Chapter 14

She had no intention of sleeping in a house full of vampires, but apparently even sitting on the edge of the bed wrapped in a towel was enough to tell her body it was safe. She woke to a dark room, curled up in the fluffy towel with an embroidered Home Is Where the Heart Is pillow under her cheek. Her muscles were stiff, her mouth sticky as she sat bolt upright to take in her surroundings.

Instinctively, she reached for the gun on the nightstand, felt the assurance of that hard outline beneath her palm, then looked for her phone. Turning it over, she found it was nine-thirty. The room was nearly pitch-black, making her feel disoriented and disconnected from the outside world. She switched on the lamp, casting the strangers' bedroom in low, warm light.

The whole house smelled of vampires, but this room…it smelled of Julian. How in the hell had she gone from envisioning his face with every practice blow to envisioning his lips on hers? Last night she'd nearly kissed him, so entranced was she with the shape of his lips as he talked. Surely this was just her brain's way of trying to grasp a chaotic, incomprehensible situation.

Deep down, she was beginning to believe him. There were so many little things that didn't make sense, so many little compromises and lapses of integrity that Tante Mina justified. And didn't something in her already know that there was nothing waiting for her once she'd taken down Julian Alcott? That was why Mina couldn't tell her what they'd do, why she couldn't see herself living past that moment. Something in her knew this would be the end.

A shiver gripped her, and she picked up her clothes. They weren't too dirty to wear, but she hated the thought of putting on underwear she'd already worn. She checked the closet in the bedroom, but there were no clothes, just a few small stacks of sheets and towels.

Still wrapped in the fluffy towel, she crept out of the master bedroom and down the hall. Following her nose, she found a laundry room downstairs. A single bottle held the dregs of bright blue detergent, so she tossed her clothes in and started the cycle.

His scent hit her right as she heard his foot across the tile. Gasping, she turned around to see Julian standing in the doorway. He'd shed his leather jacket and sweater. The black t-shirt clung to a broad chest and massive biceps.

Just like my dreams, she thought as her cheeks went hot.

His eyes drifted down, then snapped back up to her face. She curled her hand tighter around the folded towel at her chest. "What are you doing up?" she asked in a pinched voice.

"I…" He chuckled. "I was concerned you might get up and leave during the day, and I was hoping to convince you otherwise."

She let out a nervous laugh. "I was considering it. I was concerned one of you might drug me in my sleep."

"That's fair enough," he said. He looked away. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay. I don't think having clothes on would make me all that much more at ease," she said with a laugh. "You can go back to sleep. I don't plan to run, at least until I have clean panties."

His eyes snapped open, and she could see the Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he swallowed hard. What was he thinking about? And why did it delight her to think he might have something much less innocent on his mind?

"I'll give you your privacy," he said, ducking out of the door quickly.

"Wait," she said. "I need to stay up long enough to put them in the dryer."

His brow arched, and then he nodded. "Sure. We're going to meet Jonas Wynn at noon."

Heart thrumming, she followed him through the living room and up the stairs, back to the bedroom where she'd slept. He crept past the bed and opened one of the curtains. Instead of hissing as his skin burned, he just winced at the light.

"The sun doesn't bother you?" she marveled.

"The windows are all treated with UV-blocking film," he said, closing them again. "The woman who used to live here was turned into a vampire unexpectedly, so her mate—her partner made the house sunproof so she could stay here."

"Her mate?"

He nodded. "Not important right now. Can I ask you what your life has been like? Were you always with Armina, or…?"

She nodded. "She was always with me, as far as I remember. She told me when I was little that she was my aunt, and that my parents had died in an accident. When I was seventeen, she told me that vampires were real, and that one had killed my parents. You, or so she said."

Shifting away from her, he winced. "Did you have a normal life before that?"

With a laugh, she said, "What's normal? It was just my life, and I didn't know any different at the time. But I suppose if I judge it by the movies, then no. I went to a very small private school through fifth grade, and then went to boarding school until I graduated. When I was home, she made me keep a strict schedule and insisted that I learn self-defense and martial arts very young. I think I was ten or eleven the first time Kova put me in a chokehold." Noting the flicker of anger on Julian's face, she put up her hands. "Not to hurt me. To teach me."

