5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Martina

I waited impatiently in my place behind a large, spreading tree trunk, cloaked in Sanka's illusion spell. We had arrived at the fae preserve before darkness fully fell, and had been waiting ever since for the vampire queen to arrive so we could use her to get into the pocket world.

I rolled my neck and eased the ache from my shoulders, shifting on my feet to keep my blood flowing. There was a chill in the air, and a tang to the breeze that said we might be in for an early snow. Not unusual for Michigan, but still unwelcome at the moment. With the wild fae magic in the area, and the fluctuations from the pocket world that was anchored here, it really wasn't a surprise that the weather was unpredictable.

We were all decked out in winter gear—Sanka's idea, since the sorcerer predicted that the current weather in the pocket world might be a magnification of what was going on out here. As much as I loathed to admit it, he was usually right about these things. He might act like an idiot sometimes, but Sanka was an extremely talented sorcerer. I glanced around the clearing for the hundredth time, going through the list of backup weapons we had brought, ensuring that everyone was where they should be, and making sure nothing seemed out of place.

My gaze lingered on Ruya, and I wondered yet again if it was wise for her to be here. Not that anyone was ever going to tell our witch no . But although she had very strong and useful magical abilities, she wasn't a fighter. She didn't have a sorcerer's magic, or the strength and resilience of the other paranorms. She also wasn't hardy against the cold and the elements. This long wait had to be wearing on her. Then again, she was currently glued to Robin's side, our alpha refusing to let her get more than arm's length away until she absolutely had to. The dragon constantly put out extra body heat, so Ru probably wasn't in any danger of freezing to death, at least.

For her part, Ruya didn't complain, and she didn't let an ounce of discomfort show in her posture and her bearing as we waited. She really was well-trained by that fucking cult of hers to endure unpleasantness. She simply stood there looking regal and unbothered as darkness fell around us.

When the full moon had climbed halfway to its zenith, the low purr of a car finally reached my ears. The others heard it as well, and we readied ourselves for the ambush. The Bitch Queen and the slimy emperor surely had magic in place to detect interlopers, but Sanka said we would remain undetected until we decided to show ourselves. And I had long ago learned that if Sanka said his magic was better than someone else's, it wasn't just shallow bragging. There was a good reason the syndicate had wanted to get their hands on our sorcerer.

A shiny, too-clean black jeep slowly trundled through the small clearing where the emperor's pocket world was anchored. It stopped and half a dozen vampire guards flowed out of the vehicle and checked the area for threats. They moved like shadows in the darkness, visible only thanks to the bright moon overhead and my sharp chupacabra eyes. Acacia's elite protectors. I tensed, waiting for chaos. But no one sounded the alarm. Sanka flawlessly kept us hidden from the vampires' senses—magical and mundane.

At some silent signal, Queen Acacia climbed down out of her all-terrain chariot and straightened her ostentatious dress—a long, flowing black thing with lace and seed pearls everywhere that looked like a set piece from a human vampire movie. I rolled my eyes in silent disdain. It was fitting, I supposed; the little bitch was a consummate actress, after all. All of her twisted darkness was usually hidden under her doll-like features and her wide-eyed innocent act. And who knew, maybe the emperor got off on the whole gothy vampire seductress act.

Waving a hand at her guard dogs, Acacia moved forward, a swirling glow appearing before her as the portal to the pocket world began to open—probably keyed to her aura and her DNA. That was our signal to move out.

The guards went down easily. I shot one through the heart with my gun, then severed his head with a long knife specially made for the job, just to be sure he stayed down. My fangs ached at the scent of blood, but I would starve to death before I ever fed from a damned vampire.

Sanka burned his opponent to ash with a demonic blast of fire that lit up the clearing. Yukio dropped from above to startle another vampire, before freezing the man's blood in his veins. Robin neatly dispatched two of the guards with her claws, her speed easily matching that of the vampires. Sadavir went after the remaining guard as if he had a personal vendetta against the woman. I watched in surprise as he stabbed her, yanked her close and sank his glistening fangs into her neck. Then he dropped her to convulse on the ground as naga venom sped through her body faster than her vampire healing could burn it off. I had no sympathy for the vampire. If Sadavir was reacting that way, it was probably for good reason. She probably had a hand in his torture. Or the torture of someone he cared about. I recognized that particular rage all too well.

I wasn't sure what Ruya would think if she'd see her boyfriend's viciousness, though. She had weakly argued against slaughter when we discussed our ambush plans. But even our most soft-hearted court member had to admit that the vamps closest to Acacia were just as evil as their mistress. And we couldn't risk them coming after us while we delt with the emperor, the way they no doubt would if we left them here wounded or unconscious. Besides, this meant less loose ends to tie up. Less people to blab about who was behind the emperor's assassination.

Acacia, coward that she was, tried to dash through the portal while we dispatched her guards, but Dusek was there to intercept her, his towering, skeletal bubak form on full, awful display. Only my constant exposure to him over the years allowed me to keep my own fear response in check. Acacia stumbled to a halt and shuddered as terror overcame her, letting out a low, keening noise that was music to my ears. I wasn't usually one to play games. I believed in quick, efficient kills. But I had watched first her predecessor, then Acacia torture, and terrorize more people than I could count. Me, included. I was hungry for her suffering.

