Siobhan’s emerald eyes narrowed. “You’re as arrogant as you are foolish, Mikhail. I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in leaving the light—or my soul—behind. Keep your strength and oblivion. I want none of it.”
He rounded on her with blinding speed, hands braced on the arms of her so-called throne as he snarled in her face. “Then what do you want? Stop posturing and casting threats, and wasting my time!”
She bucked her chin defiantly and swung her legs over the arm of the chair, knocking his arms aside. The pointed heels of her stiletto boots struck the floor with a snap as she settled back and faced him fully. “I’m not a fool, so do me the courtesy of not treating me like one. I know all about your mate, Mikhail. She’s human.” Siobhan’s statement, coupled with her superior smirk, caused a rumble of anger to erupt in Mikhail’s chest. “Tsk-tsk, Mikhail. If I were you, I’d watch my temper.”
He pushed himself away from the chair, lest he be tempted to sink his fangs as far as they’d go into the female’s throat. Nothing would please him more than silencing her once and for all and the only thing keeping him from doing the deed was the army of dhampir soldiers she’d amassed to watch her back.
Between rotting underground in a foul, dark tomb and spending his daylight hours with this female he’d gladly take the tomb. “Whatever my mate might be, she is not your concern.” He pushed the words through his teeth. “And a threat against her, no matter how veiled, will result in your death, female.”
A satisfied smirk tugged at her thin lips. “Worthier males than you have tried. And failed. It’s not me or mine that you need concern yourself with, Mikhail. I couldn’t give a shit about your mate’s shortcomings.”
“Then why cast threats?”
“Because I can be a bitch when I don’t get what I want.” She dusted a fleck of invisible lint from her upper arm. “Give Ronan to me and I’ll keep her identity secret. Otherwise…” Silver flashed in her eyes and she bared her fangs. “I’ll help incite an uprising that will make the Sortiari raids that wiped out your kind look pathetic in comparison.”
With every passing day this female was becoming more of a thorn in his side. “I told you, he’s not mine to give.”
“Of the thirteen covens, how many do you think will be faithful to you? And what of the covens outside the city? There’s a coven in Seattle that despises humans.” Her light, conversational tone grated on Mikhail’s ears. “They hunt them like wild game once a month and glut themselves on blood. I can only imagine what they’ll think when they discover the queen of the vampires is a creature they hold in as high regard as a doe in the forest.”
Mikhail’s temper flared. His fangs dug into his bottom lip and the taste of blood only spurred him toward violence. “Say another word and I’ll flay the skin from your body.”
From the shadows Siobhan’s guards made their presence known, the silver of their eyes reflecting like those of a pack of wolves. This was intolerable. The sun would be setting in a matter of minutes and he was tired of putting up a calm, defenseless front for her benefit.
“You’d die before you could even think of laying a finger on me.”
It was time that Siobhan realized just who she was up against. In a blink he grabbed her by the collar and took her down to the floor. She struggled against him, reached for the dagger sheathed at her side, but he was faster and snatched it before she could wrap her palm around the hilt.
The steel sang as he ripped the dagger free from the scabbard and straddled her body. He held the sharp edge to her throat. It nicked the skin, and blood welled from the wound, a crimson teardrop that ran in a dark rivulet down the pale column of her throat. “I’ve more than a finger on you, Siobhan,” he growled next to her ear. “So you’ll forgive me if I find your threats … idle.”#p#分页标题#e#
A feral hiss escaped from between her bared fangs as she struggled against him. He shot upright, bringing her with him just as her force of bodyguards attacked. The flash of steel caught his attention and Mikhail spun away. He released his grip on Siobhan and she flew across the room, sliding over the neglected tile floor before her body crashed into the wall.
Surrounded by a formidable force of dhampir warriors, it took every ounce of his concentration to keep from feeling the bite of metal on his skin. He parried several downward stabs, one of their sweeping cuts equal to three of his. They fought with ferocity and he admired their valor. Siobhan’s dhampirs were warriors worthy of their station and so much more.