He relaxed, shifting to sit on the bed. With his legs crossed casually, he looked far more human. Like a normal man sitting to have a conversation.

With her nearly naked.

No big deal.

"When did she teach you to hunt vampires?" he asked.

"I'd been home from boarding school a few days when she told me the truth. I knew vampires existed before that, but not what they had to do with my family. She said she'd wanted to wait until I was old enough, and when she told me how you'd killed my mother and father, I was all in. I'd been training so much with Kova over the years that it wasn't much of a change to add in sharper weapons and aim for the neck," she said. "I started working with the Shieldsmen when I was twenty, although there were long periods when I didn't hunt because there was simply nothing to do."

"With Jonas Wynn?"

She shook her head. "I only hunted with Jonas once or twice before coming here. There's another team that works mostly—" She caught herself, then smiled. "I probably shouldn't tell you. There are a couple of dhampir hunters that work together for big hunts. They were here in Atlanta, too, but they move around. Sometimes I traveled to hunt with them."

"Do you know if the Shieldsmen are gunning for us still?" He toyed with one of the pillows, twining fringe idly around one finger.

"I really don't know. I don't spend time with them often, except occasionally training. I stay with Armina, and she tells me when it's time to move," she said. Just like she told her everything else. It was startling to look back and think of how long she'd been under Mina's wing. How much had she missed out on? She'd been on a perfectly straight path from the day she was born, one neatly carved and laid out by Armina Voss.

"Did you ever get to do anything fun?" he asked.

"Hunting is fun," she said. "I like to be strong. I like learning."

His nose wrinkled. "I mean hobbies, not things your life depends upon. I don't know…dancing or painting or playing soccer."

Her heart thumped. "Tante Mina told me it was important to be focused on my purpose."

A purpose she hadn't chosen, one that had been dropped in her lap. And now, according to these people, one that wasn't even real.

"Tante Mina," he murmured, shaking his head.

"It means Aunt," she said.

At that, he chuckled and said, "I know. I was born in Germany. The fact that she called herself your aunt…it seems like a sick joke. But I understand your relationship with her is complicated."

She realized that she had turned a page with regard to Julian Alcott. There was the version of him that Mina had painted for her, and the version she had met, and they were two entirely different men. He was capable, strong and protective, but there was a deep sadness that hung over him like a heavy mantle. It reminded her of Kova, who had a handsome face and a nice smile that never lit up his eyes.

Her throat clamped tight, and she fiddled with the corner of her towel. "Tell me the truth about the Auberon. And your new court."

"What do you want to know?"

"Armina said you were evil. That you killed innocent people just for the fun of it, and that you were kidnapping humans here to feed on," she said.

His green eyes went red as he shook his head, betraying his anger. "Not a bit of that is true. If anything, we're probably the most boring, uptight vampire court in existence," he said with a bitter laugh. "At least by vampire standards."

"How so?"

"Ever since Eduardo Alazan became our Elder, the Auberon had rules about limiting our kills. For him it wasn't necessarily that he wanted to protect humans, but he thought it was wasteful and needlessly messy. I won't lie to you and say that we—that I—have never killed a human. I killed my fair share of vampire hunters, but I've never killed someone just for fun, and with the exception of when we've gone to war, I've never fed on someone who didn't consent," he said.

"That's not the way the Shieldsmen tell it. They say that you were all monsters," she said.

"Of course they say that," he scoffed. "Doesn't it make it easier to hunt us down? If you have to wonder about our morals and consider a thousand shades of nuance, it's much harder to send impressionable young men and women out to die for the cause. Because some vampires are monsters, they paint us all that way. By their reasoning, I should kill all humans, who are capable of just as much evil."

Her throat tightened. "Yeah."

"We even tried to make peace with them," Julian said. "They knew that we had strict rules about not killing humans. We had our own circle of veravin even then, so we weren't feeding on anyone who didn't consent. It didn't matter. We eventually gave up on peace, but it was only because the Shieldsmen spat in our faces again and again."

