I gently disentangle myself from Wolf and stand. “I’m Cornelius’s daughter. His heir.”
She narrows her eyes. “You say that, and yet the fact remains that I haven’t heard of you. You could be anyone playing dress up.” Her eyes flare crimson for a beat before returning to their normal icy blue. “You don’t feel particularly powerful. Smells like bullshit from where I’m standing.”
“If you’re aware of that much about my father, then you’re aware of the stipulations about what it takes to become his heir.” A gamble, but she’s right. I have little in the way of bargaining power. If we succeed, that will change, but first I need to convince her.
Her gaze flicks to my stomach and her eyes flare crimson again. Lizzie shrugs. “So you’re pregnant. That doesn’t mean your story holds up. His children would be smart enough to get declared heir before they started sharpening their knives and aiming for that bastard’s back.”
“I prefer a more direct route.” I wave my hand at the three men. “My father has never seen power that he hasn’t tried to claim for his own. There’s a reasonthisis the stipulation to become his heir. If I try to do this the proper way, he’ll lock me up, take the baby and claim it as his own via one of his mistresses, and likely try to claim the father as well.” No need to tell her that he almost accomplished that goal already.
She studies each of the men in turn, finally landing on Wolf. “Is my brother the father?”
It’s tempting to lie, but I have a feeling she’ll know if I do. I shrug. “I don’t know who the father is at this point. We won’t know until I have the baby, and that will only happen if we survive what comes next.”
“Hmmm.” She taps a finger to her bottom lip, painted a perfect pale pink. “If you’re lying to me, I’ll take it poorly.”
I think I hear Wolf inhale sharply behind me, but I don’t look away from his sister. “I’m not lying.”
“So it seems. Not telling the full truth, but not lying.” She shrugs. “Ah well, if the little beast inside you is really Radu blood, then our mother will skin me alive if I don’t help now. Let me see.”
She starts for me, and both Malachi and Rylan jump to their feet. Lizzie smirks. “Relax,lads. I’ll just do a scan. Nothing sinister.” She reaches out and presses her fingertip to the back of my hand. A faint tingle goes through my entire body in a wave and she raises her eyebrows. “Interesting.”
“What?”
“You don’t seem the type to consort with demons, but there’s a faint…” She licks her lips, gaze distant. “Cute little shield. The embryo is fine. Powerful little bugger, but too early to know the flavor.” She refocuses on me. “I’m in. I’ll do what you ask.”
I don’t breathe a sigh of relief. This was only the first step, and I’m not naive enough to believe Lizzie until she actually shoots my father. “Your price?”
“If you’re successful in this cute little coup, you’ll owe the Radu family a favor.” Her smile goes knife-sharp. “And you will entertain us for a few days in your new compound.”
I don’t need to look at my men to recognize the trap. If—when—we succeed, that will put me at the head of the Lancaster bloodline. For better or worse, I will be a power whose choices mean something, affect the balance of our world. I lift my chin. It would be smarter to negotiate the favor away and entertain them while promising nothing, but I won’t do that to Wolf. He feels the same way about the rest of his family as he does about his sister. Having them in close proximity will be a hellish experience for him. I refuse to put him through it. “I will not be entertaining anyone in the foreseeable future, but I am willing to negotiate a favor, provided it does no harm to me, my men, or my people, either directly or indirectly.” Still too wide an offer, but I need her and she knows it.
Her grin widens. “Very well. A favor it is.” She turns back to the map. “Walk me through the nitty, gritty details.”
I sink back onto the couch as Rylan and Malachi launch into a brief overview of what they need from Lizzie. Fine tremors work their way through my body, the adrenaline letdown nearly making me sick to my stomach. Though I can’t hide my physical reaction to the confrontation, I refuse to give into it entirely while Lizzie is in the room.
Wolf laces his fingers through mine. Through the bond, I feel a wave of gratitude from him. I’m sure Malachi and Rylan will have thoughts about my choice later, but I can only do what I think is right. Rylan seems to have a complicated relationship with his family, but there’s no fear there. Malachi has no family left at all. Surely they wouldn’t expect me to throw Wolf to the, well, to the wolves?
I squeeze Wolf’s hand and listen as the other two men go through an abbreviated version of the plan. I note that they leave out a few key components. Smart. Really, we have no reason to trust Lizzie with all the details. The only thing she needs to know pertains to my father, the courtyard, and her long-distance attack.
She finally sits back and laughs a little. “This should be fun. When do we start?”
“At dawn.”
48
After we go over the plan one last time, Rylan escorts Lizzie off the property. I keep part of my attention on his presence, monitoring his emotions for any spike that might indicate she’s attacked him. It’s getting easier to keep track of the men. They all shield too well for me to get much more than a faint impression, but I think that’s preferable for everyone. I don’t want to invade their privacy, and I look forward to a time when I’m able to get my own shields in place.
If we survive the next twenty-four hours, maybe I’ll even manage it.
“We will.”
I glance at Malachi. “You know I hate it when you do that.”
“It’s difficult not to when you’re thinking so loudly.” He takes my hand and tugs me against his chest so he can wrap his arms around me. Wolf said he needs a little time alone and headed in the opposite direction of both his sister and the town. His presence along the bond doesn’t feel as calm as Rylan’s, but he’s not in a full-out panic state anymore.
This is, I realize, the first time Malachi and I have been alone in quite some time. I run my hands up his chest and look into his dark eyes. “There are more ways tomorrow could go wrong than there are ways it could go right.”
“I know.” He cups my face and drags his thumb long my lower lip. “But we’ve survived impossible scenarios already. What’s one more?”