He picked up the paddle and dipped the end in the water. “You must be tired after your fierce battle. Care for a lift to shore?”
My jaw tightened. Who did this guy think he was?
“Why are you here? Are you stalking me?” A vampire trailing after me in a deserted park? I couldn’t let that threat go unchallenged.
“Rein in your ego. I wasn’t stalking you.” He seemed to want to laugh.
I’ll show you something funny. In one swift move, I sliced my leg underneath his feet and knocked him backward. Incredibly, he managed to stay on the board. I launched myself on top of him and kneeled on his neck with as much force as I could muster.
“Truce,” he choked out. The board rocked side to side as a gust of wind created waves.
“You would say that, wouldn’t you?”
He raised his hands in acquiescence. “I’m here on behalf of House Lewis.”
I froze. “What was that?”
“House. Lewis. I’m Prince Callan.”
Multiple curse words strained to pass my lips, but I suppressed them.
Prince Callan. House Lewis.
He took advantage of my shock and flipped me on my back. The back of my head slammed against the board and I tasted blood in my mouth. Stupid tongue always getting in the way. In more ways than one.
The board rocked again and he caught the paddle before it slid into the water.
“You said your name was Lincoln!”
“I lied. I’m Prince Callan and I’m here on royal business.”
“I know who you are,” I said through gritted teeth.
Everybody knew the name Prince Callan, otherwise known as the Demon of House Duncan, the Highland Reckoning, and the Lord of Shadows. He wasn’t the natural son of the king and queen of House Lewis. He’d been delivered as a hostage and a show of good faith when Houses Lewis and Duncan signed a peace treaty twenty years ago. He also single-handedly brought the city of Birmingham to its knees during his father’s march to Britannia City in one of the most violent battles between the Houses’ respective armies. He was twelve at the time.
“Good, if you know who I am, then you know what I can do to you.” His gaze lingered on my lips and I felt my body tense in response. He was talking about killing me, right? The way his eyes were locked on my face instead of my neck…Those fangs promised I’d be screaming—whether from pleasure or pain, I wasn’t sure.
I wriggled out from under him and he shifted his weight to release me. I couldn’t let him know that I could’ve done a lot more damage to him than he realized.
“Let’s try this again,” I said. I held out my hand for the paddle.
He eyed me warily. “You won’t use it as a weapon?”
“No, I’m going to paddle us to shore. While I do that hard labor, you can tell me why you’re following me.”
“I’ve been watching you.”
I cut a glance at him as I pushed us through the water. “Not at all creepy.”
“You’ve impressed me.”
Fear pricked my skin. How much did he see? I racked my brain for all the magic I performed. Was there anything that could’ve given me away? I didn’t think so.
I raised my chin a fraction. “I have a license to perform magic.”
“Oh I know. And I’m more convinced than ever you’re the right one for the job.”
“The job you offered me and I already turned down? That job?”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Yes. That job.”
“There are dozens of knights to choose from. Try one of them.” I turned away and continued paddling. Almost to shore.
“I want you.”
My heart beat rapidly at the sound of his velvety voice telling me, of all things, that he wanted me. My lips parted but no sound came out.
“Need help loosening your tongue? I might know a few tricks.”
I bet. “I’m good, thanks.”
“I’d like to extend an invitation to the official residence of House Lewis to discuss the matter in greater detail.”
My head jerked toward him. “You mean the palace?” The royal family-owned multiple residences throughout the city as well as the countryside.
“Do you know it?”
“Hard to miss.” It was a sprawling building called Buckingham Palace that once served as the official administrative residence of the House of Windsor, the last royal human family before the Eternal Night began.
“Good, then I don’t need to give you the address.”
Only a few more feet to shore and my weapons. “And what if I don’t show?”
“You will be well-compensated.”
The board slid onto solid ground and I caught sight of my sheath exactly where I left it. I stepped off the board and handed him the paddle.
“Maybe money isn’t the only thing that motivates me. I’d like to know more now before I waste my time.”
His eyes narrowed. “You will know more when I choose to share that information. I’ll expect you at 14:00 tomorrow.”
I opened my mouth to lodge another objection but his face gave me pause. Handsome yet intense, it was the kind of face that formed a natural barrier to the word ‘no.’
“I am a prince of the two most formidable Houses in the realm,” he said. “You would do well to stay on my good side.”
The bastard had a good side? “I’ll keep that in mind when consulting my schedule.” Oops. It seemed my sarcasm was stronger than my will to live.
He dropped the paddle next to the board and walked away.
An invitation to the palace? I felt like Cinderella, except instead of a gown and glass slippers I’d be dressed in my finest armor with a cache of weapons tucked in all available crevices in case the prince got too frisky. I couldn’t possibly go to the palace and yet it seemed I was unable to refuse. If the Demon of House Duncan demanded your presence, you showed up or risked him coming to find you. I definitely wouldn’t want him angry when he tracked me down. I thought of how easily he snapped the selkie’s neck and discarded her like a broken toy. Prince Callan was notorious throughout the realm for his power and cold indifference to life.
Retrieving my sheath, I shivered, but it wasn’t because of the wind.
For the first time in many years, I was terrified.
5
I climbed the steps to my flat on the fifth floor that I affectionately referred to as the penthouse suite. The building itself was fairly rundown and maintenance never seemed to respond to the many requests, but it was in a prime location near the Euston train station and within walking distance to museums and the library, a place I liked to frequent. I was overdue for a visit. It wasn’t exactly a home away from home—the staff recognized me, but our conversations didn’t extend beyond pleasantries and the Dewey Decimal System.
I unlocked the door. It had been sticking lately, so I leaned my body weight against the edge to force it open. I spilled into the flat and nearly tripped over the red panda who was waiting patiently on the other side of the door. Red pandas were close to extinction and not native to the region. This one ended up coming home with me after a job involving a seller of endangered animals on the black market—for food.
“Hey, Big Red.” The name was a misnomer since he was no bigger than a domestic cat, albeit with a slightly longer body. I scratched his reddish-brown fur. “I bet you’re hungry.” Like the others, Big Red was always hungry.