Clive did not lower his chin to the two females, which Rowan found interesting. He was such an old-school gentleman that seeing him be even slightly rude was jarring.
"Ovilius, you do remember your guests?"
"Enyo, it"s been some time. What brings you to my Keep?"
She showed him her wrist and cracked a smile that was as calculated as it was breathtaking. Her hair was easily waist-length, dark as night, pulled back from a face that had most likely graced many a canvas. Eyes more amber than hazel and lips drawn in a luscious bow. Enyo was a prime specimen of Vampiric beauty. "Tages, do I need a reason to see you?" Her accent was one Rowan couldn"t quite place.
Theo nodded slightly, the tension in his muscles a tangible thing. "One does usually call in advance."
Holy sweet f.u.c.k. Tages? This crazy b.i.t.c.h named after a super-scary mythic figure just laid Theo"s Etruscan name on him? She"d known him a minute or two, that much was clear.
Brigid pushed to the surface, filling Rowan hard and fast, the heat and power of a G.o.ddess overflowing as Rowan took a backseat. Rowan didn"t resist; She always had a reason.
Enyo turned to take Rowan in. Rowan might not have looked a Vamp this old in the eyes, but Brigid had no such reservations. She c.o.c.ked her head and watched openly, avidly.
Turned out Enyo didn"t like that much. "Human, why do you stare so?" She still hadn"t given Rowan much attention. Which was her mistake. It wasn"t as if it was a secret that Rowan was the Vessel. But over and over again, even after she"d executed the old and strong of their kind, they always underestimated her.
Which was fine. Because it got them killed.
"This is the Hunter. The human companion to the Scion." Victoriana said it without a glance toward Rowan, but Brigid didn"t care. Every bit of her attention was on Enyo.
"She doesn"t remember me." Rowan"s voice had deepened into something else. The G.o.ddess took over and magic seemed to pool around her.
That got Enyo"s attention. "I"ve never met you, human." She peered closely into Rowan"s face and started when Rowan didn"t glance away. "What are you?"
Theo chose that moment to intervene. "This is my daughter, Rowan. She is the Liaison from Hunter Corp."
Enyo sneered and then Brigid laughed. She laughed loud, a sound tinged with so much power everything else in the room stopped as people turned to stare.
"You"re still not more than the girl who made very bad decisions. What is your plan here? I will not tolerate your interference."
Rowan wasn"t sure what language she spoke in just then, but it sounded like maybe Greek. But different enough that maybe it was old? What she did know was that Brigid and Enyo had a history of some kind and Brigid considered her a threat or she wouldn"t have taken over the way she had.
She wasn"t much for shows of power, not like this. Which meant Rowan stood back and watched, waiting.
"You"re a very brave human to speak to me thusly," Enyo spoke back in the same language.
Theo kept his hand on her arm. Rowan knew his general feelings about Brigid, so it made her feel better to have his support, but also no small amount alarmed, because who the f.u.c.k was this chick to make Her surface and Theo align with Her in defense?
Cataline approached, freezing when she caught the tension between them.
"Yes, Cataline?" Theo spoke but he didn"t take his gaze from Enyo.
"We"re ready to begin serving. Whenever you are, of course."
Theo did something manly and quick; he moved, placing himself between Enyo and Rowan, and nodded toward the table. "Let"s get this dinner started then. Enzo, please work with Cataline to find a place for Enyo at the table. She"ll be joining us for dinner."
Enzo nodded and took Cataline aside to make that happen.
They moved to the long table and people sat where their placecards indicated. There"d been some shuffling from the night before, but Theo kept his arm on Rowan"s, leading her to the same seat she"d had the previous evening, so she sat and took a quick sip or three of the wine already waiting there.
The G.o.ddess still burned in her muscles. She hadn"t retreated to a lower part of Rowan"s consciousness yet. It was easy enough to manage when Brigid had taken full control, or when she lurked around at the back of Rowan"s mind. But this was something She"d only done a handful of times and it lent Rowan a sort-of double vision.
Rowan needed to concentrate a little harder on her muscle control and basic movements because she was sort of in control but not totally. In the end it was fine because it kept her from panicking too much about whatever the h.e.l.l was going on. She wanted to have David get word to Carey about Enyo but didn"t have the opportunity. Rowan figured he"d do it on his own anyway because he was just that efficient.
Clive looked carefully around the room. He and Paola made eye contact, as he did with Warren. The other Scions all shifted, moving their bodies toward Theo. Rowan figured it was them giving support to their leader, which was a good sign.
Enyo was placed just a few seats away from Rowan, still below the Scions, but higher than most everyone else. Theo might not have liked her, but he certainly afforded her respect for her position. Whoever she was.
