The king twirled the queen and she landed on his lap with a light laugh.
Were they about to get it on? Because even I’d have a problem watching that.
“Lover, our son and his true mate are still here,” the queen said, shooting a curious glance my way.
The king growled.
“That is what she is, Julius,” the queen said sternly.
His jaw clenched as he met her cool gaze. “My son is not meant to be with a human.”
The queen said nothing, trailing her fingertips over his chest. And lower.
And lower.
I grinned as Kyros’s wrath gave way to nausea.
“Leave,” the king said without looking our way.
The queen jerked. “Oh, but stay for dinner, please, my first son.”
“Yes, Mother. After I take Miss Le Spyre home,” Kyros murmured, turning without lifting his head.
The king lowered his head to his queen’s ample chest. “Neelan can do it.”
He totally knew about his children’s side game of tormenting me and Kyros.
“Yes, Father.” Kyros bowed, looking at me for the first time. His expression was unfathomable, and I tried to make sense of the determination and resignation emanating from the massive vampire.
“Basilia,” he said, striding to the door.
Woof woof!
But, really.
Like I needed any encouragement to get the fuck out of King Julius’s sight.
15
“Miss Le Spyre,” Angelica greeted as I exited the lift onto Level 66 on Sunday night. “Congratulations on your promotion.”
I’d assumed my work week was Monday to Friday morning. No one had come to the estate to correct the assumption anyway.
“That’s looking at it through rose-coloured glasses to the extreme, Angie,” I replied, making my way to where the roll was held each night.
Tonight was Clan Fyrlia’s turn.
“Perhaps. You might be interested to know that Queen Titania approves.”
Fuck me, even the queen’s name needed a Twitter page. I had a serious crush on Kyros’s mother.
I picked up speed to lose the vampire whom I neither liked nor disliked. Actually.
I slowed. “You know what King Julius said to me and Kyros then?”
“My sister and I are close,” she answered. “My sister is talking to him.”
Chipping away at King Julius? Was that possible?
Hopefully.
Because if he didn’t relent, my game plan was officially screwed.
I wasn’t convinced my seduction strategy was working, but I’d have to up it somehow—except that was bound to raise Kyros’s suspicions. What sane person would play with the fire that was King Julius?
“No need,” I said. “I don’t want to pursue the blood bond further.”
Vissimo were already crowded around the glass tube, and I stopped behind them. 11:57 p.m. Perfect timing. Not a minute more than needed. That surely sent the right message. And I’d try to leave early too. Anything to nullify any suspicion over my presence here—even though the king literally ordered me here.
The vampires in front of me parted like the two jagged columns of a zipper. I studied their expectant faces.
“No, no,” I said, planting my heeled feet. “I’m watching from back here.”
They continued to part, creating a path all the way to the glass tube.
For fuck’s sake.
Angelica shoved me gently, and I stomped to the front, scowling through the huge glass cylinder to where Kyros stood on the other side.
My eyes drank him in, something settling within me just for being near him.
Stockholm syndrome.
His contentment thrummed through me as tangible as the rumbling in his chest on the few occasions my head had rested against it.
The screen lit up, displaying the two kings and their queens. Tonight, King Mikhail picked up the dice and rolled. Huh, Julius really did have a better roll. I thought that was blind admiration for the Sundulus leader from his adoring minions.
The screen disappeared and the large screen map of Bluff City descended with the glass tube just like I recalled.
Kyros clicked the tiny remote in his hand, and everyone watched the red dot zigzag around the board in a seemingly random order.
I memorised the order this time. Grey, Estates, Orange, Red, Pink, Purple, Blue, Yellow, Green, Agriculture, and Black.
The red dot settled on Agriculture, and a displeased murmur rippled through the surrounding Vissimo.
“Eleven,” he announced. “Today Clan Fyrlia will work in the Agriculture district. While not an ideal roll, we are prepared for the worst-case situation. We will work closely with Prince Lionel’s sub-clan tonight. Please include the relevant sister team in your strategy meetings. You all know that Fyrlia recently gained an advantageous development deal in this area. That advantage cannot be allowed to gain further momentum. Currently, Lots 72-94 are privately-owned farming lands. If Fyrlia secure just one of those, the probability of us securing the remaining twenty-one lots decreases by 8 percent. We know that humans are more likely to listen to word of mouth. Let’s not allow Fyrlia to create that.”
A begrudging respect rose within me as he continued. The dice could have landed anywhere. He had extensive knowledge of Bluff City. Far more than me. I had to constantly refer to my Churchill team’s daily report for forecasting statistics.
“Live Right’s agricultural successes must occupy the top of every realty search for Bluff City,” Kyros continued. “Forecasting teams, SEO teams, you know what to do. Furthermore, today is a day to collect on favours garnered with our human liaisons. I don’t need to explain this is a pivotal moment. We have never been in a tighter position. If Fyrlia win the rest of the available agriculture land, we will enter the end cascade.”
I half listened as I processed that. Though I had no idea what an end cascade was.
