My stomach turned and I tried to subtly shuffle out of the way. It was getting markedly better about my reactions to things like this, but the beheading being so close I'm fairly certain I caught a touch of blood spray on my shirt was just bringing me a touch too close to the edge of my tolerance. Aurora, on the other hand, looked down in the direction of the head with little change in her expression. She shrugged as she slipped her phone back into her pocket.

  “Not the first,” she said.

  “I'm going to have to ask you to keep things like that to yourself,” I said.

  She laughed.

  “Babe, we have a long time together ahead of us. I assure you, you are going to hear plenty more.”

  “Good to know.”

  “The portal is unsealed,” Ty said. “Come on. I'd rather get through it and get it sealed again before anyone realizes it's available. The last thing I need right now is to have to field a stream of people wanting to cross through.”

  “Actually, I think the last thing you need right now is to have people get through the portal and find our... visitor,” Aurora said. “What are we going to do about that, by the way?”

  “We'll figure it out,” I said. “Right now, let's just go.”

  We followed Ty to the backroom where the portal was hidden. He had already moved the tapestry out of the way and the stone had the same look it did the last time he opened it. We streamed through it, one right after the other, with Ty coming up last. As soon as he stepped through, he turned back around and sealed the portal.

  “Perfect,” Aurora said. “I'll call Stephana to find out where she is.”

  We took a few steps away from the portal and I heard a groan behind me. Turning around, I saw Ty collapse to the ground. He turned onto his back, clutching his chest and sputtering, his eyes clenched shut and his teeth grinding. Aurora and I crouched down by his sides, both of us pressing our hands to his arms to try to hold him down as he started writhing back and forth.

  “We need to get him somewhere safe,” I said. “Artemis said his injuries were caused by magic, and they'll be harder to recover from.”

  “He'll need a healer,” Aurora said. “A doctor with the special skills to handle magic-based injuries. I don't know how long it will take to find one. The best we can do is get him some rest, so he has the best chances of recovering.”

  Bex and I scooped Ty up and carried him down the alley toward the front of the bar. I prepared for another onslaught of Lunaris, even though we had already taken down so many of them, but the sidewalk in front of this side of Solomon's Fang was empty.

  “What are we going to do?” Jaxxim asked. “We can't carry him the entire way.”

  He was starting to look pale and unstable on his feet but was obviously fighting to maintain his strength. Ty was the one in more need right then, and he didn't want to distract any of our attention or help from him.

  “Pick a car,” Bex said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  He gestured towards the cars lined up on the road.

  “Pick one,” he said.

  I nodded toward an SUV ahead of us. Bex moved Ty over onto Aurora and ran up to it and tried the door. It wouldn't open, but he did something to the lock and the front door opened easily. I heard the click of the rest of the doors open, and he opened the back door so we could help Ty into the back seat.

  “What did you just do?” I asked.

  “One of the perks that come along with being a spy,” Bex said without further elaboration.

  We piled into the car and after a few seconds of Bex doing something to the ignition, the engine roared awake and we sped down the road.

  “Where are we going?” Jaxxim asked.

  “To Stephana,” I said. “If there's anyone who's going to be able to find the type of healer you and Ty need, it's going to be her. Her house is as safe as we're going to find.”

  “Good,” Jaxxim said. “Please hurry.”

  His head dropped back against the seat and his eyes closed. He was still drawing in breaths, but they were getting shallower. I quickly gave Bex directions to Stephana's house and we headed that way. We had gone a few minutes when Aurora's phone rang.

  “Ashe?” she said by way of answering.

  “What in the living fucking hell did you people do to the bar?” Ashe screamed through the phone.

  Aurora pulled the phone away from her ear, cringing at the volume of Ashe's voice. I took the phone from her and put it to my ear.

  “Ashe?” I said.

  “Hayden?” she asked. “What happened here?”

  “You're at the Fang?” I asked.

