Page 122 of The Prince's Curse

“Mr. Alcott,” Eslinger said.He wore a crisp white shirt, but the sleeves were rolled up to reveal intricate tattoos.

“Mr. Eslinger,” Julian replied. “I appreciate your willingness to speak to me.”

One dark brow arched. “It’s not often the leader of a new vampire court reaches out to the Shieldsmen.”

“And I hope it will be a rarity,” he said. “Mr. Eslinger, I have had the pleasure of getting to know Kristina Arensberg, who speaks highly of her time with the Shieldsmen. I know that you are committed to making the world safer for humans, which is a noble calling.”

Eslinger chuckled and sat back in his chair. “Mr. Alcott, please don’t patronize me. If you hope to convince me that you are different from other vampires, then spare me. I know that the Auberon fancied themselves different, and surely you do, too. I don’t care how you delude yourselves.”

“Then why did you bother to return my call?” Julian said.

“Business has been slow, and I was curious. Particularly since you mentioned Armina Voss,” Eslinger said.“Tell me what you know.”

It took Julian a moment to gather himself. She’s going to fucking kill my soulmate, he wanted to scream, but he didn’t dare lose his cool. Fixing a bland expression on his face, he said, “Armina Voss has, to put it in modern terms, gone off the rails. She is so hellbent on revenge that she is harming innocent people. Some of whom you know. She has every intention of killing Scarlett Ward.”

At that, Eslinger’s head tilted slightly. “The dhampir hunter?”

“That’s the one,” he said. “While I’m willing to dangle foolish hope for a truce between us, that’s not my priority. I want your help in getting to Armina Voss so we can stop her. Hell, if you could call her and tell her to stand down, that would be better than nothing.”

“And what’s in it for me?”

“Doing the right thing and protecting the innocent,” Julian said. He chuckled. “Did you know that Armina was using Carrigan Shea as a puppet? The vampire who was responsible for the deaths of several of your hunters, and the one who turned Kristina? Furthermore, she enslaved quite a few of his followers as weapons. Is that the sort of ally you want?”

Eslinger chuckled. “That’s weak, Mr. Alcott. If that’s all, I think we’re done here.”

“It’s not. Armina Voss and her apprentices are using magic to manipulate some of your hunters. Marlee Montgomery and Jordan Cole,” he said.

Eslinger’s head cocked, and his expression flickered for a split second. “Manipulate them how? Into killing vampires?”

“She’s violating their free will,” Julian said. “Making them into mindless drones.”

The other man was quiet for a moment, but his expression was contemptuous, as if he couldn’t believe Julian was wasting his time. Finally, he said, “If you’re calling me for a peace treaty, then it must be because she’s got you scared.”

“You don’t care that your ally is working with vampires and using dark magic on your people?” he asked.

The other man sat back in his chair, a faint smile spreading on his face. “Mr. Alcott, I don’t know whether it was you or Alazan who gave the orders, but Jordan Cole was tortured within an inch of his life for months. Don’t insult either of us by acting as if you care about his precious little spirit now.”

Fucking Hugo, he thought. Julian had told him to either kill the hunter or let him go. Now it was coming back to haunt them, long after Hugo was dead. Still, whining that it wasn’t his fault wouldn’t score him any points.

“Jordan Cole knew the risks when he attacked an innocent woman and her child,” Julian said. “I am reaching out to you as one leader to another.”

“We are not equals. And no matter how many of my hunters you kill or turn or seduce to your side, you will not convince me that you’re just a bunch of misunderstood loners,” Eslinger said in a mocking tone. “I know what you are, and I will never pretend otherwise. If that’s all?—”

His smug expression was enough to disintegrate what little patience Julian had left. “It’s not all,” Julian said calmly. “Do not mistake my protection of humans as weakness. If you bring war to my doorstep again, you will find it. We do not have to like each other, but I advise you to leave well enough alone. Your conscience will dictate what you do about Armina Voss. Your sense of self-preservation should dictate what you do about me. Good evening, Mr. Eslinger.”

With that, he hung up. “Fucking Shieldsmen,” he muttered.Paris regarded him over the edge of the monitor, and Julian sighed. “I know, I fucked it up.”

Paris shrugged. “I wasn’t going to say so. You were much more diplomatic than I would have been. And I think it’s been a very long time since the Shieldsmen were particularly concerned with innocent lives. They’re much more interested in slaying monsters than rescuing damsels.”

“So it’s a dead end,” Julian muttered.

“At least we know we tried,” Paris said.

He shook his head. “I hope we can do better than that before it’s too late.”

Chapter 29

SASHA

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