Burning Both Ends

“Daron’s beliefs are my own. I will not turn my back on them.” Andreas frowned at his long-time friend. “If you were aware of the O-Seven’s intentions, why did you come to Toronto? Were you supporting Sebastian’s efforts?”

“God, no!” Gabriel held up his hands in protest. “How could you think that? Don’t you trust me?”

“I can explain,” Marta offered.

“No,” Gabriel said, his voice sharp as he turned to face Andreas. “I want to hear your answer first. Don’t you trust me?” he repeated.

Meeting Gabriel’s gaze, Andreas seemed to pick his words carefully. “I do not question our friendship, but I have not seen you in some time. I do not know your current attitude toward Daron and his beliefs.”

Gabriel looked somewhat mollified but before he could comment, Marta stood and came to his side.

“I invited Gabe to Toronto,” she said. “We knew each other before I came to Canada, and I figured I could trust him. Some of us saw how Sebastian’s obsessions were threatening our community.” Her face hardened. “It was bad enough he’d nearly decimated our wolf partners, but when we learned he’d consorted with a demon—even brought the creature into the compound, placing us all at risk, we decided to gather recruits to mount a challenge. I immediately thought of Gabriel.”

“And you came? You volunteered to get in the middle of a fight?” Andreas gave his friend a skeptical look. “Not exactly like you.”

“I admit I had an incentive. The situation in Europe was getting a little hot for me. You may not have known my sympathies lay with Daron’s movement, but the O-Seven did. I’d been under surveillance for months.” He lifted one hand in a dismissive manner. “Helping Marta seemed like a good opportunity to make myself scarce for a while, so I came over six months ago.” His characteristic grin appeared. “I hoped if I got as far as Canada, I’d run into you sooner or later.”

Some of the stiffness left Andreas’s figure. “So you have, and I am glad to have you here.” He slapped Gabriel none too gently on the back. “How does Sebastian’s death affect your plans, Marta?” he asked too casually. “Do you still desire the crown?”

Ari’s eyes flashed to Marta’s face, but the vampiress gave away nothing.

“I wouldn’t turn it down. If you’re asking if I will challenge you for it, the answer is no. Not if you change things around here, and if you can successfully hold off other challengers. You have a legitimate claim to the crown, but I will not have another outsider come in and take it. They’re bound to come, you know. Toronto is a coveted prize, and the crown has not been available for dozens of decades.” She looked him up and down. “You have proven powerful, Andreas, but you are also inexperienced in running a large court, and your challengers will have Europe’s support.”

“I appreciate your candor,” Andreas said, “and will keep your reservations in mind. There is much still to be done before matters are fully settled.”

A clever woman, Ari thought, to admit her ambitions. According to Gabriel, Marta was over three hundred years old—older than Andreas. A formidable adversary if she changed her mind. She would bear watching.

In the awkwardness that followed her declaration, Marta soon left them. Ari was tempted to follow her to see where she went and who she talked to. The vampiress had said she wouldn’t challenge Andreas, but she hadn’t said she would support him against other challenges. Ari thought it was a big omission and brought it up.

“I think you’re worrying too much,” Gabriel said. “Marta will be fine. She’s the cautious type, and she doesn’t know you yet. She’ll be there when you need her.”

Predictably, Andreas shrugged. “We will find out soon enough. I believe part of her assessment is accurate—one or more challenges are certain to come. I look forward to our people arriving from Riverdale. Even then, we will be greatly out-numbered, and it is too soon to rely on the promises of those we have just met.”

“Agreed,” Ari said, feeling an instant sense of relief that he wouldn’t take anyone at face value. “Just because they didn’t like Sebastian doesn’t mean they’ll like us.” She turned to Gabriel. “Who are these dissenters she talked about? If it comes down to a fight, where will they stand?”

“I can identify most of those Marta met with over the last six months,” Gabriel said, “but I’m not confident they’ll be of much use. As soon as I got here, it was obvious no one was willing to take the lead in standing up to Sebastian. They were too intimidated, and rightfully so, I might add. He was vindictive and had spies everywhere. We can’t forget those spies are still out there—somewhere—and the dissenters may still be afraid to act.” He spread his hands in a doubtful gesture. “I’m sorry, but I can’t predict what most of them will do.”

“So be prepared for anything,” Ari said.

“Exactly.”