"So you hunted them down," she said. She hadn't meant to make it an accusation, but a cold cast shifted across his handsome face.

With a shrug, he said, "They were hunting us in the streets, attacking our homes in broad daylight, luring us into traps… I hate bloodshed and war, but at some point you have to defend yourself. And in doing so, the Shieldsmen dug further into their beliefs. We struck back and proved that we were bloodthirsty monsters. There was no winning solution, only two bad ones.Ironically, your witch's pet, Carrigan Shea, is the one whose people were kidnapping humans and taking them to a blood farm. He turned Kristina Arensberg into a vampire against her will and made her drink. And it seems as though Armina was playing him from behind the scenes with her apprentice."

Scarlett's stomach churned at the realization. "I don't know what to think of her anymore. I hear your stories, and I can believe that it's true. But she's also the person who taught me to read and ate breakfast with me every day and…" Her eyes welled over. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry for your emotions," he said, brushing his hand over hers. Lightning sparked up her arm, and her chest filled with warmth from that tiny touch. She lifted her eyes to meet his and found his gaze ruby-red and full of hunger.

Not hunger.

Desire.

His nostrils flared, and his pupils dilated, spreading rich midnight black against the silken crimson of his irises. "Do you want me to leave?" he asked, his voice rough. His fingers inched toward hers, inch by inch.

She shook her head silently. "I don't know what I want."

A faint smile.

"Is that entirely true?" His throat worked again, and then he said, "Tell me what you want from me. Tell me to leave, or tell me whatever you want. It's daylight, and the rest of our world is asleep."

She should tell him to leave. Politely, but firmly. Get out and take all those confusing ideas and tantalizing scents with you while you're at it, she thought. But all she could think of was his hands, the way they skimmed over her skin in her dreams.

Her voice wavered as she said, "I want you to touch me."

His eyes widened, and he slowly slid his hand over hers, tracing her fingers, outlining the veins that branched across bone. Shivers ran down her spine at the light touch, and then his hand slid up. Over her forearm, his long fingers nearly wrapping around, up the back of her arm to a curiously sensitive spot, over her shoulder. It didn't frighten her, and she wondered if there was something of that euphoric vampire venom in his touch, making her calm and relaxed instead of frightened.

"Is this all right?" he asked roughly. She nodded. One finger grazed her collarbone, so close to the curve of her breast. Then the other, pausing to touch the bullet wound before teasing away to her throat. She swallowed hard as he gently touched her, but instead of grabbing on to bite, he gently tilted up her chin, hand curled under her jaw. "Scarlett?"

"Hm?"

"You are so beautiful," he said. "Do you know that? Did anyone tell you that in all those years of training to hunt?"

She shook her head. "Not a man, at least."

He smiled, his thumb caressing her cheek. "And what do you want now?"

She stared at those ruby eyes, full of warm lust instead of threat. "Will you kiss me, please?" He leaned in, and she closed her eyes in anticipation. Even as her mind screamed what are you doing kissing a damned vampire? her body was squealing yes, finally!

Soft lips closed on hers, and a sensation of prickling warmth poured down her spine. Memories—dreams, fantasies, what was the difference—shimmered through her mind as she tasted his lips, felt the coarseness of his beard against her chin. She dared to lift her hand and touch his thick, wavy hair, twining her fingers through it. He groaned against her mouth, shifting closer.

She had only been kissed a few times in her life. In school, she'd had a classmate with whom she'd stolen away for secret kisses, though they'd both insisted they liked boys. Girls were softer, a bit sweeter to the taste. Then there was a drunken night at a bar—which had earned her a searing admonishment from Mina—with another hunter, ending in a sloppy, but exhilarating makeout session.She liked the hard muscles beneath his clothes, the roughness of his stubble against her neck.

But this was something entirely different. Julian's touch felt intense and demanding, even as light as it was. It felt natural, as easy as running through the woods. Her body knew what to do, like she'd kissed him a thousand times before. She sank into it, eyes closed as the sensation swirled around her.

Pain pricked at her lip, and she gasped, pulling away to touch her lower lip. He sat back, eyes wide with horror as his tongue darted over his teeth. "God, I'm so sorry," he muttered. "I haven't…"

She caught the drop with her finger and smiled. "It's okay."

