said, and she didn’t miss a tiny sparkle of cunning deep in his eyes. “And when you are safely at ease with your magic, I would be happy to take you there.”
“She isn’t going anywhere with you,” Devon said, his voice low and rough. He stood beside and a little behind her, letting her handle the situation but showing his support.
“Little puppy, nice to see you again.” Vlad’s smile widened, and Charity’s small hairs stood on end. “Rest assured, Charity will be in no danger from me. In fact, as a token of my good faith, I have taken the liberty of clearing your way. I could not get here in time to completely clear your path through the wood, unfortunately, but I trust your journey went smoothly after your skirmish with the gnomes?”
Emery shifted his stance. He’d just gotten his answer as to why it had been so quiet. Vlad clearly had more power and influence than they’d realized.
Vlad’s smile said he knew it.
“Your way ahead is clear as well,” he continued. “You will run into no danger. Except from the elves, of course. Their minions are under my control, but I have no power over them, merely spies among them.” A cunning gleam shone in his eyes. “At present.”
“Why are you doing all this?” Devon asked. “Speaking to her father, the note about her mother, making it easy to get to the Flush…”
“Simple.” Vlad took a step back. “She is a blooming flower among the decay of this world. She is a beacon of hope. Do you small-minded little puppies not see the shining radiance that surrounds her? That is not because she is fae—it is because she is important. The Fates have their hands on her in some way. I wish to know why and, if necessary, help her cause.”
“You mean, you wish to bend her to your cause,” Emery stated in a flat voice.
Vlad studied Emery for a long moment. “Your past has made you cautious. Darius must be taxed greatly trying to keep you in line.”
“I hope so,” Emery replied.
Vlad squinted, but that cunning gleam was back. This vampire was forever plotting.
His attention swung back to Charity. The world seemed to drop away again. “I admit, I would certainly like to bend her to my cause. But do you not realize the elves are no better? One is stalking you as we speak, working through the shadow wood. He has called for aid. To hunt you. Once they have you, they will stop at nothing to get the information they seek, not even torture. One of your shifters recently learned this the hard way. They will claim they are doing what’s necessary for the safety of the Realm. What a lofty cause, no? They will deem this treatment just, because one of their own, whom they placed in charge without the consent of their constituents, made the…arrest, we’ll call it. Some would call it an abduction, of course. Is this the sort of authority the people of this land deserve? Brutality without consequences? Heavy-handedness without accountability? Half the land lives in fear, scared to cross those in power.” He tilted his head to the side. “That is hardly the mark of a properly run nation. I simply want to even the power balance between the people and the leadership.”
A humorless smile spread across Emery’s face, but Charity spoke first, the words spitting out of her like acid.
“You took my friends’ lives without consent. You changed them into monsters without consulting them. Without telling their families. Where is the balance in power there? Where is the accountability?”
Vlad tsked. “I did not take their lives; you and your shifter friends did that. I merely opened up a new world for them. I altered them for the better.”
Guilt, then rage, tore through Charity. Her magic spiked, eating through her. Devon’s calming influence settled her a little, but not enough. Red tinged the edges of her vision.
“You did that,” she ground out. “Don’t you dare try to put that on me. And let’s not forget, you tried to kidnap me. You’re only being magnanimous now because your other approaches failed. I’m not fooled by you, Vlad.”
“No, you are not. And you are better for it. I only ask that you do not be fooled by the elves, either. As you see, I am open to change. I wonder if you can say the same for them.” He paused for a moment. “Emery can attest to the danger you are