“Jessica, we will prevail,” he assured me, leaning over to nuzzle my neck the way I loved. “You have to believe that. You’re not going to be fighting this alone.”
Ray piped in from the aisle. No conversation on this plane would go unheard, as supernatural hearing was both a blessing and a curse. “Hannon, there’s no way we’re not winning. We’ve come too far. The bad guys don’t stand a chance against our force.”
“I want to believe that too,” I agreed, turning to address him. “I have to make sure I follow my heart. If I don’t, Juanita said it would go badly.” She’d told me that if Enid got her way, and I died, there would be years of chaos before it finally turned around. I couldn’t let that happen. “I just wish I knew who we were fighting, so we could better prepare for the threat.”
Eudoxia sauntered up the aisle, emerging from a seat that looked suspiciously like a throne. “The way to avoid fighting at all is to say our vows as soon as we can. Once the Coalition is united, no one would be foolish enough to engage us directly.”
I eyed her. “Yeah, that sounds great, except who else is on the Coalition? We know of two for sure. Me and you. Possibly the Princess of Hell. Who’s slated to take the witch slot? Who will take the vampire place? These questions have to be answered before we can swear any vows.”
Jebediah Amel, the warlock with the big book, would likely know this information, but I had no idea how to get a hold of him.
“I will take the vampire slot,” Eudoxia stated with finality.
“I don’t think so,” I told her. “You can only fill one spot, and my guess is you’re supposed to fulfill the fae spot. There are only a few fae left in the world, and you have to be the most powerful one, right?”
“I am both the most powerful vampire and the most powerful fae,” she said in her haughtiest tone. “So naturally I will take both positions.”
I shook my head. “That’s not how this works. And as much as you desire it to be true, you don’t get to decide.” Thank goodness. “The decision is made by Fate, and you know it. There are five of us. Or it wouldn’t be called the Power of Five. It would be called the Power of Four. So, if you’re slated to take the fae position, who takes the vampire spot? Who is the most powerful master under you?”
She appeared stymied, and I tried not to laugh.
Seeing Eudoxia unsure of herself didn’t happen very often, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. “There are eight masters under me, scattered all over the world.” She paused. “But they are all male.”
The plot thickened.
“How can you not have a single female powerful enough to rule under you?”
She shrugged, turning to pace the aisle. “I do not decide these things, the power does. Masters, by nature, are the oldest living vampires. For thousands of years, there have been males in places of authority.” She turned back, her orange skirts swishing around. “So males they are.”
“And you can’t think of a single female with enough power to take a place on the Coalition?”
“There are a few,” she said. “But they are meek in comparison to the males.”
“I can think of one,” Rourke muttered under his breath.
I turned to him, surprised. “Who?”
“Naomi.”
I gasped. “Naomi? But she’s bound to me, not to Eudoxia.” When Naomi took my blood, her allegiance shifted, much to Eudoxia’s dismay.
“That may be so,” he said. “But when you gave her your blood, you made her extremely powerful. And she’s still a vampire. Eudoxia’s right, the power decides, and there’s a chance it will choose Naomi.”
Eudoxia huffed. “I will not share my space at the table…with that thing. She is no vampire, at least not to me!” The Vamp Queen’s tiny fists struck out at the seat in front of her, and the leather burst open. “She is not worthy of a place on the Coalition.”
Had I unwittingly created the most powerful female vampire?
Ignoring Eudoxia’s tantrum, I turned to Rourke. “Do you think that’s why Enid took her?” I’d been wondering why Enid would take Danny and Naomi. She was trying to get to me, and it worked, but it would’ve hurt even more had she taken my brother or my father.
“Could be,” he replied. “If Enid has control over when and where the Coalition gathers, she can manipulate things. That makes the most sense.”
“I don’t believe it!” Eudoxia exclaimed. “That little imp doesn’t have as much power as I have in my pinky finger.” She held up her smallest finger and wiggled it, in case we needed a visual to the size of said pinky. “How can she possibly be strong enough to sit on the grandest jury of them all?”
It was hard not to laugh. “Ah,” I chuckled. “But she is incredibly strong. I’ve given her my blood twice, and that’s one more time than you’ve gotten it.” Well, until the end of this flight. “Plus, she’s old. You should’ve promoted her over the years. She’s extremely capable. But she’s always been your faithful tracker. Sounds like it’s your fault. You overlooked a diamond in your nest. After all, she escaped from Selene and one of the Hags, using only her wiles. That takes talent.”
“Nonsense,” Eudoxia said, sticking her nose in the air as she paced back to her throne. “I would bet my life it is not her.”