Chapter 52 Katarina
I knew this wasn’t going to work the moment I laid eyes on Murielle.
We were in a park. A public place where neither side could pull any moves without having a giant headache to deal with afterward. It had been Sorinah’s idea, and although I had yet to meet her, I felt like we might have a few things in common. At least in the way we approached difficult situations.
Murielle had brought twenty of her people.
Twenty people to our five, well, five plus Grim.
A show of force or a precaution? Probably a little of both.
She’d dressed in a business suit complete with a pencil skirt and shoulder pads.
The dark blue color looked fabulous against her black hair and turquoise eyes, but she’d definitely planned wrong with the heels.
It was rather amusing to watch her try not to stumble each time one of the points sunk into the grass as she approached our picnic table.
And when she did finally make it to us, she scoffed as she wiggled her way onto the bench from the side because her skirt wouldn’t allow her to lift her leg over the wooden base.
“Should have worn jeans,” I said by way of greeting. I felt powerful with the men standing around me. Probably a little overconfident, but it was a nice feeling nonetheless.
Murielle finally settled in the seat across from me and grimaced. “Not dead yet?”
“Not yet,” I shot back.
“Hmm,” she muttered. “I see you brought your dogs. What? Are they all listening to you now because of your magical demon pussy?”
I tensed at the harsh language coming out of her mouth, but Aiden laughed loudly behind me.
“Good one.” I released a breath and thanked him through our bond.
Man, that blood thing. It really did connect us on a whole new level.
And we didn’t even need to have sex to feel it.
We didn’t need to, but we still did this morning.
“My magic demon pussy is doing just fine. Thanks for asking.” I looked at the witches and warlocks standing behind her and didn’t recognize a single one. Roman had killed the ones I once worked with. I swallowed the thought and tried to school my face.
“Why are we here, Roman?” She demanded over the top of my head.
He didn’t answer, and I loved him even more for trusting me with this. “What do you want, Murielle?” I answered.
“You’re the one that called this little meet and greet, Katarina. Perhaps you should tell me your wish list first.”
Boy, I really hated her sometimes. “Fine,” I grumbled. “I want you to go away. Either leave the city altogether or acknowledge Roman’s power and leave us alone.”
She cackled. Like a real, honest-to-goodness witch cackle. I wondered how long she’d been practicing that. “Have they fucked away your brain?”
“Excuse me?” I spat, not liking her tone one bit.
“They say that human offspring of the sex demons tend to go crazy early in life. Perhaps it’s already happening to you. “
The men behind me tensed, I could feel it both in our bond and by the way none of them breathed.
The power inside of me started to grow and I wanted so badly to suck that grin off Murielle’s face by stealing a little bit of her magic.
But we’d all agreed this morning that we wouldn’t give her any indication of what we’d been working on. We couldn’t reveal our hand just yet.
Especially if this whole talking thing went to shit.
“Well, this is a time for negotiation, Murielle,” I finally continued once I got my emotions back under control. “What will it take for you to leave us alone?”
She glared up at Roman and flashed her perfect teeth at him, a hint of her power shining through. “He murdered my sisters and brothers,” she hissed.
“After you invaded our house and killed one of our own,” I reminded her.
Focusing her glare on me, she shook her head.
“Do you think that’s the only time your precious men murdered my contemporaries?
” When I snapped my lips together in surprise, she smiled.
A wicked grin that sent chills down my spine.
“The House of Shadows have been murdering the supernaturals in this city for a hundred years. He claims it’s to secure our town, but it’s not.
First, he sends his tracker,” she pointed at Dorian, “to find something wrong. Most of the time, it’s a crime that could be settled with a minor punishment.
But when Roman wants someone gone, your wolf will find a reason why. ”
I opened my mouth to argue with her but she held up her hand. “And once Roman’s declared someone guilty, he sends in the assassin.” She scowled up at Aiden. “And that fucking fae likes to torture.”
“Murielle,” Roman warned, the air tensing around all of us, holding too much power, like it might explode at any moment.
“Don’t you think she should know that truth about who’s fucking her?”
The way she said it… “Are you jealous, Murielle?” I didn’t mean it to be flippant. I was genuinely curious because of how she was talking to me. Like I’d pissed her off by surviving the House of Shadows.
“You are such a child,” she admonished me. “Stop playing leader and let the adults talk.”
Blaise growled and I knew by the way Murielle’s eyes widened that we’d messed up.
She studied him for far too long. In fact, I snapped my fingers in her face several times to get her to focus on me again.
“What do you really want, Murielle? You and Roman have managed a cordial relationship for nearly a century. Why do you want to change that?”
