Next to him, Victor, the king of the Mississippi clan set his empty glass on a table nearby. “I’m very grateful to you and your men for my life.”

Cain looked at him, inclining his head by a fraction. “I’m glad Thomas was able to act so swiftly.”

Victor shook his head. “I still can’t believe it. My own men. Your brother managed to infiltrate my own king’s guards and convince them to kill me.”

“His greed for power had no bounds. He figured he could take both kingdoms in one swoop, deposing me by forcing me to withdraw the guards that were loyal to me, then letting you take the palace with your men, before your men killed you.”

Victor frowned. “Do you think it was his plan all along when he invited me to come? He spoke about peace negotiations.”

Cain scoffed. “My brother was never one for peace, though I do believe he’d planned things differently. From what John told me, I know that he was planning to pin my murder on you and your clan, thus inciting an open war . . .”

“. . . during which my guards would have stabbed me in the back.”

“Precisely,” Cain concluded.

“So why didn’t you follow Abel’s command to withdraw all your men from the palace?”

“I did.” He motioned to Thomas who stood in the crowd talking to Eddie and John. “But I’m afraid that some people just don’t know how to execute a direct order.”

Victor chuckled. “I’d call that insubordination.”

“Do I hear insubordination?” Gabriel sidled up to them. “Not too long ago I knew somebody who couldn’t take orders either.”

Cain gave the Scanguards boss a sideways smile. “That’s because that somebody isn’t meant to follow orders but give them.”

Victor nodded to Gabriel. “I hear you’re the one who killed Baltimore. Guess you couldn’t break him.”

“Oh, we broke him. That’s why Thomas took a few of the guards and hid in the palace with them. He knew something was gonna go down.”

Though Gabriel didn’t say it, Cain knew that Thomas had taken a few loyal guards and hidden in the tunnels with them to be ready to enter the palace again once he knew Faye was safe.

“Once we had all the information we needed from Baltimore, there was no reason to keep him alive,” Gabriel added.

Cain turned to Victor. “Baltimore confirmed Abel’s plan and how he was trying to manipulate you into a hostile action by letting you know that we were sheltering two of your clan members here.” He took a deep breath. “Which brings me to an issue we need to discuss.”

Victor raised his hand, interrupting him. “Before you go on, let me say this. I don’t condone the defanging of vampires. It’s beneath me.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“If I may explain something first, please.”

Cain nodded.

“My old king wasn’t much better than yours. Many of us had had enough of him and his cruelties. So we decided to get rid of him. I was chosen to succeed him. But that didn’t mean that the cruelties ended. There are still factions within our clan who follow in the old king’s footsteps. As for the defanging of those two unfortunate individuals: It wasn’t my doing. It appears that the guards that Abel turned over to his side took it upon themselves to butcher those two vampires.”

Surprised at the revelation, Cain raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying you didn’t order this?”

Victor shook his head.

“Then why were you demanding I hand David and Kathryn over to you?”

“I needed them to tell me who performed this barbaric act on them. I needed to find the traitors in my kingdom. But I couldn’t trust anybody, so I went along with the charade and called David and Kathryn traitors. I’m sorry I had to deceive you. I hope this won’t stand between us when we negotiate for peace.”

Cain set down his glass and offered his hand. “I look forward to our negotiations.”

Victor shook his hand and bowed. “Likewise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to personally thank the man who saved my life.”

Once Victor was out of earshot, Cain addressed Gabriel. “Anything new?”

With a regretful shake of his head, Gabriel said, “I’m sorry. We lost him. Abel knows the city better than Haven. Haven never had a chance at catching him.”

Cain clenched his jaw, trying not to let this failure spoil his mood. “One day I’ll get him and make him pay for what he did.”