Page 28 of Tainted Blood

ALEXIUS

If he could have gotten away with it, Alexius would have dragged Everly out of the room to protect her from Aelia and her sons. He’d known what game they were playing the moment she started asking what kind of work she did for Jacob’s nest and for him, asking him why he was training her and what sort of relationship they had. He couldn’t have stopped it, no matter how much he had wanted to. He had to let her hear her options, but he truly didn’t want her to leave his employment. He didn’t want her, someone he opened up to even in the smallest of ways, to be prey for the others. That was half of her appeal tothem. If they succeeded, they could potentially have some of his secrets, and they would have bragging rights over others.

He knew with certainty they had no idea what her real strength was. He was proud of her for showing them some of it, and while he tried to enjoy his drink, he’d had to keep himself from showing too much of that pride to the vampires in attendance.

They would have no idea how to work with the fire she has. They wouldn’t recognize it. They would try to smother her and force her light out because they would see it as an attitude.

“Alexius, Jamal was asking about doing a hunt tomorrow evening. Something short. It would probably only last an hour or so. Everly hasn’t gone out and properly used her hunting skills yet. Would either of you like to attend?” Isaiah’s offer was a plan, and it had a purpose.

Alexius knew Isaiah was cunning, and while some of his friend’s plans and schemes rightly infuriated him, he knew Isaiah always thought them through, even if he pretended he didn’t. He had purposefully left Alexius and Everly with the Romans. It didn’t take much effort for Alexius to figure out at least a small piece of what Isaiah was doing.

He’s not using her as bait, not in a dangerous way, but he’s certainly hoping that putting her near the others will make someone slip up and say the wrong thing. Or he’s looking for someone to act out of character when it comes to her… Aelia was Aelia, which is a good sign. She would never break Isaiah’s faith or trust in her. She knows she would lose Rome if she pushed Isaiah too hard.

“Has hunting ever interested you?” Alexius asked, hoping she said yes. The idea of seeing her hunt again like she had in Alaska… He did his best to keep himself the image of professionalism as the memory sent a wave of thrill through him. He couldn’t help but notice the small drop of blood on her lip but made no move to do anything about it.

He knew the thought was dishonorable, but he wanted to lean down and lick it off.

I won’t do it. I won’t take advantage of her. I have too much power over her to entertain that idea, and I’m… ancient. She deserves better than a broken ancient like me.

He found himself telling himself that too often.

It would also make her more of a target…

“Um, not really, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it,” she answered.

He was almost grateful that he wouldn’t be in the position of seeing her race through the woods, chasing down something that had no hope of escape. “If you want to hunt, I’ll stay on the sidelines and watch.”

“I haven’t hunted in a long time,” he admitted, looking at Isaiah. “What’s the intended game?”

“It’s just going to be whitetail, but it’ll let you burn off some energy. Maybe after the initial hunts, Everly might like to try if she thinks it could be fun.” Isaiah was persuasive, but Alexius didn’t need him to be. If she wasn’t going to hunt, he was going to for the exact reason Isaiah mentioned. He clearly had energy to burn.

“I’ll hunt, but I’ll expect you to be with her while I’m not,” Alexius said, pinning Isaiah under his gaze. “Am I clear?”

“She’ll be safe with the group I think Jamal is building, but don’t worry, I’ll be there. Hunts like these generally only take a couple of hours, at most. You know that. Once they get started, it happens very quickly. Most people will still be getting ready for the night by the time we return.”

“That’s a fair point,” Alexius conceded, nodding. He swiftly looked over the room, hoping everyone understood he wanted Everly safe and was willing to get Isaiah to do the job if necessary. He was hoping they heard Isaiah agree to it. He couldn’t forget why he had decided to attend this dreadful gathering or why he’d brought Everly, and those reasons were dangerous.

“I’m glad you two have sorted out the babysitter duty,” Everly said, her tone not telling him how she felt about what he’d asked of Isaiah.

“I don’t mean to treat you like you need someone watching over you,” he said into his glass, hoping she understood why he was being protective.

“It’s fine. It’s better than standing around alone or with strangers.”

She sipped the blood Isaiah had brought, and he wondered if she was serious. He couldn’t read her as well as he thought, not at that moment. Her expression gave him nothing, and he wanted to know what she was thinking. Was she truly okay with it, or did she want more independence? He wouldn’t blame her for the latter, but he felt the situation they were in was already dangerous enough. He didn’t want to add to it by taking too many liberties and giving others too many openings to get to her.

He caught Isaiah smirking over his glass, but it disappeared as soon as he saw it.

“Hey, you brought some cards. Amazing,” someone said.

Alexius glanced in that direction, seeing Kamose smiling at one of the larger center tables. Nailah and Isis weren’t sitting with him. They were relaxing in a small booth, having a casual conversation with a handful of others. Jamal was shuffling a deck as he came to the table with Kamose.

“I’m going to join the game,” Isaiah said, standing up quickly. “Mingle or don’t. Two introverts walk into a party….”

Alexius only watched the table as Isaiah grabbed a seat, which made others look over as Kamose greeted him. Ramman joined the game, Samas hovering behind him. There was another Ancient heading for the table as well. He was relatively certain Sheba was younger than him. They were always cordial and never tested their strength against each other. Most of the Ancients didn’t because such fights were deadly, even when they weren’t intended to be.

Beyond her, the Master of Prague, Damek, was drawing closer, his sister, Ivanna, hovering close by. Both eyed the table, then looked at each other. Ivanna smiled and went to the table, claiming a seat. Damek crossed his arms, looking predatory as he watched from the back of a couch, clearly wanting the vantage point.

“It’s like a group of sharks,” Everly mumbled beside him. “Blood in the water and all that.”

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