Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

Flame

" N o!" Ana shakes her head and staggers back from the screen.

Her legs strike the edge of the sofa, knocking her off balance, and I guide her down before she falls back. She looks into my eyes with questions in hers. I've never wanted to lie to someone more in my entire life. Every part of me screams that I should tell her what she wants to hear. Tell her that Crusher is lying about Phil hosting this demon.

Sitting beside her, I cup her face in my hands. "It's true, darling. Phil told us himself."

Anguish consumes her. As much anguish as I saw, when she learned Phil was dead. And it reminds me why I so badly want to lie to her.

But she shakes her head, releasing her face from my hold. Straightening her posture, she turns back toward the camera and screen.

"Phil," she says. "It doesn't matter if you're the new host. I need to see you."

Phil shakes his head. "I'm not going to risk your life. The demon wants—" He cuts himself off.

Her chin rises. "Phil, you are the strongest, most willful person I have ever known. If anyone can fight against a demon, it's you. No one tells you what to do."

Phil's shoulders shudder.

"And on top of that," Ana says confidently. "You would never hurt me. I don't care how much power this demon might have held over its prior hosts, the demon could never, ever make you hurt me."

"Hurt you again , you mean." Phil's jaw is quivering. I've never seen him like this.

"When did you fucking hurt her?" Crusher growls, drawing my attention.

"That doesn't matter." Ana gets up off the sofa. "Plus, Phil never really hurt me. No more than any of you have." Tiny fists form at her sides, the only outward indication that she's not fully in control of her emotions right now. In fact, she seems far too cool and collected for the situation.

Phil keeps his gaze down, refusing to look into the camera.

"Princess," Zuben pops in. "This is not just about your life. Based on the research Blade and I have completed, if the demon…" He stops himself for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. "If the demon gains enough power, it will mean the end of the world as we know it."

"That's not going to happen," Ana says as if it's a fact. "We won't let it happen. We are a group of strong vampires, one of whom is a witch." She nods toward Ember, then back to Zuben. "You and Blade will learn how to get the demon out of Phil's head, and then we'll kill it. Or if it can't be killed, Ember will figure out how to get it out of this realm and back to where it belongs."

Her strength continues to astound me. In the past day she's gone through so much. Hell, even before today. And still, she's calm. Under the weight of this terrible news, Ana is the one coming up with a plan.

"Both Ember and I have contacts at the Council of Magic Keepers," she continues, her voice even more strong and clear now. "Our diplomatic status with them is solid. They were pleased by how we helped when Ember was first discovered as the Illuminant, and how we cooperated in the capture of the witches controlling Octavia. Relations between vampires and magic keepers are better now than they've been for thousands of years."

On the screen, Ember and Zuben are nodding in agreement, looking more hopeful. All this talk about magic and witch stuff is interesting, but I have zero idea what they're talking about. In what way was Ana's friend Ember "discovered"? And what the hell is an Illuminant?

"Now that I have given the matter further consideration," Ana says, her voice strong and formal, "perhaps it would not be wise for Phil to come here to the palace immediately."

On the screen, Phil exhales heavily, but his expression shows both relief and disappointment.

"That is wise, Princess," Zuben says. "You two should stay apart until this is fully resolved."

She shakes her head. "That is not what I said. What I meant is that Phil coming to the palace would add complications. For example, there is no need for my father, or The Vampiric Council, to know anything about this…this situation. Not yet. It is much better if we come to you."

Phil's chin snaps back like he's been punched. Then he shakes his head. "Too dangerous. Ana. My love…" His normally strong voice trails off.

"Security has been heightened at DEFTA," Zuben says. "After what happened with Diederik…" He turns toward Phil. "Frankly. I do not think I can protect Phil inside this building much longer. If the executive team find out that the demon?—"

"Then leave DEFTA," Ana interrupts. "Immediately. Where shall we meet? Freetown?"

"No," Phil says. "We can't expose the other residents more than we already have."

"I have an idea," Ember says, then she turns toward Zuben. "Do you think Axe would mind?"

"That is an excellent idea." A smile brushes over Zuben's chiseled features.

"What's the idea?" I ask, feeling a bit exasperated at how many chunks of this conversation have been flying over my head. Ana, Ember and Zuben know things we don't. And clearly Zuben and Ember are so synched as a couple they can read each other's minds.

"You are welcome to stay at our new home," Ember says. "All of you."

