17. James

JAMES

We sent Silas and the wolves off to get the princesses all packed up and safely on their way to their various castles around the country, while Gabriel and I gathered up all the intel for our after-action report and debrief. We needed to get our shit together fast, because Prim was on her way. Ostensibly to collect Mary O and take her to be treated. Fleming was already working to analyze the poison.

He’d been muttering all morning about this compound and that spell. Rose leaned over and whispered in my ear. “I think his brain is a little on overdrive after all that, uh, affection, from the princesses.”

Fleming wasn’t exactly the suave gentleman vampire, nor the alpha protector type. But he had something about him that the ladies loved.

Gabriel rubbed his hands together. “Let’s piece together what the hell happened here, shall we.”?He did like a puzzle. “Starting with our dead assassin upstairs and work our way backwards.”

“Anna was the lynchpin member of The Order to execute this mission.” Had it not been for my amazing mate, we may never have detected this kind of subterfuge. “But she had to have help beyond the lackies we’ve encountered. This was a much more sophisticated plan than their usual slash and kill routine.”

Usually, the Order just came at us head on. We’d have to start adjusting the way we dealt with them, because they were clearly evolving to have a much more sophisticated strategy. The dumbass zealots at the restaurant were the kind I was used to dealing with. Sure, they could be deadly, but they were simple. Kill the vampire, or witch, or wolf, or immortal because they weren’t human. The end.

Anna’s plan had been that, but with so much more nuance than kill or be killed.

“Yes,” Gabriel nodded. “I suspected The Order had some new blood. For them to have laid a trap that pitted us against each other as a distraction is brand new territory.”

Rose raised her hand in an adorable school-girl kind of way. I’m not sure why, she’d basically taken over this mission and was practically an honorary member of the VIA’s Black Ops at this point. “I thought The Order was just humans. But Anna used some crazy doppelganger magic spells, clearly had one of these charm thingies that let her find the castle, and was attacked by the biggest werewolf, sorry wolf-shifter on the planet and managed to live through him tearing her to shreds. So, what gives?”

Good point.

Fleming poked his head in. “Yes, I’d like to examine the assassin’s body to determine if she was simply using stolen magic, and what kind, or if she’s been somehow enhanced.”

“God dammit, I hate it when they twist their own rules.”

Rose’s eyes went wide. “Can you even say that? The G-word?”

I grinned at her and pulled her into my arms. “Only when he’s really mad.”

“Quite right. I am angry. This went down on my watch.” Gabriel pointed at me and F. “Vond, go get the assassin’s body. Fleming, I want you to examine every cell and figure out exactly what we’re dealing with.”

“Ooh, autopsy,” Rose said. “Also, eww. No thank you, I’ll skip that part, thanks. I’ve had enough blood and guts for one day, thank you very much.”

I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll finish up here and then get you into a nice hot shower, okay?”

Rose waggled her eyebrows at me. “Yes, please. Showers are my favorite. I may never take a bath ever again.”

“I’ll be right back.” I headed up the stairs, grateful for a minute of quiet to think. Gabriel and Fleming could finish preparing the report. I too was looking forward to a shower. I may not need sleep, but the last few days had depleted my energy.

If it hadn’t been for Rose’s blood giving me the sustenance only she could provide, I might be in literal pieces right now, taken down by The Order.

But after we filed our paperwork and debriefed, and this mission was completed, I needed to have a meeting with V about my future with the VIA. I loved this work, but I loved Rose more.

We’d bonded, but I hadn’t yet asked her to share her soul with me and become my true Serenity. I still wanted it to be her choice. My need shouldn’t dictate her life.

We could go on for years being lovers. I could take her blood and give her the world and a whole lot of orgasms in return, but she would age, and live a mostly normal life, her soul intact. When she died, I would too, eventually.

We simply hadn’t had time for me to explain all of this to her.?I told myself she would be in less danger if I didn’t. She’d already been targeted though, so my logic was off.

Today. Once she’d rested, I would tell her everything. I would pull my head out of my ass and ask her to share her soul with me so that we could be together forever.

On my way up, I noted the shit ton of damage Gabriel and I had done to this castle. Sunlight streamed in through the broken walls and there was a lot of repair work to be done to make the Black Castle safe again. I’d grab some more serum of sun from F when I brought him the body.

I entered Mary O.’s sitting room, surprised by how much damage had been done here too. Eyrik had really torn the place up. One more thing to add to the to-do list.

Anna’s body was in a shadowed corner of the room, so I skirted the edge of the sunlight, not wanting to waste my energy on healing from burns. I squatted next to the body, that had now reverted to her natural state. Thank goodness she didn’t still look like Rose. That would have creeped me the fuck out.

