Page 81 of Feral Possession

“If you were Victor, would you sit back and let the magister take over?” Bishop asked.

“No,” Marcus said. “I’d pretend to cooperate while investigating on the sly.”

Dove grinned, rather proud of the contribution she’d made to their plan. “Marcus and Victor should team up, compare notes.”

“Viktor isn’t known for being a team player,” Bishop said.

“Neither am I,” Marcus added.

Dove swallowed a snort of agreement. Pitting two stubborn vampire leaders against each other wouldn’t get them far. “Then take someone with you to the meeting. An ice breaker to keep the conversation rolling.” Surely, Marcus had somebody on his staff who would fit the bill.

Marcus rubbed his recently mended cheek. “Viktor is an ancient and powerful vampire with untold gifts. If I let my demon slip when I’m near him, he may sense its presence.”

“It’s better than any of the riskier options we’ve come up with,” Bishop said. “Things get out of hand, Dove could quiet your darker half. Chosen travel with their benefactors all the time. With you recovering from your injures, and her being a faerie, you’d want to keep her close. Shouldn’t raise suspicion.”

Dove’s head swiveled between the two men. Wait. What?

“She handled herself well with Xavier at the resort,” Marcus agreed.

“Hold up. I didn’t mean me.” She pointed at her chest.

Bishop went on, ignoring her. “Bringing your bodyguard along could come off as an insult, put him on his guard. Whereas Dove would make it seem you were there for a social visit.”

“Hello? Is this thing on?” She blew into the tip of her finger. “There’s a reason Vivian rarely took me to social functions, taking Armond with her instead. I am the queen of awkward conversations and inappropriate behavior. Definitely not the girl you want rubbing elbows with the Clan Leader of the Eastern Realm.

Finally, Marcus met her eyes. He captured her hand and kissed her fingertips. “Like me, Victor won’t know what hit him.” The look on his face melted her insides as well as her resistance. Was this the reason his mother had guided her here tonight?

She squeezed his hand, her lips twisting into a grimace. “Careful what you wish for, Steele.”

Marcus settled deeper into the stiff-backed chair, though it was impossible to be truly at ease in Victor Custodis’s office. The clan leader’s diminutive servant, Alphonse, had shown them to the room, indicating without words that they should wait for his master. The few times Marcus had visited Claymore, the servant had never spoken. Marcus had yet to determine the creature’s species, but the strange little fellow certainly wasn’t human.

Dove, too nervous to sit, glided around the space, pausing before a set of shelves loaded with artifacts. “Good grief.” She gasped. “Would you get a load of all this stuff? I mean, who keeps a shrunken head on display?”

“Probably belongs to the last faerie who dared to touch his belongings.”

“What?” She jerked her hand back, gaping at him.

Despite his growing tension, he couldn’t contain his smirk.

“Ha, ha, ha. Very funny.” Dove walked to the chair beside his. She grunted, heaving her massive bag to the floor before sitting.

“You and your purse. What’s in there, an anvil?”

“The head of the last guy who dared to touch it.” She wiggled her eyebrows, then huffed at his lack of response. “Oh, because your joke was way funnier.”

“It was,” he said without inflection.

She fidgeted in her seat. “I’m tired of sitting after all the traveling we just did. First the helicopter, followed by the car.”

They’d left his ancestral home at dawn. Not his preferred time to travel, but necessary. “It was fortunate Victor accepted my request for an audience so quickly.”

“I suppose so,” Dove grumbled, stretching out her legs. She’d worn a loose-fitting dress for the meeting. The gauzy fabric was still fresh as when she’d donned it. His suit hadn’t fared as well, showing creases. Rumpled wasn’t the image he wished to convey to the clan leader, but it would have to do. Marcus had bigger concerns. His demon, for starters. Thankfully, it remained quiet for the moment. Dove had that effect on the spirit, making it as docile as a well-fed puppy.

“This place is crazy big. I feel like I’m in a museum.” She scrunched her nose.

It was so like Dove to be unimpressed with the opulence of Claymore, one of the largest and most historic estates in the realm. Every piece in the large mansion was priceless. Victor, being an avid collector of all things rare and unusual. The desk before them, with its rich wood carvings and ivory inlays, likely belonged to some long-deceased king.

“What do you suppose he’s reading?” Dove leaned forward, eyeing the open book on Victor’s desk. She gasped, stiffening. “Marcus, look. Isn’t that the same symbol you have branded on your chest?”

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