I had not really noticed the other wolf before except as an anonymous member of the pack. Jude always attracted so much of my attention that I was barely aware of the others. I focused on him for the first time now.

He was large and burly like Jude and Wade and wore the wolf uniform of flannel, leather and denim. He was older and blond with streaks of silver in his ponytail. The coloring was unusual and I thought he probably made an exceptionally handsome wolf.

James was staring at me intently, as usual. His silver blue eyes seemed strangely familiar all of a sudden, like he was related to someone I knew. And just as before, they radiated intense dislike. Maybe I had done him or a family member some wrong in the past and that was why he couldn’t stand me.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” I asked. It was going to nag at me until I figured it out.

He looked away from me, as if he’d realized he was staring. “No. I am a recent member of Wade’s pack.”

I looked at Wade questioningly. He shrugged. “James was a solitary wolf for a time just after his maturity. We often have members join us this way.”

“Okay,” I said, but I still stared at James. There was something about him . . .

“Can we get back on track, please?” J.B. said, annoyed. “I want to know how you came by such privileged information. I know my mother does not disclose her plans to all and sundry, and she certainly wouldn’t be disclosing them to you when she’s spent so much time trying to thwart you at every turn.”

“I cannot reveal the source of my information,” Wade said serenely, but there was a note of finality in his voice. “The important fact here is not where I heard this, but that Amarantha has achieved her desire. She has been given a thrall from Lucifer’s bloodline. He could be impregnating her even as we speak.”

This time I couldn’t stop the little cry of distress that left me. Everyone looked at me.

Okay, fine. I really did a crap job of hiding my feelings. I rubbed my forehead. Did I need this additional problem of trying to stop Amarantha from bearing a child of Lucifer’s bloodline even if I did manage to extract Gabriel from her? How many more intrigues would present themselves before all of this was over? There was a wolf-killer running around loose, and war had been declared on Lucifer’s kingdom. Samiel was still hanging around in the background somewhere and he definitely wanted my head. And somehow I was supposed to salvage this mess with Amarantha and try to get her to reestablish relations with Lucifer.

Priorities must be made. First thing first—there was no way I would be able to live with the idea that Gabriel had made a child with Amarantha. Never mind the politics. This was personal.

“How can I get Gabriel away from the queen?” I asked J.B.

“If she wants a child of Lucifer’s blood that badly, there’s probably nothing you can do,” he said grimly. “At least until she’s had her way.”

“That is not a productive thought,” I said. Maybe I could trade favors with the wolves. If they would help me with this, I could help them get what they wanted from the queen. “What about your negotiations with her for the land that you want? Did you manage to get her to concede?”

Wade shook his head. “Despite the insult of having a member of our pack killed within sight of her castle she still has not given us what we want.”

“And don’t expect her to anytime soon, even if she knows that she ought to,” J.B. said. “My mother could give a mountain lessons in stubbornness.”

“So there really isn’t an opening there,” I said. “Although maybe if I came forward as an additional witness . . .”

“But she’s pissed at you for threatening Focalor in front of everyone,” J.B. reminded me. “Your veracity as a witness would be lessened.”

“Right,” I said. “So I’ve got no leverage.”

“Other than the fact that you are of Lucifer’s bloodline,” a little voice growled.

I looked down to see that Beezle had finally woken up and was struggling out of my pocket. The two wolves who had not met Beezle before looked shocked that the inanimate object in my jacket was talking.

“So nice of you to join us,” I said.

“You think that just because I’m asleep I can’t hear what’s going on?” he said, finally managing to extract his squat lower half from my pocket. “I’m a gargoyle. We can hear everything, even when we’re stone.”

“It’s not the sleeping that would impair your hearing. It’s the snoring,” I said sweetly.

“Fine, if you’re going to be that way, then I won’t tell you my brilliant plan.”

I rolled my eyes. “So sorry, Beezle. Now spill.”

He hesitated for a moment, like he was going to make me apologize further. But Beezle’s desire to have his intelligence admired from all angles overrode his injured pride.

“Amarantha wants leverage over Lucifer, right? That’s why she wants a child of his bloodline,” Beezle said.

