Chapter 15

He should have known that nothing would be so easy with Armina Voss involved. He and Paris had just entered through the side doors of the hotel and watched two familiar figures rounding a walkway on an upper floor. Her red hair was easy to follow until it disappeared along a hallway.

Seconds later, two figures dressed in dark blue uniforms rounded the same corner. Julian narrowed his eyes and said, "Go upstairs. Something isn't right."

Paris nodded, taking out his phone to alert Jonas as he went. But it was already too late.

They hadn't made it halfway across the lobby when Jonas Wynn came hurtling over the railing from fifteen floors up. Julian bolted toward him, bracing himself for the impact. Daylight slowed his reflexes, but he managed to get just under Jonas and break his fall.

Unfortunately, Julian broke the dhampir hunter's fall with his back, and they both crumpled to the ground in a messy heap. Dhampir blood splattered his face, and he looked up through his pulsing vision to see Paris scaling the atrium like a cat up a tree.

Jonas tried to sit up, but he let out a pitiful moan and went flat. "Sorry," he bit out. "Got jumped."

People were coming to stare, while one of the security guards dropped to the ground by Jonas. "Yeah, we're at the Hilton downtown, and we need an ambulance. Hey man, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Jonas wheezed.

A woman in a hotel uniform scurried toward him, springy curls bouncing as she approached. Powerful perfume overwhelmed his senses as she knelt and said, "Sir, let me help you up. We need to make way for the EMTs."

"I'm—"

Cold radiated from Julian's neck as she stabbed a syringe into him. The burning bite of wood poison prickled through his veins, and he stared at her incredulously as she backed away. Her eyes cut to the elevator bank, and he realized too late that she was one of the hunters.

His vision blurred, and when he turned back, the woman was gone. A feminine voice said, They're coming up, get moving, and he struggled to get to his feet. Shit. He should have brought the whole damned court here.

Julian bolted for the stairs. The wood poison turned his muscles to concrete, but thanks to Misha Volkov's bag of tricks, he wasn't going down that easy. He had nearly reached the door when Paris shouted over the railing. "They're coming down the elevator," he shouted.

A buzzing alarm sounded, and he ran for the elevator instead. He gaped at the destruction; the metal doors were blown outward, and that scent of his Scarlett was stronger than ever. Following her trail, he bolted through the sprawling lobby and down the stairs to a lower level, into the conference center.

People shouted as he ran past, and he prayed that they weren't whipping out phones to watch the bloody blur of a man bolting past them. Humans in business suits, lanyards hanging around their necks, were backed against the wall, eyes wide with fear.

A white sign pointing toward the lunch buffet lay askew on the blood-splattered carpet of the hallway.The smell of old vampires—of Carrigan Shea—stank like carrion.

"Where did they go?" he roared.

A woman pointed, hand shaking. Julian sprinted through the labyrinth of halls. He took a turn and burst into a huge ballroom. The speaker froze as hundreds of heads turned his way.

Cursing loudly, he ran the other way and caught the scent again. Then he saw the signs directing him to the parking garage, and he picked up speed.

I'm coming, he thought, desperately pushing himself through the painful ache of daylight. Double glass doors lay ahead, and he could see the concrete expanse of a parking garage. When he burst through, he had a split second to register the lanky blonde woman moving her hands rapidly through the air.Past them, he saw Scarlett dangling over a brawny man's shoulder, her hair hanging loose in a spill of fiery red.

That's my girl, he thought, rage turning his vision red.

The curly-haired woman in the uniform was with them, and she whipped her head around. "Stubborn, huh?" she marveled. "Lux!"

The blonde woman threw both hands out, releasing a spear of coalesced shadow. He dove into a roll to avoid it, but it followed and broke against his chest like a thousand, ice-cold snakes slithering over his skin. Tangling and biting, the tendrils of magic wrapped around him like a net. He roared in fury and tried to break through it, but it only tightened with his struggles, the wiry strands slicing into him and drawing blood.

"Paige, Adrian, deal with whoever comes," the blonde woman said, snapping her fingers. Cold air whipped around him, and he saw the blur of a silhouette bursting from a car, followed by a second. The smell of vampires thickened, and he braced himself for the attack as a slim, raven-haired woman approached. But she ran past him as if he was no more than a bit of road trash. The second vampire, a male with faded tattoos on his arms, followed close behind.

