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shoulders. He leaned back. “Which is why he has secluded himself.”
    “Do you intend to mention this recent education you’ve received to the king?” Alonzo asked.
    “No.” Certain things weren’t any of his father’s concerns. Dmitri wasn’t about to place Macy in danger. “Tell no one.”
    “Of course.”
    “This entire situation is beyond fucked.” Dmitri expended a frustrated breath. “This only compounded it.”
    “We have vampires enslaved by witches and now, witches we could drain and syphon unprecedented powers from.”
    Dmitri narrowed a hostile gaze at his friend. “And how the hell would you know about the syphoning ability?”
    Alonzo grinned. “I was standing too close to the charge zone, I guess.”
    For centuries his kind had been used to syphon a witch’s excess powers when they were cursed. Tonight had been a cataclysmic moment he could barely comprehend. The dragon witch’s powers remained where they were cast.
    His body still thrummed with raw, untapped power. His friend’s aura had undergone a smaller metamorphosis, but it was still apparent.
    “Do something about that aura before you go out.”
    “I’ll see what I can do.” Alonzo’s voice fell. “She okay?”
    “I hope to hell so, because I have no idea what the shit we’ve gotten into.”
    “I sense it is evil.” Alonzo crossed his arms. “I will learn what I can. Perhaps her powers are too unique for your father to not have understood. If he did understand you could have been destroyed, we’ll have to act fast.”
    “I’m not challenging him for the throne.”
    “Someone will need to.”
    “We speak as if we know my father intended me to die tonight, as if he knew what Macy was capable of.” Dmitri wasn’t willing to make that leap. Not yet.
    “Don’t underestimate the king.”
    “Don’t underestimate me.”

Chapter Four
    Macy couldn’t shake the feeling Dmitri was hiding something important. She’d woken alone in her bedroom and thankful for a few contemplative moments. Breakfast had been a smorgasbord of foods from neighborhood eateries her budget usually kept her away from. Guilt chomped the taste from the delicacies. An indentured vampire was supposed to have everything provided—a blood host, all expenses paid, a safe environment to reside when not in use.
    Macy swallowed. She hadn’t even bothered to offer her vein before falling asleep last night. What a miserable hostess she was. He’d gone to bed with a raging erection and probably hungrier than hell.
    And he’d risen, still hungry, and brought in a feast fit for a queen. Damn vampire manners. She’d make it up to him, somehow. Once he bothered to return, that is.
    With the ham and cheese croissant digested along with a double shot of espresso, cinnamon bun, and two cream pastries with questionable interior contents, her stomach lugged the massive sugar and carb overload around from one side of her belly to another. It would all land somewhere on her ass or hips, no doubt.
    She’d prefer to think it was the food rattling her stomach and not nerves. Last night had been amazing. Her body still hummed with power, ripping it from the atmosphere around. She’d been surprised to discover so much energy still hanging around, but that was probably because she’d had shields up. Still, something foreign mingled with the powers, an unknown strand she’d never touched.  
    Shields were the most important element for a witch—they protected the spinner. Not even the worst witch around would mess with another’s shield. Yet the evidence hung there, tiny strands of foreign power.
    The door drifted open and Dmitri and Alonzo floated in. Their feet tromped on the carpeting, but their stealth, predatory prowl was more a float than a trudge or walk. She sipped on her second dose of caffeine with curiosity panging her voice to activate.
    “How did you get outside?”
    “The door?” Dmitri grinned.
    She had to get stuck with a smart-ass vampire in the