The conversation soon turned to room arrangements for the troops yet to arrive, and Ari lost interest. She watched the two men’s comfortable interaction. Gabriel’s presence was proving indispensable, both for his knowledge of Sebastian’s court and his long-standing loyalty to Andreas. She would be more confident of Andreas’s ultimate success, knowing Gabriel was at his side—if Gabriel’s friendship was genuine. People change.

A wolf appeared at the door, motioning to Gabriel.

While he was away, Ari voiced her concern. “You trust him, don’t you? Gabriel, I mean.”

“I trust his allegiance to me. Why do you ask?” Andreas frowned. “Has he done or said something that makes you doubt him?”

“No, but you questioned him about his reasons for coming to Toronto.”

“Would you have done less?” When she shook her head, he echoed her earlier thoughts. “People can change over time. I had to be sure, but I was satisfied with his answer.”

“It sounded OK to me, too, but you know him a lot better. I wanted to be sure I was reading him right. You’ll need his support in the coming weeks.”

Andreas’s quick turn of the head indicated he’d sensed an unspoken meaning in her words, but before he could pursue it, Gabriel returned.

“News travels fast,” the blond vampire said, dropping back into the cushioned chair.

Andreas cocked his head. “A little more information would be helpful.”

“Oh, sorry. I was thinking about our unexpected visitor. Never known this to happen since I’ve been here. The local Guardian has come calling. Says her name’s Zoe.” He turned to Ari. “She claims to know you.”

“She does.” Ari popped to her feet, an instant smile on her face. “Where is she?” This was the best news she’d had in the last twenty-four hours. She hurried out of the lounge, crossed the audience chamber, and threw open the doors. “Zoe!”

A slender, leggy woman with short brown curls waited rigidly in the hallway with a vampire standing on each side of her. Her pixy face lit at Ari’s greeting. Like Ari, Zoe was a mixed-species witch, but her family had bred with the elves rather than humans. The elf blood accounted for her nearly six-foot height. When Ari dismissed the vampire guards, Zoe relaxed, beamed from ear to ear, and enveloped Ari in a smothering hug.

“I had to see for myself if it was true. Is Sebastian really dead? Let me look at you. Are you all right? How long are you staying? Who is this hunky new prince I’m hearing about?”

“Whoa!” Ari said, laughing and trying to extricate herself. “In order, I think. Yes, Sebastian’s dead. I’m fine. Don’t know how long I’ll be here.” Ari dragged the other woman across the chamber toward the lounge, with Zoe twisting her head from side to side, gaping at the decor.

“God, this is awful,” Zoe said, peering at one of the statues. “It looks like something out of an old Hollywood epic movie.”

“Well, yeah,” Ari conceded. “Sebastian’s taste was really bad. But you’re going to like this.” She opened the lounge door. “Let me introduce you to the hunky prince, Andreas De Luca.”

Ari grinned as Andreas glided forward. “This is my friend, Zoe Vesper, one of the—I believe it’s six—Toronto Guardians.” Blushing, Zoe nodded, confirming Ari’s count. “Zoe helped me when I came to Canada on the drug case.”

“I remember. My pleasure.” Andreas bowed over Zoe’s hand, causing her to blush again. When they had murmured polite words, Ari introduced Gabriel. The guys were on their best behavior, quite charming, in fact, and Zoe’s expression proved she was suitably impressed.

“How did you hear about this so quickly?” Ari asked when introductions and civilities were completed.

“You, indirectly. You notified your magic council, your president talked with mine this afternoon, and it eventually trickled down to me. But everybody’s talking about it now. So here I am.”

“I’m surprised you’re still up.” It was nearly 2:00 a.m. and most Guardians had a regular day schedule. “Didn’t you tell me you were normally getting up at dawn, which is only about four hours from now?”

“You got me there,” Zoe admitted. “I am a bit of a sleepy head at this time of night, but this is big news and a friend called and woke me up. I got dressed and rushed over because I couldn’t wait to see you. And meet the new prince. Was that too pushy?”

“Are you kidding? I’m glad to see you. So what do you think? Aren’t these guys a lot different than Sebastian?”

“They are certainly nicer looking,” Zoe whispered behind her hand.

Ari grinned. She’d have to remind Zoe about vampiric hearing. Due to Sebastian’s closed-door policies, the Toronto guardian wasn’t used to dealing with vampires. Ari glanced at the men to see their reaction. As expected, Andreas remained unruffled, but Gabriel was smiling broadly. Not a good sign from a man who’d already shown a tendency to be a Casanova. Zoe wouldn’t have a chance if he chose to turn on the charm.