“Yes. Although I’m not sure that wouldn’t backfire on her,” I said thoughtfully. “The two courts would be tied together irrevocably.”

“Right,” Beezle said. “So it’s your job to convince her that having Gabriel’s kid would put her at a disadvantage, and then offer your services to her instead.”

“Services?” I said. “Not the kind of services she wants Gabriel to provide?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. No, you offer yourself as a kind of soldier when she wants backup.”

I could see a lot of problems with this plan. “First of all, I’m not a mercenary. Second of all, Lucifer probably would not be too happy if I allied myself with Amarantha, even temporarily. Third of all, having an extra hammer around to wield is nothing compared to having a tie of blood, even if that hammer is one of Lucifer’s.”

Beezle crossed his arms grumpily. “So what’s your brilliant plan, then?”

“To do whatever it takes to get Gabriel back.”

Wade looked at me speculatively. “Be careful. You wouldn’t want Amarantha to know that. She is excellent at taunting you with what you most desire.”

“And she’ll make you bleed for it in the process,” J.B. added.

A little pain was nothing if it meant getting Gabriel away from the queen’s clutches.

Amarantha wasn’t pleased with me at the moment, but surely she wouldn’t refuse an audience with her son.

“J.B., do you think you could get me in to see your mom?”

He looked troubled. “If that’s what you really want.”

What I really wanted was to be at home again with Gabriel and Beezle and all of this court nonsense forgotten.

“That’s what I really want.”

Even if I had to bleed to get it.

14

THE WOLVES CLEARED OUT WHEN J.B. AND I LEFT FOR Amarantha’s rooms. It would look too much like we were ganging up on the queen if we all went. Also, I was hoping that in the privacy of her rooms and away from her courtiers, she would be more reasonable.

Although I wasn’t holding out a ton of hope.

“Where’s Nathaniel this morning?” J.B. asked casually as he led me toward the wing of the castle that held the family rooms.

“Probably licking his wounds,” Beezle sniggered.

I glared at Beezle, who was perched on my shoulder again.

“So he’s the one who hit you,” J.B. said. “I thought so.”

“Nobody said that.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I took care of it, okay? So there’s no need to go all manly about it,” I said.

J.B. looked like he wanted to argue, but then closed his mouth. “Fine. I respect your ability to take care of yourself.”

I looked at him, shocked. I was so accustomed to everyone treating me like a helpless idiot that it was both surprising and refreshing to hear J.B. acknowledge that I was neither.

“You did survive Ramuell on your own, after all,” he said.

“She did not,” Beezle argued. “She got her human heart torn out.”

“Am I here or what?” I said crossly. “That constitutes survival.”

“The queen’s private chambers are at the top of this flight of stairs,” J.B. said. “I’ve sent a message ahead for Violet to expect to receive us.”

“And Violet would do just anything for you, Jonquil,” I said.

He looked at me mildly despite the provocation. “If you’re going to go all gooey-eyed whenever Gabriel is in the room, then you have no right to act jealous if I’m with another woman.”

I glanced down at the floor, properly chastised. “Point taken.”

“But I’d still prefer you to anyone in the world.”

I looked up, pleased and confused, which was the way I often felt around J.B. I smiled, but we had reached the top of the stairs. J.B. knocked on the door and Violet let us in, giving me a sideways glare.

“I did not expect Ambassador Black to accompany you,” she cooed.

“She needs to have a word with my mother,” J.B. said. “I thought I could speak with you in private while they did that.”

Violet glowed with pleasure at the thought of some private conversation with the prince. She left us in the receiving room, which looked a lot like Amarantha’s receiving room downstairs, and went into an inner chamber to consult with the queen.

I couldn’t tell if J.B. was playing it up so that I could get my audience with the queen or playing it up for his own sake, but as he’d pointed out, I’d no right to be jealous. Even if I was. A really tiny bit.

I wasn’t sure what my plan of action was, but a few moments later Violet returned and indicated with a curt nod of her head that I was to enter.

“The gargoyle, however, must stay.”

“Beezle comes with me everywhere,” I said, surprised. Amarantha had never seen Beezle as a threat before.