Viktor, lifted his gaze to Rafael.
"What protocol do you have?" Viktor asked quietly. "How are you going to receive the Vampire King?"
Rafael met his eyes without hesitation. "There is no exact protocol for a situation like this," he said. "It's never really been done leadership of one faction moving into the territory of another." He paused, then added, more firmly, "But I will receive him. It's courtesy. The situation demands it."
Viktor waited.
"I'll place him in a wing near yours," Rafael continued. "In the room next to yours."
Viktor exhaled, a slow, tired sigh. "All this sneaking around we're doing," he said. "The loop between us it ends the moment the King arrives. We won't be able to have this between usfreely while he's here."
Rafael didn't interrupt.
"He's insanely perceptive," Viktor went on. "Devious. Conniving. No amount of hiding will be enough. He's more perceptive than Belmore. Much more."
Rafael nodded once, grim. "So then how?" he asked. "What do we do?"