The major bluff in Sundulus’s play was only known to the siblings and select few others—that I was certain of. Mr Ringly’s subdivision deal was meant to go south, but Kyros appeared deadly serious as he continued speaking of pulling in their council and finance contacts to inhibit development approval.
I guess that’s where compelled humans—like my grandmother’s friends—came in. The clans used them to facilitate and intercept deals. To influence the un-compelled human population against the opposition. Any free and uncoerced human could sign a contract, I assumed.
“Present your reports to the strategy teams by 1:00 a.m.” Kyros finished.
He was flooded by a crowd of vampires.
This time I watched.
Some were his seconds. Others, I assumed, were the heads of the various teams, but I didn’t know what those teams were.
“Time for your part,” Angelica murmured in my ear. “This way, please, Miss Le Spyre.”
I adjusted my lilac jumpsuit, pulling the large silver buckle of the belt cinching my waist back into the middle.
This was it.
Time to see how my masterplan worked in reality. Perhaps I hadn’t completed the fourth blood exchange yet, but I was on Level 66. I’d expected that to take months, not days.
Thank you, King Julius—fucking douchebucket.
Following behind Angelica, I entered the glass chamber that I recalled Kyros exiting on my first visit to this level. There were twelve seats and twelve tablets.
“How do the meetings work?” I asked.
She gestured to a seat at one end of the rectangle table. I wasn’t sitting opposite Kyros. That had to be a wife-mate thing. Whether Angelica was in the ongoing midst of her matchmaking game, or Kyros was playing a force-Basilia-to-be-my-wench game, I wasn’t playing.
“Kyros and his seconds meet here. You’ve visited the other chamber where the princes and princesses meet. The rest of the rooms are for our various teams. My team is house acquisition—which is where I must go presently. Good luck, Basilia.”
&nb
sp; I saluted her and received the ghost of a smile before she swayed out of the room.
A quick peek through my lashes told me Kyros was still in the middle of the gradually thinning crowd.
Marching to my wife seat, I dragged it around to one of the long edges of the table and shoved the five seats already there down to fit mine in. I stretched across the table to grab the tablet.
The seat opposite Kyros was now bare.
Perfect.
I sat as men and women entered the room. I recognised a few from the cafeteria on Level 50 and my infrequent visits up here. Conrad was the sandy blond from the first night I discovered Vissimo. He called Kyros by name, so they had to be close.
Tonight, every one of them wore a scowl. Subtle, but present. And aimed at me.
Goodie. What was up their buttholes?
Kyros entered.
I tried—fuck, I really tried—to keep my libido under wraps. Why I still tried, I had no idea. My mouth bobbed at the sight of his perfectly tailored navy-blue suit, my rich man complex working at full power.
Seriously the greatest irony of my life.
At this point, part of me wanted to have sex with him to just know once and for all. Kyros was right; most of the allure had to be the suspense of not knowing how good—or terrible—sex between us would be.
The ache from the last two months was almost painful. I’d dismissed a one-night thing with him because he was possessive as hell. Now, that didn’t deter me so much, maybe because I was already in this circus for life. There was no running away. Kyros had to learn to control his alpha tendencies—that was a certainty—but my choices had narrowed drastically with the three exchanges.
My body wanted him. The bond wanted him.
Acutely.
With increasing desperation.
Fuck. Tommy would legit disown me if I entered his pants.
Kyros crossed to where I sat, sweeping back one side of his form-hugging jacket to slip a hand in his trouser pocket.
He stopped next to me, and I met his hard eyes.
What are you pissy about?
He jerked my chair back and lifted me—seat and all—depositing me at the head of the table again.
“I’m not sitting here,” I hissed at him. “It means something.”
Kyros spun my chair around and leaned over me, one hand on the high back over my head. “It means you’re my true mate. Sit here, Basilia. Or sit on my lap. Which would you prefer?”
His response shocked me. Was he taking his father’s advice to heart? Or was this a don’t mess with me on Level 66 thing? I could tell from the satisfaction radiating from him through our bond that he enjoyed my startled response.
“In that case.” I flipped open the case containing my reading glasses. Sliding the thick black frames on, I said huskily, “I choose your lap.”
Dark lust spiked me.
Kyros was a sucker for my specs. I tilted my head, feeling my wing-woman hair slither over my shoulder. A shadow fell across his green gaze and his hands settled on my hips.
“Uh, sir?”
We both glanced at a dark brunette woman located two seats from Kyros’s chair.
He replied, “Danielle.”
“This is an important day in the game, sir, as you said yourself. I worry that having Miss Le Spyre on your lap will impair our ability to yield the best result.”
The other seconds murmured their agreement.
I smirked at their interference.
“Noted.” Kyros’s hands slipped from my hips as he straightened. “Today, you’ll remain here.”
No one missed the slight emphasis he put on today. The air around me cooled as the vampire left to take his seat. Discontent thrummed through him hard and fast. More anger too. I hadn’t seen him since meeting his father. I’d assumed things would carry on almost the same.
Apparently not. That put a major stick in my plans.
First things first.
I cleared my throat, scanning the ten occupants of the table—excluding myself and their boss. “Would someone like to explain why you’re all scowling at me?”
