“How long does it last?” I could only use it for sneaking away temporarily, of course. It wasn’t like I’d run for good, as he knew where I lived. No matter what I did, I’d want to be able to return home.

  “A few hours at most.”

  “I can work with that.”

  “And there are a few explosives in there, the kind you like in particular.”

  “You know me so well, thank you.” I stashed the bag in the ether and hugged her tightly, then Carrow. Grabbing my new luggage, expertly packed by the fae, I hurried outside to find Drakon still waiting.

  He turned to me, his brows rising, and nodded. “Better.”

  “Yeah, whatever.” I scowled at him.

  He just smiled. “We can leave now.”

  “How?”

  “I’ll take us.”

  “With your teleportation?” Would I have to hold his hand to follow him through? A shiver ran down my spine. The idea tantalized me as much as it terrified me, which was a clear indicator that I was insane.

  He nodded sharply and strode to me, holding out a hand. I took a deep breath and slipped my palm into his. As expected, a lightning bolt went through me. It was far too pleasurable, however, and the air tightened with tension.

  A frown flashed on his face, and he inhaled through his nose. “Your scent. What happened to it?”

  “I—”

  He dipped his head to my neck, so close that I could feel the heat of his skin. The tremor that raced through me at our proximity was hot as fire and just as intense.

  Did he feel this damned attraction, too?

  I loathed it even more than I loathed him. I wanted some control over my damned hormones. And yet, there was something about him—something about us when we were together—that set my body alight. Worse, his scent was simply divine. The rich smell of sandalwood and man wrapped around me, making me want to suck it in with deep breaths.

  No. Moron.

  “You’ve done something to your blood. It smells foul.” He drew his face away, and I caught sight of annoyance in his eyes. Disappointment.

  “Yeah, I took a potion because you keep looking at me like you want to bite me.”

  “I do.” His voice was rough. “And I will.”

  “You’re a monster.”

  “You’re right. I am.”

  Without warning, he called upon his magic and pulled us through the ether. We spun through space, my stomach pitching, then arrived on a train platform in the middle of the countryside.

  Rolling green hills surrounded us, each dotted with dozens of white sheep. A few oak trees speckled the hills, and fluffy clouds drifted through the sky.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Far from Guild City. The house is only accessible via a train that passes along this line.”

  That wasn’t very descriptive, but I didn’t press him. “Does it go anywhere else?”

  “A few other houses that would like to remain off the grid.”

  Whatever their reason for the secrecy, I had to imagine it was something shady. Most supernaturals liked living near one another. We often congregated in hidden cities or neighborhoods that had been enchanted to be invisible to humans. The idea of living in total secret all alone was a miserable one.

  Behind us sat a small, empty building that had once been a café. Farther down the platform stood a man and a woman, both studiously ignoring us.

  “Are they going to the same place?” I murmured.

  “Hard to say. We won’t worry about them for now.”

  I stood next to Drakon, my bag at my feet, and tried to ignore the dense silence. I didn’t want to talk to him, but my usual MO was to joke around. This solemnity was weird.

  Finally, a train pulled up to the station, an old-fashioned model with red and black trim straight out of the nineteenth century, though it appeared to be propelled by magic rather than steam or petrol. Drakon led the way onto the train, handing two tickets to the conductor as we passed. I followed him into a private car that had been decorated to look like a living room. It was done up in an older style that matched the exterior, and I felt like I was stepping into the past.

  I tossed my bag on one of the couches and took a seat at a small table, annoyed when Drakon took the seat across from me. Giving a pointed glance at all the furniture that surrounded us, I said, “There are plenty of other places to sit.”

  “I’m comfortable where I am.” He leaned back in the chair and studied me, an expression of relaxed confidence on his face.

  This was a man who never felt out of place. And how could he? With his looks and power, he’d be the most impressive person in every room. People would scurry out of the way as he approached.

  “Fine.” I studied him, not caring that I was staring.

  Sunlight glinted off his ink-black hair and pale skin. His cheekbones and jaw were sharp enough to cut glass, but it was his eyes that were truly riveting: blue like the sky, yet filled with so many shadows and secrets that one could get lost in them for years.

  I doubted it would be a fun experience.

  The train rumbled to a start. As it left the station behind, a shiver of magic raced over my skin, and I raised a brow. “What was that?”

  “Invisibility spell.”

  “Whoa.” Invisibility spells were exceedingly expensive and difficult to come by. Hiding a whole train was crazy.

  “If tourists saw this rumbling through the countryside, they’d be desperate for a ride. Better that we travel in secrecy.”

  “This organization is pretty paranoid, huh?”

  “If you’d done the things they have, you’d be secretive, too.”

  “Bad things?”

  “Bad is an understatement.” He looked out the window, clearly finished with the conversation.

  But I wasn’t. This entire thing had my curiosity seriously piqued, so I stared at him, trying to figure him out. As we passed pastures and hills, farms and cities, I studied every inch of his profile, wishing that I could read his mind.

  Finally, he sighed. “Stop staring.”

  “No.”

  He looked at me, brow furrowed. “Why the hell are you doing it?”