He rose, and she couldn't help noticing the bulge at the front of his pants. There must have been vampire venom in her system now, because she didn't want him to leave. She wanted to satisfy her fascination, to find out how real those dreams could be.

But he nodded to her, apparently unashamed. "If I stay, I will be tempted to do far more, and I want you to trust me. The others will be up by eleven to escort you downtown to meet Jonas."

"Okay," she squeaked out.

And then he left her, bewildered and flustered. She closed the door, cheeks flushed as she paced. What the hell was she thinking? There was an insistent pulse between her legs, and at least she had an answer for that. She went into the bathroom, splashed water on her face, and started the bath to create enough noise to cover what she desperately needed.

Eyes closed, she dropped her towel and teased at herself with her fingers. Those not-memories flooded her again, and it took no effort to find Julian there between her thighs, head bowed, lips teasing at her.

Heat swelled in her belly, flooding her body, coloring her cheeks as she stroked herself. Her legs spasmed, and her hips rolled in search of something. It was no mystery what she wanted. And she lay back, forcing herself to breathe, to feel the pleasure rolling through her.

Our whole world is asleep, he'd said.

Her heart raced as she embraced it, not trying to push him out of her head. That deep voice murmured not for Brigitte, but Scarlett.

His taste still lingered on her lips, the hint of venom where his teeth had pricked her. She ran her tongue over it, and the reminder of him was enough to bring her crashing over the edge. Her back arched, and she surged forward, legs shaking as orgasm washed through her. Clenching her teeth, she held back her urge to shout.

The water had gone cold, but she just lay her head against the edge of the tub and basked in the warmth of her body, the lingering scent of him still in the room. She was playing a dangerous game, but if Tante Mina meant to kill her next week, then who gave a damn? What was the point of any of it?

Downstairs, a soft chime alerted her that the washer had finished. She calmly washed her hands, wrapped herself in her towel again, and crept downstairs to move the laundry. The house was quiet as she returned to bed. Julian's scent still lingered in the room, reminding her that the kiss was not a fleeting dream.

Still replaying that sweet memory, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

A stern male voice saying,"Olivia, slow down," woke her with a start. Scarlett sat upright and nearly burst through the door before realizing she was still wrapped only in a towel. Her dry clothes were folded neatly on the floor, making her wonder if Julian had brought them to her. After quickly dressing, she headed downstairs to find them sitting around the kitchen table.

Paris was staring intently at Julian as he paced in the kitchen, his phone held out as a tinny female voice spoke. "Someone killed Rhys!" the woman's voice blurted.

"Christ," Paris muttered. "Olivia, what happened? Are you safe?"

"It's Danielle," the voice said. "Olivia's strung out, so I offered to help her check the roster. Rhys didn't check in, but we had an alert that he'd gone to Infinity. I checked the cameras, and…" The woman let out a heavy sigh. "Someone shot him!"

Paris and Misha turned to look at Scarlett, and she shrank back. Even their neutral expressions felt like an accusation.

Julian pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Dani, is Olivia there?"

"She's in her office," Dani said. "But she's freaking out over Nikko, and this is making it worse. I'm about to put her in a chokehold and shove a Xanax down her throat."

His eyes cut to Scarlett, and the tiniest flinch made her realize he didn't trust her either. Julian nodded. "I need you to go in there and have her check all the security, and then?—"

"We already did. I made her log me in and show me how to look at everyone's profiles. Rhys's phone is still pinging at Infinity, so I'm guessing he dropped it. I woke up Shoshanna, and she confirmed there's no disturbances to her protective magic at the compound," Dani said. "Based on everything I can see, we're good here."

"That's my girl," Paris said with a faint smile.

"Good. That was the right thing to do," Julian said with a smile. "Dani, I need you to do your best to stay calm. Have you two looked at the camera feeds at Infinity?"

"Yes," Dani said.

"Can you see Rhys on any of them?"

"No," she murmured.

"Okay. Then maybe he's not dead," Julian said.

