“Shelly, what brought you to Savannah?” I suddenly demanded, causing Danaus to wince as I cut straight to the heart of the matter. The mere mention of Tristan’s name had dissolved the last of my patience. Now was not the time to give the little earth witch a lesson in exactly how dangerous nightwalkers could be. She had seen the violence with her own eyes, and yet it seemed she had chosen to whitewash the memory so that nightwalkers didn’t come out looking half as scary as we truly were. Of course, if she was willing to face the fact that she was sitting with one of the most dangerous nightwalkers in all the world, I truly doubted that she would have come on this little visit alone. On the other hand, she had been smart enough to pick a night that Danaus was free from his duties at the Dark Room. She could have been counting on the hunter acting as a buffer, as he always did.
“I’m actually here on someone else’s behalf,” she admitted slowly. Leaning forward, she placed her elbows on her legs and twisted her fingers together as if knotting them in her growing anxiety. It was one of the few times I saw a frown cross her small, bowlike lips. Her long blond hair fell forward, framing her heart-shaped face, accenting the flush to her cheeks, which I hadn’t noticed there a moment ago. In the silence of the room, I could hear her heart pounding in her chest.
“Who?”
“We need your help, Mira,” Shelly evaded, raising her wide eyes to me as to somehow weaken my will.
“Who?” I repeated, my voice growing harder and colder. A knot twisted in my stomach the more anxious that she became.
“Cynnia would—”
“No, absolutely not!” I said, coming out of my seat. I paced to the far end of the room, shaking my head while clenching my teeth. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with that renegade princess. Sure, I admired her for the gutsy way she used me as protection against both nightwalkers and her own kind. But that admiration only stretched so far. Trouble followed that naturi no matter where she went. And after the rough several months I’d spent fighting against and with Danaus, I thought we both deserved a little peace and quiet. Cynnia would not allow such a thing.
“Please, Mira. She only wants to talk to you,” Shelly said, rising to her feet as well when I paced back toward the sofa.
“I’m no fool, Shelly,” I snarled. “Cynnia wants more than just to talk. She used me as her own personal bodyguard last fall. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s come back looking for a repeat performance.”
“Actually, that’s been my job.” Shelly tilted her head up a little as she spoke, pride filling her words.
“What do you mean?” Danaus asked. I leaned against the arm of the sofa and crossed my arms over my chest as I watched the witch through narrowed eyes. She stared back unflinchingly, head held high.
“I encountered Cynnia and Nyx not long after Machu Picchu. There were looking for someplace to stay hidden while they formulated a plan to stay alive against Aurora. Since that time, I have been acting as Cynnia’s personal bodyguard along with her sister Nyx.”
“They’re going to get you killed.”
“They’re fighting for a good cause. If you have to die, isn’t it best to die fighting for a good cause?”
“Dead is dead. Glory and honor are just pretty ideas that don’t exist anymore,” I whispered, talking mostly to myself. Honor was a concept I still clung to, though mine was more than a little tattered and torn these days.
I stared at Shelly in silence for more than a minute, dark thoughts swirling through my head. Just a couple centuries ago I would have told her to bring Cynnia forward and the consequences be damned. I was always searching for the next fight, the next adventure that led me so close to death that I could kiss the grim reaper.
But now things had changed. I had seen more than six centuries pass before my eyes. I had watched people I loved greatly fall at my feet and die. I had been washed in the blood of my comrades and my enemies more nights than I ever wanted to count. A part of my soul was tired of it all. Besides, now I had Danaus to help soothe the ache when the memories came to haunt me. I had Danaus’s gentle touch and teasing smile. I had his wisdom and experience to help guide my decisions and to drive me insane when we didn’t see eye-to-eye on a matter. I had Danaus now, and I no longer wanted to chase after death. For the first time in more years that I could count, I was ready to live.
“She does need your help,” Shelly said gently when I finally seemed to calm down, “but for now, she would be content with a meeting. She just wants you to hear her out. Cynnia has already sent Nyx out to speak with someone else. It’s my job to convince you to at least meet with her, listen to what she has to say with an open mind. That’s all we’re asking.”
“If Nyx is away and you’re here with me, then who is guarding the little princess? That’s not being a very good bodyguard,” I taunted.
“It was a risk Cynnia was willing to take. She knew that I would be the only one you’d listen to for even a few minutes, so she is taking a big chance by allowing me to leave her alone for a period of time.”
Staring at Shelly, I furrowed my brow before glancing out the window behind me. Cynnia didn’t take big chances. She took calculated risks. Right now she was being hunted by Aurora’s followers, and there was only one place nearby that they might fear to tread.
“Damn it, Shelly! She’s already in Savannah!” I shouted, throwing my hands up. Pointing at Danaus, I growled, “Check the area! How many naturi are lurking in my city?” I could have tried to complete the search myself, but while Nick had given me the ability to sense all the different types of power, I still had trouble distinguishing the naturi from the lycanthropes, and I wasn’t very good at estimating their numbers.
Frowning at me, Danaus nonetheless pushed his powers out from his body and through the house. I closed my eyes and was swept along in the wave as it washed through my city. I could feel the soothing vibrations of the nightwalkers across the landscape and then the jarring sensation of the naturi.
“There are seven,” he replied, pulling his powers back into his frame. “They are sticking to the outskirts of town, possibly across the river in lycan territory. None in the city proper.”
“That’s not good,” Shelly murmured, balling her hands into fists before her. “When I left, Cynnia had only three guards with her. I don’t know who the other three are.”
Sucking in a slow breath and releasing it to cleanse my mind, I looked over at Shelly as she was torn between her duty to convince me to listen to her charge and her duty to protect the princess. It was a position I could understand.
“Does Cynnia’s need to talk to us have to do with her sister Aurora?” I asked in a low, even voice, which made me sound more reasonable that I was feeling.
“Yes, I’m afraid it does.”
I looked down at Danaus, who simply shrugged his broad shoulders at me. “You knew it was coming.”
“I foolishly wanted a little more time.”
Turning my back on Shelly, I glanced out the window into the large park square opposite my town house. Cars swooshed by, their lights dancing across the trees so the shadows lunged about the open area. I sensed no nightwalkers close to my home, only humans enjoying the warmer than usual spring evening. There were still many hours until the sun rose. Plenty of time to hear the plea of a naturi princess.
“If Cynnia is talking about engaging Aurora and is thinking of potentially using Savannah as a battleground, then Barrett Rainer, alpha for the Savannah pack, should be involved in this discussion.”
“I don’t think she wants to use any city as a battleground,” Shelly quickly countered. “However, there is always the chance of Aurora coming after her.”
“Barrett should be involved,” I pressed. That was my first big mistake when dealing with the naturi. I had made it a nightwalker issue and kept the shifters in the dark in an effort to protect our own shame and secrets. In the end, many good lycanthropes had died without knowing why. I’d learned my lesson the hard way. Barrett deserved a voice in what was going to happen next.
“All right,” Shelly said. “I don’t think Cynnia will be averse to your suggestion. We shall meet—”
“Tonight,” I finished. “I want this over as quickly as possible. We are currently faced with another pressing problem, and I would prefer not to have the naturi in the region causing problems as well.” Danaus was frowning at the callous way I was treating Shelly, but I didn’t care. She was bringing a threat into my domain and it was my job to protect my people, not bring them more harm. “We need a neutral location. I’m not holding the meeting here.”
“The Dark Room?” he suggested.
“No naturi will ever step foot in the Dark Room again,” I said, glaring at him. The last time such a thing happened, Knox had nearly been killed and several other nightwalkers and lycanthropes in fact had.
