Sword drawn and with “Happy Birthday” running in her head to mask her thoughts, Elena pushed the window open to find Aleksi’s room empty. Nik followed her in silently and closed the window behind them.
“My mother’s apartment is just down the hall,” he said.
Dammit. Where was Aleksandra? None of this would work if she couldn’t get the elixir to her. “I need to talk to your sister.”
“It will have to wait.”
No. It couldn’t wait. Nothing was more important than this. Not even his mother. “Go on. I’ll stay here in case she shows up.” Which she hoped to hell happened soon. Everything hinged on this. “I will only get in the way.” She pointed to her head. “I’m the mastermind. You are the trained swordsman.” Yeah, some mastermind. Happy birthday, dear whomeveeeeeerrrrrr. Happy birthday to yoooooooou.
He ran his hand over her bare back. “When this is over, I’m buying you a dozen of these halters. I love seeing your markings…among other things.” He ran his fingers down her cleavage, and she trembled. Lips replaced fingers, and she had to concentrate to keep singing as his warm breath fanned over the exposed swells of her breasts. Behind the leather, her nipples hardened. Happy birthday, dear…
He moved his lips up her neck and whispered in her ear. “I want you close. Come with me. Leaving you here alone feels wrong.”
It sure did. But she needed to see Aleksi. “I…”
The door burst open, and Aleksi stormed in, then slammed the door behind her. “Asshole! You’ve got it wrong, Mihai. I’ve never been anything but loyal to Fydor.”
“You were not supposed to leave your room until the danger had passed,” a deep voice said from outside the door. “You promised to defend this entrance to the castle in case the Uniter tries to gain access this way again.”
She jumped but made no sound when she discovered Nik and Elena in her room. “Okay, fine.”
“Aleksandra, you know how I feel about you. I would never—”
“Fuck off, Mihai. Just go.”
After many long minutes of silence, she took a long breath. “Ballsy move coming back here, Niki baby. Fydor has been in a rage since you were “stolen” from him.”
Nik sheathed his father’s sword and pulled his sister into his arms. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “He’s been too high to do much of anything since Borya left.”
“Borya was here?”
“Yeah. He locked Fydor in the rec room with him for a while. Fydor has been fucked up since. Said something about a vision Borya had about Mom proclaiming you king or something. Really shook him up. Well, that and the quality one-on-one time with Borya.”
“Are there any other mind readers here?” Elena asked, still singing in her head.
“No. There are no vampires or sorcerers. They are the only ones with that power. And not all vamps at that.”
Thank goodness for small favors. She stopped humming and reveled in the silence in her head.
“I’m here for Mom,” Nik said. “Elena saw her burning at the stake. Where is she?”
“Her apartment, I guess. She never leaves anymore.”
Pulling Elena close, he leaned down, his familiar minty smell folded around her like a warm blanket. “Say it,” he whispered. “I need to hear it.”
“I love you, Nikolai Itzov.”
“Aw, shit. Don’t make me barf,” Aleksi teased.
Nik’s lips met hers, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, sword still in her hand. He ran his warm palm down her back and pulled her against him, then gave her butt cheek a squeeze, which made her whole body flush hot. She’d never get enough of this man. Good thing they’d live forever… Well, if they made it past tonight. “Wait for me. I’ll be right back,” he said against her lips.
He stopped just inside the door. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my mother.” And with a gorgeous grin, he slipped out the door and out of sight.
Focus. She shook off her lusty haze and pulled the vial out of her pocket. “Here’s the plan. You need to get it into Fydor’s stash somehow and make sure he takes it sometime before midnight tonight.”
“He takes that shit all the time. Mom got him hooked on it by calling it medicine. He thinks it makes his thinking clearer. Getting him high won’t work.”
“This ‘medicine’ won’t make him high. It will kill him.”
For a moment, her eyes lit up, and then she slumped down onto the bed. “Impossible. He won’t let me anywhere near. He’s on a bender and says he knows I’m in with you somehow. It will never work.”
“Who is he letting close?”
“No one. He just broods alone in his room. The entire place and everyone in it is on lockdown. Including me.” She buried her face in her hands.