"Get out of here, you useless sow!" The escort gave Meryn a not so gentle shove.

Without even thinking, Eva turned her body and roundhouse kicked the man square in the chest. The force of her kick flung him back into the tunnel. It took a moment for him to catch his breath, and then he was hovering in mid-air.

"Stupid bitch! Vampires can fly."

Ryuu snapped his fingers. The escort's body jerked as blue light danced across his body; he froze and then plummeted down the tunnel. "They can also fall." Ryuu sniffed in disdain. He turned to Meryn. "Denka, are you hurt?"

"I'm okay." Meryn answered before staring up at her with a look of child-like wonder on her face. "That was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life," she said in whispered awe.

Eva shrugged. "You're still young."

Micah turned to her. "How did you know there was a net at the bottom of the tunnel?"

Eva looked at him in surprise. "There's a net?"

Micah held out his arm. "My unit leader is the luckiest bastard I know. My glorious warrior goddess, may I escort you down to Level One?"

She placed a hand on his arm. "Yes, thank you."

They watched as Meryn leaned over the edge of the tunnel. "This. Is. Sparta! Bitch!!" She did a small victory jig and then allowed Ryuu to escort her down.

Maybe staying in a vampire city would be more fun than she thought.

CHAPTER FIVE

Eva walked through the opened door behind Meryn.

The handsome man who held the door open for them grimaced at the litany of curse words coming from the net below them. "Is everything okay? I am appalled that you would be exposed to such harsh language, little one." He quickly closed the heavy door, blocking out all sound from the hallway. Eva held her tongue. She had already heard some colorful language from the "little one".

"Sebastian, this is Eva Mae Miller. She is my person and Adriel's mate. She'll be joining us for lunch. Eva, this is Sebastian, Magnus' squire."

Sebastian's face brightened. "I have always believed the more the merrier. Congratulations on finding your mate. I must say, I am so glad our young Adriel found you; he was ever so worried."

"She is amazing! She kicked that asshole escort right in the chest, then POW! He flew backward at least fifty feet. Then Ryuu froze his ass, and he dropped like a rock. It was awesome! That's what he gets for calling me a cow."

Sebastian's eyes gleamed dangerously at the escort's words for a moment, but it disappeared when he turned and beamed at Eva. "Strong and lovely, was there ever a more intoxicating combination? Welcome to Noctem Falls dear. I hope that you will not encounter any more unpleasantness."

Eva felt her face flush then marveled that this man had caused her to do so. She was over five hundred years old, had owned a saloon during the Wild West then a bar for over one hundred and fifty years. Not much on this earth could make her blush; yet his sincere praise had blood rushing to her cheeks. "He only flew about fifteen feet, Meryn," she corrected.

"Whatever!" Meryn flung herself into a recliner that looked like it had been designed for someone twice her size. She reached down to the floor on one side and pulled out her laptop, which was connected to the wall by a long cord. She looked at Sebastian and stuck out her lower lip. "May I please have some pudding before lunch Sebastian? I think the baby is hungry."

Eva watched as the squire melted on the spot. "Of course darling, I will be right back." He hurried away.

Eva sat down close to Meryn on one of the many sofas. "Shameless hussy," she admonished.

Meryn shrugged. "For his pudding, I have no shame."

Micah sat down on the sofa opposite Meryn. "I get to spend time with two gorgeous women and partake of Sebastian's pudding; I must have done something right in a previous life." He leaned back getting comfortable.

Eva looked around. She had never been anywhere so opulent. She was beginning to feel her humble Texas roots. "I understand why Magnus has a squire, he's the prince around here. Why do you have one?"

Meryn tapped away on her keyboard while Ryuu busied himself at the sideboard making tea. "Because Aiden's mom said I needed one."

"Why?" Eva was quickly learning if you wanted a direct answer from Meryn, you had to ask a direct question.

"Because one day he's going to be the shifter elder, and I'll be Lady McKenzie. I'm kinda hoping that never happens; I don't really think I'm cut out for charity meetings and sewing circles."

"That sounds ghastly," Eva shuddered. No one back home had squires. Even the local get-togethers were casual.

"Thank you! Finally! I'd rather get bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails than attend a high society charity luncheon. It would be less painful to siphon off funds from some unethical corporations and donate that, than rub elbows with a bunch of uppity assholes."

Eva stared at the small woman. "I really do like you." It was true. Meryn's honesty and view of the paranormal world was refreshing.

"I think I'm going to like you too, my person."

"Are you really going to keep calling me that?"

"If it's not broke... Anyway, y'all got attacked by ferals, huh? That sucks." Meryn stopped tapping, stared at her screen, and then resumed pecking away.

Eva just gave her a droll look.

Meryn turned when she didn't answer. "What?"