“So what have you got to sell me?” The boss’s voice drew my attention back toward him. “This room is soundproof, so you can be sure that no one will know what it is.”

  As I turned, Drakon caught my eye and lifted a brow in a clear question: Now what?

  We were past the guards on the stairs and as close as we were going to get, so I shrugged. “Go time.”

  He didn’t need to be told twice. In one swift motion, he surged to his feet and lunged toward the boss.

  I whirled around and pulled Eve’s bag of potions from the ether, yanking out a potion bomb and hurling it at the guards who surged toward us. It landed on the floor between two of them, exploding in a blast that shot them backward towards the wall. They slammed into it and sank to the ground, unconscious.

  The other two growled and drew their short swords, which glinted wickedly under the light.

  “You want to play that game?” I taunted, drawing my own sword as I slung the potion bag over my shoulders. “Good, because it’s my favorite.”

  I lunged toward them, but a flash of movement shot by my side. Before I could so much as swing my blade, Drakon had reached the demons and torn their heads off. Blood gushed, and I lunged back to avoid the spray.

  “Damn it, those were mine,” I said.

  He turned to me, a mocking smile on his face. “I’m sure there will be more.”

  He was probably right. I looked behind me to see the demon boss draped over his table, unconscious.

  “I kept him alive in case we need him,” Drakon explained.

  “Good thinking.” I moved toward the door and pulled it open, then peeked out. “Hopefully, he was right about this room being soundproof.”

  It appeared he had been, as the hallway was silent. The top of the stairwell was only a few feet away, and though I couldn’t see the half-dozen guards positioned there, I knew they were waiting. If the stuff on this floor was as valuable as I thought, there’d be even more guards around.

  I crept into the hall. “Let’s go.”

  Drakon followed me, and we moved silently toward the door at the end. There were still six closed doors along the way, and it was impossible to say which would hold our treasure.

  When magic sparked briefly on the air, I stiffened. The badger who’d been following me appeared in the middle of the hall.

  This way. It turned and scampered toward the end.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Drakon asked.

  “Haven’t you seen a badger before?”

  “Of course, but not usually appearing in the middle of a demon bar.”

  “She’s helpful.”

  The badger glanced back over her shoulder as she went. Damn straight, I am. A moment later, she stopped in front of the door at the end and pointed up to the handle. This is it. I feel the magic.

  I hurried toward the door and held my palm over the handle without touching it. Rule number one of breaking into places: test for spells before being dumb enough to touch anything.

  As expected, a charm sparked against my skin.

  “What is it?” Drakon asked.

  “Protection charm of some kind. Maybe a magical lock.” I frowned down at it, mind racing. “I bet the boss’s hand is the only one that can open it.”

  “Good thing I left him alive.” Drakon turned and headed back to the office.

  I looked down at the badger. “What’s your name?”

  Genevieve. What’s yours?

  “Genevieve. That’s pretty long. Can I call you Gennie?”

  She looked at me, scandalized. Like a commoner?

  “Sorry. Sorry.” I raised my hands apologetically. “I’m Mac. Are you my familiar?”

  By jove, perhaps I am! I just know that I was drawn to you and that we can talk.

  “Good enough for me. Thanks for the help.”

  My mobile buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. A quick glance showed a text from Jaxson: Time’s up. Your guy is coming.

  Damn. I looked up to see Drakon emerging from the office with the boss’s unconscious body draped over his shoulder. He carried him like he weighed no more than a sack of flour, and I gestured him closer. “Hurry, our opponent is on his way.”

  He nodded and strode to the door, then dumped the body in front of it.

  I left him to it and turned to face the stairs just as Maurice arrived at the top. He was sweaty and pale, and rage glinted in his eyes. “Thought you could hold me back?” he hissed.

  “Yeah.” I drew a potion bomb from my pocket and chucked it at him.

  He threw up his hand, and a sparkling forcefield appeared. The bomb bounced off it and shot back toward us.

  Genevieve dove to the side, and I followed. “Watch out!” I shouted to Drakon.

  He cursed, and I caught sight of him ducking down. The bomb slammed into the door, blasting the handle right off. Worse, the boss’s body took part of the hit. Half of him was blown away, leaving the rest charred and blackened.

  Double shit.

  Drakon scowled and rose to his feet, returning to the door.

  I drew my sword and turned to Maurice. “I’ll take care of him while you try to get through.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Duh.”

  As Drakon tested the newly handle-free door, I approached Maurice. His eyes glittered maliciously as he raised his hands, which sparked with magic. A commotion sounded from the stairs.

  “The demon guards are on to us,” I said. “Be quick.”

  “Of course.”

  I heard a loud thud from behind me. Drakon was clearly trying to break down the door, and Maurice looked pleased.

  “Planning to sneak in once we break it down?” I taunted as I neared him. Genevieve had started to sneak around his side, and I wanted to give the badger time for whatever she had planned. Badgers were freaking adorable, but they could be fierce when needed.

  “Of course,” Maurice said. “Let you do the brute work, then slip in and take the prize.”

  “Sure, let me know how that works out for you.”

  He just smiled and let a ball of flame form in his hand.