Food began coming out, and Rowan tried to focus on that while also keeping her attention on the way people reacted to this new Vampire.
She"d guessed the evening before that Victoriana wasn"t the real force behind the Blood Front and that there"d been another player somewhere. Given what Theo had said, it was obviously Enyo, though why Clive hadn"t said so when he"d given her the info on Victoriana she didn"t know. She"d interrogate him later. It might even be fun and naked.
This meal, like the one of the night before, was also full of Rowan"s favorites. Brigid retreated a little, enough to let Rowan enjoy the trout and the fresh green beans.
"What brings you here, Enyo?" Theo asked with dangerous calm. His words so precise and cool they sliced through Rowan on the way to the Vampire he spoke to.
"I am deeply interested in this amendment business."
"Wasn"t Victoriana reporting back to you often enough?" Brigid had pushed forward again to speak words Rowan wouldn"t have, not at dinner.
Clive made a very quiet, strangled sound and that amused Her as well as Rowan.
"Your pet human has interesting manners." Enyo ignored Rowan"s comment and spoke to Theo instead.
"Rowan is no one"s pet." Theo"s words about Rowan were not sharp or cold. "And, I find she"s got a point. This isn"t a house party. This is a meeting of great importance between duly appointed representatives from both the Nation and Hunter Corp." He gave a look down the table to Roth. "Why people keep showing up trying to thwart an established process, I do not know. Nor do I approve." He returned his attention to Enyo.
Enyo hadn"t denied she"d been connected to Victoriana.
"Sometimes, Tages, the established process isn"t the best process."
"Served you just fine for over a thousand years."
"Things change."
Theo shrugged.
"Not this process, though. Though certainly there is a way to discuss how these things are done. Gate crashing isn"t one of them." Brigid showed her teeth to Enyo.
"You"ll keep your words to a Vampire civil, human," Victoriana hissed.
"Or what?" It was Rowan who spoke then. She hadn"t killed anything for three months but suddenly the lack of violence when she dearly wanted to pop someone in the face flooded through her.
d.a.m.ned Vampires and their constant power displays. Exhausting. But she could do it with the best of them after all, so she sucked up her annoyance and used it.
"Or you could end up challenged."
Rowan laughed. "Good luck with that one, Vicky."
Clive growled under his breath and Rowan ignored him. f.u.c.k all these a.s.sholes. All this bulls.h.i.t was a waste of time. A challenge might underline her point and sh.o.r.e up her power all at the same time.
Since she"d been unable to drive Clive into developing a nervous tic-though he did growl more these days because of her-maybe she could transfer her efforts into pushing Victoriana into calling a challenge.
Rowan could beat Victoriana, she knew that to her bones. Enyo? Well, she was older and no doubt sneaky as f.u.c.k. But Rowan had a few things up her sleeve. And a G.o.ddess in her belly. Still, best to focus on Victoriana and her need to white-knight for her puppet master.
"This soup is marvelous," Clive told the server. "Please let Cook know I said so."
That broke the tension a little, and they went back to dinner.
Chapter Twelve.
Once Theo declared dinner was over-and what a horrible, tortured ninety minutes that had been-they had a twenty-minute break before heading into the big meeting. Rowan paused, writing a quick note to David and handing it to him.
She"d instructed him to get on the line with Carey to find out who this Enyo b.i.t.c.h was. He would have done it prior to that but it had been impossible for anyone to leave. The tension imprisoned everyone in the dining room.
Clearly, as Theo had indicated, Enyo was Blood Front. But that they hadn"t gotten any info on her before, when Carey looked at the Blood Front, worried her a little. He needed to dig deeper, and she didn"t want to risk being overheard.
David read the note and slid it into a pocket. He nodded. "I"ll be back in time for the meeting." He turned smartly and headed up to their rooms.
Clive took her elbow and steered her off toward the fireplace in one of Theo"s numerous receiving rooms. He pressed a mug of mulled cider into her hands and narrowed his gaze. "First you nearly get into a fight with a Hunter in the hall, and then that mess in the dining room? What was that? She is not one to poke at, Rowan."
"Roth? News travels fast around here."
"I saw it. I was looking for you, and David sent me your way and I watched from the shadows." The annoyance melted away, replaced by a look she knew all too well.
"You got off on it. Such a dirty bird, Scion."
"When you"re strong and vicious it makes me want to leap on you and lick every part of your skin."
Rowan fluttered her lashes. "Isn"t this better than you being angry with me?"