"Julian, I saw him go down. One second he was on his feet and then he collapsed. And then someone must have dragged him away. I couldn't see them, but someone was pulling him off camera. I swear to God, he was?—"

"Dani," he said sternly. "Do you remember what happened to Dominic?"

"Yes," she said quietly.

"And he's okay now. And if there's anyone that deserves a favor from a guardian angel, it's Rhys," Julian said. "He wouldn't give up on anyone in this court."

She was quiet for a while. "Okay. What should I do?"

"Go wake up Safira. She'll handle it from here," Julian said, thumbing the phone as he caught Paris's eye. "I would?—"

"Was all of this a ploy to hit Infinity again?" Paris said, ignoring the other man. "You distract us while the Shieldsmen case the place again?"

"No," Scarlett said. "I swear. I don't even know who Rhys is. I've never heard that name."

"Tell the truth," Misha said, eyes going red.

She leaned in. "I am. Don't you think if I was setting you up, they'd have hit the most powerful member of the court instead of one random vampire?"

A low growl rumbled in Paris's chest as he slammed his hand on the table. "You watch your mouth. Rhys Collins is a better man than all the fucking Shieldsmen put together." He recoiled as the lights began to flicker. His blue eyes cut to her, and she folded her arms over her chest as the air went cold and dry.

The room shuddered around her, and she held her breath. Not again.

There was a sudden click and an electric hum as the lights went out. Paris and Julian glanced at each other, then at her. "What was that?" Julian asked.

"The magic Misha saw," Scarlett said with a sigh. "I don't think it likes him yelling at me."

"For fuck's sake," Paris muttered. "I'll go check the breakers."

She caught his arm gently as he started to walk past her. "Look, if you didn't build yourselves a fancy new nightclub, then the Shieldsmen still know where it is. That's not on me. And I know you don't believe me, but I really am sorry about your friend. I hope he's okay."

"Forgive me if I don't wallow in your sincerity," Paris said. He headed into the garage, muttering in French as he threw breakers with a series of noisy clicks. "Anything?" he called.

"No," Julian called back. "Just let it go. We have bigger priorities."

Dusting off his hands, Paris strolled back into the kitchen and said, "This changes things. I want you to tell me where Armina Voss lives. Give me an address."

Her stomach churned. "Why? I said I would go with you."

"And I trust you less now than I did last night," Paris said calmly.

It was one thing to go along with their plans in the dark of night, when she was exhausted and overwhelmed. It was another to sit in the light of day and consider handing over her family to the vampires they hated most.

"If you want us to trust you, then this is a small gesture," Paris said.

"I'm not the one who needs to earn your trust," she said incredulously.

He shrugged. "Then figure out the curse on your own."

"Paris," Julian said sharply.

"This is not a game," Paris said. "I'll be the asshole so you don't have to upset her. Armina Voss is a vengeful sociopath who wants you dead. We are quite literally on a deadline, as you pointed out."

She set her jaw. "I said that I would go with you, and I will."

"That's enough," Julian said, nodding to her. "We'll take it as it comes."

"You're being a fool," Paris said. Julian didn't speak, but his eyes went bright red, and the other vampire recoiled, pressing one hand to the mark on his neck. His narrowed eyes cut to Scarlett as he said, "Get your things. We need to go."

She held back her pointed comments as the three male vampires ran through the quick splash of sunlight and piled into the borrowed SUV. She sauntered out, locked the door behind her, and climbed into the passenger seat. The dark-haired vampire in the back —Misha—wrinkled his nose, though he made no further comments about how bad she smelled.

Though she wasn't used to traveling with three vampires who were tenuously her allies, preparing for a mission had her back on more comfortable ground. She breathed deeply, already plotting her way across the hotel to get to her room. Quick in and out, easy as pie.

"Go to Infinity," Misha said suddenly. He nudged Scarlett gently. "Would you get out and try to pick up Rhys's trail?"

"We should focus—" Paris said.

"I will," Scarlett blurted. Before Julian could protest, she looked back and said, "You three will burn up. And I'm guessing you don't want any of your human allies exposed right now. I don't mind."

