1. Damien

I'm kneelingover Viktor's ashes in the downtown hotel we ambushed him in, when a wave of panic crashes over me.

But it's not mine.

It's hers.

Amber.

Something's happening. I don't know what that something is, but it's big. Bigger than when Lucas attacked her in his apartment. I can feel it through the duskberry bond.

Another surge of her fear slams into me, intense enough to make my heart race.

And then, realization.

Because the duskberry bond only travels so far.

Which means she's close. Very close.

She followed me. I explicitly told her to stay at the Fairmont, and she disobeyed me.

Stupid, impulsive girl.

But for now, I rein in my anger, pull out my phone, and call her.

I'm sent straight to voicemail. Wherever Amber is, her phone must be set to do not disturb. Assuming her phone hasn't been destroyed entirely. In which case…

There are a lot of reasons why her phone could have been destroyed. And I know she's not dead. The duskberry bond would break if she were. Which means she's alive. Panicked, but alive.

I try again, and again, and I'm sent to voicemail each time. I try one more time, hoping the past few times have been flukes, but still, nothing.

"Amber. Call me back," I say, and I end the call, glaring at the phone in disbelief.

As I continue to stare at the screen, the panic coming through the duskberry bond transforms into a strange sort of relaxation. As if Amber's at peace—maybe even happy.

And then, nothing.

She closed off the bond. Tracking her down now will be impossible.

At the realization, everything freezes around me, and all I can see is the pile of Viktor's ashes before me. All I can feel is the darkness creeping in, the anger, the betrayal, and his mocking laughter as he tried to tear down everything I stood for. As he questioned my bond with Amber, my leadership, and my very identity.

But the dagger that cut deepest wasn't his physical blade—the one that's a twin to mine. It was his voice, whispering doubt, feeding the suspicion that Amber's loyalty was never mine to claim.

She only stays with you because you're keeping her prisoner in the city. She sees you—all of us—as monsters. Do you truly think she won't turn on you the moment she gets a chance? That she'll ever actually love you?

His words were like daggers to my heart.

They still are.

Mostly because they were based on truth. I am keeping Amber in the city against her will. The duskberry bond doesn't just connect our emotions. It also keeps her within the walls of Manhattan.

But I thought we were growing to care for each other. Maybe even love each other.

However, the duskberry bond wouldn't lie. Amber left the Fairmont and put herself in danger. She betrayed me.

How much must she hate me to want to leave the place where I'm keeping her safe—to put herself in grave danger to do so? To make herself vulnerable to the shadow souls? The very creatures who can sense her presence, hunt her down, and feed on her soul until there's nothing left?

I grip the Astral Compass tighter, as if somehow, it can ground me. As if its cold metal surface can freeze my skin, my heart, and my soul.

When I finally look up, I see Maria, one of the Guardian shifters in the city, on the bed next to Eliza, the human girl who helped us track down Viktor. Eliza's pale from blood loss—Viktor took more from her than anticipated.

Maria's watching me, as if she's bracing for an attack.

"Why are you just sitting there?" I snap at Maria, gesturing to Eliza. "Shouldn't you be tending to her? Making sure she's not dying?"

Eliza flinches at my outburst.

Maria remains calm, her expression neutral as she shifts her attention to the frail human girl beside her. "She's fine, Damien," she says. "The juice helped. She's recovering."

Eliza drinks more juice with trembling hands, her eyes darting between Maria and me. She's scared—of me, of the situation, of everything.

She should be.

I am, as Viktor pointed out, a monster.

And Eliza's blood that soaked into the sheets while Viktor was drinking from her smells delicious.

My breaths quicken as its scent fills my nose, my base instincts wrapping around me like a hand in the darkness. It's like her blood is hypnotizing me, taunting me, teasing me.

A little taste never hurt anyone…

No, I think, snapping myself out of it. She's already weak from blood loss. Anything more is too risky. Especially in front of a Guardian.

I will not risk myself, my alliance, and my kingdom. Not for a simple human girl.

I've come too far to give in now.

"Take her back to the brownstone," I tell Maria. "I'll send someone to retrieve her tomorrow and bring her to her new home at the Fairmont."

Maria tilts her head in concern. "Are you sure…?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I snap again, which shuts her up immediately. "There's something else I need to do here. And I can't have a weak human tagging along while I do it."

"Understood," Maria says. "Although, I can't leave with her just yet. She needs more time to regain her strength after the blood loss."

"Then I trust you to stay with her until she's ready, and to ensure she arrives safely at the brownstone."

"Will do," she replies.

"Thank you." I take Viktor's dagger from the ground, pocket it and the Astral Compass, and hurry out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me.

I am, after all, a predator. Predators never alert their prey to their presence—until it's too late.

I only have to walk a block before turning onto Tenth Avenue—the street that lines the Hudson River. It's quiet at this late hour.

Dangerous.

Anger pulses through my veins as I make my way in the darkness, mixed with an insatiable hunger—a primal need to feed.

The night's events have left me raw, every nerve frayed, my mind a tangle of fury and doubt.

The duskberry bond, now silent, feels like a mockery of the lengths I've gone to keep Amber safe. Either she closed it to me, or she's dead. Both possibilities fuel the fire of my raging emotions, making the hunger inside me coil like a spring ready to release.

I turn the corner and spot a lone figure walking in the distance.

A human man, unaware of the dangers that lurk in the shadows. He's walking with his head down, earbuds in, absorbed in his own world.

They're all so careless nowadays. They think their technology makes them invincible.

In reality, it just makes them more vulnerable than ever before.

The hunger grows, a gnawing beast in my gut. The memory of Eliza's blood soaking the sheets teases me. I can almost taste the warm rush of blood waiting for me in that human's neck.

I close the distance in seconds, grabbing him from behind and dragging him into the shadows of the empty street.

He struggles and tries to scream, but I cover his mouth with my hand. The fear in his eyes is intoxicating. It only serves to adds to the thrill of the chase.

I bite into his neck without hesitation.

The rush of blood is immediate, filling my mouth with its warm, metallic tang. With it comes calmness and power—the assurance of my place on the top of the food chain. A place where betrayal doesn't matter, where love doesn't matter, and where humanity doesn't matter.

A place where I'm in control.

His body goes limp, his struggles weakening with each passing second.

I should stop. Pull back before I pass the point of no return.

But the hunger is a monster, relentless and unforgiving. It wants me to consume and consume until there's nothing left but emptiness.

I have to stop, I think, although I still continue to drink. I can't afford to be hunted by the Guardians, especially given that our alliance is stronger than ever. And I can't afford to let my kingdom down. Not when I've worked so hard and so long for everything I've built.

With those final thoughts, I release the man, letting him slump to the ground.

He's unconscious, his breathing shallow. But he'll live.

My anger is still there, simmering beneath the surface. But with my bloodlust satiated, I'm able to focus on finding Amber.

I can't let my rage consume me. Not when there's so much at stake. Not when her life might be at stake. She can think whatever she wants about me—that I'm a monster locking her in a cage—but I'm going to make sure she's here and able to think at all.

Even though, after the events of tonight—after being forced to kill Viktor—I'm no longer the man she thought she knew.

The man who she pretended to love.

And I won't be fooled by her trickery ever again.