Chapter 29

Sasha's brothers spoke endlessly of how they were so eager to return to "normal." For them, normal was restful, peaceful, even wonderfully boring. And he did not blame them, especially after these more recent months of turmoil, which came on the heels of decades, in some cases even centuries of suffering excruciating curses.

But he was different from his brothers in two significant ways.

First, they had not spent over a century losing their memory over and over again, consigned to a solitary, safe life. He certainly appreciated that they had done their best to protect him from greater harm. They'd even kept him occupied with training so his body did not become weak and soft.

But even with the fragmented memories still crowding his mind that was stretching to accommodate them, he did not feel the intense exhaustion that the others had felt. Since their curses were broken, they were glad for rest, glad for the quiet times.

After so many years of sheltered silence, Sasha was elated to be back on the hunt, tracking and killing as he had done so long ago.When he was moving through the night on the trail of his prey, he knew he was doing precisely what he was made for.

Second, none of his brothers were bonded to Kristina Arensberg, who was a goddess of the hunt if there ever was one. Fleet-footed Artemis would have envied her, sharp-eyed and quick as lightning. Years of training as a hunter had sharpened her, and becoming a vampire had made her nearly unstoppable. He loved to watch her fight, and loved even more what the adrenaline did for her desire. After the hunt, her primal aggression transformed into lust, and he was its very lucky target.

No, Sasha Morozov did not mind carrying on the hunt while his brothers rested.

That said, his enthusiasm was dampened as he and Kristina made their silent approach to the rubble of the Constitution building. Much of the debris had been cleared away by demolition crews, leaving only parts of the second floor and most of the first standing. It had not been so long since he and Kristina were imprisoned here. Back then, he'd been helpless as he watched that bastard drink her dry before turning her against her will. Even knowing that Julian had handily disposed of Carrigan Shea, he still felt a creeping dread at the sight. This place and that man still lived in his nightmares, when he failed to reach Kristina in time, when he lost her over and over.

They perched atop the MARTA station across the street and observed. His mate's eyes closed, and he forgot to pay attention as he watched her head tilt, the moonlight playing off her golden hair. Then he heard the scuff of feet, whipped his head around to ensure that they were still alone, and finally focused.

The sooner they dealt with this, the sooner he could enjoy the part that came after the hunt.

Her fingers tapped his. Flat palm, then a distinctive three fingers, followed by four. Her brows lifted in a silent question.

He closed his eyes and focused on the scents around him. Latching onto the vampire scent made it easier to tune out the rest that competed for his attention. The smell of decay and death was entwined with the vampires. Picking them apart, he found three—perhaps four. And something else, carrying that smell of magic that wreathed Armina Voss.

He pressed his lips to Kristina's ear, trying not to be distracted as she leaned into him. The tincture that masked her scent made it much easier to focus. "Witch?" he whispered.

She nodded slightly. "Or magic."

Kova had warned them that Armina's apprentice was enslaving vampires with her magic. And Kova himself had stunk of magic, though not nearly this strong.

"Let's go," Sasha said.

"Should we call for backup?"

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "You could handle four alone, radnaya."

She rolled her eyes, but rose, patting herself to check for weapons. Then she took the small glass vial of antitoxin from her pocket and drank it. Sasha followed, wincing at the thick, ashen taste. He could not complain about Misha's results. Wood was still unpleasant, but not the debilitating weakness it was without his help.

After surveying the street beneath her, Kristina launched into the air, soaring through the shadows and landing on the sidewalk of the bridge that ended in the street surrounding the brick building. He followed, close on her tail as they slipped into the jagged remains of the building.

Even after the destructive spells brought it down with demolition crews close behind, some of the infrastructure remained, thick steel girders jutting up from piles of shattered brick and twisted rebar. The air stank of blood and death, tinged with fear. The people who had died here last night had not died quickly.

There was a movement like small creatures scuttling in a far corner. As Sasha's eyes adjusted, he caught the shadow slinking along the edge. "Me left," Kristina whispered.

Sasha let out a grunt of agreement and darted right, toward the moving creature. Before he reached his target, he heard an oof as Kristina found her own. There was a hiss, and as he closed on his prey, those terrible dark eyes reflected the light back at him.

The smell of that magic was overpowering, the air around them bitterly cold. Through it, he caught the hint of dhampir blood. Moving like a blur was a bearded man, scarred face and amber eyes glinting in the low light.

The man barreled into him, and Sasha let the momentum whip him around before smashing his fist into the man's face. He shoved Sasha back and drew a gun, firing twice. Sasha dodged the first bullet and took the second to the thigh.

Wood. It hurt, but no worse than metal. Sasha ducked and drew his gun. They sometimes avoided firearms to keep from bringing the cops down on them, especially in the city. But the dhampir had crossed that line, so he was happy to follow suit and end this sooner.

Watching the man move, Sasha swung around and fired. The shot caught the dhampir in the arm as he barreled right into its path and reeled. Sasha lunged at him, ready to take off his head. As he aimed down at the man's face,searing sunlight exploded in a burst of blinding white.

The light was all-consuming, impossibly bright, and he couldn't wrap his head around why there was sunlight inside in the middle of the night. His muscles seized, and the heat pierced his skin, down to his bones. A woman screamed, and he dimly realized it was Kristina.

Instinctively covering his face, he backed away from the hunter to look for his mate. Something cold and clammy wrapped around his ankle, slithering up his leg before yanking him down to the ground. Silvery white tendrils exploded upward and enveloped him, drawing him down like a spiderweb.

And worse, he heard his Kristina, letting out soft sounds of pain. Meaty impacts and cracking bone… Someone was hurting her.