  “I’m trying to figure out what your deal is.”

  “Deal?”

  “Yeah. You’re obviously a bastard and full of dark magic, but you’re not all evil. Not quite.” Almost, though.

  “How little you know.”

  I rolled my eyes and got up to move to another part of the train. My game hadn’t proven fruitful, and it was stupid, anyway. Instead of watching him, I watched the countryside roll by. It was far more boring, but better for my sanity.

  But as the miles passed, I kept feeling his gaze on me. I tugged on my ponytail, unable to help myself. “You’re staring at me now. Why?”

  “Because I want to know why you did it. Why did you lock me underground to rot?”

  “I didn’t!” I snapped. “I’m telling you, you have the wrong girl.”

  He shook his head. “You’re devious. Cunning. A genius. And you’re helping me to buy yourself time. But I guarantee that I will find out why you did it.”

  “You’re going to end up disappointed.”

  “You’re a seer.” He beckoned me back to my seat. “Why don’t you come here and read the truth from my mind?”

  “You can still lie inside your mind.”

  “But you could feel it, couldn’t you?”

  I could if my magic were cooperating today, but did I really want to touch him?

  Yes. No.

  Definitely no, but with the tiniest bit of very stupid yes. I did want to see what he thought had happened, though, just so that I could prove it wasn’t me.

  “Fine.” I stood and strode to him, then leaned against the table. I was careful not to breathe in his scent. The last thing I needed was for my heart to start racing.

  Not that it was something I could control. As soon as I laid my fingertips on the back of his hand, the traitorous organ started thundering.

  His blue gaze snapped to mine, and I looked away, closing my eyes.

  Immediately, I was inside his head. The memory slammed into me, so bright and real that suddenly, I was him.

  The fiercest sense of betrayal flashed through me, along with shock. No one got the best of me, Drakon of Dracul. And yet, this woman had. She’d enchanted me, freezing my limbs solid until I couldn’t move an inch. Only my heart felt like it could move, and it thundered with rage and panic. I lay inside a small stone tomb. The door hadn’t yet shut, but I was bound so tightly, I couldn’t move an inch. The woman who had enchanted me stared with cold eyes as she shut the lid, blocking out the light.

  At the edges of my mind, I—Mac—retained my own consciousnesses. And I was staring at myself as I closed the door of the stone tomb.

  Gasping, I yanked my hand away from his and blinked to clear my vision.

  He looked at me with shadowed eyes. “See? It is you.”

  I stood, stepping away. “No, it’s someone who looks like me.”

  But damn, it had been like looking in a mirror. It couldn’t be me, though. I’d remember something like that.

  Wouldn’t I?

  5

  Mac

  * * *

  I spun and raced away from Drakon, heading toward the end of the train car. “I’m going to get some air.”

  Though I could feel his gaze on me, he didn’t speak or follow. Good. After what I’d just seen—what I’d just felt—I needed some time away from him.

  With shaking hands, I pulled open the carriage door that led to the little platform at the back of the train car. We were in the last car, and the tiny outdoor platform offered a view of the fields racing away from us as the train thundered down the track. I pulled the door shut and leaned against it, gasping.

  That couldn’t have been me. Of course it couldn’t.

  I squeezed my eyes closed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

  It sure had looked like me, though. And the magic had smelled like mine…

  Oh, fates, did I have an evil twin?

  I gave a crazed laugh. No, of course not. I’d had a boring life with nice parents who were long dead. Of course I didn’t have an evil twin.

  And an evil twin wouldn’t answer why it had felt like me who was closing that tomb door on him.

  How the hell was that possible if I didn’t remember?

  It wasn’t possible, that was how.

  I shook myself and opened my eyes. I’d go back in there and tell him exactly how impossible it was that I’d done the crime.

  But as I reached for the door handle, something grabbed me around the neck. The scent of sulfur and rotten garbage filled my nose as the grip tightened, and my panic flared.

  Demon.

  “Where is he?” a voice hissed at my ear, and I barely caught a glimpse of dark gray skin out of the corner of my eye. The figure towered over me, at least seven feet tall and roped with muscle.

  Rage exploded inside me. I couldn't attack Drakon, but I could attack this bastard.

  I dropped my weight to the platform floor, shocking the demon into loosening his grip. He didn’t let go entirely, but he slackened enough that I could yank away and spin around. With a deft, long-practiced move, I pulled the small dagger from the top of my boot and thrust it up into his gut. He gasped and reached for me, his clawed hands scraping against my neck.

  I lurched to the side, falling back on the skills that I’d honed while tending bar and fighting alongside my friends when things got dicey out in the real world.

  It was impossible to identify what type of demon he was—there were so many—but he was definitely strong. His yellow eyes gleamed with malice, and his horns pointed toward the sky.

  He lashed out, backhanding me across the face. Pain exploded as I slammed into the railing, nearly blacking out.

  There was no time to screw around in this fight. I needed to kill the demon before he killed me. Forget questioning him.