"Scarlett!" Julian rasped.They'd put her in a car, but he could still smell her through that foul magic. If he lost her so soon…

The blonde woman backed away and got into the front seat of a nearby car, then peeled away. He fought through the darkness closing on his vision.

Dark blue SUV. South Carolina plates. 598…

"Fuck," he groaned. He was cocooned in writhing black, squeezing so tight his bones creaked. Heat bloomed in his chest, pulsing in his left hand like he was holding a flame. "You cannot have her!"

It felt like he was going to split out of his skin, but he managed to wrench his left shoulder through the bindings. One little thread gave way. Angry voices hissed nonsense in his ears, and that biting sensation renewed.

"Fuck you," he said, imagining Armina Voss was there to hear him. Another thread broke, and then another, and he had one hand free. With bloodied fingers, he scraped at the concrete and propelled himself up and onto his back.

The scent of a vampire washed over him, and he looked up to see Misha Volkov looming over him, wincing in sympathy. "Stop fighting it," he said. "You're just going to flay yourself. Just give me?—"

The dark-haired woman, presumably Paige, dropped from the ceiling and tackled Misha, prompting a startled curse. They rolled across the oil-streaked concrete, and he managed to break away from her. As she chased, he swiped at her with his glowing red blade. Black threads tore away from the vampire woman's skin and wrapped around it, tearing it from his hands.

Misha's red eyes went wide, and he barely ducked a vicious blow. The woman let out a wordless shriek, and there was a scuffing of feet as the second vampire sprang out from behind a nearby car. "Misha!" Julian called.

The other man ducked, but Adrian moved fast, pouncing and kicking Misha's leg out from under him. As he fell, both vampires piled atop him. Julian tried in vain to break free from the magical trap. Icy threads cut into his skin, and he felt the distinctive crack of his ribs.

Misha sent the male vampire flying, but the woman clambered onto his back and slammed her fist into the back of his neck over and over until his knees buckled. She was vicious and wild, not seeming to care as some of her hits went wide and slammed into the concrete and left her knuckles bloody.

"Hey!" Julian called. "Come for me! I'm the one she wants!"

Both the vampires looked up at him, and he recoiled at the sight of their eyes—oily black without a hint of red. In that moment of distraction, Misha let out a furious roar, and a shockwave of shimmering red light burst from him. The two attacking vampires shrieked and staggered away from him.

With blood running from his nose, Misha stumbled toward Julian with hands outstretched. Adrian pounced on Misha's back, and the two of them collapsed onto Julian in a heap of writhing elbows and bloody shouts.

With teeth bared and bloody, Misha shoved himself up to his hands and knees, protecting Julian with his body. A terrible sound ripped through his teeth as one of the vampires drove a stake into his back, but still the blood witch persisted.

Misha slammed his bloody palm against Julian's chest. Heat burst from his hand and snapped the icy tethers holding Julian. "Help," Misha choked out.

Freed from his bindings, Julian flipped over to shield Misha with his body. He kicked away the male vampire trying to smash Misha's face. When Adrian came back for another blow, he caught the other man by the throat and tore out that bloody cartilage. Even with blood pouring from his neck, the man still lunged for Misha as if Julian wasn't there.

Julian rose, then hurled the man across the garage. Adrian bounced off a concrete support pillar, groaned, then got to his feet. As soon as Julian turned back, Paige was already lunging at Misha with a wicked silver garrote stretched between her hands.

Julian swept up Misha's dropped blade, a more elegant version of his own. The vampire woman was so transfixed on her prey that she didn't even look up as Julian brought both blades down onto her back, then lifted her up like a speared piece of steak. In a whipping motion, he sliced through her spine, flung her free, and lopped off her head.

Adrian limped toward them, stopping short as Paige's head rolled toward his feet. He looked at Julian with wide dark eyes, then bolted.

"Fuck, fuck," Julian swore.

He took one lurching step after the other man, then froze to look back at Misha. The blood witch was paper-pale, hands covered in blood, veins standing out on his temples.