Anna’s eyes popped open and glowed a deep, vampiric red.

“Ah, James,” she purred, fangs glinting as she smiled wickedly. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

First Vampire be damned, Anna had been turned, and she wasn’t fucking dead.?I snatched her by the throat and pinned her to the floor.

“Your plan failed, Anna,” I declared, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. “You’ve given up your beliefs and your soul in this battle. Why?”

She writhed against me, the strength of a newly turned vampire on her side. “I will sacrifice everything to destroy you. You’re monsters that need to be sent back to hell.”

“Bold words for someone who’ll be joining us there.” ?I reached for a broken table and cracked off one of the legs to use as a stake.

Her second life as a vampire may have just begun, but I was going to end it now. I drove the stake into her chest and twisted it for good measure.

She shuddered in her death throws, but her screams turned to laughs.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

Anna lunging at me with preternatural speed and strength. Holy hell. She shouldn’t be able to move like this. She shouldn’t even be alive.

I dodged her attack, parrying her first blows, but we danced around the room, both trying for any advantage. There was no avoiding the rays of sunshine pouring in through the open gashes in the walls and they were only getting wider and brighter as the sun rose higher in the sky.

With her next attack, I shoved Anna directly into one of the shafts of light. She screamed for real this time and her skin sizzled in the heat, acrid smoke wafting off of her burns. New vampires were entirely more susceptible to the light of day.

That was my advantage, but it also meant I could not use my power over darkness in this battle at all.

She screeched and literally climbed the nearest wall and up to the ceiling like a fucking spider. “History will remember me as the one who brought down an empire!” she snarled, her eyes wild with madness.

“No,” I countered, jumping up to meet her, my fists connecting with her jaw in a satisfying crunch. “History won’t even know your name. You’ll go into a report in a dusty file in the basement at Chattering as a failed assassin, and nothing more.”

“James!” Rose’s voice called out just as I delivered a blow, sending Anna crashing into the door. The impact shook the room, dust raining down from the ceiling like ash. The entire west wall collapsed on top of Anna and sunlight streamed in.

“Rose, stay back.” I warned as I surveyed the damage. There was no path to her that wasn’t bright with the burning light of the sun, and I couldn’t be sure Anna was trapped or dead under the truckload of stone she was buried under.

The pile of rubble moved, and Anna hissed from within. One arm reached out and grabbed Rose, even as her flesh lit on fire.

Rose thrashed and writhed against Anna’s grasp, but she was stronger now than when Eyrik had taken her down. “Die, you stupid zombie-ass bitch, die.”

I summoned every ounce of strength and will-power I had left to finish this once and for all. No one hurt my Rose and lived to tell about it. Anna was going down, even if it meant I had to sacrifice everything to drag her to hell with me.

With a roar, I jumped into the light and dashed toward Rose and Anna.

“James, what are you doing?” Rose’s voice echoed in my mind even through the intense pain of the sun burning me alive. I could feel her fear for me, but I pushed it aside. This was the only way to ensure her safety, and the safety of everyone else.

“I have to finish this.” I gritted my teeth against the pain that threatened to consume me. “I love you, Rose. Remember that.”

“James, no!” she screamed at me, but there was no turning back now.

Bracing myself, I used the last of my strength and leapt into the air, crashing into Anna, and out through the hole in the side of the castle. We crashed into the green, grassy garden below, the sun full and bright.

Anna immediately burst into an eruption of flames, and turned to ashes, even as she still reached to claw at my face.

As I slipped into unconsciousness, I clung to the vision of my gorgeous Rose and the knowledge that I had done everything I could to protect the one I loved.

* * *

I floated in the abyss,waiting for hell to consume me.

At least I hadn’t asked Rose to share her soul with me, sealing her fate in this hell as well.

“Wait a minute. Who is this douchepotato? He is not one of ours. What’s he doing in our afterlife, my love?” A male voice resonated through my mind with the power of a thousand alphas behind it.

I blinked, and found myself not in the darkness of hell, but surrounded by pure white light. And was that a rainbow? A rainbow dragon?

Why the fuck was he here? I tried to speak, to ask where I was, but nothing came out.

“No, no, love of my life. I think he’s just passing through. Look at how brightly his serenity’s soul shines for him. He won’t be here long. Probably just learning an important life lesson about not screwing around being scared of claiming the real love in his life when it’s offered to him.”A woman with a lush voluptuous body, and dark olive brown skin highlighted by her white flowing gown waved at me and winked.

“Oh yes, heart of mine, I see it now. Go on, kid. Oh, before you go let me give you a piece of advice. Lots and lots of orgasms. Mates like that.” The dragon flew in circles around and around me, making me dizzy.

First Vampire save me from these fucking dragons.