I stifled a snort as I handed Mencheres a glass of whisky. I didn’t know why Vlad disliked Mencheres’s co-ruler so much, but I didn’t see him getting over it anytime soon.

“Enough about that,” Vlad said, dismissing Bones with a swipe of his hand. “Magic is one of the few things forbidden under vampire law, but like Mircea, there are those who still practice it in secret. I need a guide into that world, at once.”

Mencheres leaned forward, his expression turning very serious. “You are too well-known to slip in and out unnoticed, and vampires who practice magic will kill to keep their identities from reaching the Law Guardians.”

I agreed, and felt guilty over telling Vlad we had to break Mircea’s spell at all costs. “There has to be another way—”

“There isn’t,” he interrupted. Despite his hard tone, the hand he laid on my arm was gentle. “If the sorcerers holding Mircea had any intention of returning him, they would have accepted my offer. Their silence means that they’re either still intending to kill him, or they’re thinking of the best way to use him against me.”

I wasn’t a fan of either option, but I didn’t want Vlad to throw himself into even more dangerous circumstances. His abilities would protect him from almost anyone in the vampire world, but in a secret underworld where magic reigned? Not even his feared pyrokinesis was a match for that.

“We’ll see the voodoo queen again,” I said. “Maybe there’s something she didn’t think of before.”

“Her previous leads came to naught, and if she’d thought of anything new, she would have told me.” His tone became flat. “Marie Laveau would love to have me owe her such a stunning debt. She amasses favors the way the greedy amass fortunes.”

“Who are these sorcerers, and how do they have Mircea?” Mencheres asked quietly.

Vlad let out a frustrated sound. “If I knew either, I would be on my way to kill them instead of sitting here with you.”

I filled in the blanks that Vlad’s frustration had left out. “Whoever they are, they were going to kill Mircea until he proved his connection to me. Vlad offered them a bounty if they returned Mircea to him alive. That was several hours ago, and we haven’t heard anything since.”

Mencheres closed his eyes. After an extended silence, he opened them and looked at Vlad. “I left that world more than three millennia ago when magic became outlawed, but I know one person with recent ties to it, and I trust him to act as your guide. First, however, I need your promise that you will not kill him.”

I felt Vlad’s surprise as his shields dropped and he considered this. “I can’t promise that of anyone who betrays me or Leila,” he finally said. “Aside from that, you have my word.”

“No matter how badly you will want to,” Mencheres stressed. “Despite his many flaws, he is dear to me, and it would pain me to lose him.”

My curiosity was piqued. If this person wasn’t a threat to us, why was Mencheres so sure that Vlad would want to kill him?

“Aside from my conditions, yes,” Vlad said, the annoyance in his tone emphasizing that he didn’t appreciate repeating himself. “Now, who is he?”

Mencheres gave Vlad a look of grim amusement. “Oh, you know him. And you dislike him even more than Bones.”

Chapter 6

We landed in Cheshire, England, which thankfully was only a short flight from London. A chauffeur was already waiting for us, and the unfamiliar driver whisked us away to a manor that looked right out of the show Downton Abbey. The driver dropped us off and then sped away, leaving us in front of the manor’s large double doors.

They opened before Mencheres could knock, revealing a startlingly handsome vampire with vivid turquoise eyes and shoulder-length, auburn hair. I had time to notice particulars about his face and hair because after one glance, I kept my gaze firmly directed upward. Vlad muttered a curse even as the naked vampire let out an aggravated huff.

“You said it was urgent, Mencheres, so do come in.”

“Ian,” Mencheres said in a chiding tone. “You should have at least gotten dressed.”

Ian glanced down, as if just now realizing that the only thing he wore was a very intimately placed silver piercing.

“Do you see a seven-foot-tall woman on my face?” he asked in a conversational tone. “No, because I stopped what I was doing and emptied out my house as you requested, so the least you could do is not scold me for failing to put on a tux.”

I was so startled by the graphic description, I didn’t know how to react. Nice to meet you didn’t seem applicable. Sorry to interrupt your cunnilingus! was probably more appropriate, yet I wasn’t about to say that, either.

“Ah, but who’s this?” Ian went on, angling his head around Vlad to get a better look at me. “Mmmm, isn’t she stunning? If she’s my consolation prize, then I accept—”

“She’s my wife,” Vlad growled before I could correct the misassumption. “And if your cock twitches one more time while you look at her, I’ll burn it off.”

“Vlad, you swore,” Mencheres said low.

“Castration won’t kill him,” Vlad responded at once. “His life was all I promised, and his extremities can grow back.”

Instead of being concerned, Ian laughed. “Here I thought today was going to be boring. Now, I simply must know what’s brought the infamous Impaler to my door, especially if it’s so important, my sire made you swear an oath not to kill me.”