Julian whipped out his phone and activated the walkie-talkie app. Any chance of secrecy they'd had was blown now. "Whoever's listening, I need you tracking a male vampire. Buzz cut, six feet tall, left leg injured, tattoos on his arms. They grabbed Scarlett. Blue SUV with South Carolina plates. 594 something…fuck," he swore."Paris, where are you?"

No answer. Shit.

Julian knelt next to Misha, and said, "Are you okay?"

The other man's head lifted. His face was bruised and bloody, and he smelled like feral vampires. "By what definition?" he croaked. Wincing, he let Julian help him up. "Fucking daylight."

But instead of instantly retreating inside, Misha limped toward the fallen vampire woman's body. He examined the back of her neck, then swiped away the blood. "I've never seen a mark like that," he said. Brow furrowed, he cut through the sleeve of her jacket, revealing dark marks on her wrists, similar to the ones that had marked Kova's skin. "We need to get her body back to the compound. Something's not right."

"We need to find Scarlett," Julian said. He hit the phone again."Paris, where are you?"

When the phone chirped, there was a rush of background noise as Paris blurted, "Meet me on the street. They're cordoning off the lobby."

Julian helped Misha up, guiding him toward the stairs. "Wait. The body," Misha said.

"We'll come back. Come on."

Minutes later, they dashed out of the parking garage and into the blinding light of the sun. A familiar black SUV was parked crookedly across the entrance as a waiting valet shouted through the windshield of a blue electric car humming its quiet song.

Julian shot the man a glare and bellowed, "Wait."

Whether it was the pair of bloody men glaring at him or Julian's exposed fangs, the valet saw something that made him shrink back and throw up his hands in self-defense.

Julian yanked the door open and hurled Misha in before climbing into the front seat.

"What the—" Paris blurted.

Julian cut him off. "They got her in a blue SUV, South Carolina plates?—"

"Misha, what happened?" Paris said, his voice taking on a sharp edge.

"I made a friend," Misha said, dabbing gingerly at his split lip.

"Paris—"

The Frenchman fixed a murderous look on him. "I heard you. And we were never going to be able to follow them through goddamn downtown Atlanta in broad daylight." He slammed his phone onto the center console. "I'm tracking her. Misha?—"

"I'm fine," Misha said sharply. Paris fixed Julian with another hard stare, as if he'd been the one to pummel the other vampire to a pulp.

Paris handed Julian a lavender duffel bag. "Jonas was carrying that. I managed to grab it before the paramedics got to him. One of his hunters was there. Pretty sure she tried to kill him."

"Curly-haired woman?"

Paris nodded. "When she saw me, she backed off, and I lost her in the crowd. I told the paramedics to take him to St. Anthony's. I had to wait until they loaded him in the ambulance. Couldn't leave him defenseless."

"Is he okay?" Misha asked.

"He's alive," Paris said. "Stubborn prick won't go down that easy."

Julian nearly broke the zipper in his rush to open Scarlett's bag, finding clothes that smelled of her, a few toiletries, several weapon cases that were empty. There was a laptop and a phone charger, and a set of car keys. Tucked into a side pocket was a slender silver bracelet with a little key charm hanging from it. He handed the bracelet to Misha. "Is this magical?"

Misha took it between his fingers, then shuddered. "Absolutely."

Julian held up the keys. "These must go to Kova's car. If it's got GPS, I guarantee it has Armina's address in it to get him home," he said. "We need to go."

"Look, they've got several minutes on us, and we know where they're going. They probably won't stop, so unless you want to run them off the road and have a battle royale in the midday sun, we'd be better to regroup for a few hours and then storm the house like we planned," Paris said.

Julian started to protest, then let out a grunt of irritation. He raked his hands through his hair, then startled when a warm touch fell on his shoulder.

Looking up, he found Paris staring back at him. On his face was not anger or judgment, but a soft look of concern. "I'm with you, all right? But let's be smart and not get ourselves killed, okay?"

He swallowed his terror and nodded. "Okay. We also need to pick up a corpse."

"What?" Paris spat. "You know what, I'm not even going to ask. Show me to it. I can't wait to pick up a corpse. Best day ever."

