Tarak to be my master because I was weary of war.”
“Isn’t that what the Anasso wanted? To unite the vampires?”
Basq curled his lips at the memory of the first King of Vampires. He’d been a massive, powerful creature who could make the earth tremble when he walked past. It was no wonder that the vampires had flocked to his side. He had the strength to demand their obedience. But Basq had seen something beneath the male’s seeming determination to halt the vampire wars by creating one clan beneath his rule. There was a restless hunger in his eyes that had sent Basq fleeing from his promise of peace.
“That was his claim, but we all know what happens when you give a demon unlimited power.” Basq shook his head in disgust. “It was only a matter of time before the Anasso went from benevolent leader to tyrant.”
“And you were right.”
“Unfortunately.”
Basq leaned his head through the busted window, scanning the long room that was filled with broken furniture and shattered glass. There was the stench of charred wood, as if there’d been a fire. Or maybe it’d been caused by magic. Whatever the case, he couldn’t sense anyone or anything inside.
Still, he carefully plucked out the remaining shards of glass from the window. In this sort of place you never entered a seemingly empty building through the front door. Not unless you were eager to fall into a trap.
“In here,” he said, grabbing the frame and pulling himself into the building.
He braced himself for an attack, but there was nothing but a thick silence. Chaaya quickly followed behind him, landing so lightly she didn’t even stir the dust coating the floor. Basq’s heart clenched. Sometimes he wondered if she was even real. Or just a figment of his imagination that might suddenly evaporate in a puff of smoke.
Shaking away the strangely painful fear, Basq crossed the long room to push open a narrow door. As he’d hoped, there was a flight of stairs that led to the cellar below.
“This should do.”
Motioning toward Chaaya, he headed down.
Chapter 8
Chaaya reluctantly entered the cold, damp cellar. The space was long and narrow with a dirt floor and stone walls. There were empty wooden barrels stacked at the far end and dried herbs hanging from the low ceiling. Closer there was a shelf covered in layers of dirt, indicating that no one had been down there for years. Maybe centuries.
Basq moved to grab a tablecloth that was tossed on a broken chair. Carefully shaking it free of dust, he placed it around her shoulders.
“It doesn’t smell very good, but it should keep you warm.”
Her mouth opened to inform him that she never noticed the temperature, no matter how extreme it might be, only to have the words die on her lips. It wasn’t that she was pleased he was worried about her comfort. Of course not. That was just…lame. She was simply tired of squabbling. At least for now.
“I’ve had worse,” she assured him, clutching the cloth around her as she plopped down on the hard ground.
It at least kept the dirt off her clothes.
With that astonishing grace that was unique to vampires, Basq sank down beside her.
“Yeah. Me too.”
Chaaya leaned against the stone wall, turning her head to study Basq’s fierce profile. Just for a second her stomach clenched with excitement. Not the fluttery butterflies she’d read about in her favorite stories but a brutal, all-consuming awareness.
“Tell me why,” she abruptly demanded. Anything to keep herself from reaching out and touching that cold, perfect face.
He turned his head to send her a baffled frown. “Why what?”
“Why you went into hiding.”
“I told you.”
Chaaya shook her head. Ever since she arrived in Vegas she’d heard rumors about the mysterious Basq who’d returned to the Rebel clan after disappearing centuries before. None of the explanations of his leaving or his return had made sense to her.
And now his own explanation had only added to her puzzlement.
“If you didn’t want to join with the Anasso’s clan, why didn’t you just walk away?” she asked. “As long as you weren’t fighting against his leadership, I can’t imagine he would care. After all, there had to be hundreds of vampires who weren’t eager to become a part of the Anasso party crew.”
A faint, secretive smile curved his lips. “You’re the first to have worked that out. You have the mind of a warrior.”
“A survivor,” she corrected.
“Yes.”
“Well?”
He paused. Not as if he was deciding whether to answer, but rather to choose his