"I had completely forgotten about what your brother told us," Arion said slowly, glancing at Romanus.

"So had I, truthfully." he admitted. To be fair, they had been distracted at the time.

She whirled on them. "What did he tell you?" she demanded.
"That you bit him when he fed you his blood to heal you. Took a chunk out of his arm even," Romanus said, coming over to lay a soothing hand on her arm. Eris narrowed her eyes at Arion as he started to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"
"This is a good thing," Romanus told her after sending a look that had Arion swallowing his laughter. "It means that turning you can be done slowly and at much less of a risk to you. It means the worry at the back of our minds about losing you is now an unfounded one."

She took a deep breath and looked back at the mirror. "So this is good news," she said slowly, her heart rate slowing back down. White fangs peaked out of her mouth as she spoke. She didn't even feel them there, she marveled. This was kind of cool.

"Very," Arion said with a laugh, coming over to nuzzle her neck. That explained the change in scent that had panicked him before. Now it just smelled enticing.

"It also gives us an advantage. You still smell human. A little different, but human." Romanus pointed out. He met her eyes with a crafty gleam in his. "We could use this."

"Roman, for crying out loud..." Arion said exasperated, lifting his head. "You really think now's the time to..."
"No, he's right. They are expecting nothing but a human. Not a half human and half vampire in transition." she said. Seeing the worry on his face in the mirror, she leaned back into him.

"Relax. I'm not going to go all Boudicca without a solid plan behind us," she assured, patting his leg. Arion's hands pet up her sides. 

"Which is good because that woman was insane," Romanus remarked with a laugh. "Full of fire and courage, but insane."
"Says the man that made us fight against his own empire for her," Arion said dryly. Romanus grinned unrepentant. She had also been hot. In and out of armor.

"I didn't say insane wasn't fun and it was my brother's empire then. It was fun to poke at him."

"What's the plan?" she asked, turning to face the two of them. Romanus went back and sat at the desk while Arion sat in the chair facing it and tugged her into his lap. She was discovering who the snuggle bug was, she thought as she settled in.

"Good question," Romanus admitted, leaning back. "We need intel and we don't have any sources. We've burned several of those bridges recently."

"Are we killing them outright or just removing them from power?" she asked. A month ago she had been nothing but human and now she was calmly discussing plans to go to war. The surreal feel of it took her back for a moment before she shook it off.

"Lucille is going to die either way. Your brother isn't going to back down on that one." Arion answered, glancing at Romanus who acknowledged the truth of that.

"He probably already has a plan to do so," Romanus added. "Not all on that council deserve death and that's what he'll give them if it is up to him. It would be better to find allies within the group to work with besides Vincent and his mate."
"Does she have a name?" Eris asked. Romanus smiled, deciding to tease her a bit.

"She does. Rhiannon, I think."

"You think?"

He shrugged. "I was distracted when he told me."
"We were worried about you." Arion reminded her.

"So we talk to her, find out who is who on the council then go from there. Did this vampire guy give you contact information?" she asked, deliberately not using his name.

"Yes, Vincent did," Romanus said with a laugh. "He and Rhiannon are going to the next meeting to announce that they want the ban on her sister lifted then she's going to go see Lyra. Better?
She grinned at his careful usage of their names, but blinked innocently.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"We could call them and have them put out feelers," Arion said with a head shake at their antics. Eris went serious.
"Not a good idea. Phones can be tapped and emails hacked. It would be better to just go see them. We could say we were scoping out the competition and keep suspicions at bay for the moment. I want to have the ability to rip out the mistresses' fangs out from behind should we find the need. Secrecy is a good call for the moment."
"A truly terrifying commander," Romanus said standing and going over to her.

"Oh yeah?" she tilted her chin defiantly, liking the image.
"Yes. And it is incredibly hot," he replied, capturing her mouth in a deep kiss. She kissed him back, reveling in the taste of him. He lightly brushed his tongue over where her fangs came out and she gasped at the shock of pleasure. Without breaking the kiss, he knelt on the floor between her legs and slid his hands into her hair.

"Fangs are sensitive to the touch," Arion whispered against her ear, his warm breath sending chills across her skin. He nuzzled her neck as Romanus continued to tease her fangs, sending ever increasing heat spiraling through her.

"We don't have time..." she began as Arion scraped his teeth down her neck. Her mind fogged over and she mentally gave in. They could make the time.

"We have all the time we need. Besides, don't you want to bite?" Romanus asked. Arion lifted his head and looked at him.

"Romanus, we can't rush this. The risks are too great." Arion warned.

"I want her teeth in my neck." He said with a growl, easing back. Arion began to argue and was silenced by her pressing back against him.

"And I want both of you to shut up." she interrupted and arched back to kiss Arion, exposing her neck to Romanus. His teeth scraped her neck and the argument forgotten as their mutual hungers took over.

***

Lucille sat back in her pretty recliner, deep in thought. A young red haired woman walked up and sat in the chair opposite her. A fire crackled in the fireplace next to them in the empty council hall. The other woman smiled at the turmoil in the mistress' eyes. She could work with this.

"You are worrying too much again. What can they do that you can't?" the woman said with a friendly smile as she handed Lucille a cup of hot tea. The other woman took it with an absent smile, before the smile faded into a scowl.

"Get the faery and witches on their side apparently." Lucille snapped in response. The younger woman settled back without a word about the harsh tone. She sighed, sipping the tea repentantly. "I apologize, Garnet. I know you worked hard on getting the faery queen to our side. It isn't your fault she was deposed so soon. She made enemies that she shouldn't have. And no one could have anticipated the witches going back on their word in aiding the twins. They are usually very good about that."

"I did when you had the idea to use their butler. I was very clear on the matter." The woman reminded her. Lucille started to retort sharply but paused. Her vision was fuzzy for a moment and she took a sip of tea to reorient herself. Garnet continued, her tone growing firmer and more authoritative as Lucille's thoughts grew cloudier. "I also advised you not go after that woman on the open street. Into an alley or something of that nature would have been better and wouldn't have been interrupted. One half of your enemy would have been crippled by that. That was poor planning."

"I wanted her blood for the way she spoke to me. No one speaks to me like that." Lucille snarled. Garnet smiled and nodded, inwardly seething at the damage to her strategy. A well laid plan that was now in peril because of foolish ego. She could see why her father wanted someone here to handle things. She reached deep for her patience and soothed.

"I understand. Maybe it would be better for you to handle the things on the street and I handle the council? It must be stressful juggling both. I could also lead the attacks since I have previous experience." Garnet offered. Lucille sat back and considered the offer.

"That would make things easier. Thank you, child. You are a blessing to me."
Garnet smiled confidently. Now things could get back on track. 

"You're too kind." she dismissed, draining her tea cup. "First things first. Let's set the record straight with that vampire and faery. An attack on his club should do the trick. Teach them a lesson they won't forget any time soon."

"A woman out for blood. I like it." Lucille laughed, hesitations swept aside. "Set it up."

Garnet stood and walked out of the room with long strides. It was time to get back to what she did best.

Killing all who stood before her in her father's mighty name.