Danaus abruptly halted, his eyes darting from me to the bay of windows that revealed the distant sunset. The sky was painted deep shades of red, orange, and a heavy purple. It had been centuries since I last looked on such colors in the sky.

“Did you have any problems last night?” I stiffly inquired. With my arms folded over my stomach, I walked over to the windows, ignoring the silent question resting in his narrowed eyes. The fading sunlight made my eyes burn, and I blinked back bloody tears but didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if I would ever see the sunset again, and I wanted to soak in the colors while I could.

“No. You?”

“Nothing important.” I tried to sound nonchalant and indifferent about last night, but failed. Those two words came out sounding weary and ragged. My encounter with Rowe and the slaughter at the Great Hall had left me torn in two.

“Mira?” I hadn’t heard him move, but he sounded closer now. Just a few feet away, standing directly behind me. The scent of him was strong, a soothing mix of soap and the sun, with a hint of spice from his cologne or aftershave. A part of me wanted to lean back and rest my shoulders against his strong chest as we shared the sunset in comfortable silence.

“Everything is well,” I said, pushing aside the silly urge.

“It would be easier to protect each other if I understood what was happening,” he firmly said. “Who took Sadira and Tristan?”

I opened my mouth to say that it was none of his business and that I had it all under control, but another set of words came tumbling out. “Sadira took Tristan to the court of the Coven to punish me. He was tortured until I arrived.”

“Did you destroy Sadira?” The words escaped his throat, sounding matter-of-fact, his question holding no emotion or inflection. I couldn’t decide whether he would condemn or praise me for my actions.

“She still exists, though I’m sure she wishes she didn’t,” I finally replied.

“And the Coven?”

“Who knows what they think? They weren’t present at the time. They will only act when it is to their benefit.” Biting back a sigh, I turned on my bare right heel to face him. I needed to get moving. Valerio had woken me for a reason. He wanted something, and I didn’t want him showing up there. “I have another meeting tonight.”

“Alone?”

“Naturally,” I said with a little smirk, which faded almost as quickly as it appeared.

“What about the Coven and their arrangement with the naturi?” Danaus inquired.

“I haven’t forgotten. We have to stop it, or it could mean war among all of the races, along with fighting a war against the naturi. No one would survive such a thing.”

“Don’t you find it odd that Jabari demanded we come here, risking us discovering their grand plot?”

A smile brightened my features and exposed my fangs briefly. “Yes, I do,” I said, almost chuckling. “I’m beginning to think that not everyone is of one mind on the Coven.”

“And it’s our job to destroy the bargain,” Danaus finished with a nod.

“Destroy the naturi trying to break the seal. Destroy the Coven’s bargain with the naturi.”

“It’s what we do best,” Danaus said. A fleeting smile slipped across his face.

“True, but we may need some help, hence the meeting.” I glanced over my shoulder one last time as the colors in the sky continued to fade. “Stay close to Tristan while I’m gone. Don’t let him out of your sight,” I commanded, not caring how the hunter felt about my issuing orders to a creature more than three times my age.

“Do you think they’ll come after him again?”

I cocked my head to the side as an odd thought skipped through my brain. “Would you protect him if they did?” I softly asked, my eyes drifting over his hard features. Danaus’s eyes darted across the room and his frown deepened as he paced a few steps away from me. I doubt either one of us knew the answer to that question. I opened my mouth to push on when he suddenly spoke, his voice like a distant rumble of thunder in the quiet room. “I would protect him against the creatures that hurt him last night.”

I wouldn’t go into detail about what happened to the young nightwalker last night. That was Tristan’s choice. But I had no doubt that Danaus felt my pain and rage. I had not attempted to shield him.

A slow smile grew on my lips, and my eyes glowed dark lavender with the memory of the bloodbath. “Those creatures no longer exist,” I purred.

Danaus nodded, the frown disintegrating from his face. I was surprised. There was no disgust or disappointment in his eyes when he looked at me. All I could feel from him was a sense of peace and calm.

I blinked and the glow disappeared from my eyes, the swell of power slipping from my form as if caught up by a light breeze. “No, that is not why I want you to stay with Tristan. I fear the court may come after you next.”

“And you expect him to protect me?” he asked incredulously.

“No,” I said, a smile trembling on my lips. “Tristan and I are connected. I can feel his emotions and see through his eyes. I will know if you are troubled.”

“Unlike our connection?” he asked, arching one thick brow at me.

“Our connection weakens with time and distance,” I replied sharply. “It is also a connection I do not wish to cultivate, and would prefer it to die completely.” I was still unnerved by the way his mind had touched mine last night, slowly scanning my body for the injury I’d sustained. But now the contact had dissipated, and I was only vaguely aware of his emotions, much like most humans.

Danaus simply nodded, wisely refraining from commenting on the fact that I hadn’t known Tristan was in trouble last night until it was too late. But then again, I had taken care of that problem last night. Sadira wouldn’t cause any problems for a long time.

As I turned to go back into the bedroom to throw on some clothes, Danaus pointed out a large box that had been delivered to the room a couple hours earlier. I shook my head as I carried it into the bedroom with me, knowing without opening it who had sent it. Valerio believed that appearance was everything in keeping up a facade.

Placing the large, white garment box on the bed, I pulled off the lid. Inside I found a black silk camisole and a white wrap made of antique lace. The straight, black skirt fell to my calves and was slit up the back. And of course, a pair of heels that had wide black ribbons that wrapped around my ankles. Quickly dressing, I decided at the last minute to leave my hair down. I took one last glance in the mirror and couldn’t quite fight back the small smile that rose on my lips. The outfit was elegant and appropriately conservative. Yet, it still somehow managed to be sexy and alluring with its tiny flashes of pale skin. If Valerio could divert his attention long enough from fashion and keeping up appearances, he could be a truly dangerous figure.

I was still smiling when I strode out of the suite and rode the elevator down to the lobby. It had been on the tip of my tongue to warn Danaus that Rowe was in the area as I slipped from the room, but I knew if I mentioned the naturi’s name, I would never be able to attend this meeting without his dark shadow. Besides, Danaus could at least sense the naturi, making him better protected. He didn’t need my warning.

When I entered the large marble lobby to the hotel, the sun had finished its descent in the horizon and the night took over. My footsteps nearly stumbled at the sudden surge of power that rippled through the air. For a brief moment my body felt more awake and alive, connected to something larger than myself. But just as suddenly the feeling faded, leaving me aware and calm. I was back in my element.

A soft chuckle drew my gaze across the nearly empty room. Valerio folded the newspaper he was pretending to read and laid it aside as he pushed out of his chair.

Valerio was the classical image of a vampire. Not the rotting, shambling corpse with breath that smelled like death, but the Hollywood version with brown hair and pale blue eyes like a glacier kissed by the sea. His cadaverous white skin was stretched over lean muscle, created by a human life spent at hard manual labor and an undead existence filled with constant physical activity. He was shorter than me, but not by much. It was not something easily noticed either. When the nightwalker entered a room, his presence filled it in such an overwhelming way that you couldn’t be aware of anyone or anything else. He became everything and was everywhere.