A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)(50)

“I’m Jaxxon Dorchadas.” Jax stepped forward, not waiting for Rewa to continue the introduction. Others would have considered him rude, but the Five Lords seemed intrigued and even more interested by his initiative. “Lord of Maras on Calliope. This is my brother, Heron, also of House Dorchadas.”

Heron joined his brother, his back straight and chin high. I had to admit, they both looked particularly hot in their leather suits, a proprietary design that Jax had put together many years ago, complete with stainless steel plates and a mesh under-layer that could stop most projectiles and weapons from piercing the flesh. They were both tall, but Jax had more muscle mass to work with. Heron, on the other hand, was lean and toned to perfection, his shoulders broad and his waistline heat-inducing.

I briefly shook my head, switching my focus back to the Five Lords and mentally chastising myself for getting so easily distracted.

“House Dorchadas.” Emilian nodded with a faint smile. “It sounds eerily familiar. I’m part of the first generation of Exiled Maras, but that was well over ten thousand years ago, so you must forgive me if my memory fails me… I remember a Shadow Dorchadas. Is he familiar to you?”

“Our grandfather,” Jax replied politely. “Founder of White City on Calliope, after the Exile.”

“An extraordinary Mara,” Emilian sighed, “and a great leader. We owe him our lives. We are here in part thanks to him. You are welcome among us, Jaxxon and Heron of House Dorchadas. It is truly an honor to have you here.”

“Thank you, milord.”

“Please, please, call me Emilian.” He raised his hands in a friendly gesture. “You are not our subjects, you are our guests, and you should call us by our names.”

A couple of seconds passed as Jax’s rough gaze stayed firm on Emilian’s soft one.

“Thank you, Emilian.” Jax nodded, then motioned toward the rest of us. “These are our team members, our partners and allies. This is Hansa Gorria, former Chief of the Red Tribe and Senior Officer.”

“And a succubus.” Darius smirked. “Were you perhaps fearful of our nature?”

“Not at all.” Jax cocked his head to one side, the corner of his mouth twitching and his voice riddled with sharp knives. “But you should all be fearful of her, because she is not to be played with and doesn’t need to use her blood to end any Exiled Mara who poses a threat to her or our team.”

I held my breath, my gaze darting between us and the Five Lords, who seemed even more impressed. Emilian and Rowan stifled their grins and sent short, appreciative nods toward Hansa. The succubus glowed for a brief moment, her hand settled on the sculpted handle of her bejeweled broadsword. I would’ve been terrified of her, if I were a Mara.

“This is Patrik Raymer, a Druid of Eritopia,” Jax continued with blatant nonchalance, as if having made his point. In all fairness, none of the Five Lords had objected to his statement about Hansa. Two had even quietly approved. “Harper Hellswan, a vampire.”

Jax was smart not to mention her sentry abilities, I thought to myself. Those were of better use as secrets, given how little we knew about the dangers threatening the Exiled Maras.

“A vampire?” Emilian raised an inquisitive eyebrow, staring at Harper with genuine fascination.

“Much like us, Emilian,” Jax explained briefly, “the vampires drink blood and cannot be in the sun. Unlike us, vampires are made, never born. They belong to The Shade, another world that somehow wound up coming to Eritopia’s aid when we needed them the most. We’ve been allies ever since.”

“I understand,” Emilian replied, and gave Harper a gentle smile, then shifted his gaze to me.

“This is Avril Novak,” Jax continued, “also a vampire, as are Scarlett Novak and Fiona Achilles. This is Caia Conway, a fire fae. And this is Blaze Lume, a fire dragon.”

At the sound of Blaze’s species nomination, the Exiled Maras behind the Five Lords began to mutter and whisper among themselves, some even taking a couple of steps back, with fearful looks on their faces.

“There is no need to fear Blaze,” Jax announced with an obvious tone of satisfaction. “He isn’t here to harm anyone, but he will not hesitate to burn to a crisp anyone who threatens him or us.”

“I notice the name ‘Novak’ cropped up twice.” Rowan gave us a half-smile. “Are many of you related?”

“We are, yes. And we’re all part of GASP’s Eritopia unit. We’re a specialized recon team,” Harper replied.

“And what is GASP?” Rowan asked.

“It is the Global Agency for Supernatural Protection,” Harper explained. “The Novaks founded GASP and have forged alliances across three dimensions so far, and we’re not looking to stop anytime soon. For as long as there are supernaturals out there who need our help, we will be there to protect and empower those who are innocent, and punish those who harm others.”

I had to give my cousin credit: she was a fast learner, knowing what strings to pull and what words to say to support Jax’s polite, but sharp and stern, statements. Caspian didn’t seem to like her much, choosing to look away and say nothing, while Emilian nodded again and gave us all another warm smile in return.

“Please, rest assured that no one here means any harm,” he said gently. “On the contrary, we are grateful and honored to have you here and to receive your assistance in getting to the bottom of what is taking our people away from us. We cannot do it on our own.”