“Because we are tired of being his pawns.”
“What do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to answer to a fucking vampire anymore. None of us wants to. The humans who know about us are tired of it as well. They are sick of living in fear of Roman’s wrath.”
“And that’s why you used their laws to go after my men?” I kept crossing and uncrossing my feet in an attempt to keep my temper in check. At least I had her talking, which was an important part of negotiating.
“Your men?” she scoffed. “You’ve been with them all of a month and you think they belong to you?”
Again, I swear I heard a bite of jealousy in her words.
“You’ll be tossed to the side like all the others in no time at all. Then you’ll come crawling back to me, begging for a home and a warm meal. You truly are a pathetic creature.”
I jumped to my feet, awkward with the way I had to bend forward to accommodate the bench.
“You know what, Murielle? My men were right. This was a waste of time.” I lifted my legs over the seat, allowing Roman to grab my hands for balance.
I didn’t really need him but I did want to make her jealousy boil over, if, in fact, that’s what I’d been sensing.
“Give us the abbey,” she called after me.
“Not a chance,” Roman growled over my shoulder. “Come on,” he said to all of us.
“Give us the abbey and you leave the city. Then we can avoid any more bloodshed.”
My head started to throb. This had been a complete waste of time, and I hated that I’d been so wrong about the situation.
I owed all the men a huge apology. “You’re insane.
You are going to risk the lives of your coven members over a building?
What kind of a leader are you?” Roman started to escort me away when she spoke again.
“There may be something else,” she cooed, still seated at the picnic table.
“What?” I asked with a huff. “Something you want?”
Her sharp blue eyes landed on Blaise. “Give me the dragon.”
Shit.
Steadying my expression, I turned my whole body around to face her and crossed my arms to hide my trembling hands. “You know he’s just a half-breed, Murielle.”
She smiled and my heart dropped. I knew that look.
“For a thief, you’ve always been a terrible liar, Katarina.
” Facing Blaise, she focused on his face.
“How many times have you shifted now? And before you deny it, know that we can all smell it on you. Your magic. Your power. It was stupid of you to come here today.”
Behind me, Dorian squeezed my waist, probably as much for him as it was for me.
We were both trembling with white, hot rage right now.
Aiden disappeared and reappeared directly beside Murielle.
He didn't say a word, but he didn’t have to.
Her blanched face said everything it needed to. She was afraid of Roman’s assassin.
“Control your dogs, Roman,” she said as she slowly stood. “And be prepared. I challenge you.”
It was so formal, and I knew everything had changed with those three words. Any hope of solving this diplomatically had dissipated as quickly as Aiden moved around us.
“Where?” Roman asked stoically while we all held our breaths. Even the other coven members looked terrified at the prospect of actually taking this fight to the frontline.
“Jean Lafitte Park in two days at dusk,” Murielle said quickly. “On the battlefield,” she added with a smirk as though that was a fitting place. I found it disgusting.
“We will be there,” Roman said, pulling me away before I could try and salvage any of this negotiation.
It was hopeless, I realized, as we all piled into the SUV and quickly drove away.
Grim sat in the far back while Aiden and Dorian flanked me in the rear passenger seat.
Blaise drove, and Roman stared straight ahead as he maneuvered us through downtown traffic.
“I’m sorry,” I finally said, feeling the words catch in the back of my throat. “That was a complete disaster.” Aiden and Dorian both rubbed their hands on me in a show of solidarity and comfort.
“Not really,” Roman said without turning around.
“You knew she would never give in, didn’t you?” I asked him.
“Yes.”
“Then how was this not a total failure?”
“Because now we know what she really wants. She doesn’t care about the abbey or even about running the city. She wants a dragon.”
“And how does that help us exactly?” I asked, not really following his logic.
Finally, he turned around and faced me. “We know exactly what to prepare for.”
“Time for a battle,” Aiden roared and Dorian laughed. Even Blaise cracked a smile.
“You guys are crazy,” I said through my nervous giggles.
Aiden kissed my cheek. “We may be. But we’re not going to let them win. No matter what.”
“No matter what,” Dorian toasted the air in agreement. Roman simply nodded.
My entire plan had been shot to pieces, but these guys weren’t giving up so easily.
Not that I expected them to, but I really had hoped we could avoid this fight altogether.
“Looks like we have two days to keep practicing then,” I finally conceded to the excitement flitting through the car.
Even Grim barked in agreement, making me laugh.
"I'm living with a bunch of blood-thirsty men."
"And don't you ever forget it,” Aiden gleamed as we drove back home in the bright afternoon sun.