  Fortunately, Genevieve had made it behind Maurice without him noticing. In a flash, the badger leapt onto his back and dug in with her claws. Maurice shrieked and hurled his fireball, but his aim was terrible. The flames slammed into the ceiling over my head, raining sparks on my shoulders.

  I lunged toward Maurice, who was still flailing as Genevieve rode him like a prize bull. When I reached them, I decided at the last minute that I didn’t want Maurice’s blood on my hands. He wasn't like a demon, who would regenerate. I switched my sword to my left hand and decked him with my right so hard that his eyes rolled back in his head.

  Timber! Genevieve shouted as the man tumbled forward. Genevieve clung to him as if she were atop a falling redwood.

  Six demons poured up the stairwell, drawn by the commotion.

  “You’d better be into that room by now!” I shouted at Drakon as I pulled another potion bomb from the bag at my side.

  There was a massive crack of wood, and I hurled a bomb at the demons. It exploded in front of them, buying me a moment to steal a quick glance back to see Drakon disappear inside the darkened room.

  When I looked back at the demons, I found three of them on the ground, their bodies blackened from the bomb. The others charged toward me, and I raised my sword.

  Drakon

  * * *

  I darted into the darkened room, my heart pounding obnoxiously loud. Worry for Mac was driving the ridiculous reaction, and I hated myself for it.

  No. She could handle herself.

  I reached for the light switch on the side wall and flipped it on. A golden glow illuminated a room full of shelves. Treasures of all varieties were packed onto the surfaces, and I cursed. It would take ages to find the damned potion.

  From the hallway, I could hear the sound of fighting. Mac had the badger for backup, but how much could that creature really help?

  I tried to shove away my worry as I searched the room. A minute later, I got enormously lucky at the back. Most of the items on the shelves were larger, but a drawer on the rear wall revealed a collection of sparkling glass bottles.

  Potion of Ataxia.

  The label caught my eye, and I pulled the bottle out and shoved it into my pocket. Finished, I turned and raced out into the hallway.

  At the end, Mac was fighting half a dozen demons, her sword whirling in a deadly dance. She beheaded one demon and ducked the spray of blood as she stabbed another in the gut.

  Impressive.

  My worry had been misplaced.

  All the same, instinct roared to the surface, driving me forward. It didn’t matter how capable she was—I couldn’t help the raging desire to protect her. It came over me in a blinding fog, and I lunged toward the demons, putting myself between Mac and her attackers.

  “Hey!” Her annoyed shouts barely penetrated my fury as I tore their heads off one by one, moving so quickly that the world around me was a blur. My heart thundered, and satisfaction roared through me as their blood coated my skin. I hadn’t felt a blood lust like this in centuries. I’d long ago shed the desire to mindlessly tear out the throats of my opponents, but I found it returning when I imagined Mac in danger. I barely felt their blades as they cut into my skin.

  “They’re all dead,” Mac hissed. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.”

  My vision cleared, and I spotted her darting around me to hurry down the stairs. I followed her, descending into chaos. A troupe of demon guards plowed through the bar patrons as they made their way toward us. The patrons shrieked and ran, trying to beat their way to the exits. Partway to the stairs, I caught sight of Jaxson fighting off four of the demons, beating them back with savage blows from his fists.

  I left him to it and grabbed Mac’s hand, hauling her through the crowd. “We need to make it to the exit, and then I can transport us out of here.”

  She nodded and pushed her way past some of the panicking patrons.

  When four demons converged on us, she drew her sword and plunged it into the gut of the nearest one. I threw myself between her and the rest, that long-forgotten blood lust overcoming me again. The calm that had characterized my last centuries disappeared in favor of a raging desire to protect. My fangs lengthened, and I went for their necks. Blood poured into my mouth as I tore out their throats. It thundered through my veins, imbuing me with power that I hadn’t felt in years. When they had all dropped around me, Mac and I continued through the crowd.

  I beat my way through a dozen more guards, taking numerous hits as I destroyed them one by one. Finally, we reached the exit and spilled out onto the street.

  Jaxson appeared behind us, blood speckling his face. “That was a shitshow. You owe me.”

  I nodded. I certainly did, and I paid my debts. “Mac can get you in touch with me.”

  I could feel the surprise in her gaze and realized it was the first time I had acknowledged that I wouldn’t kill her. Frustration at my own weakness surged through me, but there was no time to linger on it.

  “We need to go.” I held out my hand, and she took it. Jaxson disappeared down the street, and I called upon the ether, letting it take us back to my room at the society.

  We appeared in the middle of the quiet, peaceful space, and Mac pulled away from me. “Did you get it?”

  I nodded, wincing as I pulled the bottle from my pocket and set it on the chest of drawers near the hearth. Now that we were no longer in the heat of battle, I could feel my wounds.

  “You look like hell,” she said.

  “I feel like it, too.” The raging desire to protect her had shielded me from pain, but now that I had a moment to register what had happened, it was clear that I was in bad shape.

  “You got between me and the demons multiple times,” she said.

  “Coincidence.”

  She arched a brow, clearly not believing me. I turned from her, but the room swam around me. Shit, this was worse than I’d realized.

