Rebecca Zanetti: Tamed

“Yes. My brother walked in, saw Charlie kissing me, and threw the poor guy over a pool table.” Janie laughed. “Charlie and I have been great friends since.”

Lily squinted against the fall sunlight. “Just friends, huh?”

“Yes.” Janie’s smile disappeared.

Now wasn’t the time to talk about Janie’s love life, or lack thereof. They both needed to survive the upcoming peace talks. Lily shook her head. “I find it so odd we need to survive peace, you know?”

Janie nodded as they strolled through the gated community, two guards following somewhat discreetly behind them. Finally, they reached a wood and stone house decorated with brilliant yellow mums lining the walkway to the door. Janie pushed open the front door, revealing a spectacular view of the ocean. “I haven’t been underground to the site yet. What did you think?”

Lily gasped at the stunning gray waves sparkling as far as she could see. “It was a bit intimidating, to be honest.”

“I agree. I’ve seen the room in visions since I was five years old. Maybe four.” Janie led her into a kitchen with shiny stainless-steel appliances. “I made lasagna last night. How do leftovers sound?”

“Fantastic.” Lily slid onto a stool behind a long counter. “Is this your place?”

“Yes. When Uncle Dage increased our land-to-air missiles, we figured we could all live aboveground in houses. If the war goes bad again, we’ll have to head back into the earth.” Janie took out a pan of lasagna. “Which is okay with me. I’ve lived in mountains for a good part of my life, and I’m comfortable there.”

Lily swallowed. There had to be a good way to bring up the subject, but she couldn’t find the right words. “Tell me about any visions you’ve had concerning the peace talks. What exactly do you see?” More importantly, could the visions really be trusted? Could the whispers in the night be telling the truth?

Janie slipped the glass pan into the microwave. “I see dark stone, tables, and a lot of figures. There’s a sense of expectation, of drama, but I can’t tell where it’s coming from.”

Lily stilled. “Do you see anybody in particular?”

“No. I can’t make out the people individually, but I see shadows moving.”

“Does anything go wrong? I mean, do you get a sense that this is a mistake?” Lily asked.

Janie leaned back against the counter, her blue eyes clouding. “No. I don’t get a sense of danger or of peace. Just shadows, and I know I’m there.”

Lily’s heart leaped. “You’re there? For sure?”

Janie shrugged. “I must be, or why would I be seeing the room?”

Good question. Lily forced a smile. “Why, indeed?”

A knock sounded on the door, and Janie eyed the microwave. “I’ll be right back.”

Lily nodded, her head spinning. Every instinct she had warned her to refrain from telling Janie about the dreams. The ones haunting her every night and keeping her from wanting to sleep. Why would her instincts warn her against Janie?

Everybody knew the young woman was the key to the future, yet nobody knew how or why. Janie was good and kind . . . so her contribution had to be necessary and good. Right?

Janie strolled back into the room with Prophet Guiles on her heels.

Lily stood for the obligatory kiss to both cheeks. “Guiles, how are you?” She’d known the man for years, and everyone called him by his last name. It might be his only name, as far as she knew.

Guiles held both of her hands in his warm ones, his brown eyes twinkling. “Ready for peace. You look lovely, as always, Lily.”

She laughed. “You’ve always been such a flatterer.”

The vampire had about a couple of centuries on her and had always worn his brown hair long while remaining ruthlessly clean shaven. The sharp angles of his face showed his Russian heritage, combining into a handsome configuration that inspired trust and confidence. He appeared to be in his early thirties, but his dark eyes showed the centuries he’d endured.

He released her and eyed the modern kitchen. “I do find it strange to be living in houses like humans.” Turning, he breathed deep at the view out of the nook window. “Though it’s beautiful outside the rock, isn’t it?”

“I agree.” Janie grabbed pot holders to tug out the lasagna.

Guiles laughed. “The king still has you surrounded, doesn’t he?”

Janie shook her head. “You mean the bodyguards at my front door? Yes. Right now, as the peace talks draw near, apparently I need guards around the clock.”

Amusement twinkled in Guiles’s eyes. “The bigger one frisked me.”

Janie sighed. “Sorry about that. Max gets a bit overprotective. Would you like to stay for lunch, Prophet Guiles?”

He smiled, flashing sharp incisors. “I just had lunch with the king, but thank you. I brought him a bottle of Dalmore 62, and we had a couple of glasses, so I really should go walk it off before I fall down in a nap.”

Lily breathed out. Guiles was usually rather, er, frugal, and the Highland Malt scotch went for about sixty-three grand a bottle. “How lovely of you.”

Guiles shrugged, red sliding up his face. “The king and his brothers saved my life, and I owe him. Everything.”

Lily nodded. Guiles had been kidnapped by their enemies, and the king and his brothers had rescued him, battered and beaten. While Guiles had always been neutral regarding the vampire rulers, he’d been devoted and loyal since his capture. “I’m thankful they found you in time.”

“Me, too.” He half bowed to Janie and glanced down at Lily. “If Prophet Lily would escort me to the door, I’ll take my leave of you gracious ladies today.”

Lily slid from the stool. “I’ll be right back, Jane.” She followed Guiles through the comfortably furnished home and out the front door and between two hulking vampire guards.

She slipped her hand through Guiles’s arm and escorted him away from the house so they could speak privately. The unseasonably warm fall sunshine instantly blinded her, and she turned toward her old friend.

He brushed a hand through his hair. “What did you think of the underground room?”

She shrugged. “I think Caleb has planned for everything he can, and the cavern will work. What do you think?”

Guiles lost his smile. “I don’t know. I’ve been having terrible dreams about the peace talks.”

Lily’s breath caught in her throat. His dreams couldn’t be as terrible as hers. “What kind of dreams?”

His gaze dropped. “Just bad ones, that this is a mistake. That maybe what we’ve always believed isn’t true. That maybe Prophet Milner was right.”

Lily stilled. “Milner was wrong.” The previous prophet had bellowed that Janie Kayrs and her mother would bring down the Realm, that whatever Janie’s destiny became, it had to be stopped. The same insidious theme had been winding through Lily’s dreams for too long.

“I know.” Guiles’s lips trembled with an almost smile. “I’m sure this is just stress. I’m worrying about the peace talks and our role in them. Sorry to have alarmed you.”

Lily patted his arm. “We’ve been friends for a long time and can talk about anything. If you have any more bad dreams, please call on me.”

His gaze leveled on her. “So you haven’t been having nightmares?”

“No.” Lily met his stare evenly as she lied with everything she had. “I have not.”

Relief relaxed his shoulders. “Good. Very good. Okay. I’ll see you at our prophets’ meeting tomorrow. Good day to you, Lily.”

She nodded and watched him walk down the sidewalk of an ordinary-appearing subdivision toward the main lodge. With a sigh and a deep breath, she turned to go back inside and face one of her friends. Janie Kayrs.