Лорел Гамильтон - Rafael

Pierette had a custom-made back harness that held two swords with the hilts coming off the same side. I’d asked if it wouldn’t be easier for there to be a hilt over each shoulder. She’d replied that it’s easier to do a shoulder roll if you’ve got one shoulder that’s clear. I was really going to have to get one of the sword-sheath harnesses. She had a waist knife with the hilt forward like mine, for the same reason. She was only a little taller than I was, and her hair was so short that she didn’t have to worry about it getting in the way. She’d put on makeup when she realized I was wearing it, and then she suggested makeup to Claudia. I’d never seen her wear any, so I’d just assumed she didn’t like to wear it, not that she didn’t know how. But she surprised me by letting Pierette put mascara and eyeliner on her with just a little neutral color to the eyelids. It was both neutral and eye-catching, which was a trick I’d never mastered with makeup. I went for bold eyes and bright lipstick, because it looked good and I honestly didn’t know how to do anything else. Maybe we could have a sleepover and Pierette could give us makeup tips. I almost wasn’t kidding.

The three of us rode in the back of a big SUV with two of the wererat bodyguards in front. I knew that there would be other vehicles out of sight, scent, and hearing range waiting in case I gave the signal. They were full of bodyguards that weren’t wererats, because all of them that we’d want to fight on our side would be at the fight tonight.

I also knew that there were Harlequin guards scattered in the shadows doing what they’d done for thousands of years: be the best spies and assassins the vampire world had to offer, though half of them were wereanimals like Pierette. Her vampire master, Pierrot, was out there hearing and seeing what she did. They had one of the smoothest and closest connections of any master and moitié bête I’d ever met.

The fighting pits were in a warehouse by the Mississippi River, but I felt the energy of the rodere blocks before we got close to the river. It reminded me of the energy of the lupanar when all the werewolves were there waiting in the woods around their throne of carved rock, the only thing that had survived the destruction of their culture under the last leaders. I’d never thought before that a group of shapeshifters that had a throne carved of solid stone must have a story behind it. Damn thing was too heavy to move, so how did it come to be sitting in the middle of the Missouri woods? It was like I was suddenly wondering, What were the cultures that all the other animal groups had lost? Could we get them back? Did we want them back?

Pierette said, “You are very quiet, my queen.”

“I can feel the energy.”

“Of what?”

“The rodere.”

“Already?” Claudia asked from the other side of me.

I looked at her. “Yeah, can’t you?”

She shook her head.

“Why should I feel it more than you do?”

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Do you feel the werewolves this way?” Pierette asked.

“Yes, but not this strong. It’s like the leopard, but more, so much more energy.” I rubbed my arms and realized I was already goose-bumped.

“Should we tell Jean-Claude she’s feeling it like this?” Claudia asked.

“He knows,” Pierette said.

“Micah, then?”

“Jean-Claude will tell him if he thinks he needs to know,” I said.

“Why are you feeling it this far out?” Claudia asked.

“Not sure, but I think it’s because I made Rafael my moitié bête and he’s king in a way that Richard isn’t for the wolves.”

“Micah would be this for the leopards if you weren’t all so . . .” She stopped.

“What? Just say it, Pierette.”

“Broken.”

“Broken how?”

“There are rituals and ways for our kind, too, my queen.”

“We’ll talk about some of the leopard culture we’re missing after this is over.”

“If you wish.”

“I wish,” I said, and took her hand in mine and squeezed it. “I want to be the best queen I can be for everyone. Help me do that, Pierette.”

She smiled in her red lipstick that not only matched mine but was mine. We were sharing a tube of it tonight as if we were on a date at a club and had only a tiny purse to hold everything, so consolidating lipstick was just practical. It wasn’t her usual color, but if we wanted to be able to kiss tonight and not ruin each other’s color, it had to match, or at least complement.

“I would help you set the moon in the sky, my queen, if you but ask.”

That made me smile and lean in for a careful kiss. It was as I drew back from the kiss that I realized the skin-thrumming energy of the wererats was less the moment I touched her hand. I told her and Claudia, and we spent the last few minutes of the drive experimenting. A finger on her skin wasn’t enough, but a hand against her skin, or hers on mine, was enough to dim it. Holding hands or kissing or hugging calmed it so that I could feel it like an echo.

“I think with more people who aren’t rat I might be able to shut it out completely.”

“I’m even happier that you have Pierette with you tonight then, because if you are this attuned to our energy now, wait until you’re surrounded by us.”

“I’m a little worried about that now,” I said.

“Maybe the energy won’t bring your beast, my queen; maybe it is just the energy that Rafael feels and through him you feel it, too.”

“Maybe,” I said, and then I felt it like a great beating heart that just happened to not be inside my chest, but it was still my heart. It still pulsed and beat for me. I touched my hand to my chest as if I could feel my heart start to beat in time to it.

Pierette still had my other hand in hers. She squeezed it tight and put her other hand around my arm. “My queen, what is wrong?”

My voice came out low because I was listening to the pulse of that power. “I’m not sure anything is wrong. If this is what Rafael feels, then no wonder he’s arrogant.”

“Does it still help for us to touch?” Pierette asked.

“Not as much, let’s see what happens when we stop touching.”

“I can feel the power of so many of us in one place now,” Claudia said.

“It’s not just that,” I said as I drew my hand away from Pierette. The moment I didn’t have her skin against mine the power swept over me like a giant ocean wave. So. Much. Power. I stopped breathing for a second, as if I were holding my breath, waiting for the wave to pass over my head so I could surface.

“Anita,” Claudia said, voice sharp.

It startled me and I took a gasping breath as if I had really been underwater and just surfaced. “What else is in there beside the fighting arenas?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t get power like this just from fighting.”

“Spilled blood is sacred, my queen, and lives sacrificed even more so.”

It felt like I was fighting to lift my chest enough to get a deep breath. I had to figure out how to navigate this power level before we got out of the car. I just called inside my mind, “Jean-Claude, are you feeling this?”

“I am.” His voice came like an echo.

“How do I deal with it?”

“I can tell you how to harness it, or block it, but swimming through it is harder. It is so very alive, ma petite , and that is not my area of expertise.”

“Power is power—help me navigate?” I said.

“We will try, my queen.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that last part out loud.”

“Are you doing that mind-to-mind thing?” Claudia asked.

“Yeah.”

“Jean-Claude?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re pulling into the gate,” Claudia said. It was a tall fence with razor wire at the top.