“From now on, we’re hiring you for all our knightly needs,” she declared. “Isn’t that right, Father? Mother?”
I stifled a laugh. I fully intended to add ‘knightly needs’ to my business card.
“I’d release her before she perceives you as a threat,” another voice said, this one familiar and oh-so-intoxicating. “Trust me, you won’t like the response. I’ve seen what she’s capable of.”
Callan swaggered into the room. Did he have to look so…so…？ He flashed his fangs a reminder of who and what he was. There. That helped.
“Callan says you fought well,” the king said. “You have no idea what high praise that is.”
“The highest,” Davina added.
The king regarded me. “How would you feel about a permanent post? I could use someone with your skills at Hadrian’s Wall.”
Hadrian’s Wall? He wanted to send me north to be the first line of defense against raids from House Duncan?
The prince seemed to share my sentiment because he chuckled. “Her presence here is far more effective than at Hadrian’s bloody Wall.”
“Now that we’ve lost Victor, we could use someone skilled there,” the king replied.
“Victor’s death was unfortunate but unrelated to his post. Our knight’s talents are best utilized here in Britannia City,” the prince insisted. “Besides, my father is no threat to you while I live.”
“I appreciate the offer, Your Majesty, but I have no interest in relocating. I have a life here.” Small and manageable, just the way I liked it.
“If you change your mind…” King Casek began.
“She won’t,” Callan interjected. “She’s very stubborn, as I’ve learned.”
The queen smiled. “In that case, I’m surprised you both made it through the ordeal unscathed.”
Same, girl. Same.
Davina clasped her hands together and flashed two dimples. “You should come for supper next week. London deserves a royal meal. Wouldn’t you agree, Callan? She’s skin and bone. I don’t know how she manages to lift a weapon without injuring herself.”
I suppressed a shudder. As kind and unexpected as the offer was, I needed to distance myself from vampires now.
“There’s a fair bit of muscle in there too,” Callan added. “She hides it well.”
“Please don’t feel obligated to feed me.” There was no way I wanted to become a regular fixture at the palace. They were only nice to me now because I’d successfully completed a job for them. They were still vicious vampires at their cores. It wouldn’t take much for them to decide to execute me on the spot, especially if they decided I was a threat.
And I most definitely was.
My magic flared in response to my thoughts, producing a few flecks of silver on the skin of my hands. I quickly clasped them behind me and ignored the rapid beating of my heart.
“Leave her be, Davina. She’s a busy knight with more important considerations than which frock to wear to dinner.” Maeron peeled himself off the wall. I hadn’t even noticed when he entered the room. He must’ve made himself invisible until now.
Davina glowered at him. “You make me sound silly. You know I have loftier ambitions than food and fashion.”
Maeron grinned back at her. “Of course. We wouldn’t have bothered to save you otherwise.”
I took a side step toward the door. “I’ll leave you to your family time.”
Davina waved a hand in my direction. “See? You’ve frightened her away. Why do you always do that, Maeron?”
“Enough,” the king commanded. He shifted his gaze to me. “Go now before it escalates.” He sighed. “Because it always does.”
I bowed and hurried from the throne room. A soft silver glow emanated from my hands and I thrust them into my pockets. The faster I walked, the faster I returned to fresh air and freedom. The duty to House Lewis was fulfilled and I was free to return to the Circus. Thank the gods.
I almost reached the main doors without another interruption. Almost.
Callan appeared out of nowhere and intercepted me.
I swallowed a scream. “Why do you insist on walking around your own house invisible?”
He looked at me with something bordering on amusement. “Why so much interest in how I walk around my house?”
“It’s bizarre. I don’t walk around my flat invisible.”
“Only because there’s no one there to hide from, unless your animal companions are begging for food.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting it.
Callan tilted his head in the direction of the throne room. “You’ve certainly made an impression on the right people.”
“That’s not why I did it.” Not even remotely.
“Even so, it’s good to have a royal stamp of approval, especially a knight like yourself in need of steady work.”
“We’re happy with the work we have, but I appreciate the thought.”
His mouth curved in a smile that sent involuntary shivers down my spine. It was a smile that promised to make me feel things I didn’t want to feel.
“Still not interested in working for vampires?” He glanced at the wall that featured a portrait of Queen Britannia with her fangs smeared with blood and her sword raised high. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. We can be a brutal lot.” He turned back to me. “Then again so can you.”
“I’m only brutal when it’s necessary for self-defense.”
“You don’t think Britannia felt that way about her actions?”
I twisted to look at the portrait, clasping my hands behind me and out of his view. “I have no idea what she felt.” She was probably giddy with every vein she opened. There was a certain euphoria that came with bloodlust, one I hoped to never experience.
He leaned into me forcing me to bend backward or end up with my chest against his body. “Dine with us. At the very least I can promise it will be entertaining.”
I frowned. “You really want me to come to dinner at the palace? With your family?”
“I’m simply repeating Davina’s invitation. She’s taken a shine to you.”
“Davina would take a shine to a mirror if she liked the way she looked in it.” I immediately regretted the statement. One because she couldn’t see her reflection and two because she wasn’t the airhead that Maeron accused her of being. She was tough and resilient and ridiculously sweet.
Callan seemed to sense my misgivings. “You don’t mean that.”
I brushed past him. “Like Prince Maeron said, I have a lot of work to catch up on now that I’m back to my regular duties.”
He stepped aside and let me pass. “As you wish.”
I walked out of the palace, half expecting him to follow. I pretended not to be disappointed when he didn’t. The last thing I needed was a deadly vampire trailing me around the city. One look at me at the wrong time and he’d see me for what I really was.
I unlocked the main door and climbed the five flights of stairs to my flat. The building seemed ridiculously small after spending time in the palace. I pictured the walls of my flat covered with paintings of myself like Britannia and laughed at the absurdity, although arguably my knee on Callan’s neck in Hyde Park was worth capturing on a canvas.