at Lex. "Duquesne. I'm surprised to see you here, especially with her. I wasn't surprised to hear you'd chosen a side in this, but a man in your position really should be more careful."
"Just trying to keep things fair. You know it's not legal for applicants to try to kill the competition. It's considered cheatin'." Lex eyed the necromancers. "Assuming y'all even remember what it's like to abide by the rules. Course you've already proved that you've got the paternal instincts of a snake, Dorian."
I choked down a bitter laugh and it came out as a cough instead. Dorian glared at me and I gave him a sardonic smile. "Hey, what happened to your eyebrows? Get a little too close to a fire?"
Apparently his ego hadn't recovered from his toasty dragon encounter and he took a step toward me. Lex moved in front of me, blocking him. "Play nice, now. Wouldn't do to make a scene."
Dorian paused, glaring first at the guardian and then at me. "You won't be able to hide behind him forever. He won't be able to protect you during the next test," he said, his voice low and threatening. "I'm surprised you're trusting him at all, after what he did to you."
"That's none of your business. I'm not worried, but you oughta worry more about yourself. Next time you might lose something more important than eyebrows." I tried to sound more confident than I felt, but it didn't come out very convincing.
"You won't survive this."
"When I become Titania, my first act will be your execution."
"You don't have the spine for it. You're weak, just like your mother. Useless, whining witch," Dorian sneered in disgust.
My temper snapped and my shields vanished in a fizzle of fury as I hauled back and slapped him across the face. "Don't you talk about my mother that way, you--"
Lex cut me off mid-shriek as he clamped a hand over my mouth and hauled me out of arm's reach of my father. I struggled, wanting to take another swing at him, but Lex didn't let go. Several more suspicious men hurried over to join Dorian, and by the lack of color in their ensembles I guessed they were also necromancers, probably a dozen in total. What was this, a convention?
"So this is your daughter, Dorian?" a new voice interrupted, calm and soothing. The posse of necromancers parted like the Red Sea as the speaker approached us. The only one of the group who'd incorporated color into his wardrobe, the man stuck out from the crowd. Though I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before, he looked vaguely familiar. He was tall, well-tanned, with sandy blond hair and a pair of expensive designer sunglasses. "It seems she's inherited your temper. Thankfully she has her mother's looks, lucky girl."
Stunned silent, I blinked at him, wondering how to respond to that as he smiled perfect white teeth at me. It was a strange statement to make, because my father was actually quite handsome. All of Laura's men were. She was like a connoisseur of pretty-boy magicians. From the way it made my father twitch I figured it was meant as an insult to him and not to me.
Lex eased his grip but didn't let me go, eyeing the stranger with sincere concern. I was about to demand to know who he was when I caught the scent of vampire magic. Strange. Sure, vampires could go out in the daylight, but I'd never heard of one actually doing it.
"And you are?" I asked, curious.
"Zachary Harrison, a pleasure to meet you." Extending his hand to shake mine, I reached for it in reflex but Lex grabbed my arm and yanked it out of the way.
"Don't you dare touch her, Harrison," Lex warned. Shocked, I turned and looked up at Lex. I'd never heard him use that tone of voice before.
"I was merely being polite, Duquesne." He chuckled, and then it clicked in my brain why the vampire looked somewhat familiar. Zachary Harrison was a famous real estate mogul--one of those celebrities who's famous for being famous. The man owned a string of high-profile buildings in cities across the country, as well as hotels and casinos throughout
"Just trying to keep things fair. You know it's not legal for applicants to try to kill the competition. It's considered cheatin'." Lex eyed the necromancers. "Assuming y'all even remember what it's like to abide by the rules. Course you've already proved that you've got the paternal instincts of a snake, Dorian."
I choked down a bitter laugh and it came out as a cough instead. Dorian glared at me and I gave him a sardonic smile. "Hey, what happened to your eyebrows? Get a little too close to a fire?"
Apparently his ego hadn't recovered from his toasty dragon encounter and he took a step toward me. Lex moved in front of me, blocking him. "Play nice, now. Wouldn't do to make a scene."
Dorian paused, glaring first at the guardian and then at me. "You won't be able to hide behind him forever. He won't be able to protect you during the next test," he said, his voice low and threatening. "I'm surprised you're trusting him at all, after what he did to you."
"That's none of your business. I'm not worried, but you oughta worry more about yourself. Next time you might lose something more important than eyebrows." I tried to sound more confident than I felt, but it didn't come out very convincing.
"You won't survive this."
"When I become Titania, my first act will be your execution."
"You don't have the spine for it. You're weak, just like your mother. Useless, whining witch," Dorian sneered in disgust.
My temper snapped and my shields vanished in a fizzle of fury as I hauled back and slapped him across the face. "Don't you talk about my mother that way, you--"
Lex cut me off mid-shriek as he clamped a hand over my mouth and hauled me out of arm's reach of my father. I struggled, wanting to take another swing at him, but Lex didn't let go. Several more suspicious men hurried over to join Dorian, and by the lack of color in their ensembles I guessed they were also necromancers, probably a dozen in total. What was this, a convention?
"So this is your daughter, Dorian?" a new voice interrupted, calm and soothing. The posse of necromancers parted like the Red Sea as the speaker approached us. The only one of the group who'd incorporated color into his wardrobe, the man stuck out from the crowd. Though I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before, he looked vaguely familiar. He was tall, well-tanned, with sandy blond hair and a pair of expensive designer sunglasses. "It seems she's inherited your temper. Thankfully she has her mother's looks, lucky girl."
Stunned silent, I blinked at him, wondering how to respond to that as he smiled perfect white teeth at me. It was a strange statement to make, because my father was actually quite handsome. All of Laura's men were. She was like a connoisseur of pretty-boy magicians. From the way it made my father twitch I figured it was meant as an insult to him and not to me.
Lex eased his grip but didn't let me go, eyeing the stranger with sincere concern. I was about to demand to know who he was when I caught the scent of vampire magic. Strange. Sure, vampires could go out in the daylight, but I'd never heard of one actually doing it.
"And you are?" I asked, curious.
"Zachary Harrison, a pleasure to meet you." Extending his hand to shake mine, I reached for it in reflex but Lex grabbed my arm and yanked it out of the way.
"Don't you dare touch her, Harrison," Lex warned. Shocked, I turned and looked up at Lex. I'd never heard him use that tone of voice before.
"I was merely being polite, Duquesne." He chuckled, and then it clicked in my brain why the vampire looked somewhat familiar. Zachary Harrison was a famous real estate mogul--one of those celebrities who's famous for being famous. The man owned a string of high-profile buildings in cities across the country, as well as hotels and casinos throughout
Similar Books
