“What’s going on?” she asks.
“If you could facilitate the destruction of the Leonids, would you?” I ask. It doesn’t take long for my words to sink in, and when they do, the gleam of hunger in her eyes is almost regrettable. Katarina will be angry at me for this later, but Stella is her own person.
“The Council won’t allow you to wipe out a fellow territory leader,” she says, thinking aloud. “And I can’t take over in my father’s place to preserve whatever balance they have a hard on for.”
She is correct. It would cause turmoil and panic to have someone so inexperienced be a territory leader. Though she is not powerless.
“But you can enable another to. You are the blood daughter of Lorenzo Leonid.”
Stella leans back, connecting the dots quicker than I expected. “The Devil…”
The plan isn’t a convoluted one, but she’s very up-to-date on territory disputes if she already knows that title and where this conversation is going. The thought of Katarina’s fury has me hesitating.
“This is not something required of you.” I sigh. “You and your mother are under my protection—”
“But this way you’d be able to unseat my sperm donor and his inner circle without the Council taking issue,” Stella finishes for me.
Because a takeover by mating follows our laws. It doesn’t matter that Stella isn’t recognized as a Leonid. Territory claims are about blood and those mated to that blood.
“And doing this would eliminate the threat to Kat,” she says.
“This threat. There will be others, but I plan on setting an example.” I level my gaze on her. “Do you understand?”
“You’re going to kill him,” she says and takes a moment to consider it before continuing, “It’s not the revenge I had in mind, but his death will be because he threatened your mate and child. I’m merely capable of making it so that the Council doesn’t try and make an example out of my best friend’s mate.”
I nod. “And it would take away any threat they are to you and your mother. You are under my protection, but they’ve already ransacked your place of business for taking the statue.”
Stella frowns, unsurprised but grim. “He’s violating all the rules.”
Lorenzo is acting desperate, and that makes him dangerous.
“Is this the only way?” she asks the question but knows the answer. This is the cleanest way. The way that leaves everyone she cares about as safe as they can be. If I retaliate in a way that puts me in the Council’s sights, Katarina will be vulnerable.
But Stella’s life will be forever changed.
“Given more time, we may be able to figure out some other plan,” I allow. We’ve been in the process of prodding Lorenzo’s younger son to stage a coup, but he’s unwilling, and the logistics would take too long to come to fruition.
Stella nods, but her answer is in her eyes. This witch is done being a cast-off pawn. She wants blood. Maybe it’s the shifter in her that demands the revenge, or maybe this will feed whatever wound she carries in her soul.
“And… he is amenable to the arrangement?” she asks.
“Yes, Ben sent out feelers when this conflict began.”
Stella doesn’t react with anger that we’d be so presumptuous. This is a solution we didn’t want to need. She leans back in her chair.
“He’s not known for his kindness. Hence the name, The Devil. You think he’ll be a better neighbor to you than Lorenzo?” she asks.
“He is honorable and an ally.” I pause for a moment. “I don’t know how he’ll be as a mate though.”
Stella shrugs. “That’s something I’ll find out I guess.”
I GET out of the car before Jensen can open my door for me. The shifter narrows his eyes, but we aren’t performing for an audience. There’s no need to wait for my driver to open my door in this remote area.
Luck is on our side with the northern fae gate being in this dense wood, far from the wandering eyes of humans. There’s a ward around the area, and I, like most magical beings, have an innate ability to keep from drawing attention, but there are limits to that.
We came early.
The guards I keep at the gate are at the ready. The gate itself is inert. Merely an empty stone archway, the air around it crackling with static magic. Only I can activate the gate, it being attuned to me since I claimed ownership of it a few hundred years ago, but it would be foolish not to have sentries posted.
But the guards aren’t alone.
“What are you doing here?” Ben asks.
“I’m always present for crimes that I’m supporting.” The dry amusement is clear in the gargoyle’s words. “And examples need an audience. More than just Kalos’s people as witness.”
He has a point.
“Thank you, Stoneheart,” I greet him. He’s larger than Ben in stature, his wings clasp like a cape but leave his body bare except for a dark-colored kilt. Tattoos spiral over his gray skin, an oddity for his kind.
Stoneheart isn’t a clan name. As far as Ben’s research could tell, he’s never been in a clan. A lone gargoyle is unusual, but after a few years cultivating his people and a few territory gains moderate enough to keep the Council happy, he’s a power in his own right. His coldly ambitious actions earned him the name The Devil by those who wish to gossip about him.
He doesn’t need more territory, but what he’d get from his mating to Stella would have been hard to say no to.
“And my bride is here, so I should be also.” He offers his hand to Stella to help her out of the car.
I didn’t want to bring the witch, but she couldn’t be persuaded to stay back at the house. It’s one thing to orchestrate the downfall of your enemies, but witnessing it is another. Her skin is pale, and she’s stiff around her intended mate, but there’s no panic in her eyes. She knows what she’s agreed to.
Stoneheart narrows his eyes at my second-in-command, and Ben wipes the glare from his face. I tighten my jaw in foreboding. I had not anticipated Ben’s reaction to this plan.
The magic from the nearby fae gate buzzes over my skin. Ancient and wild in a way that modern magic isn’t. It’s not an uncomfortable thing, but not for the first time, I consider how much trouble we’d save if this gate didn’t exist.
“Be sure to be out of the blast range. This may prove to be quite messy,” I instruct my people. Stoneheart looks amused but keeps casting glances to where Ben stiffly stands beside Stella. Ready to evacuate her and Jensen at a moment’s notice.
I direct the guards to leave the fae gate and take their place beside the other witnesses. No need to put them at risk.
The rumble of vehicles coming down the dirt road has us turning.
Three SUVs pull up on the other side of the clearing. Men pour out of each of the vehicles, shifters and a few magic users that must be mercenaries.
It’s a paltry show of force.
I almost pity Lorenzo, but he cast himself as my enemy. I will not spare him just because he is overconfident.