  “Yes. I just got here. Someone called and said the door was open and thought something might be wrong. That's the understatement of the fucking year. It looks like a war broke out here.”

  “It did,” I said.

  “What?”

  Her voice had dropped.

  “Lunaris attacked. I can't really get into it right now. We're going to find Stephana. I'll fill you in on everything later. Don't stay in the bar. Go to your apartment. Go somewhere else. Do anything, but don't stay there.”

  “Shit. Okay. I'll... what happened to all the liquor?” she asked.

  I could imagine her standing in the middle of the room and noticing all the bottles were missing from the rail. My stomach dropped as I remembered them emptying onto Artemis.

  “Have you been in the basement?” I asked.

  “No. I wasn't working today,” she said.

  “Don't go down there,” I said.

  “What's going on?”

  “Just don't go down there. I'll call you when we get to Stephana's house.”

  “All right,” she said.

  “Bye,” I said.

  “Hayden?”

  “Yes?”

  “Be careful.”

  13

  “Bex,” Aurora said. “I don't understand something.”

  Bex glanced over his shoulder at her before making a turn sharp enough it made me wish I'd bothered to latch my seatbelt when we first got in the car. Stopping myself from sliding off the edge of the leather seat, I shoved the latch into place and glared at a completely unaffected Bex.

  “What's that?” he asked.

  “You said Hayden is the hope for the Underworld, but that it wasn't prophesied.”

  “Right.”

  Another turn made the seatbelt choke me. Stupid seatbelt. Can't win.

  “You need your license revoked,” I said.

  “I don't have a license,” Bex said.

  “Fantastic.”

  “Don't really need one so much in the Underworld,” he said. “Other ways to get around.”

  “You say conveniently as you are driving a fucking car,” I say.

  “Happens. Anyway, Aurora, what were you saying?”

  I glanced back at Aurora and saw her staring at us, as if waiting for us to continue our conversation. When we didn't, she shook her head slightly.

  “You said that there was nothing mystical or anything that made Hayden the hope of the Underworld. But that's not really true. Malakan made prophecies for me when I was born. He talked about my future and the impact I would make on the Underworld. It all fits Hayden. So, right there, you're wrong.”

  “I'm not wrong,” Bex said. “Did Malakan ever specifically mention Hayden?”

  “No,” she admitted.

  “What did he say?” he asked.

  “That I would see the dawn of war and a new time for the Underworld, and that I would meet a man who would be the hope to save them. That seems fated.”

  “How did the two of you meet?”

  I looked at him questioningly and he shrugged.

  “I came into this a little late in the game,” he said. “I didn't know who you were until just recently, once people figured out you're the missing Prince. I missed the whole swept off your feet romantic tale.”

  “I fucked him in the VIP suite of Solomon's Fang ten seconds after I laid eyes on him for the first time,” Aurora said.

  “Well, there you go,” Bex said.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.

  “Did Malakan’s prophecy say that you were going to meet this man who was going to save the Underworld that way?” Bex asked.

  “I don't think he would have found that descriptor the most appropriate thing to say at the birth of the princess,” Aurora said. “My father probably wouldn't have loved that imagery.”

  “The point is, what Malakan said sounds fated, and it has played itself out so far, but that doesn't mean Hayden is destined to do anything specific. Malakan was known for giving prophecies that were almost impossible to understand, and the ways they actually connected to reality were interpretive at best.”

  “I don't think there's anything interpretive about Hayden coming here right at this point, at this time. You can't say it's just convenient.”

  “I'm not saying that.” We pulled up at Stephana's house and my muscles relaxed knowing we had come to a stop without any more incidents. Bex smacked his hand on the ignition and the car stopped. “It certainly sounds like he was talking about Hayden. But the world isn't unfolding this way because of it. The conflicts and the war aren't happening just for the sake of him coming to stop them. He's not the Chosen One or anything.”

