15. Taylen

Chapter 15

Taylen

T he ladies are in the downstairs lounge of Club Descallia when I arrive, freshly showered and ready for a little relaxation after the crazy of the last few days. I head to the bar and slip into an empty chair between Lucianna and Raven. "Anyone sitting here?" I ask.

Lucianna shakes her head. "No, we were waiting for Embry but she hasn't come downstairs yet." She sighs. "I don't think our girl is going to be able to shake this off like everything else in her life. Lucas meant so much to her for so long. They had ties that go back to her grandmother helping him years ago. It's not going to be easy for her to get over him or the feeling that she should have known what he was up to. No matter that none of us did. He fooled us all."

The slinky blonde who flirted with Slobozia sashays past and walks to a door at the back of the club. I track the irritating female until she disappears. I turn away and gesture to the bartender, but Raven's keen eyes don't miss anything. She keeps her voice to a whisper. "You have nothing to worry about. Everyone can see that Slobozia only has eyes for you."

"Do you know where that leads?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me. "The Club Descallia in the Slobozian region is set up a little differently than in Bistrita's region where I've worked for so long. I mean, same look and feel, but the layout is a little different. Does it go down to the playrooms?"

Raven shrugs. "No, I really don't. She's probably heading down to the VIP rooms to find a playmate since her normal one has been taken."

My chest tightens and the look on her face tells me she regrets saying a word the minute they leave her mouth. "Shit. I'm sorry, Taylen. I thought you knew."

"Don't worry about it. Seriously, it's not like the thought didn't cross my mind. He didn't tell me they were a thing, but he didn't tell me they weren't either." I look around, not seeing either Natalia or Chara who would know exactly what to say right now to make me feel better.

As though Raven can read my mind, she slugs me in the shoulder. "Come on, no doldrums tonight. You are the one for him, no matter his past. And we are here to celebrate and to have a good time, and that bartender is far too slow for tonight." With a bob of her head, she conjures up a round of drinks, one for each of the ladies sitting around the table.

The bartender turns around and glances at our drinks, then at each of us and laughs. "I'll assume that my tip will remain the same, thank you very much."

Raven laughs. "But of course!"

Lucianna leans in close, and whispers across me to Raven. "I never personally told you thank you for all of your help. We could not have done it without you and the stones."

Raven smiles. "Devora told us we were to follow the light of the stones and help the vampires, because by helping them, we would be helping our own kind too. The vampires of yesteryear, no offense, but they were horrifying not only to the humans but to us, too. They'd rather the humans burned us at the stake, letting us take the blame and in many instances causing the blame to be directed at us, and then watching us pay for what they did as they watched on."

I suck in a deep breath. The vampire and witches' battles go back centuries and centuries, but I don't sense one bit of untruth in the story that Raven tells. I wouldn't put it past Lucas and his kind to do exactly that, or the humans back in the day for that matter. "If it makes you feel any better, half of the humans we interact with today would like to send us to the stakes and straight to hell too. While many trust us, some have heard the horror stories passed down over the generations. I mean, it's not like we were innocent in all of this. We did kill for blood."

Her eyes swirl with color and she laughs out loud. "You're probably right. Maybe the witches and the vampires have more in common than we knew. We were known for some pretty hellacious things in our past too. We've all changed though, and we should work together. At least Aunt Devora seems to think so. Well, with the exception of the land by the academy. It will probably always be a source of contention between the witches and vampires."

I don't respond to her inclusion of her aunt in our conversation. It's not clear if Raven is dropping her name to let me know she's connected to the witch leader or if she's genuinely sincere. At least not yet. Like some others, it will take time before my trust in the witches allows me to give them free rein without a little bit of restraint.

I give her a reassuring smile though, because deep down, something tells me the pixie-like woman is trying. "I agree, many of the humans have gotten used to us and our ways, but for others they put up with us because of the businesses we own, and the money they make as a result. You know?"

She doesn't deny it but shakes her head in agreement. "It's the same with the witches. Seriously, everywhere we go, the humans want to know the inside scoop of our self-sustained wealth, why we don't toil as they do day in and day out, and how we can afford to live in the luxury we have at the academy. It's not like every witch lives at the academy, or doesn't have to work. The humans only see what they want to see."

I narrow my eyes at the young witch, because we may be settling on common ground, but we also have to call a spade a spade. "It's not exactly like we announce our sources of wealth, or the ones who mingle in with the humans, working side by side with them at jobs are letting on that they are witches and vampires, right? They can't really know their powers exist, right? The witches hide them from the world, at least when they're out among humans right? Keep them a secret?"

She rolls her eyes, and I am rewarded with a small lilting laugh as the masters walk in. Master Romano reaches her side and puts a protective arm around his mate. He looks at me. "You did well in battle, Taylen. I understand you want to try out for the Warriors when we pull the group back together. It is a grueling and tireless job. There are always enemies in our midst, but if you're interested you should apply. Master Slobozia will tell you all about it."

My chest beats hard with pride at the recognition. "Thank you, Master Romano. That's very kind. I've never wanted anything so much in my life. I've been training for a very long time with that purpose in mind."

He smiles. "Then we'll expect to see your name on the list of applicants." He glances down at his mate. "In the meantime, we should get back to our own region.. There is much to do there before traveling back for the upcoming transition ceremony and the crowning ceremony for Master Descallia's queen."

Raven glances up at the dark-haired master who looks at her as though the sun and moon rises with her. "You think that's it? End of Lucas, end of the war?"

He takes a draw of Raven's drink and raises his eyebrows, grinning, but immediately puts the fruity drink with an umbrella back down. "I believe now that the threats have been put to rest, all the masters plan to travel back to their regions until the ceremonies. We've battled the traitors, Isala, the rogue shifters, the ones they put spells on to help them do their bidding, killed Magnus and Lucas. Do I think the rogues will rise again in the future? Maybe."

"Regardless of the victories, we always have to be prepared," Lucianna says, raising her glass in toast and clinking it with all of ours.

Romano nods. "It's true. Every century it seems we do battle with their kind for more or less the same reason, but do I think we have anything imminent to fear? No. I think we can rest assured that the immediate threat is over. Life for the vampires will go on normally, although there is work to do in preparing some of our infrastructure, like the warriors."

The heat of Master Slobozia's gaze rakes over my body, causing it to heat from the other side of the room as he walks in. My eyes find his, connecting, as though we are the only two people in the room. Until the tall blonde sleaze walks out from behind him and I see the red smear that matches her lipstick on his cheek.