CHAPTER ONE TWELVE

"This should help, sweetheart." Lysander said shamelessly as he handed me the juice glass filled with his blood.

"Oh, are you not feeling well, dear?" My mother asked innocently, cutting into her waffle.

Dylan snickered, and I shot him a glare.

"I have a headache." I stated blandly. More like a pain in my ass. Damn vampires.

I didn't even remember going to bed last night. I just woke up clean, cradled in Lysander's arms with Dylan in his room down the hall. I had started to wonder if I dreamt the whole damn thing until I felt the soreness taking over my entire body.

I reached for the blood, being filled with a rush of relief as it poured down my throat.

"Better?" Ly asked, pressing a kiss to my temple. I nodded, unable to hide my smile at his amazing care of me. He was always that way the morning after rough sex, and boy was that rough.

I didn't really know what to expect when I agreed to it, but it was safe to say that it was a success. I had never come so hard and so often before, and I had to admit that Dylan did a great job. It finally made sense why he was always with a woman. He was a fucking animal. And that mouth of his... It really caught me off guard. I was a Queen, but he didn't hesitate to call me a bitch and a slut.

It was surprising how much it turned me on, but I did have to teach him a lesson at the end. I smirked just thinking about it. His blood tasted like honeydew, sweet and refreshing. But what was most satisfying wasn't the taste, but the way he groaned in pleasure.

Shit, I had to stop thinking about last night. I couldn't afford for everyone besides Jesse to sense my arousal.

Speaking of...

I glanced up at Jesse, cocking my head to the side as I wondered if he heard us. As if sensing my stare, he stopped chewing, meeting my gaze. His eyes flickered to Dylan and Lysander before landing back on me with a bashful glint.

Shit.

Even a human could hear how loud we were being from the other side of the damn house. At least he wouldn't say anything about it. He never did, no matter how juicy the gossip. Maybe that was why he was still allowed to stay in the house when everyone else was kicked out, which I was pretty sure was intentional.

After breakfast, we launched straight into the first presentation, which was Jesse. He offered us confirmation that each of the firsts were willing to assist us in the impending war, excluding the Moon Goddess who was still in hiding following her escape from the palace.

She wrote a letter to Dylan, insisting that she remain under the radar after the hunter attack allowed her to slip away. Apparently her choker was still attached and she couldn't use her abilities, but she assured us that she was safe.

Following him was Dylan, who gave us positive results from the most recent outreach to the west coast. An additional one hundred thousand were added to our ranks, making us over half a million strong, and that was just our army. Our supporters spanned across the world, and we could see the change in attitudes towards Lorec's 'peaceful' rule.

His angels were cruel, his mages violent, and his policies were becoming more and more restrictive as time went on. Lysander believed that if he succeeded at killing me, he would create hell on earth all over again.

Concluding our day of meetings were the General and his Lieutenant.

"We have our troops currently gathered in Vegas to train. They're growing stronger by the day, but I'm getting worried."

I furrowed my brow, noticing Cory's black eyes boring into me, sending a chill down my spine. Even after all this time, the guy gave me the creeps.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Well, several of the spies I had sent into the palace have stopped reporting back. We have no idea what became of them, or what the King is planning. Correspondents nearby have mentioned a slow migration to American soil, though."

Shit.

"Already? I thought we had more time!" Brett asked incredulously, searching through his predictions with his glasses on the tip of his nose.

He was hit almost as hard as I was following Bastion's death, and had dedicated his efforts entirely to finding a way to avenge his best friend. He had done extensive research in war strategies and even weapons that could be used in the fight.

"I thought so too, and we might, but he's definitely up to something."

This was terrible. We weren't prepared for the shit to hit the fan quite yet. But it didn't sound like we had a choice. We couldn't get caught off guard.

"Maybe it's time to relocate." I offered, and the table got quiet. I knew what they were thinking. Relocation meant that things would change. It made it real.

War was never pretty, but this was on track to be the bloodiest war in history since the genocides. There wasn't a single person in our Kingdom that wasn't terrified.

"I think that would be wise." Lysander spoke up for the first time all day. I met his worried eyes with my own.

I think we should take the twins to Atlantis tonight. I have a bad feeling about this." He added in my head. I nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let me orchestrate it. I'll have details by morning." Brett huffed, removing his glasses to rub his eyes.

A movement coming from the end of the table caught my attention and my heart froze. Cory had reached for his glass, his long sleeve riding up just enough for me to see a black beaded bracelet peeking out from where it sat on his wrist. But before I could get a good look at it, it slid back beneath the fabric.

Fuck, was that-?

Thankfully, he didn't catch on to my hidden panic, as only the vampires around the table could hear the irregularity of my pulse.

"Perhaps we should call it for the night." I announced suddenly, standing to adjourn our meeting.

"Don't you want to go over my battle strategies, Queen?" Brett asked, but I shook my head vehemently.

"No, those can be given directly to General Anthony and Lysander for review." I growled, making him clamp his mouth shut. I knew my tone was harsh, but I didn't want him disclosing our battle strategies when we could have a traitor in our midst.

Cory remained calm through the entire interaction, not flinching like the rest of them at my display of irritation. Did I see it right? Could those have been mage beads? If so, why would he be wearing them? I needed to speak to Lysander.

"Follow me." I instructed through a prayer before excusing myself to our bedroom. I heard him mumble his own excuse, beating me there with a concerned expression.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked immediately, but I gestured for him to stay silent and only speak in my head. His expression softened and he obeyed. "Aria?"

"What reason would there be for someone to wear your father's mage beads?" I asked blatantly, watching his eyes widen.

"Why?" His voice was urgent, but I shook my head.

"Tell me." He sighed, brushing some stray locks of hair behind his ear.

"Shit, I don't know. Honestly, those bastards can infuse those beads with just about any spell. Usually they are used for restrictive spells, though. Like to hide someone or keep someone from using their power."

"Do you think they could hide someone's dark magic aura?" He squinted his eyes in suspicion.

"Hypothetically speaking. Why, Aria?" I could already hear his heart speeding in panic, so I stepped forward to place a calming kiss on his cheek, hoping to counteract the impact of my words.

"I believe we have a spy."