“I’ll be that anyway. But I’d have killed him for what he tried to do to Natalie.”
Duncan gave a sideways tilt of his head in acknowledgment. “Are the challengers all here tonight?”
Christian didn’t need to scan the room again. He could place every one of his competitors without looking, and, curiously, Barranza had still not shown. “Not all of them,” he told Duncan. “One is mysteriously absent, while another made the bad decision not to wait for the formal challenge. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but he might have lived long enough to enjoy the party.”
“I’m betting the dead one was one of Anthony’s?”
Christian studied Duncan, surprised that the Capital lord was aware of Anthony’s scheming. And what Duncan knew, Raphael knew. He nodded in agreement. “Noriega. He should never have been in the challenge, and Anthony had to know that.” Christian didn’t bother to hide the anger in his voice. Noriega hadn’t had to die.
A sudden ruffle of power from the dais had them both turning to look as a big, blond vampire joined the crowd, going immediately over to shake hands with Raphael. His woman went with him, a pretty, buxom little thing who was quickly enveloped in a hug by Cynthia Leighton. The two women couldn’t have looked less alike, but they clearly knew each other well, and immediately moved off to the side for a private conversation.
“Rajmund,” Duncan commented, confirming Christian’s guess. “And his mated wife, Sarah. And I believe that’s all of us for this gathering. Lucas and Aden chose to remain home to cover any surprises from our European friends.” His brow wrinkled in concern. “And we’re a little concerned about Sophia. No one’s heard from her in the last week. And Cynthia’s attempts to contact her mate, Colin, have been unsuccessful, which I understand is unusual.”
Christian was sorry Sophia hadn’t made it. He’d been curious about her. Female master vamps weren’t that uncommon, but female lords were rare. Even more rare, now that Mathilde was gone.
Up on the dais, Raphael turned, his black gaze resting on Christian for a long moment, before settling on Duncan.
Duncan frowned briefly, then smiled and said, “Raphael would have a word with you, Duvall. Come say ‘hello.’”
Jaclyn and Cibor appeared out of the crowd at that moment to surround Natalie, pulling her gently out from Christian’s grasp. Christian trailed his fingers along her back as she moved away, but he let her go, because he understood that Duncan wasn’t the only one who’d been communing with Raphael. And apparently the Western lord wanted his conversation with Christian to be private.
Besides, Natalie looked so happily relieved when she was enveloped in a group hug by the two vampires, that he didn’t have the heart to stop her. Although, he did make one thing very clear to them.
“Just remember,” he said, catching Jaclyn’s eye. “She’s mine.” He said it lightly enough, but they knew he was serious. He gripped Natalie’s chin, turning her face to his for a kiss, before saying, “I’ll be right back, chére. You stay with Jaclyn, oui?”
She nodded, but just to be safe, he caught Marc’s eye, where he stood chatting up a blond human a few feet away. Raphael wasn’t the only vampire who could issue telepathic requests to his children. Marc whispered something in his companion’s ear, then came over to stand on the other side of the group hug.
With Natalie securely under Marc’s care, Christian walked alongside Duncan as they made their way to the dais. They moved through the crowd steadily, but casually, not wanting to call too much attention to what was happening. Anyone seeing Raphael speak directly to Christian would presume it was a tacit endorsement of his challenge; that was unavoidable. But there was no need to shine a spotlight on it.
Raphael and Rajmund both turned when Christian and Duncan stepped up onto the dais, with Rajmund greeting Duncan like an old friend, which he probably was. They’d both been lieutenants to North American lords for many decades, before becoming lords in their own right.
But Rajmund’s next move was unexpected—he offered his hand to Christian. “Rajmund Gregor,” he said. “Call me Raj.”
Christian shook his hand. “Christian Duvall.”
Raj grinned. “Looks like you’ll be joining us soon.”
Christian’s smile was more cautious. He’d never doubted he would succeed in winning the South, but he’d expected his eventual reception on the Council to be more in line with Anthony’s intense dislike, or at best, Juro’s reluctant respect. This wide-open acceptance from both Duncan and Raj was not at all what he’d anticipated. But he’d sure as hell take it.
“One way or the other,” he told Raj, agreeing with his assessment, but alluding to Anthony’s continued existence at the same time. There were two ways to gain the lordship. He could fight and defeat all of the remaining challengers, or he could simply kill Anthony and have done with it. He knew which one he’d pick, if given a choice. He wanted Anthony to die for what he’d done to Natalie.
“Come on, Raj,” Duncan said suddenly, his worried gaze on the other side of the dais, where the three mates were deep in conversation. “I don’t like the looks of that.”
Raj glanced over his shoulder and swore softly. “Fuck. We’ll talk later, Duvall. Congratulations.” And he and Duncan were gone, hurrying to join their respective mates.
“My Cyn gets bored at these things. She gets . . . creative,” Raphael offered, with more than a touch of amusement in his voice.
Christian didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply nodded, as he regarded the three women.
“Do you think you can kill Anthony?”
Raphael’s abrupt question swung Christian’s attention back to where it belonged, on the most powerful vampire in the room. He studied the Western lord’s face, looking for clues as to what he wanted him to say, and wasn’t exactly surprised to find nothing there. So he went with the truth.
“I know I can kill him. And with all respect to you, my lord, given what happened to Cibor, his death should be mine.”
“Because of the territory?” Raphael asked.
Christian shook his head. “Because of my Natalie. Because Anthony had plans to take her out for an evening, and use his power to compel her consent. He would have forced her to agree to her own rape, and that would have destroyed her.”