"Thank you," Yonnie said. "I am glad someone around here finally sees my value-other than Lilith," he added, to remain politically correct. He bowed to Lilith. "Had you not saved me from myself . . ." He shook his head.
"Oh, Yonnie," Lilith said with a knowing smile. "I am the one who thanks you. It was definitely my pleasure to help you gather yourself."
"The others got to do installation rites while I was working my game . . . then my conquest got snatched. I was f**ked up. You have no idea."
"Our apologies," Nuit said, in a rare gesture of extending a truce. "It will not happen again,mon ami . No man should have to endure coitus interruptus. It istres mal for the nervous system."
"It's all good," Yonnie said, taking a deep swig of blood before returning to his throne. "But I want you all to stay off my back and out of my maneuvering space while I work the chick with the wings. Cool? If they ever dislodge that tracking charge from Rivera, which is likely, then I can get back in through the beach beauty. But if you make me spook her, there's a lost opportunity. So fall back on that one. She's off-limits and mine to work."
Nuit gave him a tenuous nod, as did Sebastian. Yonnie's gaze narrowed as Lilith's smile widened. His voice became harsh as anger flared and he spoke inDananu .
"What, motherfucker?" he said, jumping up, battle bulking and pointing at Nuit. "You givingme lukewarm, when you owe me a mate?"
Nuit smiled. "Ah . . . you remembered our old transaction."
"Hell yeah, I remembered!"
"But the Dark Lord discharged the debt when he-"
"Oh, no, bullshit."Yonnie spun and looked at Lilith. "Pull the records, point of order. The Dark Lord dischargedmy debt, took my shit out of escrow, not yours!"
"The man is right, Fallon. Some things I dismiss, but never the words of the Dark Lord. He becomes tense when people do that."
Fallon threw his head back and laughed. "I was just testing you, Yolando, to see if you really learned anything from me, after all. You have,monami . You letnothing slide-nor do I . . . and weboth remembereverything ."
Yonnie's and Fallon's eyes met. It was a dangerous moment, and chambers became quiet.
"Settleyourself ," Nuit finally said. "It is true. You are owed two mates, actually. Tara and, I believe, Gabrielle. So, no, we will not interfere in youraffaires du coeur, from this point forward-even, as you say, those that are simple booty calls. Satisfied?"
Yonnie nodded and pointed at the crest in the table. "I want it on the record."
"Fair exchange is no robbery," Fallon said, standing and walking over to receive the blood bite.
"You're in too good a mood, brother," Yonnie muttered under his breath as he and Fallon passed each other.
"A good woman will do that for you," Fallon said quietly with a low chuckle, so that only Yonnie could hear. "Just make sure you don't f**k up and try to drag an angel to a throne. I am not blind. Take care. That could be disastrous. They'll nuke chambers."
Yonnie turned away, unnerved by Nuit's shrewd perception. "Sebastian, I want it from you, too."
"I was not in the original transaction," Sebastian protested. "Why should I?"
"Because I don't want any accidents in the future."Yonnie looked at the Countess and then Lucrezia. "Point of order, of all the feats, we could have a pissing contest about which one was the most insane to try to pull off, which took the most balls, and jeopardized the least resources-and then based on pecking order, or whose dick is the longest, we can reshuffle mates. Guaranteed, if we play musical chairs, I'll have a seat. Will you?"
"Sebastian,"Elizabeth remarked coolly, "unless you want to find yourself a bachelor again, I suggest you accept the man's very reasonable terms not to interfere with his personal affairs during our ruthless games of war."
Lilith stood as Sebastian grudgingly went to the crest. "Then it's all settled."
Yonnie smirked. "No offense, but do I look crazy to you?"
She chuckled and rolled up her sleeve. "You don't miss a trick, do you?"
"You did Gabrielle . . . what can I say?"
"That I did," Lilith said with a sigh. "And I suppose you want the wives to also commit?"
Yonnie just folded his arms over his chest. "No offense but, one is good with poison, one has a penchant for torture . . . and anyone I mate will be a Master-level female, with no available seats on the council, therefore at a power disadvantage. This is why I don't wantany bullshit."
"All right, Yolando. You have certainly earned this one, easy demand. After this, I will be leaving for a while. There is much to do in preparation, and theMiddle East beckons me. I trust that now that all dissension has been quashed, you can move forward with subtler, less resource-intense strategies?"