned to see Quinn making his way toward us. His stony exterior belayed his mood and clan members began to move out of his way quickly.

"What is it?" Cass asked as soon as he stopped before her.

"There has been another death."

Cassara's face mirrored Quinn's. "Where?"

"It's Sergei," he hissed.

"Who is Sergei?" I asked.

Cassara's eyes flickered. "He is our blacksmith. He makes most of our weapons."

I noticed Val speaking to Rene before his eyes blazed and he began to walk toward us. He took my hand and pulled me after him. "We are heading to the forge."

I had to jog to keep up with him, and once outside, he veered to the left of the property before taking a side trail covered in shrubs.

The silence was overpowering as we navigated the shadowy trails of the clan's property. The air was as thick as the incoming fog as I followed Rene.

It was impossible to see which way we were going, but the overseer had made this trek hundreds of times and knew the property by heart. This Sergei was obviously well-liked, and the death dealers were a hair's breadth from violence.

Rene strode through the woods with a commanding presence, and even the animals who took refuge on his property seemed to recognize his authority. The entire forest held its breath as we ventured deeper into the heart of the Shadow Bone property.

The moonlight filtered through the branches, creating flickers of light above our heads as we passed beneath them, and the distant hoot of an owl added an eerie warning to the intensity of the atmosphere.

I noticed the amber light through the trees, as well as the scent of metal and soot on the breeze. The trail opened up to reveal the workshop from another era.