Nearly a hundred miles up the coast from their growing port town was a much smaller settlement which lay firmly outside of Haven’s territory. That night, a very different emotion was prevalent inside a small windowless shack there among the other modest dwellings of that settlement.

There Baron paced angrily as he turned his cold black eyes back to Taylor “and you’re positive that sire of yours was killed as well?”

“I felt it when he died. Best feeling I’ve had in a long time” she couldn’t help adding smugly.

Baron just glared at her apparent enjoyment at any part of his current misfortune “don’t be too glad; that leaves you as the only Ravnos remaining on my pay roll” he reminded her coolly.

“Oh now you’re offering to actually pay me?” she scoffed.

“Again, I’m letting you live” he warned her as she just shook her head up at him.

“After what you let Theo do to me again, do you honestly think I came back here to continue to serve you in any way?” Taylor returned, using as much will as she could in the face of the majesty he possessed that was so similar to that of all those Toreador Princes who had destroyed his home as well as his plans so thoroughly a month prior.

“Do you honestly think you have a choice?” he growled as he moved to clasp a hand over her throat, pulling her into his unwavering gaze “you will obey me without fail and forever” he told her in that commanding tone before releasing her from that deadly grip again.

Taylor just shook her head dejectedly as the realization of how easily he could force his will on any younger vampire hit her once more “I only came back to try and help Awsha” she told him, though in a small voice.

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Baron almost allowed a laugh at that, though it was yet to be determined if he’d ever laughed once during his long life at all “and when did you two become such good friends again? She’s hardly been chatty this last past year” he returned with the same smugness Taylor had displayed earlier, however momentarily.

“I was hoping that the other Princes would have killed you and she would have survived somehow; and then we would both be free again” she admitted in a small voice, eyes down “and I owed Haven.”

“I’m sorry, what was that last part?” he asked in a near hiss.

“I asked him to kill Theo. And he apparently did. So I was going to try and save his childe, if I even could” she made the further confession now that the mental bond he had forced on her gave her no choice but to be completely honest with Baron, despite the very real hatred she still held for him.

“You were going to try to save Awsha?” he asked her in a mocking tone.

“If you were dead or hurt bad enough, then I thought I had to at least give it a try” she admitted in the same soft voice.

Baron scoffed again as he looked toward the closed door in the corner of the room “Oh Awsha, could you please come out here and tell Taylor whether or not you need saving?”

Taylor swallowed hard as her eyes turned to the door as Awsha stepped out, looking decidedly less catatonic than she had been the last time Taylor’s blue eyes had fallen on her. That was when Awsha moved across the room to offer her answer.

“Oh I’m not the one that needs saving anymore” Awsha stated with a coldness that nearly matched Baron’s “that would be the sire who just tried to murder me.”

TO BE CONTINUED...

IN BOOK 3:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/42253/ravyns-nights-book-3