Jocelynn Drake - Wait for Dusk

I followed Odelia up to the raised dais where the three tables sat and chose the empty seat next to Macaire so that we were in the center of the platform. Stefan was on my right, while Veyron and Odelia sat at a separate table, like a pair of good humble court attendants. Above us the orchestra struck up a fresh melody, and the partygoers returned to dancing and mingling among themselves without casting an eye in our direction.

“Congratulations, my dear,” Macaire said as he surveyed the dance floor before him. “You’ve managed to entertain all the humans in here with your amazing feats while openly threatening every nightwalker.”

“Thank you,” I replied with a slight bow of my head toward him. I sat back in my chair and crossed my left leg over my right, vainly attempting to relax while sitting next to my enemy. I wasn’t worried about an attack. We were under the scrutiny of too many humans, and Macaire wasn’t one for the direct approach. There was always the chance of things going sour on him and it ending badly for him.

I, on the other hand, had no problem with a more direct approach.

“I must congratulate you,” I said, venturing out onto a very thin limb. I was taking a wild stab in the dark and hoping to hit blood.

“For what?”

“For what you’ve accomplished here. It appears that you’ve managed to set up your own little coven using not just a pair of nightwalkers, but a warlock and a lycanthrope as well. As a people, we’re not known for getting along with the others.”

“I’m afraid that I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Macaire said blandly.

A smirk lifted my lips as I looked over my shoulder at him. “Please. You’re not dealing with an idiot, and you know it. You sent me here to show off what you’ve accomplished. The naturi weren’t a problem until I arrived. I must admit that it is quite amazing. The cooperation of nightwalkers, shifters, and magic users is rare. I can only guess that you’ve set yourself up as the liege figure. While somewhat treasonous, it’s definitely interesting in its strength. It’s a shame that all the positions have been filled.”

Macaire shifted slightly in his chair so he was leaning forward, allowing him to get a better view of my face as I stared out at the crowd. “Are you saying that you would be interested in such a structure?”

“The addition of Clarion makes this structure very powerful, but woefully weak when you consider Ferko. I know too many lycans that would tear him apart. However, I guess you need that weakness in an effort to find someone who would turn his back on his own people for the good of the power structure.”

Macaire said nothing, neither admitting nor denying my accusation as he sat back in his chair again. He stared straight ahead, drumming his fingers on the tabletop before him in time to the music.

“I will admit that the only one that I can’t figure out is Sofia,” I said, as if talking out loud to myself.

“She is quite the lovely pet,” Macaire murmured.

“Quite lovely.”

“I noticed that she was with your hunter this evening and not at Veyron’s side. Have you taken on yet another new pet? This is becoming quite the trend with you.”

“Oh, she’s not mine. She convinced Danaus that she wanted her freedom so he’s helped her run away.”

“Will you be taking her back to your domain?”

“Definitely not,” I said with an absent wave of my hand. “I’m not interested in her. I’m thinking of wiping her memory and dropping her somewhere remote, in a naturi country perhaps, like South America.”

Macaire fell silent again, but I noticed that he had stopped tapping on the table and his hand had balled into a fist. I pressed my lips firmly together to keep the smile from rising. I was beginning to wonder if Sofia actually belonged to Veyron, since he had shown little concern about her absence.

“I just can’t understand why she would take such risks,” I said in a low voice. “She must have a powerful ally or two in her corner.”

Macaire remained silent, staring straight ahead. He was no longer willing to be drawn into a conversation where he knew I was determined to corner him. I didn’t know whether Sofia directly belonged to him or if she was simply taking orders from him. All I knew was that I needed to get her away from Danaus as soon as possible.

I looked over at Stefan, who appeared to be more than a little bored. He was another question hovering in the air. When the time came, where did his loyalty lie? There was no doubt that he would do whatever was necessary to get a chair on the coven. Furthermore, I was confident that both Macaire and I had promised him an open chair once the other was disposed of. Unfortunately, I knew there was going to be a point where Stefan would have to make a choice between who he was going to support in the end. While we had a common hatred of the naturi, I also had the nightwalker hunter at my side as a minus.

Stefan caught me staring at him. He raised one eyebrow questioningly, but I simply smiled at him and gave a little shrug of my shoulders. I could only hope that my promise to personally hand over both Ferko and Odelia was also buying me brownie points with the nightwalker. I was anxious to get out of this city and home again, but I’d be willing to stay another night to aid him in hunting those two down if it meant getting him to aid me when I attempted to overthrow Macaire.

Beside me, Macaire pushed to his feet as the music shifted. He turned to me and offered his hand. “It’s been years since I enjoyed a waltz. Will you join me?”

I hated the fact that I hesitated. I knew that I was safe here at the ball and would easily be protected by the crowd of humans, but I still didn’t trust him. He had to know that he was close to finally being rid of me. With stomach churning, I placed my cold hand in his and rose gracefully to my feet. We wordlessly walked out to the center of the dance floor and twirled about the area in an elegant waltz that was a faint echo of days long past. Like Macaire, it had been centuries since I had last waltzed as well.

A faint smile lifted my lips against my will as the memory of my last waltz spun through my brain.

“What happy memory has gripped you?” Macaire inquired.

“My last waltz,” I replied. “With Valerio, in the middle of a dirty, blood-splattered alley in Munich too many years ago. We had spent an enjoyable evening out and he started humming a waltz.”

“It is a shame about what happened to Valerio. The naturi, particularly this Rowe, are becoming quite a nuisance,” Macaire said, clucking his tongue.

The naturi were far more than a bloody nuisance, but then Macaire wasn’t the one being hunted by a fanatic and their queen. The naturi were a danger to our entire race along with the human race. To make matters worse, they risked exposing our secret as the battles grew bigger and closer to major cities. It was too early for the Great Awakening. The humans just weren’t ready to know about us yet without it exploding in our faces.

I shook my head, hating to get into this argument while on the dance floor. “We need to develop a plan to go after Aurora. Once she is finally destroyed, we may finally be able to properly handle them. The naturi may be content to slip back into the quiet oblivion of the woods. They lived for centuries that way when the worlds were closed. I’m sure they can do it again.”

“You’re suggesting coexistence.”

“I wouldn’t mind if we quietly whittled down their numbers over the years, but if we’re not careful, we risk all-out war, which would eventually expose us to the humans.”

“Yes, it is too soon for that,” Macaire agreed, surprisingly. But then, his life was quite comfortable now without the humans knowing. Why rock the boat? He only needed to get rid of Jabari and me. Then, with any luck, his own coven could move in and take over after wiping out our constantly absent liege and the all too quiet Elizabeth.