Lorcan & Evette

Chapter Sixty-Six

Evie was a Queen now. Being a Queen probably came with responsibilities. Besides, someone was going to have to say it sooner or later.

If anyone was going to get around to saying it, then it would obviously be her.

"I have a suggestion," Evie said. A month ago, she would've bitten her tongue about this one. Now, she believed she was speaking to more reasonable men. Well, at least she assumed Lorcan would be a little more reasonable about this.

"Yes, pet?"

Claudio visibly retched.

"Annaliese can kill them from the same distance." An eyebrow raised across the way. "She's the blood Queen. She can turn their blood to acid and fry them from a mile away. I've seen her do it. She makes dying look brutal." She gave Lorcan's thigh that same comforting squeeze he normally gave to her. "We can take that as an excuse to hurry negotiations up with my people, can't we?"

Lorcan was smiling, even as he said, "We'll get to that."

"We'd best do, otherwise I'll be taking one of those portal jumpers and going myself."

He gave her an unamused look. She shrugged. They both knew she'd do it.

"Is speaking to Annaliese right now the best approach?" Caspian asked.

Evie squared her shoulders. "Do you know anyone else who could take on an army of warlocks and live to tell the tale? If I remember correctly, Cas, you and I were both fucked until Lorcan saved our asses. We don't have that same element of surprise going forwards. Ergo, we need Annaliese to save our skins."

Her love for Annaliese made her more enthusiastic.

"Besides, you need to get along with Annaliese," she said, nodding her head in the direction of Lorcan. "For starters, you need to get along with her so she'll release your brother. And secondly, she's a big part of my life. If you can't get along with her, there're going to be some major custody issues. I refuse to cut either of you out. And finally, the chances are she's going to be your sister-in-law if Chronos wakes up and sees sense. Therefore, I rest my case. We're asking Annaliese for help."

"That's not how this works pet."

"Then make it how this works."

She gave his thigh another comforting squeeze. Gods, she was loving being Queen. It was so much easier being condescending.

"Say we all form alliances with the witches," Claudio began, a contemplative look on his face. "Would we have to align with the vampires?"

The thought disgusted them all.

"No," Lorcan said. "Annaliese can have her own separate alliances. They don't have to apply to us." Besides, there was no chance of Lorcan and those vampires being friends. Not after their fight.

"So it's sorted," Evie said. "You can send me to Veneficus whenever you feel ready. I can get this all sorted. I'll have her release Chronos. She'll do it with ease as soon as she realises you're not holding me captive."

"Nice try, witch, but we're going together. I'm not giving her the chance to steal you from me."

She sighed. There really was no convincing him to stay out of this. The werewolf would be coming, whether she liked it or not. Maybe she could convince Annaliese he was her witchy familiar.

Doubtful.

"So we deal with the witches, then we deal with the warlocks."

"It's not dealing with the witches," she corrected the demon King. "It's befriending them. I'm telling you. We're not that bad."