He groaned and the annoyance was back. "Stop poking ancient Vampires, Rowan, or you won"t be around for me to lick. Tell your G.o.ddess to be careful."
"Look, I"m sure you won"t believe me, but She comes when she wants."
"Well, tell her not to! d.a.m.n it, Rowan, this is not a Vampire to play with."
Rowan sighed. "Look, let me repeat myself. She comes when she wants to. She"s a G.o.ddess, Scion. They"re sort of the epitome of I do what I want. If She came to me that way, She had a reason. She doesn"t idly play with her food. They have a history in some way. I just have to figure out what."
"And during dinner? Vicky? Christ, Rowan, you"re going to push her too far."
"Who"s to say that"s not my plan?" She breathed the words into his ear.
He growled, shoving a hand through that perfectly brushed hair, and Rowan held back a smile. He really was cute sometimes.
"Don"t growl. Save your voice for arguing with me in a few minutes." She patted his hand.
"If Vampires could have heart attacks, you"d have killed me with one by now. The human male you throttled wants the Hunter Corp. to fire you. Can you just, for once, take a smaller bite? Do you have to be on everyone"s list at the same time? Don"t you get tired?"
Rowan blew out a breath. Yes, yes, she did. But what did it matter? Things needed doing, and she needed to do them. Wallowing never helped anything.
"My path is my path. I"ve said that many times the last few days, but it makes it no less true. I"m here for a reason. I stand between humans and Vampires and between Vampires and Hunters. If She makes herself known by throwing some weird language at a b.i.t.c.hy old Vampire, She did so to help me in some way. As for Roth? I have no doubt he rang up the Motherhouse and told Hilary Sams what a horrible person I was for attacking him unprovoked. He"s such a crybaby."
"Ancient Greek."
"What?"
"The language She spoke to Enyo. It was ancient Greek. And yes, that"s what he said, though he claimed you tried to choke him."
"Tried? Whatever. If I"d wanted to choke him, he"d have gotten choked." She waved a hand, annoyed. "Okay, so I know Enyo is a few grand old. Lovely." Rowan also figured her ego might be easier to manipulate too. Hopefully. You live a few thousand years and you start to think you"re infallible. Hard to kill and extremely long lived was not infallible.
It didn"t shed much light on whatever Brigid"s beef with Enyo was, but the window for potential issues was pretty big.
"As for Roth, I can"t worry about him. He"s making waves, but it"s just going to keep him from reaching the sh.o.r.e." Roth thought he was going to shut the amendment down. But he was instead focused on Rowan instead of the amendment. It was a waste of time, which was fine because it kept him busy on something ineffectual. She"d expected more from a guy with that much time on the Hunter payroll.
People were a constant disappointment.
"What do you mean?" Suspicion ruled Clive"s features.
She waved a hand at him and wrestled back a smile. "Hush. I"m not sharing my game plan with you. You"re the enemy."
"I"m not your enemy. Have I ever told you how much I love it when you wear that shade of lipstick?"
She made a frustrated sound, flattered but that was beside the point. "They already think I"m too soft on Vampires as it is. Apparently they think I"ve been enchanted by your p.e.n.i.s." She rolled her eyes, and he looked offended. "You do your job. I"ll do mine."
"I have it on good authority it"s an excellent p.e.n.i.s." He paused just a moment before he blurted out on a soft breath, "I love you."
She blinked at him, utterly without words.
He smiled, brushing a tendril of her hair back. "When you turned your back on Roth in the hall earlier and walked away? You were magnificent. I knew then. There"s no one else in the universe for me but you."
If he"d said she was beautiful, she"d have waved it off as fluff and flattery. But his declaration of love followed by a compliment on her bloodthirsty ways? That was genuine. And something that mattered to her.
Still, he"d left her totally fl.u.s.tered. "You can"t love me. I"m the Hunter. I killed your predecessor. I kill Vampires. Though, yes, your p.e.n.i.s is quite delightful."
His smile didn"t waver for a moment. "I can. And I know. I know who you are. And I know what you are. I know if I did the things my predecessor did, you"d kill me too. You are..." He licked his lips, thinking. "You are the most steadfast individual I"ve ever met. Yes, you have a job to do and I have a job to do. And we may not always agree what is best, and I will ever work to protect my people. But you do have a path and it is true. And it is honorable. And remarkable. I love you, Rowan Summerwaite, Vessel, Hunter, Vasallus."
She blushed, but before she could reply, a group of Vampires came down the hallway toward the room their meeting would be held in.
"We have a meeting to go to. I need to meet with my people before I head in. Good luck, and please, if for no other reason than my nerves, watch yourself." He kissed her forehead and with a small bow, left the room.