"We'll drive by and see if there's any sign of him first," Julian said.

Afternoon traffic zipped down the interstate in a dizzying blur. Soon, the skyscrapers and glass towers rose over the horizon.

Back to reality.

It didn't take long to reach Midtown, where traffic was dense and slow. Even in broad daylight, the sight of the dark glass edifice of Infinity sent a chill down her spine. She'd never been inside, but she'd scouted the surrounding blocks until she found her sniper perch. And when the mission went down, she'd been posted on a nearby roof to pick off the human security. Armina had reminded her before the mission that they were serving evil, which was just as bad.

Her stomach churned at the realization that she'd probably been lied to. If Julian was telling the truth, then their security were probably just normal people working for a paycheck, not co-conspirators in some blood-drinking, human-sacrificing cabal.

As they circled the block, her mind was flooded with the memory of those two black-clad guards lying perfectly still as blood pooled around them. Two perfect shots. Two lightning-fast kills, both clean deaths.

Cold sweat slicked her neck, and she drew a shaky breath to steady herself. Paris slowed as they started to approach on a second loop. "Dani said he walked out through the front doors," he said.

She craned her neck to watch the double doors.

Right where she'd dropped those two, and?—

Stop, she told herself. This was not the time for an emotional breakdown. She shoved the thoughts out of her mind, into that reeking pile of mental garbage she'd have to deal with when this temporary insanity had ended.

She tucked her hair under the I Love Atlanta cap and put up her hood to conceal her face. "Drive around the block and I'll approach from the corner," she said.

Her throat tightened as they drove another loop, and Paris pulled close to the sidewalk. She slid out, walking briskly along the sunlit sidewalk.

I could run again. I could just go.

Where the hell would she go? If they were telling the truth, Armina's magic was going to find her no matter what.

Her heart raced as terror threatened to swallow her up again, and she bit it back. If she could deal with feral Untethered vampires in the dead of night, then she could inspect a bloodstain in broad daylight.

She scanned her surroundings, eyeing the rooftop where she'd perched months ago to take her kill shots. If Jordan or Marlee had attacked here, they might have thought the same thing.

A shrill car horn pierced through her reverie, and she shrieked in surprise as a car smashed through the nearby intersection to collide with an oncoming car. Horns blared, and she looked up to see the traffic lights flashing green, then red, rapid and dizzying.

Frowning, she hurried around the corner and hoped if anyone was watching, they were distracted by the snarl of traffic. Small signs on the glass doors of the building read Private Property, but there were no security guards posted.

Right there, she thought as she stepped over a seam in the concrete. She could see where the bodies had fallen, a mere six feet from the door.

But there was a small splotch of dried brown closer to the street, and it was fresh, not a memory relentlessly haunting her. It smelled of a vampire—male—and it was still strong. She spotted more splatters, a few smeared as if something had been dragged through them. As she followed the trail, she caught a familiar scent.

"Jordan," she murmured. She recognized the distinct blend of a pine-scented soap and his dhampir blood. The trail stopped at the curb, as if he'd loaded the body—the man, she corrected herself—into his truck. The scent stopped there, and she shook her head as Paris circled again.

Without being told, she hurried around to climb into the SUV again. She let out a sigh of relief as she shut the door and they pulled back into traffic.

After quickly relaying what she'd seen, she looked back at Julian, who looked grim and haunted. "I'm hesitant to say this in a car full of vampires," she started.

"Say it," Julian said.

"I've put wooden bullets through vampire skulls," she said. "There would be a lot more blood than what I saw."

"Could have lodged in bone. No exit wound," Paris said.

"Could have been a dart instead. That's what I hit you with two days ago." She'd wanted to clear a path to get to Julian, and she wasn't overly concerned with killing his bodyguards as much as keeping them out of her way.

Bullets were far more destructive, but the shot had to be perfect. With a poison dart, any contact was good, and would drop most targets for a few minutes. Plenty of time to get in close range and lop off heads.

Julian's eyes were narrowed, still staring out the window. Something in her wanted to comfort him, to say he could be alive, but it didn't seem like her place. And alive wasn't necessarily better; Jordan might be eager to play out his revenge on any vampire he could.