  “Did I ever say I was?” I asked. “Did I ever once slap a cape on and proclaim myself the hero of all who live in the Underworld? No. This isn't something I ever planned. It wasn't penciled into my day planner or anything.”

  “You have a day planner?” Ty asked.

  “No, I don't have a fucking day planner, but it's good to see you're awake. How are feeling?”

  “I'm not dead,” he said.

  “Yes, you are, but we'll not get into semantics. What I was saying is Bex seems to think I need humbling.”

  “That's not the case. I'm not trying to talk down to you, Hayden. I'm not criticizing you. I'm pointing out that this is all happening because it's what the world has come to. It's not a paint by numbers situation. You need to understand you aren't following something designed to play out this way. That means you're actually going to have to work. You have to put everything of yourself into this and push as hard as you can. If you aren't ready for that type of responsibility, you need to pull back now.”

  I didn't know where he got off saying that kind of shit to me, but at the same time, I understood where he was coming from. He saw this from a different perspective than the rest of us did, and yet we were all on the same side. No matter who I was or the details of my birth, I was still very much new to the Underworld. The years I had spent among the humans, living the life I thought was meant for me, Bex and the others in Lunaris were here, still reeling, still trying to make sense of the conflicts and horrors, trying to find their footing and figure out what they could do to save their world. I might have the biggest role to play, but in so many ways I was still playing catch-up in their eyes. He wanted to ensure he hadn't just given up his allegiances and promised his loyalty to someone who wasn't going be able to live up to what they needed. He needed to know I had thought through this and was taking it seriously, understanding not just what I needed to do, but what would happen if I didn't give of myself completely.

  But there was no hesitation in my mind.

  “I don't need to think about it,” I told him. “I'm ready to do this. I don't need any more time to think it through. This is what I was supposed to do. Whether there is some sort of mystical force behind it or I've been chosen or whatever, I know this is what I am meant to do. I can feel it. I have felt it from the very beginning. This is where I belong, Bex. It's where I've always belonged. I am happy to be here, and I'm happy to do this.”

  I spoke as plainly as I could, meeting his eyes as I did to make sure he understood each word I said. I didn't want there to be any confusion about my determination or my commitment to the situation we were all facing. We sat in silence for a few seconds before climbing out of the car and heading up the steps to Stephana's door. Aurora pushed the bell, but there was no response. We knocked, but it stayed silent beyond the door. Finally, Aurora took the phone from her pocket and dialed.

  “Again. You need a phone,” she said.

  “Start a to-do list,” I said.

  “Hey, Stephana, it's Aurora. We're at your house.” She paused for a few seconds. “I guess that explains why you aren't opening the door. Will you be there for a while?” Another pause. “We need some help. I have Hayden with me, but we also have Jaxxim and Ty, and both are hurt.” A longer pause. “Thanks. See you soon.”

  She ended the call and tucked the phone away.

  “She's at the bar,” she said. “She's going to be a while, but she's going to try to find a healer. She says there's a hidden key and we can go into the house and get freshened up. I think that's her way of telling us we better not show up at the bar and embarrass her looking like a mess. But she says Ty and Jaxxim should stay here and rest while we go get her.”

  “Where's the hidden key?” I asked.

  Aurora reached up and ran her hand along the top frame of the door, coming up with a small, time-darkened key.

  “Right here,” she said.

  “Son of a bitch,” I said. “Will you look at that. They do have the same security approach my parents do.”

  “What?” Aurora asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Nothing,” I said, taking the key from her.

  The door opened and we went inside. Aurora immediately showed Ty and Jaxxim toward the guest rooms so they could lie down.

  “Go take a shower,” I told Bex, eyeing the dark red stains on his clothes. “There's clean clothes for you to change into when you're done. Do you want something to eat?”

  “I guess I am hungry. I haven't had anything since the cake at your parent's house.”

  The thought of the birthday party seemed even more absurd now, but since he was willing to let his mind go back to just a few minutes after we untied him from the chair and let him come up from the basement, I wouldn't point that out.

