Лорел Гамильтон - Rafael

I looked into his eyes and there was the serious man to go with the power I felt rolling off him. We agreed to feed the ardeur on him later, after we took out the threat that was hovering just out of sight over all that we loved, or even over those we hated.

12

“ANITA CAN’T GO to the fighting pits without bodyguards,” Micah said.

“You are one of the few we have ever allowed inside our inner sanctum that was not one of us, but that does not mean you can dictate to us,” Rafael said.

“I would never have agreed for Anita to go tonight if I had thought you meant to hold her to the usual rules.”

“Guys, guys, I feel like I’ve missed something,” I said.

“The leaders of the rodere are not allowed bodyguards inside the warehouse where the fighting pits are located,” Micah said.

“So? I go around all the time without bodyguards,” I said.

Micah shook his head. “You don’t understand, Anita; from the moment you step outside the car you are surrounded by wererats, and if one of them picks a fight with you, then it’s your fight. No one can interfere. No one can help you.”

“If you are not strong enough to fight your way through the crowd, then you are not worthy to lead,” Rafael said.

“But Anita isn’t a real shapeshifter, she doesn’t have all our speed and strength and she absolutely doesn’t heal as well as we do,” Micah said.

“Rafael, I would not have agreed or formed a plan around this much risk to Anita,” Jean-Claude said.

“And I would not have suggested it if I did not think she could do it.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Rafael, but Micah is right. I’m good, but I’m not in the same league as you guys. I’m still too human.”

Jean-Claude asked Micah, “ Mon chat , did you fight your way through the rodere to attend the fights?”

“Yes, but I am a shapeshifter and I can bring out claws without shifting, which is allowed for fighting through the crowd. I was also allowed Bram. He couldn’t guard me, but he was there in case everything went to shit. If it had gotten out of hand, we’d have done what we had to do to get out.”

“Is Anita allowed someone with her like Bram?” Nathaniel asked.

“Micah was a visiting leader. We only let him in at all so he could understand the rodere well enough to represent us in Coalition business,” Rafael explained.

“Anita is Nimir-ra for the leopards, that makes her a leader,” Nathaniel said.

“Very true, mon minou .”

“It cannot be another leader and they cannot fight her battles for her. If they interfere, then they will both be escorted outside. If they were rodere, they could be forced into the fighting pit to finish the interrupted fight with death as a possibility,” Rafael said.

“How bad was it when you went?” Nathaniel asked Micah.

Micah shrugged. “Not that bad after I made an example of one of the bullies.”

“What kind of bullies?” I asked.

“Big guy who sees a little guy and thinks, why is he leader, he’s not so tough.”

“You showed him the error of his ways, I assume, mon chat ,” Jean-Claude said.

“Yes, but Anita can’t call claws like I did to make that point.”

“She will be allowed blades, because she is still technically human,” Rafael said.

“Everyone who’s proven themselves worthy in training has blades, Rafael,” Micah protested.

“Yes, but only two blades apiece; Anita can take in what she likes.”

“Can I take in whatever weapons I want?” I asked.

“No guns,” he said.

I looked at Claudia and Benito, who had been very quiet. “You were both encouraging me to go tonight. You want to chime in now?”

They exchanged a look, and then Claudia made a gesture like you go first . “I honestly thought you’d be allowed guards,” Benito said.

“So why don’t I have guards?”

“We all thought you would be allowed bodyguards as of old, Anita, but the last time a queen sat with the king of the rodere was when women weren’t allowed to fight the men, so to keep the queen safe she had warriors that would fight for her. I would not have asked you to join me tonight had I realized that the old rule no longer applied,” Rafael said.

“It’s sort of my fault,” Claudia said.

“How so?” I asked.

“Look at me. I can beat the men and I’ve done it. I’m not the only one either.”

“I know you’re not the only female wererat guard we have,” I said.

“Yes, and because they’re guards, they’re expected to go into tonight with the same rules as the men.”

Benito said, “But not all the wives will be forced or expected to fight tonight.”

“If Anita were my wife, then I could claim to be her protector, but she is very publicly with other people, so we can’t lie,” Rafael said.

“Older women do not have to fight,” Benito said.

“Because they come from a time when it was not expected, they are literally grandmothered in to be noncombatants,” Rafael explained.

“I am sorry, Anita,” Benito said. “If I had realized that you would be expected to fight your way to the stands, I would not have pushed for you to come tonight.”

“The apology is appreciated, but what do I do now? The whole plan to keep Rafael safe from the big bad vampire that has its hooks in Hector is predicated on me being there with my necromancy and Jean-Claude able to see and act through me.”

“I did not expect the vote to be so strongly against you. It surprised me and as their king, it is my job to know what they are thinking and feeling. I failed you tonight, Anita.”

“What do you mean, vote?” I asked.

“They’ve got an online voting system set up so that rodere across the country can vote on policy and things that impact them all,” Micah said.

“It was Micah’s idea to stop the complaints that I favored St. Louis since it was my home territory.”

“What was the vote exactly for?” I asked.

“I let it be known that I would sit you beside me tonight, that I wanted you to watch me fight.”

“They couldn’t vote that you not come,” Claudia said, “but with Micah they voted that he be allowed one other leopard, but that he had to be one of them, to get through the crowd.”

“I was okay with it, because in theory I agree with the idea that if you’re not good enough to get through a crowd that is just trying to bully and intimidate you, then you aren’t strong enough to be a leader of any group,” Micah said.

“Is this because Anita is technically Nimir-ra?” Nathaniel asked.

“Or the lions’ Regina to Nicky’s Rex?” Micah asked.

“I said I wanted Anita to sit beside me in the queen’s throne, that it had been too long since it was used. I thought it would be nostalgia and . . . I don’t know what I thought, but I opened the way for them to say if she is our queen, then she must abide by our rules, which means she might have to fight her way to the stands.”

“What do you mean, might?” I asked.

“A lot of the wererats like you, Anita. They remember that you saved us from Nikolaos and the Master of Beasts. They may say hi, or thank you, but they won’t attack you,” Claudia said.

“But others fear you,” Rafael said, “they fear how it feels when you feed on them through me. They think it is evil. They may take this opportunity to hurt you if they can.”

“Define hurt ,” I said.

“No, Anita,” Micah said.

I looked at him because he didn’t tell me no very often. “You think I can’t do it?”

He took a deep breath and then held it and let it out slowly. I could almost see him counting as he did it. Trying to center and calm himself before he answered. “I want to say no, but honestly if you have blades and are allowed to use them as ruthlessly as you would as a preternatural marshal, then I think you could.”