Adio seemed to consider my request for a moment before he finally nodded. A couple seconds later I could hear heavy footsteps in the hallway approaching the room. I knew the weight and the cadence. It was Danaus. Just before the door opened, I was able to finally sense him as if a veil had been lifted, but at the same time I could still sense a second magic user in the area beyond Adio. Danaus was not alone.
As the hunter opened the bedroom door and walked in, I jumped to my feet, but didn’t step forward because close behind him I saw Ryan. I tore my eyes from the white-haired warlock to focus on my dear companion.
Are you all right? I demanded silently, Adio and Ryan not needing to hear our conversation.
I’m fine. You?
Safe for now.
Our Liege? Danaus inquired, his eyes briefly dropping to the top of the seated Adio’s head.
Yes, and obviously in league with Ryan. Not a positive development.
Nope, we’re screwed.
It was a struggle to force myself to sit back in the chair facing Adio. My eyes moved over to the warlock and I unclenched my jaw. “It’s been a while, Ryan.”
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Mira,” he replied pleasantly.
“How long have you known Adio?”
“A few years,” he nonchalantly replied.
My mouth twisted into an ugly smirk. “So you never really needed me as a contact with the nightwalkers or the coven. You already had the ultimate contact.”
“True, but he needed someone to keep a closer eye on you. I agreed to assist.”
“How convenient,” I sneered.
“Now, Mira,” Adio chided. “Let’s keep this pleasant. No harm has come to Danaus or you while in our care. Now that you can see that Danaus is perfectly healthy and safe, will you please answer my question? Who is your father?”
I hesitated. It was an ugly answer, a fact I hated to admit to even if I had no control over such a thing. It wasn’t as if it was my fault that my father was a monster, only that others didn’t need to know about it. But then, if anyone had a chance to help me get rid of him, it was Adio, and it certainly didn’t hurt that he had Ryan in his back pocket.
“He goes my several names.”
“Pick one.”
Again the names were stuck in my throat. “Coyote,” I finally said, but their faces were blank at the Native American reference to their trickster god. “He has probably also gone by Puck, Hermes, Eshu, Anansi, Set—”
“Loki,” Adio breathed in fearful tones.
“Yes, but he’s going by Old Nick now. Or rather, just Nick.”
“That explains a few things,” Ryan said grimly. “The fire, the appearance, the tendency toward chaos over order. You are your father’s daughter—the god of chaos.”
“Yes, that does explain a few things,” Adio murmured, folding his hands in his lap as he sank deeper into his chair while staring intently at me. “Your powers have grown exponentially recently. A year ago you would never have taken on a member of the coven such as Macaire, and now you have killed both him and Jabari. There are also rumors that you’ve defeated a bori. And now you’re plotting to destroy the queen of the naturi.”
“You’re certainly well informed,” I snidely replied, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I’ve survived this long by staying well informed,” Adio snapped. “With the destruction of the two most powerful members of the coven and the ascension of your own friend to the coven, one has to wonder if your next step is my seat.”
A bark of laughter escaped me before I could catch it. “I never wanted a seat on the coven in the first place. I fear that was mostly Jabari’s maneuvering, which only succeeded in backfiring on him. You can keep the position of Our Liege. Just leave me to my domain of Savannah.”
“We want to be left in peace,” Danaus added.
“And wouldn’t that be a danger to the world?” Adio inquired. “The daughter of the god of chaos and an ageless man with bori-laced powers left to run wild.”
I smiled at Adio, my fangs poking out beneath my upper lip. I leaned forward, gripping both arms of the chair. “I’m not your biggest problem, not by a long shot.”
“What would my biggest problem be?”
“Nick.”
“What are his plans?”
“He’s never been entirely clear with me, but it sounds like he wants all of his old powers back and to return to his place as a powerful god and not just be a minor player. He plans to use to me to those ends.”
“Then we simply need to kill you to stop those plans,” Ryan offered.
“Not a chance,” Danaus growled, which only caused my smile to widen.
“Thank you. It’s nice to know there is at least one person alive who isn’t eager for my death,” I teased. I then turned a serious gaze back on Adio. “I was thinking more of a trap. Would your mother aid me?”
Adio shook his head. “She is no match for the god of chaos in this world. She is simply the goddess of the dawn, fragile and fading in strength as the day passes toward its apex. Eos would not help you.”
“Then would you help me? You said that you became a nightwalker because you wanted to be a part of the dominant species when the Great Awakening happened. If Nick succeeds, we will all be subject to his whims.”
“I will consider it.”
“What will it cost me?”
Adio smiled. “Very wise.”
“You can’t get something for nothing in this world. What would you want in return? My chair on the coven? Exile?”
“I had . . . something . . . in mind when I brought you here, but now that I know the source of your blood, I am hesitant,” Adio admitted.
“What?” Ryan suddenly cried. “You promised me!”
“Promised what?” Danaus demanded. He took a step closer to the warlock, but Ryan didn’t seem to notice, as his angry gaze was focused entirely on the top of Adio’s head.
“I’m having second thoughts,” Adio admitted.
“You promised!” Ryan shouted.
I looked from Ryan’s flushed face to Adio’s look of distress. There was only one thing a nightwalker could offer a warlock of his strength and power. My stomach churned. “You promised him that I would change him,” I softly said, drawing Adio’s gaze to my face.
“Both of our bloodlines combined in his body to bring about his rebirth,” Adio said.
“Absolutely not!” Danaus declared.
“It won’t work,” I stated firmly.
“It worked with you,” Ryan quickly argued. “You had three makers.”
“I also had the blood of a god already running through my veins,” I countered. “I was different to start with. Underneath all your powers, you are still human at heart, Ryan. Your body will glom to the first drop of nightwalker blood that enters your system and will ignore any other that enters.”
“How can you be sure?” Adio asked.
“I’m not, but do we want to risk not only changing him into a nightwalker, but using the diluted blood of both the goddess of the dawn and the god of chaos?”
“It seems there is much that we must still discuss,” Adio announced as he pushed out of his chair. “I will leave you here to come up with your proposal to get rid of your father while we discuss what I will choose to be my payment should I elect to aid your endeavors.”
“You know, you could always just do it out of the goodness of your heart,” I pressed, rising from my chair as well.
Adio turned back to look at me, pausing as he tried to leave the room. “My mother was the goddess of the dawn, not the goddess of love.”
“True,” I murmured as he left the room, followed by a somewhat irate Ryan who slammed the door shut. We could have done well if the goddess of love had decided to have a few children in the world. We might have been a little better off, but then I guess I should have been grateful that the god of war hadn’t been particularly prolific. At least, I didn’t think he had been.