Page 24 of Blood and Hexes

"We don't have many allies outside these walls. Particularly not well-liked allies who can defend us against the other side's propaganda. They say we're closing off the hill, taking power by force, in order to secure Chloe's throne. We can nay-say that crap all we like, but none of us has much of a pull with the rest of the world. That queen's biggest strength is that she could rally the entire world against us because of how frightened they are of the Eirikrson's name."

“But the queen is an Eirikrson herself,” Mikar pointed out.

“No. She's born of Eirikr Primerius, the human. She isn't a vampire-draining monster—and that's how the world sees Chloe. We can tell them she isn't a despot wanting to enslave us all we like. That won't change a thing. With allies like Diana, however…” Levi shrugged. “Her presence here speaks for itself. It’s a huge point in our favor. If she stays a few days, and comes back to visit again, the queen’s narrative becomes weaker. The world knows Diana Helsing would never support a tyrant.”

Mikar began to understand. “That's why you didn't kick Cat out of here either, isn't it?” he guessed. “You were banking on her being on our side, in the end.”

He nodded. “Led by Drusilla, the Stormhales were always going to stand where they have the most to gain—that's not with us. We needed her out of the picture if we didn't want to have to fight the entire clan. Catherine was always the key.”

“Because she's her brother's one weakness, and Seth is the only one who could have taken on Drusilla.” Mikar chuckled. “How calculating are you? Did you offer me a job because you had a plan, too?”

He was only sort-of joking.

After the Eirikrsons' demise, Mikar had considered getting out of Oldcrest, finding a place in the world. Founding a clan, perhaps. But Levi had asked him to stay in his service instead. Knowing how hard it was for a lone vampire—not only because they could be targeted by witches or shifters, but because loneliness could easily set in—he'd taken the offer. He hadn't had a specific plan in mind, and he liked it here. Working as one of Levi's slayers was supposed to be a temporary job until he knew what he wanted to do with his life. He'd stuck with him for five hundred years because there simply wasn't anything else he could think of doing. Anything else he was good at. Mikar was a spy, a tracker, a killer when the need arose, but he wasn't much of a schemer, unlike Levi.

“I didn't have any grand plan at the time, no. But I knew you'd be invaluable. In our world, you were always going to be someone to be reckoned with. I figured I'd prefer having you as an ally rather than an enemy.” One of the things Mikar admired most about Levi was his honesty. “That worked out. I'm hoping I’m right about Diana, too.”

He nodded and closed the laptop in front of him. No one was giving him any dirt on the little Helsing, therefore he was going to have to accept the fact that there was none.

For now.

“Besides, I don't think there's any point worrying about her. She's leaving Monday.”

Mikar's gaze shot to Levi, and he had to stop himself from releasing the growl stuck in his throat. “What?”

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