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vampire.”

      “Wrong answer.” He pressed his fangs against her neck, hard enough to draw blood.

      She gave a squeak, her struggles ending as she froze in fear. “No…wait.”

      “How did you follow us?” he repeated.

      “I scried for Anna,” she answered, referring to the art of crystal-gazing.

      Unlike vampires, fairies were capable of small amounts of magic. But even fairies needed a part of the person they were scrying.

      “With what?”

      The scent of apples became nearly overwhelming as Sybil struggled to contain her fiery temper. Fairies were creatures of emotion, flitting from one to another with such speed a wise demon tended to give them a wide berth.

      “I stole her hairbrush so I would have strands of her hair,” she at last gritted.

      “Why? What do you want from her?”

      “She has a bounty on her head.”

      “A bounty?” Anna stepped from behind the potted plant, her face pale. “What the hell does that mean?”

      “It means that someone wants you dead, querida,” he said, instantly regretting his blunt honesty when her eyes widened in shock.

      “Oh my God.”

      “Not dead,” Sybil interrupted. “Captured.”

      Cezar shifted his arm so he could wrap his hand around the fairy’s throat. One squeeze and she’d be dead. Not as satisfying as draining her dry, but effective.

      “Who offered the bounty?”

      She hesitated before muttering a vile curse beneath her breath. “The Queen of Fairies.”

      A chill stabbed through Cezar’s heart. Dammit, he should have paid closer attention to Anna’s revelation of what had happened to her aunt and cousin two centuries ago. It hadn’t occurred to him that it would have any bearing on the danger she faced today.

      He wasn’t usually so stupid.

      “What’s her interest in Anna?” he rasped.

      “I don’t have a clue.” Sybil shot a surly glare in Anna’s direction. “And I don’t care.”

      His fingers tightened. “Shall I make you care?”

      She hissed in pain, holding up her hands in defeat. “Look, I don’t even know if Anna is the one the queen seeks.”

      “Explain.”

      “All I know is that the word was spread that the queen would offer her priceless emeralds to any fairy who managed to locate a human who possessed the magic of the elders in their blood. When I met Anna in the courtroom I instantly sensed some sort of power. It’s unstable, but very strong.”

      Anna grimaced at the fairy. “That’s why you were always following me around?”

      “Well, it wasn’t for your charming personality.”

      Anna stepped forward, her fists clutched as if she were considering punching the woman in the nose. Cezar was swift to tug Sybil backward. Although he liked a catfight as well as the next vampire (who didn’t?), he was more interested in getting to the truth before he was forced to kill the fairy.

      “And the spells you cast in her direction?”

      Sybil gave a jerk of surprise. “How did you know about them?”

      Cezar ignored her surprise and Anna’s questioning gaze. “Just answer the question.”

      “They were harmless for the most part,” the fairy muttered. “I hoped to force her into using her powers so that I could be sure she was the one that I sought before I went to the trouble of kidnapping her.”

      Anna made a rude noise. “Nice.”

      “If your only intention was to capture Anna then why did you set the fire outside Anna’s door?” he demanded.

      It took another warning squeeze before Sybil was squeaking out the answer. “I assumed that you had taken her to her room for a late night snack. I couldn’t risk having her drained before I could get her to the queen. I knew a fire was the one thing that would frighten you away.”

      Anna gave a small gasp. “Do you know how many people could have been killed by that fire?”

      “What do I care about humans?” Sybil demanded in baffled tones.

      It was a sentiment shared by most of the demon world. Including vampires. Oh, humans were fine enough as a convenient meal or a quickie in a dark alley, but they weren’t actually considered valuable commodities. There were just so damn many of them.

      Anna’s expression, however, was enough to keep his mouth shut. See, he was a lot smarter than he looked.

      “God, you’re…” her words broke off as she covered her face with shaky hands. “This is ridiculous. I can’t possibly be the one you’re looking for.”

      Cezar battled the instinctive need to rush to Anna and pull her into his arms. What the hell was the matter with him? He was an ancient conquistador, a warrior, a predator. Until the Oracles had taken command of his life he had killed without mercy and took what he wanted without asking.

      The world had trembled at his passing.

      Now he wanted nothing more than to offer comfort to a woman because she was feeling alone and frightened.

      Grimly he returned his attention to the fairy who was using his distraction for an opportunity to escape. With a low growl he lowered his head until she could feel his fangs against her neck.

      “Did you reveal to the queen that you had found Anna?”

      She gave a tiny squeak. “I might have sent a message that said something about bringing Her Majesty a special gift.”

      Cezar cursed beneath his breath. If the queen was traveling to Chicago they were in for some major trouble. She possessed a nasty temper and ancient powers she was willing to use without a care for the destruction she might cause.

      He had to warn the Oracles.

      But first things first.

      Capable of sensing the gist of his vile Spanish curses even if she didn’t understand the actual words, Anna moved forward with a worried frown.

      “Cezar?”

      “I must get you to Styx.”

      Her gaze shifted to the fairy trapped in his arms. “What are you going to do to Sybil?”

      He grimaced. “She’ll have to come with us. She might possess information we’ll need.”

      Sybil resumed her struggles. “Like hell I will.”

      “You’ll come with us or I’ll kill you,” he said, his voice cold enough to assure the fairy he meant every word.

      “Fine, I’ll come.”

      “I thought you might.”

      Chapter 4

      When Cezar had told Anna that they would be staying with his vampire friend, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Where did vampires live? Crypts? Sewers? The fiery pits of hell?

      Turns out that vampires live in huge, elegant estates with iron gates, hidden cameras, vampire security guards, and a freaking lawn that was bigger than most third world countries.

      And no doubt worth twice as much.

      If Anna hadn’t been so weary and hungry and downright crazed from the strange night, she might have balked at being led up the winding tree-lined drive to the sprawling Colonial mansion.

      As it was she was just so happy at the thought of a warm bed and a roof over

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