Hot Blooded

blame
his injuries on an invented attack dog. Grace had altered Deborah's memories
until she believed Childers had threatened to have the dog tear her apart. While
he was tormenting the animal to work it into a frenzy, it had instead attacked
him. She remembered very little else, and Grace's and Lance's involvement not at
all. As far as Deborah was concerned, they'd never even been there.
    They watched through the upstairs window as she ran next door to call police,
eyes wild and clothes torn. "At least my psychic surgery worked," Grace said.
"She remembers only the bare minimum about what happened." She rolled her
shoulders restlessly. "We'd better get out of here. Every cop in Tayanita County
will be here in about two minutes."
    "Better transport us to the Mageverse," Lance said. "We've got to deal with
Morgana next."
    She rolled her eyes. "Must we?"
    "I'd say so," Lance said grimly. "Particularly since we Truebonded without
the Council's permission. Even though I was following orders when I Gifted you,
they tend to get touchy about that kind of thing."
    Grace winced. "Good point." Sighing, she reached for the shifting swirl of
energy she could feel dancing just out of sight. "Let's get this over with. I
need to come back and put in my resignation to the Sheriff's Office."
    He looked at her. She actually heard his thought.
Are you sure about that
?
    Oh yeah
. She grinned at him.
I've had a better offer
.
    Â 
    TRANSPORTING herself and Lance to the Mageverse damn near drained Grace of
everything she had left. When the spell faded, she saw it had brought them to
her grandmother just as she'd intended.
    What she hadn't expected was to find Guinevere and Arthur in Morgana's office
when they arrived. Evidently, she realized giddily, they were all sharing a
friendly drink.
    "Hi, Grandma," Grace said, and felt her knees buckle.
    Lance caught her before she could fall and eased her into a chair. She looked
up at him and tumbled into the rich, heated sherry of his gaze. She could feel
his love wrapping around her like a shimmering cloak.
    When they finally tore free of each other and looked around, it was to find
themselves the focus of three sets of speculative eyes. "Well," Morgana said.
"You did Gift her, didn't you?"
    "And rather more than that," Guinevere added, lifting a brow. "Unless I miss
my guess, they're Truebonded."
    Arthur's eyes widened with surprise. He barked out a laugh, the sound short
and a little nasty. "Well, well. The Seducer of Avalon has been gelded at last."
    Beside Grace, Lance stiffened. In his memory, she could see all the little
digs the king had inflicted over the years. Suddenly she felt her exhaustion
wash away on a swelling tide of anger. "Oh, believe me—he's far from gelded,"
Grace said, managing a sensual purr despite her exhaustion.
    Arthur made a dismissive gesture. "No offense meant, my child. I simply meant
that husbands the world over may at last rest easy."
    "Okay, that's it." Grace shot to her feet. From the corner of her eye, she
saw crackles of Mageverse energy gather around her. She could feel herself
drawing on their power as she took a warning step toward Camelot's royal
vampire. "This shit is coming to an end right now."
    Arthur's eyes widened in offended astonishment. "What?"
    "You heard me," she snapped. Through the link, she could sense Lancelot's
amused approval. "We all know exactly what happened sixteen hundred years ago,
and we all know it's over. It's time for you to drop it."
    "You insolent little chit," Arthur said in a low, deadly voice that made the
hair rise on the back of her neck. "How dare you address
me
in that
tone?"
    Oh, God, what am I doing
? a small voice wailed in Grace's mind. She
ignored it. "I'm not a chit, Arthur. I'm a cop. And I've been dealing with
bullies long enough to know one when I see one."
    That storied Pendragon temper exploded. Arthur took a single step forward—
    Right into Lance's swinging fist. Blood spurting from his nose, the Liege of
the Magi's Council fell on his royal ass.
    "If you ever threaten my Bonded again, I'll call you out," Lancelot said, the
words all the more chilling for their cold control. "And don't think I won't
kill you."
    "Arthur!" Guinevere swept around Grace and ran to her husband. She crouched
beside him, examining his bloody face. "Oh, Lance, you broke his nose."
    "Get me Excalibur," Arthur snarled.
    "Don't be an ass, darling," she told him tartly, slapping