“I would love nothing more than to see all vampires wiped from existence,” he said, “but right now vampires are the only ones who can stop the naturi from destroying mankind. I can put my hatred aside for now. Can you?”
“Mira?” Tristan’s questioning voice was little more than a soft whisper, searching for a little direction, reaching for something he could cling to in the swirling maelstrom that was sucking us in.
My gaze slid around the deep shadows of the narrow alley as I reviewed Danaus’s actions during the past few days. When we weren’t bickering, he had proven useful. Had he actually put his hatred of my kind aside? I didn’t want to believe him.
“How?” I whispered. My voice was on the verge of shattering. “It’s like they’re one step ahead no matter where we go.”
“I don’t know,” Danaus said softly. I looked up. He sounded tired for the first time. His shoulders were slumped and his voice soft, almost fragile. I watched him for a couple seconds. He was worried, and maybe even a little scared. I still didn’t trust him, but I believed his fear. We were all about to get crushed by this army that was grinding away toward oblivion. I didn’t know whose side he was on, but we were all in its path regardless.
None of it mattered, though. I needed to get to Sadira. After that I would figure something out.
“There’s the little princess.” Rowe’s voice danced down the dark, narrow alley, shimmering out of nothingness. I spun around, my eyes scouring every inch of the alley before shooting up to the rooftops. The naturi couldn’t use glamour against nightwalkers; we could see through it. At least, we always had before, but I couldn’t see him.
“Danaus?” My right hand fell to my hip, searching for a weapon, only to discover that I was unarmed. Danaus wouldn’t allow me to attend my Themis meeting armed, and I hadn’t thought about grabbing anything before leaving to fetch Thorne. Walking around armed was no longer a normal occurrence for me.
“Who was that?” Tristan demanded, pushing away from the wall. He circled past Danaus, looking around the area, though he had no idea who he was looking for.
“Rowe, a naturi,” I bit out. My hands were out to my sides, ready to attack.
“I can’t sense him,” Danaus said, slowly turning as he peered into the deep shadows.
“What?” My gaze jerked to his face, but he wasn’t looking at me.
“I can’t sense any naturi in the immediate area.” The hunter’s jaw was clenched and his power beat in thick, heavy waves against me. He was pouring everything he had into locating the owner of that voice. A knife was gripped in his right hand, ready.
“Maybe he’s not here. He might have projected his voice from another location to scare us,” Tristan suggested.
Danaus paused for a moment and looked over at me. “You think so?”
“Not really, but I’d rather not stick around to find out,” I muttered. “Let’s just get going.”
“Not yet, princess,” Rowe said with a chuckle. This time his voice sounded as if it was coming from behind me. I turned to see the brick wall quiver as if made of water, and then Rowe stepped through, smiling at me.
“Shit!” Turning, I tried to run. He was less than a foot away from me, too close. It would be too easy for him to stick a blade through my heart before I had a chance to act. I needed distance, but there wasn’t time. Rowe grabbed a handful of my hair. With a quick jerk, I fell backward, my shoulders slamming into his chest.
He didn’t waste a second. He released my hair and his left hand snaked around my waist, up between my breasts, to roughly grab either side of my lower jaw. Tilting my head back, he pried my mouth open with his fingers and thumb. I blinked once and my eyes focused on the open vial filled with red liquid. Rowe held it balanced over my open mouth. If I jerked or moved, its contents would dump straight down my throat.
“Hold, all of you!” he commanded, his light voice hardening for the first time. “Or we find out if the little princess can survive a heavy dose of naturi blood. We’ve already proven that the albino couldn’t.”
I jerked my head in anger without thinking before I reacted. He had killed Thorne. However, my rage was overwhelmed by fear once again when a drop of blood fell on my lower lip and slowly ran down my chin. A faint trembling started in my limbs that I couldn’t control and slowly spread through the rest of my body. I couldn’t move or he would destroy me.
A low growl rumbled from the other end of the alley and I could feel the cool breeze of Tristan’s powers as he stood poised to attack. I prayed that he wouldn’t move, as I was in no position to start shouting orders.
Rowe leaned his head down so I could feel his hot breath against my neck. “Tell me you remember the taste of my blood, Mira. Tell me. Of course, you’ve tasted more than just my blood.” A strangled cry erupted from the back of my throat as he ran the tip of his tongue up my neck to my earlobe.
“Let her go!” Danaus shouted, taking a step forward. Dragging my eyes from the vial over my head, I looked at the hunter. His face was twisted with rage and his heartbeat pounded in the silent alley. But the knife pointed at Rowe was steady.
“Go on, misfit. Kill me like you killed the others. But can you do it before I drop this down her throat?”
“What do you want?” Danaus bit out each word, holding his ground.
“I’ve got what I want.” Rowe chuckled, his grip tightening on my jaw. My blood filled my mouth as my teeth dug into the sides of my cheeks. “She goes with me.”
Rowe pulled me backward as if he meant to go back through the wall. I dug my heels into the concrete as best as I could and stiffened my whole body. My hands grabbed his pant legs near his knees, holding him trapped. If he tried to jerk me backward again, he would either stumble or be forced to drag me, causing the blood to tip into my mouth. If he moved, he’d kill me. So be it. I would rather die a relatively quick death than be held captive by the naturi again. I wouldn’t go with him. I wouldn’t let him have me.
“Move, princess, or I dump the blood down your throat.” Rowe brought his face close again, his cheek pressing against mine. “I want you alive purely for my own pleasure, but you are just as useful to me dead. Either way, I win.”
My gaze darted from Danaus to the vial. The hunter could do nothing without killing me. The angle of my head made it impossible for me to see Tristan, but he was still a way off, closer to the entrance of the alley. His low growl had stopped, but I would sense his powers.
I would not go with Rowe. Death was a better option. Closing my eyes, I forced my shaking hands to release Rowe’s pants.
“Mira, don’t.” Those two words drifted from Danaus, nearly breaking the thin barrier that held back my gathering tears.
As Rowe took a step back, I focused my powers on the naturi blood within the vial. The liquid and glass ignited in Rowe’s hand. Screaming, he attempted to tip it into my mouth when the vial exploded from the extreme heat, raining down glass and boiling blood. The distraction allowed me to pull from his grasp. My knees slammed into the concrete, sending a shock wave of pain through my legs.
Glass and blood were splattered across my face and eyes, blinding me. I threw a fireball behind me, hoping to hit Rowe. At the same time, I heard metal clatter against brick.
“He’s gone,” Danaus said as I prepared another fireball in my hand.
Extinguishing the fire, I raised my hands, trying to wipe away the blood burning my face and eyes. I cried out, jerking away my trembling hands. The shards of glass had cut both my fingers and face. “I can’t get it off! I can’t get the blood off!” I screamed, panic taking over.