“It’s nothing,” he said, clearly lying. It was definitely something.
“Liar,” she accused lightly.
A corner of his lips kicked up as they stood waiting for the elevator.
“It’s just that, with all that’s going on, I can’t believe you were thinking of going out there without me to protect you.”
“I can take care of myself. What will you do if I go undercover? You can’t protect me then.”
“Don’t remind me,” he said darkly. “And anyway, who says you can go undercover? If they have someone watching you already, they know your face.”
“I hardly think the leader of the phants is going to personally know my face.”
“You don’t know that.”
He had a point, but she wasn’t ready to admit it.
“He has flunkies to do his dirty work. And it’s not just me being targeted. He can hardly get to know all of his targets’ faces. He has his little army doing it.”
She was probably right but he wasn’t going to let it go.
“You’re different. You’re mine. I’m third in command under the queen. Only Danton is ranked above me, and that is only because he is in her protective detail and in charge of all of the authoritarians everywhere.”
Then something occurred to her. “If you all came from the same place all those years ago, why doesn’t Danton have the same coloring?”
“Danton is…special. I’ll explain it one day.”
“We have time, why don’t you explain it now?” she said as the elevator arrived.
They stepped inside. Rafe scanned his card and selected the sky lobby. They would switch elevators and head down the rest of the way from there.
“I want to explain it, but I’m not certain I’m allowed to. We very closely guard our secrets. You’ve been let inside, but that doesn’t mean I can tell you everything.”
She understood his reasoning but for some reason it still hurt her. She wasn’t usually so sensitive, but this stung.
“Let me think about it,” he said. “Let me consult with my queen. It’s not that I don’t trust you,” he added firmly. “It’s that others do not trust you.”
She gave him a nod, but she looked away from him. Rafe could tell she was injured by his recalcitrance, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had gotten into trouble for telling her so much already. If he crossed the line again, he would most certainly face a tribunal. And by the time a person reached a tribunal, their guilt was pretty much a given—as was their punishment. And since capital punishment was usually the way things went, he had no desire to lose his life. He had risked it once for her already—and he would probably willingly do so again if it meant her life or death, but he would not be the only one facing a tribunal in this instance. Now that she had been let into the inner circle, she was subject to vampire law. He was certain no one had explained that to her as yet.
“Has anyone told you that you are now, as an insider, subject to vampire law?”
She went still and looked up at him quickly.
“What does that mean for me?”
“It means if you break any of our laws you are bound to face a tribunal and receive punishment.”
“But I don’t know what vampire law is!”
“Ignorance will not be an excuse.”
She sighed. “That’s true with human law as well. Maybe you should start telling me what vampire law is.”
“Well, luckily there is a very short list of laws that, if broken, will put you in front of a tribunal. They are rules such as telling a human being about us. It seems I have escaped that fate thanks to the committee’s approval of you.”
“But the committee only approved of me because they want to use me.”
“Yes. I am aware of this. This is usually the case when the committee decides to let a human into our world. It is so that they can use that person to the benefit of vampires. Granted there is very little your race can offer us, which is why humans who know of us are so rare, but still…”
“I don’t know if I should be honored to be let in on this little secret or pissed off.” Renee huffed out another sigh as they switched elevators. “Tell me more.”
“No vampire can reveal what it is I am not revealing to you now.”
“I kind of figured that one out already,” Renee said rolling her eyes.
“There are special exceptions. I believe you can be one of those exceptions. But as I said, I have to consult with the queen.”
“I find it relatively amusing that you have a vampire queen. It’s so…B movie of you. And rather archaic. Ever hear of democracy?”
“We do have a democracy of sorts. The queen has the last say in almost anything, but she is also put into her position by a vote from all the princes all over the world. She does not inherit her title by blood, although Simone comes from a long line of blood royalty, which means we tend to elevate vampires from her family first. Her line is the most powerful, both politically and literally. She is a wicked creature in battle. I know I would not wish to face her alone in a dark alley.” Rafe flicked his keycard against his fingertips, a sign of his anxiety. “There is a hierarchy. Every ten years we elect a queen or king and a successor in case they should die. The successor would serve out the ten-year term of the queen or king and another vote would be taken. If the successor dies too then a new vote is taken and a new head of our government elected. So you see? We are a democracy after all.”
“So it seems. Only, our president can’t make unilateral decisions. He has others to answer to. An entire nation, the Senate, the House. Heads of other countries.”
“The queen may have unilateral power for her tenure, but she does answer to others. For instance, she will not be re-elected if she abuses her power. Also, if enough princes get together, they can overthrow her government.”
“How many princes?”
“Ninety percent. Anything less is considered a rebellion and a coup that must be put down using any means necessary.”
“Well hell, I’m going to get myself killed my first week here.”
Alarm crossed his features. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I am known to protect laws I feel are unjust or punishments that are too severe—or not severe enough. I love my job. I’m very good at my job, but I don’t always agree with it. I don’t always like it. Because we have free speech here I am allowed to voice my opinion quite loudly.”
