Cain took a quick look around. Several of his guards were standing watch along the driveway and the grounds, pistols at the ready and waiting for orders.

The visitors from Mississippi were similarly armed, carrying their weapons on their belts in a show of aggression.

Cain stepped down the stairs and walked up to their presumed leader who appeared surprised at seeing him but caught himself quickly. “Victor. Since you’re leading the charge, I assume you’re representing your king?”

Victor, whose skin was the color of milk chocolate, chuckled. His eyes were of a vibrant blue-grey, evidence of his mixed race heritage. “I am the king.”

“I see.” It appeared that there had been an unexpected change in leadership in Mississippi.

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” the vampire responded with a smirk.

Cain acknowledged the reference to having killed the king of his own clan without flinching. “You’re a day early. My welcome home celebrations don’t start till tomorrow night. So what do you want?”

Victor snorted. “Isn’t that obvious? You’re harboring two traitors, and I’ve come to collect them.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Take your men and leave. We have nothing to discuss.”

Victor clenched his teeth. “We have plenty to discuss. But first hand over the traitors.” He glanced at his men. “Or we won’t be using words but deeds to make our position clear. If you want peace between our two kingdoms, don’t undermine my rule by harboring traitors.”

Despite Victor’s words, Cain knew that the Mississippi clan hadn’t come to make peace. They were using the fact that Cain sheltered the two defanged vampires as a reason to stamp out any peace negotiations in their infancy. But right now, Cain couldn’t afford this distraction.

“They’re not here.” Cain motioned to the guards behind him. “Show our visitors the way off our property.”

Victor narrowed his eyes when his gaze suddenly strayed past Cain and a grin spread over his face.

Cain turned his head and saw Lee, one of the guards on the porch, tilting his head toward the side of the palace where the plantation kitchen was located. Cain ground his teeth in displeasure.

“It appears somebody has spotted my errant clan members,” Victor said pointedly and marched past Cain. “Shall we see where they’re hiding?”

Not having a choice now, Cain followed Victor, his eyes silently communicating with Gabriel to cover him. Confidently Victor walked to the enclosed walkway that connected the plantation kitchen with the main house and opened the door.

“May I?” Victor asked almost politely.

Cain sensed the other men as well as his own guards follow him. “After you.”

“Well, let’s see who we have—” Victor marched into the kitchen.

42

“This way,” Faye whispered to David and Kathryn as she ushered them through the corridor and cast a look over her shoulder to verify that the two vampires were remaining close to her.

In a few moments they would be at her suite, and from there she could smuggle the two out of the palace and get them to safety by using the tunnels. Cain would be furious for revealing the location of the tunnels to strangers, but she didn’t feel that she had a choice. She’d seen the delegates of the Mississippi clan through the windows. They’d been heavily armed, and she was sure they wouldn’t give up until they’d recaptured the two unfortunate defanged vampires. And with their fangs still not having fully grown back, the two would fare poorly in a fight with their clansmen.

At the next bend of the corridor, she stopped and peered around the corner. Her breath caught in her throat. Abel came running and ripped the door to her suite open, storming inside without looking left or right. What did he want in her room? And he hadn’t even knocked! This wasn’t good.

She couldn’t bring David and Kathryn to her rooms now to use the entrance there. Abel couldn’t know about the tunnels. After everything that had happened and all the things Abel had done to keep her and Cain apart, she knew instinctively he couldn’t be trusted. What was she going to do now? If the Mississippians found the two defanged vampires, they would imprison and torture them. Death would be certain to follow.

Faye turned to them, pressing a finger to her lips to command them to remain silent, when a thought pierced her mind. The prison cells. Cain had escaped from there via the tunnels. She knew which cell he and Robert had been in. It couldn’t be too hard to find the entrance to the secret tunnel.