He hit the gas, whipping around the block and into the parking garage. At Misha's suggestion, they rolled the windows down and used the remote on the car keys to activate the security system. Finally, there was a rhythmic, shrieking alarm from down the aisle. Lights flashed on a nondescript black car, and the remote unlocked it.

Opening the door unleashed another wave of her scent, mingled with the older scent of Kova. Julian started the car and fiddled with the onboard GPS. There were half a dozen addresses recently used in Charlotte, and when he hit the Home button, it brought up another address.

"I think I've got it here," he said eagerly.

His brow furrowed as he looked at Misha, who was still sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV with his bruised eyes closed. "Be honest with me. Are you going to be okay by sunset?"

"Okay for magic or okay for bareknuckle brawling?" Misha asked without opening his eyes.

"Either," Paris said, a faint smile tugging at his lip.

"I'll be fine," Misha said.

"He's lying," Paris said matter-of-factly. He rubbed his temples and said, "I'll call up a team. We'll get on the road and wait until dark to hit her. I know that's not what you want, but that's our best chance of winning."

The next hourwas a whirlwind as they rushed to the compound, where Karina Novak and Olivia Pierce were waiting with bags of supplies, including blood bags and weapons. Julian took a bag from Olivia, whose eyes were puffy and bloodshot.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She swallowed, started to nod, then shook her head. "Rachel said he'll be okay. It wasn't as bad as Dominic. It broke his jaw, messed up his face, and he's…" Her eyes welled over. "I'm just glad Sasha was with him. I owe him."

Julian leaned in to hug her tightly. "We'll take care of him. And you. I promise." She let out a single heaving sob against his chest. Warmth seeped through his shirt, and he held her until she pushed against him.

Calmly wiping her eyes, she shook her head again. "Depending on what happens, I've already got hotels booked for you in Charlotte so you don't have to drive in the sun. Dani and I will be here and online so you can call for whatever you need," she said.

"If I tell you to rest, will you do it?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," she said with a faint smile.

He leaned down to kiss her forehead and said, "Take care. I'll keep you posted."

Misha approached, gently squeezed her shoulder, and reassured her that he'd help as soon as they returned. Paris tried unsuccessfully to convince Misha to stay back, and Safira whipped around in a second vehicle with Dominic and Sasha in the back.

From the moment they drove onto the compound, it was less than fifteen minutes before the caravan wheeled out again. His people were well trained, though he wasn't sure he could take credit for it. At the very least, he was grateful they were quick to act.

With Nikko out of commission and Kristina staying with her father, Alistair was in charge at the compound. He wasn't a seasoned warrior, but he would keep the small court safe.

After breaking through rush hour traffic, they were on the road to Charlotte.Julian forced himself to put away the phone, watching that little pulsing red dot moving northeast toward Charlotte.

Armina isn't going to kill her out of your sight, he reminded himself. That was a grim reality that might work in their favor.

Half an hour into the drive, he realized that he was the damned Elder of their court, not some poor victim who needed to be coddled. Straightening himself, he cleared his throat and said, "Can we get an update on Jonas Wynn?"

Paris glanced back, then said, "Give Rachel a call." He jabbed a button on the console, and the readout changed to Calling: Rachel Ryan.

A few seconds later, white noise burst from the speaker, and then clarified as a familiar voice said, "Hey, kinda got my hands full. Is it an emergency?"

"We live in a constant state of emergency, Rachel," Paris said wryly. "How's Mr. Wynn?"

"Not as bad as he could have been. He said he got thrown off a balcony, but Julian caught him before he turned to Jello," she said. "Looks like most of the injuries are from Shea slamming him against the wall first. Some broken bones, punctured lung, definitely some head trauma. But he'll be okay in a few weeks. We gave him a distilled blood injection to help heal the internal injuries. Anything else?"

"Has there been anything on the news about a disturbance at the Hyatt Regency downtown?" Misha asked, rubbing at his temples.

She laughed. "You're precious. I have no clue what's going on in the outside world right now. Is Dom with you guys?"

"He's with us," Paris said. "Is Kristina there with you?"

