"Great. I'm a utility company," I grumped, sitting up.
"What's wrong with our girl?" Drake pulled me against him, stroking fingers against the back of my neck. I let my head droop against his shoulder. "That's right, just relax," he kept stroking my neck, letting his fingers slide through my hair at times. I heaved a shaky sigh.
* * *
Two gates were my objective that day—after I had breakfast and convinced the twins I had things to do. They were disappointed, I could tell. I took out forty nesting pairs of Flakkar. Their numbers were getting smaller, but their attacks were just as destructive. Both worlds were in their industrial infancy and had no explanation for the disappearances among the population and no way to combat the Flakkar, even if they'd known the monsters were there. I gated back to Earth when I was finished, feeling weary.
Misting inside my bathroom, I managed a quick shower before walking into my bedroom while I toweled off. Drake was there in my bed, waiting for me. "We flipped a coin. I won," he said. He was completely naked, totally unembarrassed about it and was stroking himself as he watched me walk around the room wrapped only in a towel.
"I don't know what to do with you," I said, sounding frustrated. And I was having a difficult time taking my eyes off him. I'd read erotic romance novels that didn't get me this heated up.
"Come here and I'll show you," he purred, amusement lighting his dark eyes. "Come on, baby. I'll take good care of you, I promise."
What was I supposed to do? There was a very handsome man in my bed, offering to take care of me. I ended up at the side of the bed and he reached out, carefully taking my towel away with gentle fingers. Drake coaxed me into bed, put his hands on every inch of me and made me forget my doubts and troubles for a while.
* * *
"Anthony, what is taking so long?" Gavin always woke before Tony did, and he was eager to begin the hunt for three reported rogues in Amsterdam.
"Coming," Tony walked out of his bedroom, clean, dressed and ready to go. Both he and Gavin jumped when someone appeared in the tiny, safe house kitchen. Both relaxed when they saw who it was.
"I told you we'd see each other again," the tall male offered a smile.
"You look so much older," Gavin sighed, shaking his head.
"Hazards of the trade." A wry grin was offered. "Can't be helped."
"Why are you here? Is there a problem?" Tony asked with a frown. This one never came unless there was a problem somewhere. Neither he nor Gavin had seen him in more than two centuries.
"I came to give back what was taken from you," their guest replied.
"What?" Tony asked. Gavin's mask fell into place.
"Very important memories," their guest replied. Light formed around him while his eyes went dark as midnight, with stars shining through.
* * *
"What do you have, child?" Flavio looked up from his desk computer when Charles walked into his study, carrying a large file box. Flavio was puzzled—they no longer kept records on paper. Everything was electronic.
"I was asked to bring this to you, Father. It's important." Charles vibrated with excitement, and Flavio couldn't fathom the reason.
"Who asked you to bring it?" Flavio searched his only living child's face for answers.
"An old friend. He says this will give back what you lost. You and the Council," Charles grinned. "And when my friend says something like that, you can take it to the bank."
"Charles, no metaphors, please," Flavio stared at the box as Charles plopped it over the computer screen covering the center of his desk. Gone was the antique that Wlodek used so long—Flavio still had it, in his private suite. He used this desk instead, because the computer covered the surface.
"Go on, open it," Charles hid a grin.
"Child, if this is a trick," Flavio lifted the lid and light bloomed from the box.
* * *
"What do you mean, they all remembered? Is this some kind of joke? Belen says none of his kind had anything to do with it." Kiarra paced in her library, while Merrill, Adam and Pheligar watched.
"Flavio says Charles found an old box with all her information inside, and the memory triggered. Five minutes later, he received calls from the Council—they all remembered. We have no explanation for it. Flavio contacted Wlodek with mindspeech; Wlodek went to investigate. This box is what he brought from Flavio's office." Merrill jerked his head toward the box sitting on the low table between sofas. It contained records, photographs and legal documents. "And now, the entire Council wants a meeting with her. They all want her back. There's no way she'll consent to that. Lissa informed me plainly that she wasn't willing to answer to anyone, ever again." Merrill's voice held guilt as well as pain.
"I don't blame her," Kiarra snapped. "Merrill, if you'd bothered to tell me you were going to her alone; I would have told you it was a mistake. You should have taken Pheligar or Renegar with you. Preferably both of them, as she doesn't seem to hate the Larentii."
"Connegar is hers." Pheligar hadn't spoken until then.
"You're kidding? Why haven't I heard this before?" Kiarra stared at her Larentii mate.
* * *
"How can I get her back?" Gavin paced before Flavio's desk. Flavio watched Gavin's restless wandering before him, attempting to remain dispassionate over the entire thing when he wanted exactly the same—for Lissa to come back to him, the Council and the vampire race as a whole. She could do so many things; things they didn't have the talent or the resources to do. They still had their misters and mindspeakers, but no new talent had been discovered since Anthony's turning.
Flavio didn't know what to do. He wanted to approach Lissa and beg her to help him and the Council when needed. She was protected however, and Merrill and Wlodek informed him that two Spawn Hunters for the Saa Thalarr, one of the giant Larentii and even a powerful Wizard were all courting her. He didn't know how to break that news to Gavin.
"I have removed his jealousy," a dark-haired male appeared suddenly in the room. Gavin recognized him immediately.
"Kifirin," Gavin begged, "help me win Lissa back."
"That choice is hers," Kifirin lifted a gold ingot from Flavio's desk—Flavio once used it as a paperweight. Now it sat on a corner of his desk, mostly forgotten. "Bear in mind," Kifirin set the gold bar down, "that others now hold a place in her heart. You will not be alone there, vampire. The Queen's Inner Circle is forming. You must use your imagination if you wish to be included in their number."