  With a swift motion, I whirled around and sliced the blade across his throat. Dark green blood arced out, splashing me in the face. I gagged as the demon reached up to grip his neck, his yellow eyes wide.

  “Bye.” I kicked him straight in the chest, launching him over the railing and onto the tracks.

  He landed hard, arms and legs splayed as he stared up at the sky. His green blood poured onto the tracks as his body began to disappear.

  Panting, I leaned against the back of the train and wiped the blood from my face. I considered chucking a potion bomb at him just to be vindictive, but it would be a waste. The body was already starting to fade out of existence.

  Fortunately for me, demon bodies didn’t stick around after death. They disappeared quickly as the demon’s soul returned to its underworld. There were many underworlds and many types of demons, but the vicious bastards all shared a desire to wreak havoc on earth. Eventually, the demon’s soul would escape the underworld and come to earth again, especially if someone helped it along. They were some of the most commonly hired mercenaries in the magical world.

  What had this one wanted?

  Heart pounding, I turned and opened the door, returning to the carriage. Drakon’s eyes flared wide, and he stood. “What happened to you?”

  “Demon.”

  He strode toward me. “Where is it?”

  “Dead on the tracks. Probably in his underworld by now.”

  “I heard nothing.”

  It had been a nearly silent fight. The demon’s whispered question had been the only noise, and the roar of the wind had carried that sound away from Drakon’s keen hearing.

  “I took care of it.” I had questions that I wanted answered, but first, I wanted the damned demon blood off of me. “Where’s the bathroom?”

  “End of the carriage.” He frowned and inspected my neck.

  The scrapes burned like hell, and I could only imagine what they looked like. That demon had better not have had poisoned claws.

  “You’re injured.” A frown creased his brow. “Let me heal you.”

  “No way in hell.” I didn’t know how he planned to heal me—whether it would be a bite or his blood or a shot of his magic—but it was bound to be an intimate experience, and I wanted no part of that. “I’ve got it.”

  I slipped around him and grabbed my bag off the couch, then headed to the bathroom. It was bigger than I’d expected, thank fates. Quickly, I scrubbed the blood off my exposed skin. The claw marks on my neck looked as bad as they felt. Deep and ragged, they seeped blood onto the collar of my shirt.

  Wincing, I drew Eve’s bag from the ether. It only took a moment to find a tiny vial marked Healing, and I swigged the potion back and leaned against the door as it went to work. I watched in the mirror as the wounds knit themselves back together and the pain faded.

  “Thank you, Eve,” I murmured.

  I stripped out of my clothes and shoved the bloody ones into the rubbish bin, then pulled out a fresh set that looked similar to what I’d been wearing. Drakon couldn’t complain about these.

  Once I was dressed, I returned to the carriage and tossed my bag back on the couch.

  Drakon approached, inspecting my neck for any sign of the wound. “Are you all right?”

  “Do you care? The first thing you did when we met was try to kill me.”

  “I need you alive for a while. You’ll be useful.”

  “Yeah, well, I’d be more useful if you’d tell me more about what’s happening.” I threw myself into a chair and glared at him. “That demon was looking for you. Why?”

  “What did he say? Did you not try to capture him to question him?”

  “My life was my first priority, thanks.”

  “Then what did he say?”

  “He wanted to know where you were. You were definitely the target.”

  His jaw tightened, and he nodded. “I have an idea who sent it.”

  “Who?”

  “This weekend house party that we’re going to…it’s not like other house parties.”

  I looked around at the magically hidden train that was straight out of Murder on the Orient Express. “You don’t say.”

  “You know that I’m competing to join a secret society. So are the other guests. But the competition will be deadly, and nothing is forbidden.”

  “Ah, I see. You’re all nuts, and the other guests are trying to take you out of the running before you can even get there.”

  “I believe so. Or someone knows I’m trying to infiltrate the society for other reasons and is trying to kill me.”

  “Fantastic. So once we arrive, it will only get worse.”

  “Exactly. We won’t be safe anywhere. The goal this weekend is to survive and find information.”

  Damn it, I wished my seer powers were stronger. Anything to get me out of this situation more quickly. “What, exactly, are you looking for at this house?”

  “Someone who has wronged me. With your seer power, you’ll be able to feel them.”

  Would I, though? Hopefully. “You’re seriously not going to tell me what you’re looking for?”

  “If you’re as powerful a seer as you say you are, then you’ll be able to figure it out.”

  He had me there. “What else do I need to know about this party? Any other deadly threats?”

  “We’ll learn more about the events of the weekend when we arrive. There will be challenges, and we’ll make it through them. Just keep your guard up. It seems you can defend yourself.”

  I nodded curtly. Of course I could defend myself. One didn’t live in Guild City for years and hang out with my crew and not learn to win a scuffle every now and again.

  “How long until we’re there?” I asked.

  “We’ll arrive around sunset. Lunch will be served soon.”

  As if she’d heard him, a woman pushed open the door and carried in an enormous silver tray. Drakon nodded to the table by the window, and she set it down silently and scuttled away. She never took her eyes off him, and from the expression on her face, I couldn’t tell if she wanted to jump his bones or run screaming.

 

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