Authors: Jordana Barber
“I understand. I’ll wait for you to contact me.” Zev slid off the stool and moved toward the door
,
and held it open as Echo walked in. She gave me a curious look as she approached me. That was too easy, he let the issue go too quickly. He was up to something. I didn’t need this right now, and tried to put out of my mind.
“What’s up with him? He looks awfully down in the dumps.”
I chuckled, “You might say that. I wouldn’t answer his question.” She leaned against the bar, eyeballing Drake as he turned away to make a phone call.
“Are you ready to go
,
or what?” She asked impatiently, gazed at Drake’s perfect rump.
“I am, but are you sure you don’t want to stay a little longer to eye-fuck my Demon some more?” The blood rose to her cheeks, and I stifled a laugh.
“Screwed up, I’d never say anything like that to embarrass you.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her toward the door.
“Echo, you make this so easy, I just can’t help myself.” She sighed and walked me to the car.
***
Echo and I traipsed into the living room to find both Darius and Dalvin taking up every inch of the couch. We watched the two men pop Fruity Snacks into their mouths, occasionally giving one to the dog, all while frantically attempting to take on the Spetsnaz.
I shook my head and Echo plopped herself in the recliner, grabbing a bag of gummies from the economy-sized box on the coffee table. At least I knew what the errands were, Fruity Snack run.
“I sure hope you bought more than one this time.” I said pointing at the mother-load of fruit chews. Darius chuckled
,
but didn’t take his eyes off the screen.
“Yeah, well I wouldn’t worry about that sweetheart. I got eight, that was the store limit, so we should be set for a couple of days.” His snacking habit would continue to cost a fortune. I wondered what he was going to do when we moved back to Aliis permanently. He’d probably go through some kind of withdrawal. I glanced at the TV and rolled my eyes. War-games, constantly.
“One of these days honey, those Russians will take over our living room and I’m going to be pissed.” Dalvin chuckled, giving me a goofy smile. He was dressed in black leather like Darius. This seemed a little odd, Dalvin tended to be a jeans and tee-shirt kind of guy. I didn’t want to know what they had been up to
.
Battle-ready Dalvin made me mildly nervous.
“Oh Ilana, the Spetsnaz aren’t
that
stupid. No one in their right mind would attack this living room.” Echo and I started laughing. True, no army would try and tangle with this crew. I glanced at the clock and the smile left my face. As usual, I had places to be and people to terrorize.
“Well, have fun with defending the house from stray Russians. I’ll be upstairs. I’ve got a meeting with the Council.” I began to make my way to the bedroom
.
“Hey, do I need to come with you?” I turned to Darius and tried to read his face
.
“No, I’m more worried about invading Soviets than I am about this charade. I’ll be fine and Dex will be with me
.
This shouldn’t take long, but don’t panic if it takes longer than expected
.
I have a couple of stops to make after the meeting, but they’re all to friendly areas
,
so no worries
.
” He nodded, looking slightly concerned. Only a matter of seconds passed by the time he lost interest in my activities, and went back to his button mashing
.
I walked up the stairs, without the dog in tow for once. Normally
,
she would have followed me, but with since Darius home and feeding her snacks
,
she didn’t bother. Nita figured I’d be safe in the house full of people and she wouldn’t leave her treats
.
My husband had created a monster
.
In my bedroom, I kicked off my shoes and inhaled deeply sitting on the edge of the bed. If I couldn’t get my thoughts together, I wasn’t going anywhere.
I laid down on the mattress and took a couple more deep breaths before I finally closed my eyes. I wanted to get this over with, I looked forward to spending time with my new hubby
-
to
-
be, but I certainly wasn’t interested in dealing with the Council.
Nor was I excited to get Azazel’s approval in my choice of husbands. I was nervous about seeing Warde, unsure of how he would take the news of my pending marriage
.
Hopefully, this would resolve some of the
issues on my plate full of problems.
I let myself drift out of the mortal world and into Aliis Mundi. The transition remained calm
.
Every experience of phasing passed differently, and I was never sure what to expect. I couldn’t understand why those pompous bastards restricted my travel through the portals, rather than projection. I’d given up fighting with them centuries ago.
I made sure to fizzle into existence in the middle of the main hall where I planned to meet Dexter. I glanced around the room, but I found no trace of him
.
Strange, the man usually ran ten minutes early for everything. Nervousness crept up on me and I began to fear something had happened to him when he emerged from the shadows.
He was dressed in a stunning three-piece suit of black silk, his shirt blood red, his tie matched the shell of his ensemble. A small silver chain hung from his pocket and clipped to his lapel with a lovely coat of arms pendant cradling rubies as an accent.
The crest of the Vampire Embassy
,
only worn by the high-ranking officials
,
reminded me of my lover’s status. His alabaster skin glowed against the blackness of his suit and the rich mahogany of his hair. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning like a fool as he approached.
“My love
,
I hope I didn’t keep you waiting
.
I’m running a little bit behind today. I fear I slept in. Mr. Meldin doesn’t always make for the best alarm.” I grinned, he wasn’t late at all; still five minutes early.
“Funny, I’d been worried about holding you up. You need your sleep, it’s the middle of the night for you. Are you sure you want to go in with me? Those jack-asses are the proud owners of a bad habit of abusing me in front of others.” His gaze wandered around the room then found it’s way back to me with a scowl
.
