She’d known Garin wanted to protect her, but it felt like the same skepticism she’d met at her meeting in the library. A confirmation that he also questioned her abilities. “What about a Daemon alliance?”
He glanced at her, doubtful. “Elaborate.”
“Would the Daemons help in case of a war?”
“They certainly wouldn’t side with the French, if that’s what you’re asking. It is our unanimous want for Lilac to retain her sovereignty, as well. However, our involvement in the current state of the kingdom would prove a hindrance to any attempt Lilac makes to rally a campaign among her mortal subjects. To support a war any leader would first need extra bodies, resources, but most importantly the general support of her people. After the last five years, I am not convinced the threat of France would be enough to swing their favor.”
Lilac swallowed his answer in reluctant silence. It might be the mead getting to her head, but the implications of her question regarding a Daemon alliance were foolishly far more profound than the tangent Garin had swung their conversation to. But he was right. She could use his expertise and the unmatched power of the Daemons—Kestrel and his faeries, even—but it still might not mean much without the support of her people. “Common ground, our home, is everything we stand to lose if France successfully annexes our kingdom.”
“It is not that simple. Look at how her mortals have treated her over something as simple as language.” The topic had seemed to center him, buthis fury remained. “Part of it is her parents’ fault. They could have silenced anyone at those riots and protests of her reign with a row of guillotines in the streets. They too did not know what to do with her, how to protect her. Cowards, the lot of them.” Garin removed his hand from her shoulder and hesitated as he brought it down to his side, looking like he might place it upon her knee. He didn’t. “I would not be so bold as to assume Daemons will fight blindly, risk their necks for a crown which historically has not done the same for them. It will come at their discretion depending on what the queen chooses to do. Rallying the humans to stand with her will take some time. Even if, in the best scenario, she is allied with a ruler who allows her to keep her sovereignty, Lilac could stand to gain the favor of both mortals and Daemons. Marrying someone powerful would then allow her time to do so instead of hastening the process under the pressure of war.”
Hearing his honesty was terrifying. She tried to keep her voice steady. “And you’re planning on holding that over her head?”
“No. I wouldn’t need to. A Daemon alliance would come at far too great a cost. She’d instantly lose most if not all of her moral support in the towns—a fatal flaw. This is the reason she must marry someone powerful. Delicious idea, though. I might fancy seeing her beg.” He stared past her. “The queen can fuck whomever she wants, but even if she did push for Daemon support, I doubt it would solidify until a public alliance is established.”
Despite his sound advice, she clung to his last statement. “Even Casmir?”
Garin’s eyes narrowed. “Casmir?”
“Can you not smell him on me?” she finally asked.
His nostrils were already flaring the moment she’d uttered the other vampire’s name. “I haven’t been able to smell or taste anything buthersince I ordered her away.” There was more disbelief than shame in his admission. “The queen has done nothing but torment me with visions of her tender touch and wicked mouth these last few days. I’ve dreamt of begging for her return. She is within and without. All of it is her, and—and… what of Casmir?” he said gratingly, as if remembering himself. He wiped the sweat from his brow.
Lilac smiled. She couldn’t help but feel a rush of victorious relief that he’d suffered in their time apart, too.
Whatever was tethering them, whether the leftover magic in her body or an obscure partial bond, it had seemed to amplify their need to be near each other, while the effects of the mead had made her starved for touch. If there was any of it mixed in that decanter—she was certain there was—then he would soon start feeling the same. A volatile combination in a vampire, hunger for blood and body. The lust threatening to take him might soon be enough to dissuade him from killing her. Maybe then she could lure him outside.
“Well?”
Lilac leaned forward. His eyes flickered to her cleavage, then quickly back to her flushed face. “I was in his lap earlier tonight. Just after I kissed him.”
“Kissed…” He glanced down.
“Yes. He’s passionate.”
Garin’s look shifted from hesitant to murderous. “Did he touch you?”
“He did,” Lilac breathed, her mind filling with thoughts of Casmir’s erection under her just moments ago. “But what would it matter if you believe I am not her?”
His jaw clenched, as if he were debating whether to be furious about it. “Was it what you wanted?”
“Yes it was.”
Garin’s expression was unreadable.
“But he refused to fuck me. He said that Ireekedof you.” Lilac stilled, trying to ignore the pressure at her core as he neared again. Her entire body pulsed under his conviction. His heat.
Garin bent his head and delicately slid her hair out of the way. Then he pressed his nose to the side of her throat and inhaled deeply against her skin.
If he couldn’t sense Casmir on her before, he did now.
Garin’s grip on her wrist tightened immediately, and in that moment, her blade began to hum at her thigh. If she were thinking straight, if she weren’t already drugged on his proximity and the effects of the mead, it would’ve sent her into a panic.
Instead, she moaned against the vibration.
His pupils widened against the red as he pulled back.
Lilac shifted against the seat, already feeling how wet she’d become inhis presence. Not taking her gaze off him, Lilac reached for her right thigh and bunched the material in her palm to lift the hem of her chemise. Garin released her and shifted back; she bit her lip as he swiftly widened her legs with his knee, letting his fingers trail over the material at her calf. He looked up at her questioningly, just as he had in his bedchamber.