“Liar,” she accused lightly.
A corner of his lips kicked up as they stood waiting for the elevator.
“It’s just that, with all that’s going on, I can’t believe you were thinking of going out there without me to protect you.”
“I can take care of myself. What will you do if I go undercover? You can’t protect me then.”
“Don’t remind me,” he said darkly. “And anyway, who says you can go undercover? If they have someone watching you already, they know your face.”
“I hardly think the leader of the phants is going to personally know my face.”
“You don’t know that.”
He had a point, but she wasn’t ready to admit it.
“He has flunkies to do his dirty work. And it’s not just me being targeted. He can hardly get to know all of his targets’ faces. He has his little army doing it.”
She was probably right but he wasn’t going to let it go.
“You’re different. You’re mine. I’m third in command under the queen. Only Danton is ranked above me, and that is only because he is in her protective detail and in charge of all of the authoritarians everywhere.”
Then something occurred to her. “If you all came from the same place all those years ago, why doesn’t Danton have the same coloring?”
“Danton is…special. I’ll explain it one day.”
“We have time, why don’t you explain it now?” she said as the elevator arrived.
They stepped inside. Rafe scanned his card and selected the sky lobby. They would switch elevators and head down the rest of the way from there.
“I want to explain it, but I’m not certain I’m allowed to. We very closely guard our secrets. You’ve been let inside, but that doesn’t mean I can tell you everything.”
She understood his reasoning but for some reason it still hurt her. She wasn’t usually so sensitive, but this stung.
“Let me think about it,” he said. “Let me consult with my queen. It’s not that I don’t trust you,” he added firmly. “It’s that others do not trust you.”
She gave him a nod, but she looked away from him. Rafe could tell she was injured by his recalcitrance, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had gotten into trouble for telling her so much already. If he crossed the line again, he would most certainly face a tribunal. And by the time a person reached a tribunal, their guilt was pretty much a given—as was their punishment. And since capital punishment was usually the way things went, he had no desire to lose his life. He had risked it once for her already—and he would probably willingly do so again if it meant her life or death, but he would not be the only one facing a tribunal in this instance. Now that she had been let into the inner circle, she was subject to vampire law. He was certain no one had explained that to her as yet.
“Has anyone told you that you are now, as an insider, subject to vampire law?”
She went still and looked up at him quickly.
“What does that mean for me?”
“It means if you break any of our laws you are bound to face a tribunal and receive punishment.”
“But I don’t know what vampire law is!”
“Ignorance will not be an excuse.”
She sighed. “That’s true with human law as well. Maybe you should start telling me what vampire law is.”
“Well, luckily there is a very short list of laws that, if broken, will put you in front of a tribunal. They are rules such as telling a human being about us. It seems I have escaped that fate thanks to the committee’s approval of you.”
“But the committee only approved of me because they want to use me.”
“Yes. I am aware of this. This is usually the case when the committee decides to let a human into our world. It is so that they can use that person to the benefit of vampires. Granted there is very little your race can offer us, which is why humans who know of us are so rare, but still…”
“I don’t know if I should be honored to be let in on this little secret or pissed off.” Renee huffed out another sigh as they switched elevators. “Tell me more.”
“No vampire can reveal what it is I am not revealing to you now.”
“I kind of figured that one out already,” Renee said rolling her eyes.
“There are special exceptions. I believe you can be one of those exceptions. But as I said, I have to consult with the queen.”
“I find it relatively amusing that you have a vampire queen. It’s so…B movie of you. And rather archaic. Ever hear of democracy?”
“We do have a democracy of sorts. The queen has the last say in almost anything, but she is also put into her position by a vote from all the princes all over the world. She does not inherit her title by blood, although Simone comes from a long line of blood royalty, which means we tend to elevate vampires from her family first. Her line is the most powerful, both politically and literally. She is a wicked creature in battle. I know I would not wish to face her alone in a dark alley.” Rafe flicked his keycard against his fingertips, a sign of his anxiety. “There is a hierarchy. Every ten years we elect a queen or king and a successor in case they should die. The successor would serve out the ten-year term of the queen or king and another vote would be taken. If the successor dies too then a new vote is taken and a new head of our government elected. So you see? We are a democracy after all.”
“So it seems. Only, our president can’t make unilateral decisions. He has others to answer to. An entire nation, the Senate, the House. Heads of other countries.”
“The queen may have unilateral power for her tenure, but she does answer to others. For instance, she will not be re-elected if she abuses her power. Also, if enough princes get together, they can overthrow her government.”
“How many princes?”
“Ninety percent. Anything less is considered a rebellion and a coup that must be put down using any means necessary.”
“Well hell, I’m going to get myself killed my first week here.”
Alarm crossed his features. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I am known to protect laws I feel are unjust or punishments that are too severe—or not severe enough. I love my job. I’m very good at my job, but I don’t always agree with it. I don’t always like it. Because we have free speech here I am allowed to voice my opinion quite loudly.”