  “What would it take to heal you?”

  Her blood.

  Just the idea of it made my head spin and my mouth water. It would be divine.

  I turned back to her. “Blood. Yours. But you polluted it.”

  “Not happening, even if I hadn’t. How about a healing potion?”

  That was the most I’d get from her, and it was for the best. If I ever tasted her blood, it would join us in a way that would be impossible to break. Hell, it already felt like there was an unassailable bond between us, and that was more trouble than I could figure out how to fix.

  “That will do.” I leaned against the chest of drawers, loathing the unusual weakness that dragged at my muscles.

  She dug through the potion bag at her side and pulled out a tiny vial. Our fingertips brushed as I took it, and a shiver of electricity raced up my arm.

  “I’m going to go get cleaned up,” she said. “You should do the same.”

  I looked down at myself, finding my clothing soaked with demon blood. How unpleasant.

  I drank the healing potion and sighed as my wounds began to knit themselves together more quickly. I’d heal on my own far more easily than most supernaturals would, but healing potions and blood could really speed the process along.

  As Mac headed to the door, a knock sounded against the wood. She opened it to reveal Valerie on the other side, dressed in a plunging blue dress and heels. She leaned against the door frame and looked us up and down. “I imagine you were successful.”

  “Of course,” I said.

  “And your opponent?”

  “Still there, as far as I know.”

  She grimaced. “Ludovic will be displeased, but as you were my submission to the trials, I can’t say that I’ll feel the same.”

  I nodded, not caring about a word she said.

  “The rest of the hopeful members have returned from their challenges. We’ll be meeting in an hour.”

  I nodded, glancing at the clock near the door. It was barely past noon, which left plenty of time to mingle with the other challengers. I was ready for this to all be over with.

  “We’ll be down,” I said.

  “Good.” She gave me a long look, then left.

  Mac turned to me, her brows raised and a delighted smile on her face. “Well, well, well. If someone doesn’t have an admirer!”

  “Her?”

  She nodded. “She’s after you like a cat after cream.”

  “I’ll see you later.” I turned from her, heading to the bathroom.

  “Just wanted to let you know I fully support this budding romance,” she called after me.

  “You’re irritating, you know that?” I still didn’t turn to look at her, but I heard her laugh as she left the room.

  By the time I stepped into the shower, my wounds had healed. The memory of the protective rage that had overcome me had not faded, however. I closed my eyes and leaned against the tile wall as the water pounded down upon me. Memories of Mac flashed through my mind. I wanted to blame it on the Bride Bond, and I knew that I could.

  Mostly.

  But part of it was just her. She’d weaseled her way under my skin with her humor and strength, just as she had before.

  I shuddered as the memory of my time in the tomb roared through my mind. It swept up my consciousness and sent me back to that horrid black room. I hadn’t seen light for four years. Four years. Constantly starving, my life force fading out with every minute.

  I was certain the horror of it was sapping my strength, making me more susceptible to the Bride Prophecy.

  Kill your Bride, and you will find peace. The Oracle’s words echoed through my head. Falter, and the pain will slowly trap you, entombing you in granite.

  I could barely wrap my mind around the idea. Was I truly capable of that?

  Would I survive if I weren’t?

  17

  Mac

  * * *

  After my shower, I left my room to head down to the meeting. Hopefully, this would all be over soon. I still didn't know how I was going to get Drakon off my back, but it was seeming less likely that he was going to kill me.

  He certainly didn’t like that fact, however. I’d never seen someone so torn. One moment, he said he was going to end my life forever. The next, he was throwing himself between me and danger.

  He was a mess, that vampire, but after so long alive, who could blame him?

  As I passed his door, I heard it open. I glanced at him, stupidly pleased to see that he’d healed. I shouldn’t care, but I did. Dumb.

  “You’ve got the potion?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  Together, we walked in silence down to the main hall. A small crowd had gathered, noticeably missing some of the participants. Maurice wasn’t there, and I wondered if he was still unconscious at the club. Near the side wall, I spotted Ludovic. The sight of him still gave me the creeps, especially considering that he was wearing a pretty spectacular scowl.

  Displeased that Maurice hadn’t succeeded?

  When he saw me, his expression changed, interest lighting his eyes. Interest and something else—something weird.

  Something like knowledge or familiarity.

  What the hell was his deal? I’d never met him before in my life. I was sure of it…and yet, he still looked at me like that.

  I glanced away and sought Valerie as she stepped onto the stairs to begin her speech.

  “Congratulations to everyone who has returned successfully. Each challenge was completed by one team, and tomorrow, you will be formally welcomed into our society.”

  Ew. No thanks.

  I was glad I wasn’t dead, but I really didn’t want to join this group of sociopaths. Excited murmurs filled the room.

  I looked around, realizing that most of the people I’d spoken to hadn’t survived. I was secretly pleased to see Ben Torres, however, the man that I’d met the first night. He was the only one of the lot who seemed all right, but I couldn’t figure out why the hell he’d want to join the organization in the first place.

  None of my business, though. As soon as this was over, I was out of here.

 

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