  “It was pretty good,” I said. “Stephana's kitchen is always stocked. She makes a mean chocolate chip cookie. That's what I'm after.”

  “I'll take a couple of those.”

  I nodded and pointed toward the bathroom. Aurora was staring at me when I turned around.

  “What?” I asked.

  “What is it with you and the chocolate chip cookies?” she asked.

  “I like chocolate chip cookies,” I said with a shrug as I made my way toward the kitchen.

  “They aren't exactly a balanced diet,” Aurora said.

  “What's going to happen to me?” I asked, reaching into the cookie jar on the counter to pull out a handful. “Eating too many of them going to give me a heart attack?” I thought about this as I divided the cookies up between two plates. Leaning around the door frame, I looked back at her. “That can't happen, right? I mean, I was being facetious because I figured a vampire can't have a heart attack, but what the fuck do I know, I still haven't read the manual. No heart attacks?”

  She shook her head.

  “No heart attacks. Heart stakes sometimes.”

  “Pain in the ass,” I said.

  “Yes. And the occasional heart removal. But no heart attacks.”

  I glared at her.

  “That's not funny,” I said.

  I could hear her laughing as I put the top back on the cookie jar and took a carton of milk out of the refrigerator.

  “What?” Aurora asked.

  “I thought we weren't going to talk about body part removals.”

  I carried the plates out into the living room and put them on the table, then went back for glasses of milk.

  “You specified head removals,” she said. “You didn't say anything about any other body parts.”

  “Why don't you go ahead and throw hearts on the list,” I said, dropping down to sit on the couch.

  She laughed again and came up to straddle me, settling into my lap. I held onto her hips with one hand and took a cookie from the plate with the other.

  “Do you want me to leave you alone with your cookies?” she asked.

  I shook my head, holding tight to the swell of one of her ass cheeks.

  “Nope,” I said. “This is perfect.”

  14

  A gulp of milk washed down the last bite of cookie just as Bex came out of the bathroom and into the living room. He dropped down into the chair opposite me and reached for the plate and cup I'd put out for him.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “No problem. Feel better?” I asked.

  “You have no idea,” he said. “I was not prepared for how grimy chasing you around, getting my ass tied to a chair for a couple hours, and then hiding in a basement was going to make me.”

  “Don't forget the beheading,” Aurora said.

  “And the beheading,” Bex said. “That one probably especially.”

  “I didn't forget the beheading,” I said. “But thanks for bringing it up.”

  Aurora grinned at me and stood from where she was perched on the arm of the chair.

  “I'm feeling pretty grimy myself. I was not prepared for how grimy going into the other world, celebrating a birthday, and kicking the shit out of a bunch of Lunaris fighters was going to make me.”

  Bex laughed as he bit into a cookie. He pulled it back and looked at it.

  “You're right. These are amazing,” he said.

  “Told you,” I said.

  Aurora's fingertips traced down the back of my neck and dipped into my shirt collar.

  “I'm going to take a shower,” she said.

  It was an invitation and she didn't need to give it to me twice. I got to my feet and followed her, watching her round hips swish as she made her way across the room. The tears in her clothes from the fight made her even sexier. She had strength and courage like I had never seen, yet managed to also be enticingly, undeniably feminine. I couldn't get enough of her. She was more beautiful, more intoxicating than even the first time I saw her across the bar at Solomon's Fang, and each time I touched her, I needed more of her. She dipped into the bathroom and I followed her, closing the door and locking it just in time for her clothes to start hitting the floor. She wasn't in any rush. Rather than tossing away the garments unceremoniously, she met my eyes and slid each carefully and deliberately away, revealing her skin a few delicious inches at a time. I held back, standing with my back against the door and just watched the gradual reveal. When she was completely bare, Aurora walked to the bathtub and turned on the faucet, feeling the temperature against the inside of her wrist for a few seconds as she adjusted it before turning on the showerhead.

 

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