And now Leto. My God, was Casimir right? Was he really ascending to Third?
As she extended her gaze to Grace and the crown of silver stars over her long blond hair, she wondered if obsidian flame would be enough, or Thorne’s army, or the secret colonial militia that Leto had built.
She spun in the air to face Casimir. “So, you’re here to protect Leto until he ascends to Third, have I got that right?”
He nodded.
She looked him up and down. “In a weird-ass, Fourth Earth white robe? You know most of my Guardians know how to use a sword.”
“I have other powers. Hand-blast is my specialty.”
“And you’re going to need it because if you get anywhere near Grace, I have no doubt Leto will aim to kill.”
But Casimir didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he remained silent and turned in his newly acquired serene manner to watch the fireworks.
“You know, you’re kinda freakin’ me out here.” Then it dawned on her. “Holy hell, Caz, did you enter Beatrice’s redemption program?”
“Her lake of fire? Yes, I did. But I didn’t complete it.”
“Then there’s still time for you to become a more normal version of yourself.”
But he merely smiled. “When the hell was I ever normal?”
She exaggerated a big sigh of relief. “That’s more like it. You had me shaking in my stilettos for a minute there.”
At that he turned to her. “Endelle, never have I known you to shake in your stilettos or boots or anything you’ve ever worn in your nine thousand years of vampire life.”
Endelle grinned, “Damn straight. I’m not the Supreme High Administrator of Second Earth for nothing.”
“I believe protocol demands that I request permission from you to serve as Leto’s Guardian of Ascension. Do I have that permission?”
Endelle couldn’t help but smile. “Never did I think to see the day that you would either serve as a guardian or ask my permission for anything.”
Casimir chuckled. “Ditto. So, is that a yes?”
“Hells, yeah! Guard away. And if you have a chance to blast Greaves’s testicles off his cock-stalk, don’t debate the issue, just do it.”
Casimir laughed. “Don’t ever change.”
“Don’t plan to.”
He then gestured with a sweep of his hand over the contest grounds. “Are you joining in the fun?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Just came to see the kickoff. I’m setting up a command HQ at the palace. I take it I’ll be seeing more of you.”
He nodded.
Endelle couldn’t believe this strange turn of events: Leto ascending to Third and Casimir, of all vampires, serving as his Guardian of Ascension.
Well, she had her own issues to deal with right now, like setting up an HQ for what might just turn out to be one helluva showdown with Greaves.
“Later,” she murmured, then folded back to her palace.
Grace thought Leto’s speech was absolutely perfect. She was proud to be seated beside him. She had her arm hooked around his and had begun to feel a little more at ease.
He leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the runners in the mile-long race that ran in an oval around the entire field. He never let his eyes leave the field as he leaned down and spoke to Grace. “The man in the lead is from the Republic of Chad Two. A powerful Seer. He’s very fast and one of our best swordsmen. Jean-Pierre thinks that with a little work, and some of Jean-Pierre’s power, he could be brought up to WhatBee status.”
So this was the world Leto had built since she’d left. Yes, everything had changed.
All those months ago, he had been near-death because of his refusal to take dying blood anymore. He’d also been severely depressed.
Now he was a different man, a new man.
And at times, a beast-man.
She glanced at Fiona to her right. Jean-Pierre had his long fingers massaging the back of Fiona’s neck and he was kissing her and murmuring things in her ear that sounded like French. They were so in love.
She looked up at Leto again. She knew she loved him, but could they truly have a forever kind of love? He had been through so much, and she could once more sense in him a holding back, even a sense of guilt and unworthiness, that kept him in a tense state. She felt his restraint, even toward her, even as he desired her. Could they build a life together with so much between them?
Grace felt the bench move. She glanced to her left at Marguerite, who bounced next to Thorne. His hands never seemed to leave her, always touching her shoulders, her arms, her hands, and sometimes her belly. And when she asked for popcorn, he leaped up and moved so fast, the vendor at the bottom of the grandstand stumbled and would have fallen backward if Thorne hadn’t caught him.