“Where is Azul? You shouldn’t be left with out a Guardian. ” I rolled my eyes. Wonderful, another man who insisted on hovering over me.
“Please don’t start acting protective before we’re even married. I asked him to stay home. I don’t need him if you’re here with me. You’re not going to let anything happen to me. Both of you around is a little overkill.” I refrained from pointing out I was capable of taking care of myself, which I seemed to be doing quite often as of late.
He thought for a moment, “I suppose you’re right. I’m pleased I get you all to myself regardless. I need to prepare for the idea of sharing you in an official capacity, rather than skulking around.” I chuckled
.
The only upcoming difference in our relationship would be our public display and the frequency of our meetings.
“Let’s get this over with. I’ve been praying for some sleep, and my prayers seem to be going unheard. I’m glad you came
.
This concerns you as well. I’m covering a ton of things in this meeting
.
If they plan on giving me a bunch of grief, this might take a while. Hopefully they aren’t still peeved with me about threatening the Chairman the last time I was here.” He gave me a surprised look with a raised eyebrow
.
I spied a slight hint of pride. He would make an excellent husband.
“Did you now? What did Azul say about that?”
“He wasn’t happy with me, but what could he do to stop me? Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of dealing with me in a political arena, simply takes a little bit of practice.” He smiled, but looked nervous. I chuckled to myself.
We walked down the long corridor to the large guarded doors
,
arm in arm. We made quite the pair, his red and onyx silk to my wine colored velvet cloak and leather the color of tar, which was only visible when I walked, my gloved hand blended in with the rest of the black fabric.
The sentinels bowed and opened the door
.
This time they’d expected me. They did, however, eyeball my Vampire fiancé. The guards weren’t accustomed to seeing me with anyone other than Azul, certainly never with a Portlandia Ambassador.
We strolled into the room and gave the Council members a once over; making sure everyone was in attendance as I approached the center of the chamber. The interest on their faces as Dex and I slid toward them was apparent. I made a movement to drop his arm when we entered the hall, but he refused to let go
.
He was my escort rather than my Guardian. The Chairman addressed me first, the disgusting, pig-faced fool
.
“Princess Azriella, before we begin
,
where is Azul and why is Ambassador Sloan escorting you?”
I sneered, “I’m not a little girl, Chairman. I do not require an escort. Ambassador Sloan’s presence will be addressed. A number of things need to be covered. So please, let’s get down to it. The Ambassador and I have other business to tend to tonight.”
One of the Councilmen, Gustov Xandar, leaned back in his chair with an amused smile. He typically enjoyed my antics. The handsome and lean man, with short blond hair and pointy Fey ears, remained one of my only allies on the board. His green eyes lit up every time I did something devious or I put the Chairman in his place.
“Please, Princess, address the first item on your agenda.”
I gave him a sly smile
.
“Thank you, Councilman Xandar. The most pressing issue is regarding my last request for additional personnel to help control the Veil borders and monitor Visas. The Vampire Clans were contacted in the mortal world
,
and addressed the potential for war because of the influx of creatures from Aliis. Ambassador Sloan thought it best to escort me due to his vested interest in the response to my request.” Narisa leaned forward, looking Dex up and down.
“What say you to this situation, Ambassador? Is this problem such a threat to your people that we need to waste more of our resources on this?” This wasn’t the first time Dexter had been forced to deal with the Vampire-prejudiced Council. He ignored the Councilwoman’s nastiness with an ease that made me wish he would give me lessons on how to behave myself.
“As a matter of fact, Councilwoman Secor, this is a very serious problem for Vampires. Had I not contacted the Clans in the mortal world when I did
,
at Princess Azriella’s request for patience, they would’ve already waged war. The Weres are encroaching on their territories and drawing attention, the Djinn and the Fey aren’t much better. It’s a good thing she came to me when she did, and my people give her the respect she deserves.” His answer aimed as a jab at Secor, but the statement was too pertinent to ignore.
We watched as the members conversed among themselves in hushed whispers. Not everyone on the Council, Xandar in particular, held prejudice again Vampires and understood the effort needed to keep a balance in the mortal world.
Luckily for us, Xandar was well liked and exceedingly persuasive. After five minutes of bickering, they’d reached a decision. The Chairman didn’t look enthusiastic about the verdict, which also indicated they had ruled in our favor.
“The High Council has come to a resolution
.
We shall increase the number of Guard patrolling the Veil, focusing on the holes that seem to be cropping up rapidly. We will also double the agents checking for Visas and assisting in deportations. The Council appreciates everything that’s been done to keep the peace, Ambassador Sloan.
“We understand the situation this puts you and the Clans in
,
and the governing body of Portlandia has no desire to make an enemy of your kind. We hope the additional personnel will speed up correcting the matter.” Dexter gave a small bow, he knew this was nothing but lip service.
They would follow through with the resolution, and everything else amounted to fluff. They didn’t care about the Vampires, but they couldn’t afford another war on their hands. They were already facing too many fights on too many fronts.
“Let us move on to the second matter, Princess.” The Chairman requested, only slightly irritated.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Council, I need to address my personal security situation. I request permission to bring at least one Aliis Guardian of my choice back to the mortal world, with a Visa, for protection. An attempt on my life has been made, and threats for more in the near future. Azul, in his current state as Darius, cannot perform the way he needs to, nor can I, in order to protect myself.” For this
,
the Chairman leaned back in his chair, this matter needed no discussion with any of the other Council members.