«How so?»
«I've done all that vampire etiquette requires, so either let me go, or I call in my guards and they force you to let me go.»
«Do you need help to break free of me?» she asked, and her voice was singsong again.
«Unless I'm willing to shoot you, yes.»
Graham came close enough to say quietly, «Say the word, Anita, and we move her.» He sounded eager, or angry. I guess I couldn't blame him. This whole thing had gone beyond grandstanding to just plain rude.
Samuel came to our side. «Thea, this is not the way.»
She turned her head and looked at him. «Then what is the way?»
«Perhaps you could simply ask.»
A look crossed her face, as if that would never have occurred to her, then she laughed, a high wild sound, and for a second I thought I heard the laughter of seagulls. «So simple, my darling Samuel, so simple.» She released the grip on my hair so I could move my neck, which was a relief. She stayed entwined around me, but not so forcefully. We were still too close for comfort, but it was more friendly. «My deepest apologies, Anita; it has been so long since I met anyone who could withstand my desires that I simply kept trying to force. Forgive me.»
«Let me go, and I will.»
She gave that laugh again, and it wasn't my imagination. When she laughed I heard the sound that herring gulls make, and the whisper of surf. She let me go, stepped back. The moment she moved back the tension level in the room plummeted. All the guards on every side had thought the flags were about to go up. Me, too.
She bowed. «My deepest apologies. I underestimated you, and I am ashamed of my actions.»
«I accept your apology.»
She stood and regarded me with those black eyes in that pale white and gold face, as if some delicate porcelain doll had the eyes of a movie demon. «You know that we are offering our sons as your pommes de sang.»
I nodded. «Jean-Claude told me, and I'm honored.» Actually it creeped me out, but I understood that it was supposed to be an honor.
«But do you know why?»
That stopped me, because the answer was, «Jean-Claude said you wished for a stronger alliance between our two kisses.»
«We do» — Samuel joined his wife — «but there is a reason that my wife was so adamant that we bring all three of our sons to your table.»
«And that reason would be what?» I wanted to just skip this until I had more vampire backup, but I didn't think I'd get the choice.
Micah was suddenly at my side, taking my hand. I felt better. I wasn't alone. We could do this. We didn't have vamps, but we had each other. Nathaniel came in at my back, not quite taking my other hand in case I needed it for weapon grabbing, but close enough that he was a line of heat at my back. Better and better.
«I am a siren,» Thea said.
I nodded. «I know.»
«Do you understand what that means among my kind?»
«I know that most mermaids who exhibit siren abilities are killed by the other merpeople before they can reach their full power.»
«Do you know why?»
«Because in full power you can control the merpeople magically.»
«As a necromancer can control all types of undead,» Thea said.
I shrugged. «Yeah, I have some control over a lot of undead, but it's not perfect control, and it doesn't work on everyone.»
«Nor does mine work on every merperson, though it works on many. But do you know what the basis of that control is?»
I shook my head. «No.»
«Sex, or seduction perhaps.»
I crooked an eyebrow at her. «What does that mean exactly in this context?»
«It means that I hold something similar to the ardeur that you and Jean-Claude share. It attracts both my kind and mortals to me, as the ardeur attracts the dead and apparently lycanthropes and mortals to you.»
I frowned at her. «Yeah, a lot of guys want a full taste of the ardeur once they get a small taste.» I fought not to look for Graham when I said it. «But they aren't attracted to me because of it.»
She gave that gull-and-surf laugh again. «You do not know what you are, Anita. The ardeur alone does not make you a succubus, or Jean-Claude an incubus. I have met others with the ardeur, but fewer with that next level of power. You have it. Your master has it. People are drawn to you because of it. The very touch of your skin can be addictive.»
I gave her a look. «Like the touch of your skin is supposed to be addictive?»
«Yes.»
I fought not to smile, but didn't quite succeed. I licked the cut she'd made in my lip, and said, «No insult meant, but I don't crave your touch.»