Ana tips her head to the side. "Do you mean Ryker's condominium apartment on Rittenhouse Square?" Her dissatisfaction with this idea is clear.

"No," Ember says. "Axe and Ryker have been building us a home in the wilderness. Well, they're not building it from scratch. Ryker bought a large cabin. He bought an entire island in fact. It's very remote, on a lake in Northern Ontario. And Axe and Ryker have been working to make it vampire friendly and comfortable for our family."

"Vampire friendly?" I ask. "You mean protective glass?"

She nods.

"But—" Ana stops herself. " You installed sun-proof glass?"

"We have." Zuben and Ember exchange looks. "My research on the longevity of lambent…" He stops himself, as if he accidentally revealed something. "We are planning for the future. And to have guests, of course."

Again, I have no freaking idea what they're talking about, but clearly Ana, Zuben and Ember are trying to avoid explaining to the rest of us something the three of them understand.

"That's a generous offer," Ana says. "Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding?"

"Not at all." Ana smiles. "We have lots of room and would love to have you. We even have an amphibious plane that can get you safely there."

"We should go too," Zuben says to Ana. "Blade and I need to continue our research. Plus, you and Ana should discuss strategies for approaching the Council of Magic Keepers."

Phil grabs his head with both hands.

"Phil." I ask. "What's wrong?"

Dropping his hands, he shakes his head. "This is too fucking dangerous. This thing. This thing is in my head . The horrific things it wants me to do…"

Crusher steps forward. "Phil, you would never hurt her. And if you try, the rest of us will be there to stop you."

"We should get Phil out of DEFTA." Zuben turns toward Ember.

"I'll be in touch to coordinate the travel details," Ember says to Ana. "I can't wait to see you."

Ana smiles. "Thank you again."

"This is nothing compared to everything you did for me," Ember says. Then Zuben reaches forward, and the screen goes blank.

I'm curious to learn more about what Ana did for Ember. But realize she's shaking and pale.

"Are you okay?" I cup her face again, tipping her gaze toward mine. "Holy shit. When was the last time you had human blood?"

Her eyes flutter, her eyelashes brushing over her pale skin, and it's all I can do to keep from bending to kiss her.

"It's been a while," she says. "When I lived here in the palace, I had an intimate. But she resigned her position, not long before Timur and I set out for Philadelphia."

"Intimate?" Blade steps up and slides his hand around her waist. His long fingers span her ribcage and gently stroke in a way that is very intimate. I feel so connected to both Ana and Blade at this moment and hope her letting him touch her like this means she's forgiven us.

Ana shifts her body an inch closer to mine. "You guys don't know the term intimate?" She luxuriously rotates her head, and my fingers slip down to her shoulders.

I wish I could touch her everywhere at once. My hardness strains toward her, pressing against my jeans.

"This is feeling kinda intimate," I say, and relief floods me when her cheeks flush, but not in anger.

"Intimates are humans employed to provide nourishment on a long-term basis for specific vampires at court. My last intimate was with me for twenty-five years."

Blade's eyes widen with concern, and he shifts to her side so he can see her face. "You haven't had human blood since you left here to negotiate with Mariano?"

Her eyes flutter shut again, and she nods.

"Shit, Ana," Blade says. "You need to feed."

She sighs in acknowledgement. "With everything that's been going on…"

"Our stewards in Freetown would have fed you," I say.

"They offered." She leans into me and my heart leaps with joy. "It just didn't seem right in the circumstances, and I wasn't in dire need then."

"But you are now." Blade and I hold her between us, and I turn to see Crusher leaning against the wall at the other side of the room, looking sad and lonely.

"We should all feed," he says. "Especially if we're going to travel somewhere remote."

Ana stiffens in our arms, as if she's just remembered that Crusher exists. Then she pushes gently on my chest and disentangles herself from Blade's arms. Pushing up her sleeve, she reveals a watch-like device on her wrist.

She pushes a few buttons, and says, "Four, please." She pauses, reading something on the tiny screen. "Any gender—no, at least one female." Another pause. "My apartment." Pause. "Fifteen minutes. Thank you."

She steps toward the room's exit. "Come," she says. "I have arranged for all four of us to feed."

"Ana," I call out and she turns back at the door. "What about… What about after we feed." My cock twitches, my need for her threatening to burn through my jeans.

She shakes her head. "At this moment, I can only plan one step at a time."