Uza stopped and stared at Nik for a moment. “Mercy. I might melt.” She grinned at Elena. “He’s like birthday and Christmas dipped in Nutella and rolled around in powdered sugar, huh?”
Elena was too stunned to respond. Her aunt had always talked in terrible colloquialisms, but never about men before. It was a bit shocking, actually.
Winking, Uza patted her bouffant hairdo. “Is he as good as he looks?”
She could only gawk soundlessly.
“Better,” Nik answered.
Uza laughed and shuffled to Elena’s side door. Stefan rushed past and opened the door for her. “Good boy,” she said with a chuckle. “Well, don’t stand there with your mouth open catching flies, Ellie. Let’s swill some bubbly.”
Nik and Stefan followed her into the house, and Aunt Uza had them sit at the tiny dining table. She rummaged in the fridge and pulled out the cheap bottle of champagne Elena had bought last New Year’s Eve. After her ex stood her up saying he had a family obligation, she had shoved it to the back of the fridge, and there it sat, just like her love life. Until now. Well, it was more like a lust-life with Nik, but there was always hope. His apology had been remarkable. He was remarkable. They just needed to find a way to make the differences between them acceptable.
Uza plunked four champagne flutes on the table and shoved the bottle toward Stefan. “Open ’er up, foldy hottie. The smokin’ Slayer might break it with all that pent-up frustration.”
“Your appearance is markedly different from the last time I saw you, Zana,” Nik said.
“So is yours.” She winked. “The centuries have suited you.”
The cork eased from the bottle with a pop. Stefan filled the first glass and handed it to Uza.
“What happened to you?” Nik asked.
Stefan passed a glass to Elena.
Aunt Uza smiled. “I hope for Ellie’s sake you’re better in bed than you are with polite conversation, little Niki, or I’ll be regretting my decision.” His eyes narrowed and she laughed. “Well, she’s immortal and unbound. Obviously, you were able to pull off the minimum necessary, so lighten up, hottie-totty, it’s all gravy from here.” Uza held up her glass. “To the Uniter,” she said. Then her brow furrowed, and she set the glass on the table.
Her eyes met Stefan’s, and then his phone rang.
“You need to get that,” she said when he made no move to answer it. “It’s important.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket. “Yes?” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “As always, your service is impeccable and appreciated. I’ll return immediately. Tell Bridgette I will bring Aliana there as soon as things are cleared up, and I am satisfied she will not flee.” He listened for a moment. “Thank you.”
He put the phone back in his pocket and lifted his glass. “Where were we?”
Uza tilted her head and studied him. “You are an odd hottie. I figured that news would have you skedaddling faster than a kitty on hot coals. We were toasting the Uniter.”
“So we were.” He gave Elena a sad smile. “I wish you luck, love, and long life, Elena Arcos. You as well, Nikolai Itzov.” He clinked his glass to Uza’s. “To the Uniter.” He downed the champagne in one swallow and set the glass down. “You know what I need, yes?”
“Of course I do,” Uza replied. “Hottie needs are my specialty.” She closed her eyes, and the air changed and charged with current, and then the glasses in the cupboards rattled, and with a crack, Stefan disappeared, just like that.
Uza turned her attention to Elena and Nik. “Well, I’d better go back and tend my kitties while there’s a lull in the action. We’re all about to be as busy as one-armed wallpaper hangers.”
She stood to leave.
“Wait,” Nik said. “We have questions.”
She grinned. “And I have answers, but can’t share. The knowledge is mine. The discovery is yours.” She shuffled toward the door.
“Why can’t you share with us?” He gestured to Elena. “This girl loves you.”
“And I love her, but I don’t love being in this form. If I breach the rules of silence, the curse will be unbreakable.”
Nik blocked her way. “What is she?”
“She’s a miracle. The joining of a vampire and any other species rarely yields offspring.”
“Yes, but she’s not a vampire.”
Uza shook her head. “She most certainly is not. But you are a smart hottie. Figure it out.”
“You know what happened to my father.”
“So do you,” she said.
“Did you cast the masking spell?”
The plates in the cupboards rattled again. “The one with the most to lose commissioned it. I don’t deal with losers. Kill the one who ordered it, and the spell is broken.”
“Fydor.”
“For my Ellie’s sake, I hope that tongue of yours is good for more than stating the obvious, hottie.” She shoved him to the side. “You have about twenty-four hours before all hell breaks loose. Use your time…and tables wisely.”
Chapter Twenty
The look on Nik’s face when he turned to Elena was nothing short of predatory. Thrill shot through her, and she flared with heat as if lit with a blowtorch.