Viper folded his arms over his chest. “I know you’re a control freak, Styx, but I have trusted soldiers who can help fill in rotations. That will give the Ravens a chance to rest and feed. You only have to ask.”
Styx allowed a small smile to touch his lips. He was a control freak, but he wasn’t stupid. His men were getting as twitchy as hell.
“Thank you. Send them to Jagr. I put him in charge of protecting Maluhia.”
“Consider it done,” Viper assured him. “How is Tane holding up?”
Styx abruptly straightened, restlessly pacing from one end of the office to the other. “He isn’t thrilled to have so many feral males around his mate and child, but he understands that nothing is more important than keeping them out of the hands of the Dark Lord.”
“And talking about feral males,” Viper murmured.
Styx turned back toward his friend with a scowl. “What?”
“Your Ravens aren’t the only ones going stir-crazy.”
“You sound like Darcy.”
Viper arched a brow. “Has she been fussing over you like a devoted mate?”
“No, she kicked me out of the bedroom and told me not to return until I got the ‘ants out of my pants.’ Her words, not mine.”
“She’s not wrong.” The dark eyes narrowed. “Your temper tantrum last night took out half of Chicago’s power grid.”
Ah, so that’s why Viper had taken time from his heavy duties as chief to visit. In the past few days the streets of Chicago had become a free-for-all as demons had turned on one another. Even the most peaceful creatures had become violent as the heavy sense of doom continued to build.
It had kept Viper struggling to prevent a bloodbath.
“I’m the King of Vampires,” he countered, not about to admit he’d lost control of his temper when Salvatore had accused him of not doing enough to locate Cassandra and Caine. As if he had the power to travel between dimensions. Annoying dog. “I don’t have temper tantrums.”
Viper looked unimpressed. “Call them whatever you want, they’re threatening to destroy my city.”
Styx released a low growl of frustration. “I hate being forced to sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs.”
“For now there’s nothing else you can do.” Viper studied him with a somber expression. “Have you heard from Santiago?”
Santiago was one of Viper’s most trusted soldiers and had gone on a futile mission to find Cassandra when he’d instead stumbled across Nefri—the mysterious and powerful female clan chief who lived beyond the Veil.
It’d been Santiago who’d learned that the vampire who had sold his soul to the Dark Lord and betrayed them was one of her clansmen.
And unbelievably, Santiago’s missing sire.
“Yes, he’s assisting Nefri in her search for Gaius.”
“According to Jaelyn, he has a medallion similar to Nefri’s that he can use to travel. Can’t she use hers to track him?”
“She’s still trying to discover where his medallion came from. As far as she knew, she had the only one ever created.”
Viper frowned, his slender fingers adjusting his ruffled cuff. “I don’t like this.”
Styx stepped forward, sensing his companion’s genuine concern. “Why?”
“Santiago is very skilled in pretending he wasn’t affected when his sire abandoned him to travel through the Veil, but he carries wounds that have never fully healed,” Viper explained. “I’m not sure he can think clearly when it comes to Gaius.”
“If the vampire has betrayed us, then I don’t care if Santiago is thinking clearly,” Styx said in hard tones. He was running empty on compassion these days. “I want the bastard dead.”
“It’s not always so easy to kill those we consider our family, even when we know it’s for the greater good.”
Styx hissed at the reminder that he’d nearly condemned the vampire race to the insane brutality of the former Anasso out of misplaced loyalty. “Point taken.”
Viper reached into his pocket to remove a slim cell phone. “Do you want me to call him home?”
He shook off the unwelcome memories, his lips twisting in a wry smile. “You can try.”
Viper lowered the phone, his expression suspicious. “Is there something I should know?”
“Darcy claims I have the social sensitivity of a slug demon, but even I’ve noticed how Santiago watches Nefri when he thinks no one is looking.”
“And how’s that?”
“Like he’s longing to devour her.”
Viper made a sound of shock. “Nefri?”
“Why not? She’s a very beautiful woman.”
“Stunningly beautiful,” the clan chief agreed. “And dangerous.”
“True.” Styx couldn’t argue. She was the only vampire he’d met who could match him in strength. Actually, in a head-to-head battle he wasn’t sure who would win. “Her power is off the charts. Not every man is capable of accepting a female who possesses such strength.”
“That’s not it.” Viper gave an impatient wave of his hand. “Santiago has always chosen women of power.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“If the rumors are to be believed, Nefri deliberately turned her back on this world to live like a cloistered nun,” he said. “I don’t want her manipulating Santiago with her beauty to get what she needs from him and then disappearing behind the Veil. He has enough abandonment issues without her screwing with his head.”
“He’s a big boy, Viper.” Styx moved forward to clap his companion on the shoulder. “I think he can handle his private affairs.”
They both froze as the unmistakable stench of granite wafted through the air.
Viper rolled his eyes. “Were you expecting company?”
“Shit,” Styx muttered as the gargoyle waddled through the door.
Not that he was much of a gargoyle. Granted, he possessed the conventional grotesque features, covered by a thick gray skin. His gray eyes were reptilian, his horns stunted and his hoofs cloven. He even had a long tail he polished and pampered with great pride.
But his fearsome appearance was ruined by his stunted size and the pair of delicate, gossamer wings that should have been on the back of a sprite. And worse, his magic was as unpredictable as the Midwest weather.
Who could blame the Gargoyle Guild for voting him out? He was a three-foot pain in the ass who’d latched onto Viper’s and Styx’s mates and refused to be dislodged.