Paris glanced back at Julian. "How do you want me to proceed?"

Julian's dark brows knit together. "He's one of ours. Until I see his body, treat this as if he's a prisoner. Have Olivia pull the security footage and see if we can get anything useful." He looked to Scarlett. "And if you think Jordan Cole grabbed him, then we might find him when we get to Armina's place."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Misha, could you use my blood to find him the way you found Lilah Whitlock?" Julian asked.

"Did you turn Rhys?"

"No, but he's bound to me through the Covenant," he replied. "It's a blood bond."

Misha tilted his head. "I could. It's a more complicated spell, but I'll get to work on it when we get back. It might take a few days to build."

"Make it happen," Julian said.

She was stunned at their concern over the single vampire. When Thomas Moon and Henry Marks were taken, Jack Eslinger hadn't batted an eye. There were no rescue missions. When Armina drained Oliver Marks' blood to find his uncle Henry, it was to get them to the Auberon stronghold, not to free the prisoners. That was an added bonus.

The difference was utterly damning, and she realized she would never look at the Shieldsmen the same.

Paris was still on the phone relaying instructions to their human contact, Olivia, when he pulled over to park along the street at the bottom level of the Peachtree Center, where she'd done her quick shopping trip the day before.

Per their plan, she'd walk through the mall and down to the MARTA station to meet Jonas, where they'd plan and head to the hotel. Misha would drive around the hotel and drop the other two vampires off at a side entrance so they could keep watch. If all went well, they'd clear out together in fifteen minutes or less.

If not…

Well, they'd deal with that when it came. As she got out, Paris reached between the seats and held out a little black box, identical to the one Julian had planted on her. "What's this?"

"If something happens, we can find you," he said. His head tilted. "And if you don't want to be found, then I guess you know what to do with it."

She zipped it into an inner pocket of her jacket, then startled when Misha passed her a small vial. "And this is…"

"It'll make you smell human," he said. "If someone's watching for you, you might have an easier chance of slipping past."

She glanced at Julian, who nodded to her. Opening the bottle produced a grassy, medicinal smell.

"Two drops on your tongue," he said.

She hesitated, then dropped the first onto her tongue. The acidic bite of it made her retch and cough. She gasped for air as an icy sensation washed over her. Misha snatched the bottle before she could drop it, and she leaned against the car, coughing violently.

"What's wrong?" Julian blurted.

Her spine tensed, pulling her body rigid. Shadows swam in her vision. "It doesn't taste right."

"It's the witch's magic," Misha said. His eyes were furious red, and he gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be a problem."

Her throat felt constricted, but the panic was fading. "I guess she's very protective," she said weakly. Julian's eyes met hers, full of concern. "I'm fine. Jonas will keep you posted."

His lips parted like he was going to say something else, but she closed the car door. The SUV pulled away and disappeared around the corner.

Taking a deep breath to ground herself, she jogged up the stairs and into the air-conditioned mini-mall. Frying food from half a dozen restaurants filled the air with a mélange of scents, but her stomach was still uneasy after the failed attempt at masking her scent. It unsettled her to think of the magic reacting so violently, absorbing and reflecting back anything that threatened her.

Now that she was out of his sight, out of his influence, her mind was racing. Was she really going to do this? There was still time to toss the tracker, call Tante Mina, and go home.

But could she do it? The seeds of doubt were weeds, well on their way to being full-grown trees bearing forbidden fruit. Even if she went back to Charlotte, she could never truly go back home. The familiarity of her strange little family, the warmth of the house, the certainty about all that she knew…it was all gone.

With her heart thrumming, she checked over her shoulder and hurried through the sparse lunch crowd. She closed her eyes and descended the long, dizzying escalator that led down into the MARTA station. She breathed deep, finding the familiar scent of another dhampir, this one male.

At the bottom of the escalator, she found a middle-aged, but rather fit man near the kiosk to buy train tickets. A faint smile curved his lips as he looked her over. "Scarlett," he said evenly.

"Jonas," she greeted.

"I see that you've changed teams, too," he said.

