Chapter 7

We satin the bar in the very early hours, poring over Zee's contract, while Tom Collins watched on, glowering and muttering about how useless Reynard and I were. He had a point.

"It says he was sold by a demon named Copernicus." I'd never heard the name, and Zee hadn't ever mentioned it. But he didn't talk about his past. I'd only recently learned his real name was Lycian, and only then because the vampires had let it slip.

"Copernicus was a warrior general during the war," Reynard said casually, as though it was common knowledge. He sat in the chair, looking a little frazzled since his run-in with Sebastien. His hair was a bit mussed, and his nice shirt had glitter on it from Seb's clothes. He also kept looking away, as though his mind was wandering. Like he was doing now.

"War?" I asked.

Reynard looked back. "I forget you're not one of us. My apologies. You may have noticed, there's some animosity between vampires and demons."

"Uh well, yes, a bit."

"Demons and vampires have been at war for several centuries."

"What for?"

"What do most societies fight for? Land, resources, and more recently, out of principle. We don't like demons."

I was aware of that last part, but hadn't paid much attention to their war, probably because I'd been fighting my own battle.

Reynard leaned back in his chair. "I suspect Zodiac's was one of the first battalions to venture through the tear in the veil, and when it sealed, it trapped him and his fellow warriors here. With no war to fight, they were adrift. This contract confirms that General Copernicus sold his warriors into service, as was his right as their general."

That made sense. Lost Ones had had a hard time of it when the veil sealed itself back up. With no way home they'd had to adapt. "Are all demons warriors?"

"Most, to some degree. Their society is warlike by nature. If I have my timings right, Zodiac's battalion was the first wave, sent here to scout out for the second wave—the invasion force."

"Invasion?" I squeaked. "The demons were planning to invade?"

"In truth, if it hadn't been them, it would have been us," he said. "This world is ripe and verdant. Ours is—was—stripped to the bone. No invasion happened. The veil slammed shut. Nobody has been able to go home or come through since, which is probably for the best for everyone."

It sort of made sense. I knew Zee had a whole other side to him. I'd witnessed it when we'd saved Reynard from his family. "Was Sebastien a warrior too?"

Reynard's lip curled in disgust. "I do not know. It's possible—likely even. But he does not fight like one."

"No." He'd preferred to pull a gun and shoot his own guard than fight.

"I'll take this contract to an expert," Reynard said. "While demons don't much care for human law, they do take contracts seriously, and from what I can ascertain, it appears to be watertight. But I'll ask Pierce to go over it. He'll find any weaknesses, if they're there to find."

"Pierce?" I'd heard that name recently, but sleep deprived and emotionally fragile after Zee had dumped me, I couldn't recall where.

"Yes, he's the royal scribe. An expert in contracts and deals. He's on the council. You likely saw him seated behind the princess during your visit to the mansion."

Oh yes, there had a been a vampire who Princess Daisy had turned to, querying my claim that our guestbook was a type of contract. "Do you have to go back to Vampire Mansion to talk to him?"

"No, I'll ask him to meet me here or at my office. Both locations are warded. He'll come. He'll be too curious not to."

"Good, that's good. I can't lose you too," I muttered, scanning the contract again. Then I caught Reynard's querying glance, and realized I'd spoken that last part aloud. "I mean, I uh..." What had I meant?

Exactly what I'd said.

I had nothing to add, and instead rustled the contract in my hands. "It does seem thorough."

"Adam, Zodiac was quite clear. He doesn't want you involved in his life there."

"I'm aware." His words still cut deep, and if I thought about them, a knot tightened my throat. "But I don't give up, not when it's important."

Reynard nodded, and sat back in thought a while. "I'd like to apologize for my behavior at Razorsedge."

"It's nothing." I waved him off and stared hard at the contract, so I didn't have to see his eyes or his handsome face, or the way the top button of his shirt was missing, making his collar gape, or how his precise fingers played with a hotel coaster. "You weren't to know Sebastien had a gun, and I suppose the gargoyle knew the risks when he signed up to protect Sebastien."

"Not that. I meant in the room. Between us. You've been resistant to my suggestions before, and honestly, I forgot you're human. I have become careless around you. Please, accept my sincerest apologies."

Yeah, no, that wasn't what happened. "Like I said, it's nothing." I stared harder at the contract.

