To my surprise, Jabari lingered behind, along with Valerio and Stefan. The Elder returned to his seat while the two others stepped forward. Valerio gave a sweeping bow to me, grinning ear to ear, while Stefan stiffly bowed his head.

“Budapest, eh?” Valerio said, inspecting his fingernails. “It sounds like fun. I’ll join you if you’ll have me.”

“You standing against the naturi? I struggle to see what’s in it for you,” I said, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Valerio preferred the background, watching as others took risks. He knew when to step forward and take the benefit for himself when the opportunity arose. If anything, Valerio was a lover, never a fighter.

“Budapest is but a short jaunt from Vienna. I would prefer it if this naturi . . . infection did not spread to my own sweet city,” he replied, and I was happy to drop the issue. That was an explanation that I could understand. He was finally stepping forward to protect what he considered his. Of course, I was willing to bet there was more to it, but he would never tip his hand if he could help it.

“I wish to assist you as well,” Stefan stated brusquely. “I have had my own issues with the city of Budapest. There is a personal matter that I wish to look into if you would allow me to join you.”

“That’s fine with me.” I wasn’t going to press Stefan for more information because I knew I wasn’t going to get it. I didn’t trust the nightwalker, but I was willing to bet he was going to give me a little room since I had promised him a seat on the coven. He was going to give me a little time to deliver on my promise before he attempted to take my own seat. “Unless you want to arrive separately from me, my plane will leave shortly after sunset for Budapest.”

Both nightwalkers gave me a brief bow before disappearing from the Main Hall. I turned in my seat to find Jabari watching me with a thoughtful look on his face.

“It’s killing you to see me sitting here when you were so close to killing me just a few months ago,” I teased, grinning over at him.

“It is an unexpected turn of events, but not one I find unpleasant.”

“For now, you mean.”

“True,” he conceded. Jabari was pleased I was on the coven so long as it benefited him. The moment I no longer gave him an edge was the day he would kill me. He had already started looking for ways to replace me. Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve that he didn’t know about. Unfortunately, I had to find a way to escape his control without him being aware of it. Sure, Nick was demanding that I learn to use the powers of my keepers, but it wasn’t something I was confident I could do in secret. If Jabari discovered that I’d found a way to escape his control, he would kill me in an instant. I was too dangerous without someone holding my leash.

“Is there anything I should know about Budapest before I set foot on her soil?” I asked, directing our conversation back to the more important matter at hand.

“Don’t trust Macaire.”

“I gathered that much. Who’s the keeper?”

“I do not know. Macaire has been known to frequent that region, so I turned my back on it. You will benefit from having Valerio on hand.”

I sighed and shoved one hand through my hair. “Unfortunately, Stefan is a mixed bag.”

“He wants your chair,” Danaus said, speaking for the first time since stepping foot in the Main Hall. His deep voice seemed to echo through the silence and vibrate through my chest.

“He wants a chair on the coven. I’d be happy to hand him someone else’s,” I muttered, not needing to comment out loud exactly whose chair I would be willing to hand over.

“I can offer you no help with Budapest,” Jabari continued, ignoring my comment. “Be on your guard. It has always been a place for powerful creatures. Both lycans and warlocks call it home, as well as nightwalkers.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Do not trust Stefan. He has been known to side with Macaire on occasion,” Jabari admonished one last time before disappearing from sight.

Danaus came around to stand beside my chair. I looked up at the hunter and smiled at him, some of the tension finally oozing from my shoulders. I still had a long road ahead of me, but for now, the worst had been pushed aside. I survived my first meeting on the coven and been forced to kill only two creatures. I had a dark feeling that it would mark a slow night for me. My reign on the coven would be short, but it would also be washed in the blood of my people and that of the naturi.

“How do you think it went?”

Danaus shook his head at me, fighting back a smile. “I wasn’t expecting you to declare war on your first night. It was a bold move.”

“Macaire has to know where I stand. I’m not going to take any shit from him, and he’s not going to be able to win me away from Jabari like he hoped last summer.”

“And Budapest?”

“He knows the keeper of Budapest. I have no doubt that he’s issuing instructions as we speak. There may be naturi there wreaking havoc in the city, but it’s also going to be a trap. I—I can’t ask you—”

“I’m going,” he declared before I could stammer out my wishes.

I smiled up at him, barely suppressing the urge to kiss him. Danaus had been there when I was in attacked by naturi in London, Crete, and Ollantaytambo. He was there went we mounted the attack on Machu Picchu. He was there when I struggled to piece together the crumbling order of my own beloved Savannah. He had been there through it all with me. At this point I couldn’t imagine fighting the naturi without him. Of course, there was also the chance he could take out a few nightwalkers as well, which would make him more than happy.

A part of me wished I could tell him that he didn’t have to go, or that it was too dangerous for him to accompany me. I wished I could tell him that I didn’t need him, considering that I had Valerio and Stefan at my side, but I couldn’t utter the words.

“Thank you,” I murmured, hating the blush I could feel stealing up to my cheeks.

Placing his hands on the arms of the chair, Danaus leaned down and pressed a light kiss against my forehead. “I am your consort. You go nowhere without me,” he whispered, his lips brushing against my temple. I smiled, resting my head against his jaw. Apparently when I named him my consort, I wasn’t the only one staking a claim. And for once, I didn’t mind.

Budapest glowed about us, shining like a golden crown surrounding a shimmering river of glass. The news revealed that a fresh blanket of snow had fallen over the city during the day, leaving it glistening under the stars. The last time I visited Budapest, the three sectors of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest had not yet been joined into a single city. She had been in the process of rebuilding from yet another battle that left many of her amazing buildings scarred and gutted. But still, this jewel of Central Europe shined and thrived.

After leaving our hotel at the foot of Gellért Hill, we caught a taxi that was now taking us across Erzsébet Bridge toward lower Pest. The bridge rose up around us, white and slender like a woman’s arm reaching across the Danube. Farther up the river I could see the Széchenyi Chain Bridge standing solid in all its stone and golden glow glory. There was beauty around every turn in this city, with its exquisite architecture and stunning statues and monuments. A part of me wished we weren’t here on business but actually had some time to wander down the lovely streets and possibly visit the Parliament Building or any of the castles that dotted the landscape. Unfortunately, the exquisite Saint Stephen’s Basilica was out of the question—the magic held by holy places of worship like churches, temples, and synagogues kept nightwalkers out.

“You seem quieter than usual.” Danaus finally drew my gaze back into the car. The hunter sat next to me, his long black coat wrapped around him against the bitter cold outside. The temperature had dipped close to zero that night, and the wind gusted off and on, swirling the snow about us.