Kyros’s head snapped up as he sat. His gaze whipped to each of the seconds’ faces in turn. Which, of course, were now smoothed of everything.
“Is there a problem?” Kyros asked them in a low voice.
Most shook their heads. Conrad answered.
“Old concerns rising again, Kyros,” he said. “You admitted that focusing around Miss Le Spyre is harder. We’re worried about the potential negative effect of having her in this room.”
I really hoped there was a negative effect. Then I’d fuck Clan Sundulus simply by sitting here. After meeting Julius, I wanted him to lose nearly as bad as Fyrlia.
Before Kyros could reply, I shot in. “You’re aware that King Julius requested I be here?”
Conrad nodded, lips pressed together.
Definitely not my biggest fan.
“Do you usually question King Julius’s wisdom?”
He paled, as did several around the table. Yeah, the king gave me the willies too.
I leaned back and crossed my legs. “Don’t worry your heads over the choices of your superiors. The main distraction so far to a solid strategy has been your unsought-after interference.”
The words hung heavy, made heavier by Kyros’s blatant admiration through our bond. It was all bravado. If his father was in the room, none of those words would have left my mouth.
“My true mate is right,” Kyros stated.
Enough with the fucking true mate!
His lips twitched, and he pushed a red button on the table. “Begin, Ilion.”
“Wait,” I said, pointing at the button. “What’s that?”
Kyros quirked a brow. “Vissimo have trouble hearing through a certain frequency. We use a frequency generator in this meeting and the meeting with my siblings and King Julius so Clan Fyrlia cannot hear our plans outside the tower.”
My brows climbed. So they were aware of the frequency thing, too, huh? That made sense. “I see.”
“Ilion,” he said, shifting attention from me.
Everyone clicked on their tablets and I did the same. There was a file labelled Seconds. Glancing to check the tablet of the vampire on my right, I clicked on the file and tuned into the male on my left.
Ilion pressed his lips together. “Fyrlia knows our position. They’ll throw everything they have at this. Absolutely everything. That means we must reciprocate. I suggest a higher budget for the day. 127 million.”
There was a murmur of dissent.
Danielle was nodding though. “We can recover from an overspend. We can’t recover if they’re allowed to secure more agricultural land. That will start the end cascade.”
I straightened. “What do you mean by end cascade?”
She cut a glance my way, her blue eyes a match for most around the table. “Have you played Monopoly before?”
Great, I was getting the stupid person explanation. “Yes,” I said patiently. Until Tommy refused to play with me anymore.
“You know the point where one person is clearly going to win and the question changes from will I win to how long before I lose?”
“I do.”
“That’s what I mean by the end cascade. At a certain point, statistically, one clan cannot win. The scales tip and with increasing speed, someone will lose. That’s how Ingenium will end for one side—just like in Monopoly or chess.”
I dipped my head. “Thanks for explaining.”
So Clan Sundulus wasn’t in a good position—even with the bluff at play.
That was good to know. And really bad. The clans had to remain locked in an even battle for years to come for me to have any chance at winning.
If Sundulus was at risk of losing, it was in my interest to help them.
The conversation resumed, and I focused on it entirely, trying to ignore the fear-filled reactions of their bodies as the conversation heated and eyes blazed. I closed my eyes, blocking out the
sight of their white teeth, and the discomfort eased somewhat, though it was annoying not to see their body language and expressions.
“We’re owed a favour by a town planner. Julia Dinh,” a male said. “If there are purchases today, Fyrlia will attempt to change the status of the secured land from agricultural to rural for development, of course.”
“Bastards,” another spat.
My brows climbed and remained there through what was essentially a roll call of every human they had in their control who could help them succeed and Fyrlia fail.
This was the real deal. And right now there were eight other conversations in eight other towers happening just like this one.
For a minute, I baulked at the sheer magnitude of their operations in comparison to mine. But my strategy possessed none of their restrictions, and they weren’t actively working against me.
No. I had belief in the Le Spyre network. Being from here—and human—made my strategy stronger than anything they had.
The door opened, and I squinted at Angelica before checking my watch. 1:00 a.m.
The head of each team was required to report back to the seconds and Kyros now.
I swivelled my chair so my back wasn’t to her.
She stood, hands clasped, but her eyes darted to me and she smiled.
Angelica needed to get a life. If I didn’t know she already had a harem, I’d say she should get laid.
Dang it. I was probably the only person in this room not getting any—aside from maybe Kyros.
“May I direct your attention to house acquisition,” she said.
Ilion leaned over, tapping on my tablet. He exited the slideshow I was in, clicked on the file labelled House Acquisition.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
The new document displayed a list of target properties for the day. Usually, I received a few properties from the trouble list to visit. Of course, I knew which suburbs the other realtors were working in, but not a comprehensive list of the exact properties.
This was exactly what I needed so my acquisition staff could work with confidence and ensured safety. If Sundulus was after these properties, I felt safe assuming Fyrlia would be after them too.
I worked to keep my glee under wraps, feeling Kyros’s gaze heavy on me. Pretty sure glee wasn’t the normal response to the house acquisition report.
Vampire Debt: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers Book 2) Page 19
