“Why can’t we free her now?”

I shook my head and glanced down at my hands clasped in my lap. “It just isn’t done.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“She’s Veyron’s pet.” I pushed to my feet, which also caused Danaus to straighten to his full height. “You don’t steal another creature’s pet unless you want to start a war. I don’t want her. I don’t want to spend the rest of her existence protecting her. It’s bad enough that I just claimed Budapest as my second domain. I don’t need to steal away another nightwalker’s pet when he’s got her under his protection. My reputation can’t afford to get any blacker.”

“You certainly had no problem stealing Tristan from Sadira when we were in Venice,” Danaus accused.

“The court of the coven was going to kill him, and Sadira wasn’t going to do anything to stop it! I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t stand by and let it happen. I promised him that I would help him get free of her,” I argued, finally raising my voice.

“And Nicolai? What was your excuse there? You can’t tell me that you weren’t taking a major risk by confronting Jabari and the entire coven by taking the werewolf off their hands. You knew that you were going to spend the rest of his existence protecting him from Jabari.”

“Damn it, Danaus! You were there. They were going to hand Nicolai over to the naturi. There was a chance that he could have been the next sacrifice that would break the seal. We couldn’t take that risk. Nicolai had to be removed from the coven. There was no choice.”

“Convenient,” the hunter sneered. “You’ve got an excuse for both of them.”

“Is Sofia in danger? No!”

“You don’t know that.”

“Veyron likes his little pet. She’s not in any danger so long as she obeys him. He will protect her and she knows it. Sofia isn’t in any danger from the coven or the naturi. Hell, she’s probably the most well-protected creature in all of Budapest.”

“But she’s not free.”

“That’s not our concern.”

“She’s human and she wants her freedom. That makes it my concern,” Danaus said. He glared at me for several seconds as if waiting for me to agree with him, but I didn’t say a word. “I’m going to help her.” He turned and started to walk out of the hotel room.

With a growl, I put one foot on the sofa cushion and leapt over the back. In a couple quick steps I was in front of him before he could reach the door. I placed my hand on his chest, stopping him.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I ordered. “You try to free her and you’re going to start a war. We still need to get rid of the naturi and discover why it was so important to Macaire that we come here. Freeing Sofia is not part of that deal.”

Standing so close to Danaus, something caught my attention. I drew in a breath to release an aggravated sigh when I noticed a new scent in the air. It was everywhere around us, filling the tiny hallway that led to the rest of the hotel room as if there were another person standing directly between us. I released the breath and drew a second, checking to make sure that I hadn’t lost my mind.

I could smell Sofia. Or rather I could smell her perfume. It was everywhere. I slowly lifted my hand from Danaus’s chest and sniffed my hand before jerking it away again. The smell was even stronger. It was coming from Danaus.

“What have you been doing?” I asked. Horror filled my voice as I pressed my back against the door.

“What are you talking about? You’re changing the subject—”

“What have you been doing? I can smell her. She’s everywhere.” I suddenly pushed off the door and leaned into Danaus so my nose was just inches away from his chest. The scent of Sofia’s perfume smacked me across the face, sending me reeling away from the hunter once again. “She’s all over you!”

“Mira, you’re being ridiculous.”

“Am I? You come to me reeking of this other woman, demanding that I help you set her free. What am I to think? For a moment I thought your interests lay with me, but apparently some pathetic human has caught your attention. What is it, Danaus? Is it because she’s a helpless damsel in distress or just because she’s human?”

“There’s nothing going on. When I told her that I would help her escape Veyron, she threw herself on me. She gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Nothing more.”

A low growl escaped me as I grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed him into one of the walls. “You allowed her to touch you! You’re mine! Don’t you understand that? I made you my consort before the coven and the entire nightwalker nation, and you’re choosing a human over me already.”

“I don’t belong to you! I’m not your pet!” Danaus roared, trying to push me away from him, but I wasn’t budging.

“No, not pet. I gave you a greater position. You are my equal before the coven. My beloved and protected consort.” I released him then, giving him a little shove as I walked back over to the door and leaned against it. “And you come to me smelling of her.”

“She’s a helpless human trapped in a bad situation. We need to help her,” Danaus replied, avoiding the issue that it appeared as if he had already found my replacement. My stomach tightened and I clenched my teeth. I didn’t need this now. I was more concerned about taking care of the naturi threat in Budapest, killing Rowe, and avoiding being killed in the process.

Shoving both hands into my hair, I turned my back on him and stared at the door that led to the hallway of the hotel. I needed more time to look into this matter with the naturi and try to find out why a magic user was trying to kill me. Also, I was sure that Stefan would prefer if we did something about his missing assistant before I went stirring up more trouble.

“We need to wait, Danaus,” I said, forcing the words out in a calm, even tone as I turned back to face him. I was trying to be reasonable. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and help him after all the times he had helped me. Yet Sofia’s scent felt almost like a physical barrier between Danaus and me.

“And what if she doesn’t have time for us to wait?” he demanded.

I dropped my hands back to my sides with a heavy flop. “Has Veyron done anything to make her think that he plans to kill her sometime soon? I mean, that would be why we’d try to save her—because Veyron plans to kill her, and not because she’s grown bored or something?”

“She wants her freedom,” Danaus said firmly.

“Yeah, well, don’t we all,” I muttered, though I’m sure that he heard me. I felt trapped. I didn’t care about Sofia and her problems. I had enough of my own, and I wasn’t willing to risk my neck for every poor soul that crossed my path. I’d be dead in a matter of nights if I took it on myself to try to protect the world. But then again, that was what I was trying to do every time I took on the naturi.

Drawing in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried to find a center of calm in all the anger and frustration buzzing around inside of me. “Give me a few nights. Let me try to take care of Veyron, Rowe, and a few of the other problems in the city before I try to figure out what to do with Sofia. Maybe we’ll just get rid of Veyron and that will take care of it.”

“Will that actually work or will she just be swallowed up by another nightwalker once he’s gone?” Danaus demanded.

“What? Just say it finally! What do you want from me?” I demanded, losing my hold on my temper yet again.

“I want her to come to Savannah with us!” he shouted back.

“No! Absolutely not!” I knew if I saw Sofia right then, I’d pulled her hair out and pluck her eyes from her skull. I’d turned my back on Danaus for only a short time and the little tramp decided to poach something that I had just begun to consider was mine. “She’s not coming to Savannah!”

“You’re jealous,” Danaus accused.

“You’re damn right I’m jealous. There’s no way in hell she’s coming into my domain with you,” I snarled. “If you’re so desperate to free her, fine. Before we leave Budapest, we’ll get rid of Veyron, and she’ll be free. But from there, she’ll be on her own. I’m not going to be her personal protector. If I’m going to take up that role, then she will be my pet and I’ll keep her on a leash so tight she’ll long for her nights with Veyron.”