"Yeah, she's here and keeping watch for Shea to turn up. I think patrolling helps her not stress about her dad. You guys be careful. I'll see you soon. Hopefully at home and not at the hospital," she added. "I'll text you later with any updates on Jonas."

In the backseat, Misha was dozing, his face barely visible beneath the dark blanket covering him. Tension hung thick as Paris drove, and Julian stared at that dot on his phone, which had finally stopped in Charlotte.

He'd lost track of time when Paris's quiet voice broke the silence. "What happened back there? To Misha, I mean. No offense, but you barely have a mark on you."

"It was strange. I ran into one of the hunters, but she hit me with wood poison and left me. The witch had two other vampires with her, and they didn't give a shit about me. She used magic to pin me down, so I would have been an easy kill, but they were all over Misha instead," Julian said.

"Because he was a threat?" Paris asked.

"Maybe because he was trying to help me," Julian mused. Dread pulled at his chest. "Maybe it's like Shoshanna. Any witch who can stand up to her is a threat."

Paris's throat worked silently. "Sometimes I have to remind myself that my soulmate is one of the most powerful witches in the world, not a damsel in distress." He glanced back and shook his head. "I don't like him being hurt."

"I know. And I'm sorry," Julian said quietly.

His old friend chuckled. "I'm sure he was having a blast. Sometimes he misses being out in the field more. But I much prefer him being a magic nerd in his safe little workshop."

As they drove, they took calls back and forth with the other team. Safira's vehicle was about ten minutes ahead of them, with Dominic and Sasha in the back. Using the address they'd pulled from Kova's car, Misha used a tablet to show them a map view of the house, with a red circle sketched around the property. "Don't etch this in stone, but if it were me, I'd probably put the protection within the boundary of the property, but not out to the public roads or it would be alerting constantly. We should assume once we cross this line that her magic is active."

"And one of us can go in with Scarlett's bracelet," Julian said.

Misha nodded. "We should do what we did when we attacked the Constitution Building. Let me take the bracelet and go up to the perimeter. I can weaken her spells. If it was her apprentice that built the wards for Shea, then I have an idea of how they work." He glanced at Paris and smiled. "And this time I don't have to worry about going insane or melting my own brain."

"Misha," Paris complained, shaking his head.

The witch just grinned. "I know you want to be the one, but let me pave the way for you. Then it's all yours."

Julian hesitated. Even this young man, so new to the court, was part of their family now. Was it selfish to let him risk so much, or was he a good leader for using all his resources?

He swallowed and nodded. "Once we're in, I'll find Scarlett. The rest of you spread out. We should still get her spellbooks so that Shoshanna can free Kova."

"Sasha can go after Kova. Dominic and I will find Carrigan Shea and finish what I started," Paris said grimly.

Misha raised his eyebrows and met Julian's gaze. "And the witch? Will you keep your word not to kill her?"

He stared out the window. Even through the UV-blocking film, the daylight still made his head ache. Cars blurred by.

He did not want to keep his word. He wanted to smash Armina Voss's face like porcelain and bring back her head like a trophy to his court. The woman had caused immeasurable suffering to everyone he loved, and if she had her way, she would kill the love of his life yet again.

And yet…she had cared for Scarlett. Even if it was all a charade, he would be taking something from her. Could she ever trust him if he lied so easily to her? If he broke his word simply to meet his own bloodlust?

"I'll keep my word," Julian said. "I know it's a risk, but I want Scarlett to have her chance."

Paris sighed. "I'll remind you that I made no such promise."

"Paris," he said sharply.

"Fine," Paris said. "But if she threatens us, it's over. I'm not letting any of us suffer because you don't want to hurt her. Even Scarlett should see the logic in that."

"I guess that will have to do," Julian said.

They drove a while longer before Paris spoke again. "You're not going to let me convince you to stay back, are you?"Julian just chuckled, and Paris sighed. "You'd think after so many years of protecting Eduardo that you'd have more sense."

"For most of my time serving Eduardo, he reigned over a time of peace," Julian said. "And we both know that if Valentin had been taken by the enemy, there would have been no holding him back."

"Well, I hope we don't all live to regret it," Paris said mildly.