“Good.” Then he looked past her at David and Kathryn. “Would you introduce me to your friends, please?”

23

Cain stared at the two gaunt vampires, still reeling over Baltimore’s audacity to prevent Faye’s charitable act. He’d met Abel’s personal guard briefly the night before, and knew that his brother would be angry for having him banned from the palace. Not that Cain cared much about that. Faye’s safety and well-being were more important.

He’d seen red when he’d seen Baltimore touch Faye, and at that moment he’d felt a protectiveness toward her that demanded that he crush the vampire. Short of committing bloody murder in front of Faye and two strangers, he’d used all his remaining self control and banned Baltimore from the palace.

“This is David and Kathryn,” he heard Faye say now and pointed to the two vampires huddled in one corner of the kitchen. David looked at him with apprehension, while Kathryn’s facial expression was one of pure fear.

“I mean you no harm,” Cain assured them quickly but didn’t approach, sensing that such an action would only scare them more. Instead he turned to Faye. “Why didn’t Baltimore want you to give our guests any blood?”

Faye’s lips curled in displeasure. “Because Abel is against handouts. He’s forbidden everybody in the palace to give away blood.” She sniffed, her chest heaving with outrage. “And these aren’t even the palace’s supplies. They’re my personal ones. I had every right—”

Cain put a calming hand on her forearm and squeezed it. “Yes, you did.”

But Faye wasn’t done yet. “A few days ago he wanted to punish Robert, because it was discovered that a few pints of blood had gone missing from the cellars.”

“What did he do to him?”

Faye dropped her gaze to the floor. “Nothing.”

Cain felt his forehead furrow. “But you said he wanted to punish him.”

“He did. I stopped him. Because he said . . .” She paused.

Cain shelved her chin and forced her to look at him. “Faye, please.”

She took a breath before she answered. “He said if I were his queen, he’d be a more lenient king.”

Cain’s heart clenched. “That’s how he got you to say yes?”

Faye didn’t nod. She simply closed her eyes.

Without a word, he pulled her into an embrace. It was all so clear now. What Faye had told him earlier was true: she wanted to be queen to help her people. Each of her actions confirmed it. And her charity even extended to vampires outside the clan. She was kind to strangers and brave to stand up to bullies like Baltimore. Cain felt his chest fill with pride.

When Faye’s arms came around him to squeeze him tightly, he welcomed her action. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head, when his eyes wandered back to the two vampires.

Reluctantly, he released Faye and addressed the two strangers. He noticed their torn and dirty clothes and realized that blood wasn’t the only thing those two needed. “How may we help you?”

David bowed. “If it’s not too much trouble, if you could provide us with shelter, only for a day or two, until we’ve rested sufficiently.”

Cain nodded. “What happened to you?”

Faye put a hand on Cain’s arm, making him turn back to her. “It’s awful, Cain. They’re fleeing their clan because of the awful conditions there.” Then she lowered her voice as if she didn’t want the two strangers to hear what she had to add, even though their vampire hearing would allow them to pick up her words anyway. “They were defanged. They have no way of hunting for blood. We have to do something.”

Even without Faye’s imploring look, Cain would have helped the two, but knowing that Faye wished to help them made the matter even more urgent.

“Are any of the cottages on the property currently vacant?” he asked her.

“One is empty because we were planning on renovating it, but it’s livable in its current condition.”

“Good.” He looked at David. “I hope you’ll stay longer than just two days. Where are you heading?”

David shrugged. “As far away from Mississippi as possible.”

Cain’s heart stopped. “Mississippi?”

“That’s where our clan is.”

Cain balled his hand into a fist and slammed it onto the kitchen table, making both David and Kathryn shrink farther back into their corner. “Damn Abel!”

Faye let out a stunned breath. “What is it?”