"Well, it's not nothing. Consent is a large part of what makes this hotel work, and what I did to you was nonconsensual. I wouldn't want it to get in the way of our friendship?—"

"You don't need to explain." Please stop explaining.

"I'd never knowingly hurt you, I owe you a great?—"

"Yes, okay, it's fine."

"Adam."

He lifted my gaze to his stern face. He seemed pained to think he'd persuaded me to do something I didn't want to do. Oh dear, I was going to have to tell him the truth. Or some of it. "You didn't coerce me. You can't. I wanted it. It was all me. You didn't do anything wrong. Don't apologize."

"But I . . . You were clearly smitten."

I placed the contract down and sighed. "I may be the tiniest bit not human—just a smidge, like one percent not human. Zero-point-one percent. I'm mostly human. All the important bits, but not those bits. I mean, some other parts of me..." He was staring oddly, and those perfect eyes had begun to narrow with suspicion. "It could be, probably isn't, might be, that I am immune to your persuasion, so erm... yeah. You didn't do anything to me, because you can't."

Tom Collins dropped and smashed a glass. "Shit!"

Reynard cast him a sideways glance, then flicked his gaze back to me. "Indeed."

I fixed Reynard's gaze under mine. It was time to make one thing very clear to the vampire lord. "You can't break me, Victor."

He swallowed, then briefly looked away, before facing me again. "Then what happened in that room was consensual?"

The part in Razorsedge where he'd gotten all bossy, and I'd gotten all hot, as though I'd been shoved into a power outlet, and my brain turned to goo while other parts of me got real hard? That part? "That was, uh, all me. I guess." Mercy, someone kill me now. There was little point in denying my desires now. It was probably best to lay it all on the table. "Look, I have a little thing for you." I poked at a coaster, keeping my head down. "Kind of always did. And then we went dancing, before your family kidnapped me, and the thing got worse—or better, I'm not sure. And we uh... You remember? On the deck outside the dance club. I don't know if that was genuine, or just to lure your wife out of hiding, but I liked it, and I'm really not in a good place right now to deal with all this, so can we maybe not talk about it and just pretend the red room didn't happen?"

The jukebox had stopped playing. I peeked up, and found him motionless, and staring.

He swallowed, and sat back. "I see. Right. Yes. Of course. It did not happen. As you say."

We all fell quiet, and now it was really awkward—crawl into a hole kind of awkward. I was going to need a Tom Collins drink.

"In that case, you should know, it was genuine," he said. "Or, more correctly, I was being genuine when we kissed on the deck outside the dance club, prior to my spouse's ultimately fatal arrival. I've rarely had such a fine evening. Killing my wife was the perfect digestif. Unfortunately, you were taken, and what happened after is best forgotten. But prior to that? Yes, a fine evening, indeed. And fine company."

My heart thumped. "Oh." Wait, he liked me? Not just as food? Or was that what he meant? "So uhm, in Razorsedge last night, that was real then?" The whole growly, "Tell me you want me, Adam." That had been real?

"Invigoratingly so." He reached across the table and tentatively brushed his fingertips over the back of my hand, as though fearing I might reject him. Which was ridiculous.

Mercy, our hands were touching, fingers stroking, and it was nice.

Tom Collins slammed a bottle onto the bar, startling both of us. We jerked our hands back and glared.

Tom tutted. "You can fuck later, after you've saved my best performer so I can sell more fucking overpriced drinks and make this rundown excuse for an establishment profitable. You think patrons come to this bar for the atmosphere? No, they visit to lust after Zodiac and get drunk, courtesy of yours truly." He tugged on his bow tie. "The profit on my liquid creations is fivefold. So, pack your little Bella-and-Edward drama away, and go save the one unique selling point this rundown hotel has. You may fucking thank me later."

Reynard faced me and cleared his throat. "Who are Bella and Edward?"

"Friends of his?" I had no idea, but it was probably best not to ask.

"Adam. For the sake of clarity, what happened between us at Razorsedge didn't happen until we mutually acknowledge it did. Correct?"

There was an us? I swallowed. "Yeah." My heart skippety-skipped. Lord Victor Reynard liked me. Now, I just needed my bestie demon back and everything would be fine again. As fine as any day at the SOS Hotel could be. "Let's free Zee."