We closed ranks around the vampire queen, Robin stepping forward while Ruya and Cicely stayed back behind the rest of us, where they would be in less danger since they weren't our strongest fighters. "Release her, Dusek," Robin said evenly, a fiery gleam in her golden eyes.

Dusek folded himself back into his human shape and pulled in most of his terrifying aura, releasing Acacia from his hold. The vampire immediately spun to look around her, her fangs bared, and her long nails curled like talons.

"You!" she hissed. "I knew you weren't nearly as innocent as you pretend to be, and now I have proof. Call off your pathetic little court, or you will all regret that you were ever born." She lifted her chin, trying for haughty command. "I am the emperor's favorite. If you harm me, he'll hunt you down like the vermin you are."

Robin simply arched a brow at her. "Considering how quickly my 'pathetic little court' just eliminated your elite guards, I think we both know you are in no position to make demands." Then she smiled, slow and wicked, her husky voice taking on the hint of a purr. "And the emperor can't avenge you if he's dead."

Acacia scoffed. "You think you can kill the emperor of the paranormal syndicate? You? A misbegotten nobody leading a bunch of useless unaligned freaks? Laughable."

She glanced around the circle of people who had boxed her in, her expression dismissive and unconcerned. But it was obvious she was just acting. Any idiot could sense the powerful auras of our court members. She had to know she was in real danger. Even she couldn't be that stupid.

Then her gaze caught on Sadavir, who stood beside me. Rage filled her features, and she lost what was left of her tiny, corrupted little mind. As predicted . "You!" she screeched out, her entire being radiating outrage. Her unconcerned act fled her in an instant. She flew at the naga like a woman possessed.

Everyone tensed, but no one moved to stop the deranged vampire queen as she barreled into Sadavir. She wrapped her legs around his torso, dug her long nails into the defined muscles of his upper arms, and sank her fangs into his neck. He stumbled back a step and grunted but didn't stop her.

We all patiently waited as the idiot vampire played right into Robin's hands by proving her unnatural obsession with her escaped naga slave. It took only a moment or so before Acacia lifted her head, her gaze unfocused. "What?" she breathed. Then she shuddered. Her eyes dropped closed, and she went limp.

Sadavir made no attempt to catch her as she fell, and we all watched as she hit the ground, her head bouncing off a nice-sized rock. I was tempted to start clapping.

Even after all this time, Robin's ability to predict other people's actions was still awe-inspiring. I looked down at Acacia's crumpled body and gave it a good, solid, rib-cracking kick. "Mangey bitch," I muttered under my breath.

I glanced up to find everyone watching me with various expressions of amusement or shock. "What?" I asked with a shrug. "Just making sure she's not faking it."

Yukio shook his head at me, but one corner of his lip twitched in wry amusement. Maybe commiseration. If it were the fae king here at our mercy, I was pretty sure he'd do more than kick the bastard. "The spell worked fine. Just like last time," he assured me dryly.

Robin considered Acacia's prone form for a moment, head cocked to the side. "And you're sure she won't remember what happened? She won't recall it was us?"

Yukio shrugged. "No guarantees, but that's how it worked last time Ruya used the chocolates. It should be the same now."

Our leader nodded in satisfaction. "Sanka?" she said, gesturing at the fallen vampire queen. "Take care of that, will you, love?"

Ruya pushed forward and put a hand on Robin's arm. And though she didn't speak, Robin sighed and patted her hand. "Don't worry, my soft-hearted darling. She lives. For now."

Ru didn't respond. I wasn't sure what there was to say, really. I knew she didn't want Robin to go crazy murdering innocents while we took apart the syndicate. But Acacia was hardly an innocent. She deserved to die. Slowly. But in lieu of that, we'd at least annoy the fuck out of her.

Robin had plans for the vampire queen. So instead of killing the monster, we used her body to get us through the portal, then Sanka happily chucked her into a deep snow drift and left her to wake up dazed and disoriented the next day. Hopefully with massive frostbite that would take her ages to heal.

I may have kicked her again on my way by just for good measure.

Ruya must have heard the thud. She turned her head toward me and sighed. "Martina. Does that really help?"

I huffed a laugh. "Yes." And honestly, it did. A little. Those people who said revenge didn't serve a purpose had clearly never tried giving one of their torturers a few good kicks. It was incredibly healing. It would be even more healing if I could rip her stupid head off and set her rotten corpse on fire. But I'd take what I could get.

I was surprised when Ru just grinned back at me. "Good. I'll try it if I ever run into The Mother again." She narrowed her eyes. "I think I'd rather like to introduce her to the business end of a baseball bat."

Ah, I loved this newly confident and self-assured Ruya. I quickly leaned in and stole a kiss. "Knives work too," I told her seriously.

She just laughed. I knew that despite her joking, she would never be that bloodthirsty. But that's what she had her mates in the rebel court for. If we ever encountered her tormentor again, she'd have to get in line to get a shot in. There probably wouldn't be much left after we all had a go.

I squeezed her gloved hand and forced myself to focus on the mission at hand. Time to go end the emperor's reign of selfishness and stupidity.

Not that I believed for one second that it was going to be that easy.