"No one said that," she said. His amber eyes flinched, but he shrugged. "Can I trust them?"

"Can you trust anyone?" he asked. "You decide. But I know that if Armina Voss is working with Carrigan Shea, she's the last ally I want."

"He turned Kristina," she said, her voice lilting.

His jaw ticked, and he nodded. "I fell for his bullshit, and he hurt my daughter. And it wasn't Armina Voss or the Shieldsmen or even me that saved her. It was Sasha, despite what I did to him. And those vampires took her in without question." Even with the distant noise of an industrial air conditioner, she heard the pounding of his heart.

It was odd to see the hidden emotion there; when she'd met the two of them, he held his daughter at a distance. Kristina was a capable hunter who'd done a ton of work behind the scenes, and it was a blow to the hunters when she was turned. No one had realized how much grunt work she was doing until she was gone.

"Jack sent Marlee and Jordan to help," she said.

Jonas just nodded. "I'm not surprised."

"Are you ready?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'll have your back." He held up his phone. "I'm sharing my location with Paris and Olivia Pierce. I'll update them that we're on the move, and again when we leave. We've got a walkie-talkie app, but we don't use it unless it's an emergency. Vampires will hear everything."

She was going to need a new phone if she wanted to keep Armina and her apprentices off her back. Together, she and Jonas went back up the towering escalator, and she tried not to think of stepping over a threshold, leaping off a cliff and taking a step she couldn't come back from.

Rising up onto street level, they walked side by side, both surveying their surroundings constantly. Now she was fixed on the mission; her target was waiting. In, out, get to safety, she reminded herself.

They hurried across the street, rounding the drive to the front doors of the hotel. A young man in a crisp blue uniform nodded to them and said, "Welcome back."

The smell of Lux and Shea still lingered in the lobby, setting her nerves on edge. There were people eating at the bar, a few lingering at the checkout desk, but no sign of one monstrous vampire or his witch puppetmaster.

"Let's move," she said to Jonas.

They hurried to the elevator, which made her nervous. Being enclosed in a glass box was less than ideal, and she shifted back and forth on the balls of her feet as they rose. Fiddling with the key card in her pocket, she burst from the elevator as it dinged to a stop on her floor. The smell of cleaning products was overwhelming, almost nauseating. It smelled like someone had dumped an entire bottle of bleach on the carpet.

She swiped her key against the door and ducked inside, urging Jonas to follow. He closed the door, folding his arms over his chest as she hurried inside to gather her things. Quickly, she stuffed her belongings into her bag, rifling through them until she found the small bracelet that allowed her to cross onto the property without triggering Armina's protective spells. She tucked it into the inner pocket of her bag, then withdrew an injector of wood poison.

Better safe than sorry.

Jonas grabbed the bag from her and said, "Let's move. We'll take the stairs down just in case." She nodded, and followed as he turned to walk out the door.

Everything happened too fast. The door opened. Jonas Wynn disappeared with a shout cut short by a meaty impact. As she ran for the door, there was a blur, then a large vampire tackling her into the room.

The smell of the old vampire was terrifying, making her instinctively recoil. As he bore her to the ground, she smacked her head against the carpeted floor. It was enough to send stars shooting across her vision, but she tried to scramble out from under him.

One thick leg filled her vision, his knee pressed to her throat. She slapped at him, then reached for her pocket. She slapped at his side with her left hand to distract him, then stabbed the needle into his thigh. He roared with pain, eyes flaring bright as he reached down to throttle her. Then he swore, hands trembling an inch from her throat. "You little bitch," he hissed.

She kicked him as hard as she could, throwing him off. It was only the advantage of daylight that let her overpower him, but she would take whatever she could get. As she ran for the door, thin black tendrils burst from the frame and tangled around her. They broke away as quickly as they formed, like Armina's magic was fighting them off, but she still couldn't get through.

Lux stepped into the doorway and said, "Sorry, sweetheart. Your aunt really wants you back." Shadow pooled around her dancing fingers, and the tendrils of magic tightened around Scarlett.

A fist slammed into her gut, and she looked down to see a needle in Lux's hand. Cold spread from the piercing wound, and the world went black.