That sound filled him with fury. He snarled and twisted against the magical bindings. One of the cold tendrils snapped, and he clawed his way forward. Something heavy landed on his back. He was trying to throw off the heavy body when something sharp pierced the back of his neck. Deafening noise roared in his ears, and the world became nothing but white static.

Something is very wrong.

Something snapped against the back of his neck, and the world spun around him. Then he was free of that awful magic, and a cool hand cupped his chin, forcing him to look up. He stared into deep, dark eyes.

"Get up," the blonde-haired witch said.He had seen her before, in this very building.

He frowned, or tried to, but his body was already obeying, legs unsteady beneath him. It was a strange feeling, as if he was merely a passenger in his own body. While he wanted to tear out the witch's throat, his body was moving on its own. His hands hung limp at his sides, his gun clattering to the ground.

Something tugged at his chest, and he looked to see Kristina fighting in vain to keep another vampire from driving a dark metal stake through her throat.

"No," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper.His fingers drifted up to his neck and found an ice-cold stake there. As soon as he touched it, his hand went numb and fell at his side.

"Go help them," the witch said.

His legs twitched. But as he watched Kristina struggling with a red-haired female vampire, heat pulsed through his chest. Prickling sensation surged through his arms, and he managed to say, "No. Stop this." The witch's command, go help them,echoed endlessly in his mind, but he didn't move.

Her head cocked quizzically. "No?"

Then she shrugged and swept her hand down toward the ground like she was scooping up water. Dark tendrils surged through the air and around Kristina, bringing her down quickly.

"No!" Sasha said, louder this time. He took a shaky step toward his mate, then another. The heat in his chest was painful, tugging him toward her.

Why was he so damned slow? He reached for the stake again, but his hands went numb when he tried to touch it. A calm voice in his head said, No. Leave it.

"Stop," the witch said. "Stand right there."

Kristina let out a banshee wail as one of the vampires yanked back her sleek blonde braid and drove the weapon into her Covenant mark. Light erupted from the mark, and she convulsed violently before going terribly still. Her voice rumbled in her chest, but it was garbled and wordless, as if she was fighting to make sense of what had happened.

His instincts screamed at him to go to her, but he was rooted to the ground, the woman's command echoing in his head.

Stand right there.

"Kristina, love, get up," the witch said.

Lux.That was her name.She had been here with Shea.

Slowly, Kristina got to her feet. Her eyes were darker now, like dried blood instead of bright ruby. Rivulets of red trickled from the stake, glowing beneath the engraved runes.She shuddered, one hand twitching toward her waist.

"None of that, dear," Lux said. She glanced back at Sasha. "Go and kill your boyfriend."

Kristina's eyes went wide, and she took a tentative step toward him. Then she closed her eyes, and with both hands, reached for the stake. Hope soared through him as she ripped at it, even with her flesh smoking. "No," she shouted clearly.

As her voice rang out, the witch's commands in his mind obey obey listen faded, and he heard his Kristina in his head instead. You love me, her sweet voice said.

"Jordan," Lux said. In a blur, the lean dhampir man lunged at Kristina, slammed a fist into her back, and she sank to the floor. The witch bent over and cupped Kristina's cheeks, staring into her eyes. "You obey me now. You don't have to hurt him." Then she cocked her head. "Instead, why don't you go and kill the woman who staked you? Wouldn't that be fun?"

Kristina's head snapped around, and as she stalked toward the red-haired woman, Lux snapped her fingers. "You may not leave, Andrea," she said.

The dark-eyed woman cocked her head, and tension gripped her. There were several easy exits to escape Kristina, but the woman stood rooted to the ground. Her eyes widened, and her lips parted for a split second as if she was trying to protest. Whatever survival instinct she had was not enough to overpower Lux's compulsion, and that was terrifying to behold.

And he watched her, his goddess of the hunt, pounce on the other vampire, wrestle her to the ground, and snap her neck with such ease that he could have kissed her at any other time. Instead, he was horrorstruck.

Fucking move, Morozov, he told himself.

Shoshanna was always talking about the power of their bonds. It was how she'd freed Lucia, how she broke him and Kristina out of their curse.

He was no witch, but he knew what it felt like when he held Kristina, when he stared into her brilliant eyes as he made love to her, what it was to watch her hunt and turn back to smile at him, as if to say did you see that?

He always saw. Always knew she was his.

His vision went red, and he lurched toward her, one step, then another. It was getting easier, as long as he focused on her, on that pulsing heat in his chest, the sound of her voice, the smell of her that saturated him from head to toe.

"Ah, ah," Lux scolded him. "You, kneel. Both of you."

Her voice boomed in his head, drowning out his will.His stomach twisted in knots as he knelt in front of her. His body was still, even as his mind shrieked in terror.

"Are you two soulmates? You may speak," she said.

"Yes," they blurted at the same time.

Lux wrinkled her nose. "Adorable. But useful, I suppose. You're going to be very helpful to me. You obey me now. You can try to fight it, but it will only hurt you." With one hand, she made a twisting gesture, and Sasha doubled over. It felt like her fist was wrapped around his guts, squeezing them into a knot.

"Stop," Kristina whispered.

"You may not speak unless given permission. Now, give me your phone," Lux said. With horror in her eyes, Kristina reached into her pocket and handed it over. The witch handed it back. "Unlock it."

Kristina obeyed, her hand shaking. The only consolation was that she was fighting, just as Sasha was. There had to be a way to break the spell.

"Now, I want you to be useful to me. I'm not going to make the two of you hurt each other. But you're going to help me. And if you're good little pets, then I might let you live when I'm done here," she said. "Now, tell me where I can find the rest of your little court."