A twisted smile flashed across Veyron’s face. “So your presence here has actually made it more dangerous for nightwalkers?”

“Par for the course when it comes to Mira,” Valerio said, earning a dark look from me. “The naturi tend to flock to her instead of running away. That happens when you’re enemy number one among their entire race.”

I forced a smile on my lips as I turned my gaze back to Veyron and shrugged. “That happens when you’re known for slaughtering countless of their ranks over the long centuries. Their survival is dependent on my death.”

“Will you be able to get rid of them?”

“It would be nice, considering that this particular naturi gave you such problems at both Crete and Peru,” Macaire added, making me wish I could throw something at his head.

“I will take care of Rowe. The one-eyed naturi will not leave Budapest alive.”

“One-eyed?” Veyron asked.

“He wears an eye patch. Scarred face. Black hair, swarthy skin. He really doesn’t look like much of a naturi any longer, but he still thinks like one.”

“So, while you’re in town, you’re going to rein in the lycans, hunt down the naturi, and teach the nightwalkers how to act like proper nightwalkers?” Veyron said with a sneer.

“Well, I thought I would start there. Those aren’t the only things on my to-do list,” I said, my smile never wavering. “But if I’m going to get anything done, I can’t remain here. I need to get out on the street.” Pushing out of my chair, I mentally reached out to Danaus and told him that we were leaving.

Veyron accompanied my group to the front door, where Danaus and Sofia were now waiting for us. Turning to Veyron, I nodded my head to him and smiled. “Thank you for all your assistance. I think you will be pleased with how Budapest improves while I am here.”

“Yes,” he said with a slight hiss as he held open the door for us. I led the way out of the house, with Danaus following on my heels. Macaire, Valerio, and Stefan were directly behind us. There was no mistaking the soft chuckle from Valerio when Veyron slammed the door shut.

“Only you would have the nerve to step into a domain and steal it right out from under a man,” Valerio said as he slipped his arm around my back and rested his hand on my hip.

“He had ample opportunity to say something, and he didn’t,” I replied with an evil grin as we walked away from the house, toward the dimly lit street. “If I was out of line, I am fully confident that Macaire would have called me on the matter,” I said, motioning toward the Elder with one hand.

“You are correct. Budapest is not how I remember her, and I am sure that you can get her back to her glorious former self,” Macaire said with a slight bow of his head. “Now if you will excuse me.” Without another word, the Elder completely disappeared from sight without giving another word of reason.

Stefan started to talk, but I held up my hand and scanned the region. I wanted to be sure Macaire was completely gone before anyone said anything that we might regret. We now had an extra pair of ears that we needed to worry about. When I was sure he was nowhere in the area, I dropped my hand and nodded for him to continue.

“But two domains on two continents? Didn’t you just get through saying you weren’t going to claim Budapest as your newest domain?” Stefan asked, needling me simply because he could.

I shoved one hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face as the wind picked up. “This is only a temporary arrangement. I will give up one of my domains once everything is settled again and the coven is happy.”

“Give up Savannah?” Valerio asked.

Hearing the words spoken made my stomach drop. In that second I knew that I couldn’t give up my beloved Savannah. It was the only place since becoming a nightwalker that I felt I could call home. I didn’t care about Budapest—claiming the seat of keeper here was simply a way of taking control of the situation and finally forcing Veyron to act.

Unfortunately, I found myself faced with enemies on four fronts. The naturi were constantly at my back, while the nightwalkers, warlocks, and lycans were arrayed in front of me. I just prayed that the companions I had brought with me stayed by my side through the upcoming massacre, particularly now that Macaire had decided to haunt the city. And I knew it would be a massacre.

“Shall we go?” Valerio asked as his hand tightened on my waist.

“No, wait! Danaus and I can catch a taxi.” I tried to pull his hand off of my side but he wouldn’t budge.

“No, it will take too long,” Valerio said. “Time to get you somewhere safe before Veyron decides that he’s not going to wait around for you to improve the city.”

I opened my mouth to argue but the words never escaped my throat. Valerio summoned up his powers and we disappeared from Veyron’s front yard and instantly reappeared back in my hotel room. I twisted out of his grasp the second I felt my feet on firm ground again, and I drew in a lungful of air to shout for Danaus when the hunter and Stefan appeared next to me a second later. The air escaped me in a useless rush. I hadn’t trusted Stefan to bring Danaus there. I didn’t trust Stefan as far as I could throw him, but I was now grudgingly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, considering the loss of his assistant.

“Leave us,” Danaus said in a low voice. “Mira and I have something to discuss.”

Valerio and Stefan didn’t hesitate. Valerio disappeared instantly, and Stefan was directly behind him with a soft snicker.

I looked up at the hunter and frowned. This wasn’t going to be pleasant. Whatever he had learned during his time with Sofia was about to come back to bite me in the ass. I knew I never should have left him alone with Veyron’s pretty little pet.

Danaus shrugged off his coat and tossed it over the back of one of the chairs as he paced the room. I settled in the open seat and crossed my left leg over my right knee, trying to steel myself against whatever the hunter was about to drop into my lap. My stomach and jaw clenched as I watched him shove one hand through his dark hair, pushing it away from his face.

“I want us to free Sofia,” he announced. This was definitely going to get ugly.

“Why?”

Danaus stopped pacing and pinned me with a dark glare. “Why?” he repeated as his right hand balled into a fist. “She’s a prisoner. That vampire is holding her against her will.”

“I’m not sure if I believe that.” I shrugged as I relaxed in my chair. “And even if she is, I am willing to bet that she got herself into that mess in the first place. It’s not our job to get her out of her current predicament.”

“So, you’re saying no?”

I drew in a deep breath and released it slowly, as I reminded myself that Danaus wasn’t accustomed to my world. There were limitations as to what I could do without causing a storm of trouble that I wasn’t willing to deal with at this time. I already had enough on my plate.

“She’s a pet, Danaus.”

“I figured out that much myself,” he snapped, but I ignored him and continued.

“She’s a pet, and most of the time that’s a position a human attains willingly because she or he is enamored of the nightwalker. She’s treated well, I’m sure. I’ve seen poorly treated pets, and she’s not been abused. In fact, judging by the clothing and jewelry she was wearing, it looks as if he’s treated quite well.”

“You don’t know that!”

I finally frowned as I uncrossed my legs and slid to the edge of my chair. Danaus put his hands on the back of the sofa that separated us and leaned forward so he could look me directly in the eye. “She’s a prisoner,” he growled. “He restricts her movement. He feeds off her. He shares her with his friends. She’s just an object to him.”

“Sounds like a pet to me. Nothing too surprising in any of that treatment.” I paused, searching for some way in which he could accept Sofia’s arrangement. “Look, Danaus. She got herself into this situation. She’s just going to have to deal with it. If she’s lucky, he’ll get bored with her. Hell, it’s likely that we’re going to have to kill Veyron eventually, so she will be free after all. We can’t just waltz in and tell him to free her.”