Eternal

was a threat—there was no doubting that.

Megved, I called out telepathically, establishing the connection with Matthew. Without even trying, I relayed the information to him in a split second.

I wasn’t sure what room he’d been in—if he’d been in the library reading, or if he’d gone to bed. It didn’t matter, though. He had no trouble finding me.

We were ready, the three of us. Aidan with his ancient sword, me with my stake, and Matthew with his baselard. The three of us stood in the center of the master bedroom, an immobile unit as we waited, listening. Aidan’s senses were better than ours, and it didn’t take him long to figure it out. “The balcony,” he said. “Two of them—maybe three.”

In the blink of an eye, Luc appeared before us. “Vampires,” he said, his dark eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, we got that,” I said sharply. “Thanks.”

“A scouting party, I think,” Luc added, ignoring my jab.

“There’s not much room to maneuver on the balcony,” Matthew said. “We choose better ground, then draw them to us.”

“But where?” I glanced around the room, taking in the luxurious furnishings. “Here?”

Aidan shook his head. “Not here. There’s a park nearby. It’s gated—it’ll be locked. We go there.”

“You take Violet,” Luc said. “I’ll get him.” He tipped his head toward Matthew.

Panic made my breath hitch in my chest. “Wait, no! You can’t split us up. Aidan, take us both—like you did in Atlanta.”

“It’s okay, Luc. I can take them both.”

“What if they don’t follow us?” Matthew asked.

Aidan’s eyes hardened. “They will. Grab on, both of you.”

We did.

The horrible sensation was brief. A hiss and a pop, and I opened my eyes to find myself standing in a leafy park that was completely shrouded in darkness save for the hazy light of the moon.

Once again, I reached out psychically to Matthew, establishing the connection between us—horrified that, at some point, I’d let it drop.

We formed a semicircle, the four of us, waiting.

It didn’t take long. Two vampires appeared seemingly out of thin air, a male and a female. They were both tall, dark haired, and dark eyed. “We’ve come only to talk,” the female said, her voice heavily accented. “To see who this boy is that Nicole Girard keeps so close to her heart. Her most favored creation, yes? But why? What is so special about this boy, this vampire?”

“Who sent you?” Luc asked, stepping forward as if he were our leader.

“Why, we came on our own accord, of course.”

Breach her mind, Matthew urged. See if she’s lying.

I have to drop my connection with you to do that, I argued.

Just for a moment. Search her mind; see what her intentions are, he insisted.

“You’ve brought friends, I see,” the female said. “Mortals. Do not fear us. We talk, that’s all.”

I didn’t trust her. More important, my bracelet didn’t trust her. I did what Matthew asked.

It took me only a split second to see her plan. The male would take out Luc and hold Aidan captive; the female would kill Matthew and me. The “talk” was just a distraction. Of course.

Megved. Just like that, he knew everything I knew. We sprang into action.

The female first—she was our greatest threat. With her removed, the male would be indecisive, unsure.

Matthew’s baselard flew through the air, straight into the female’s eye. She shrieked, and Luc moved to protect Aidan while I leapt forward and plunged my stake into her heart.

The female went down with an inhuman cry that silenced itself as her body hit the ground. Matthew retrieved our weapons as I wheeled toward the male, who had somehow gotten one beefy arm around Aidan’s neck. Luc slammed the pair of them to the ground, struggling to free Aidan and gain his feet before the male came after them again.

They were moving so fast, I could barely follow the fight. Someone had to immobilize our enemy long enough for Matthew and me to do our job, but right now he was nothing more than a blur, a constantly moving target.

And then something—someone, I realized—jumped right on top of Matthew. I heard him grunt, the breath knocked from his body as he slammed against the ground, face-first.

“Just a lowly mortal,” the vampire growled, moving off Matthew’s body so that he could flip him over, neck exposed. “He’s no match for me.”

“No, but I am.” Adrenaline surged through my veins as I lifted my stake high in the air and launched myself at him. Just as I expected, the vampire turned toward me, his body angled just enough for me to accurately skewer his heart with my stake in one clean stroke.

I saw surprise widen his dark eyes at I hit my mark, and then his body went slack, slumping to the ground beside Matthew’s prone form.

Terror paralyzed me as I just stood there and stared at my Megved—my protector—lying so still and quiet. Please be okay. Please, please.

Luc was beside him in an instant, his fingers on the pulse at his throat. “He’s fine. Just knocked out cold.”

Thank God. Oh, thank you, thank you.

“Aidan, get them both back to the apartment. I’ll stay and finish off the corpses—just leave me that sword.”

I turned to find Aidan standing there, looking pretty much unscathed. “You have matches?” he asked Luc.

Luc nodded. “Yes. Now go. We don’t want to draw unwanted attention.”

Aidan reached for my hand. “I can’t take you both, not with Dr. Byrne unconscious. He’ll be dead weight. I’ll take you first and come back for him.”

I pulled away from his grasp. “No. Him first. I can wait.”

“He’s better off here with Luc for now,” Aidan argued. “Otherwise, I have to leave him alone while I come back for you.”

I swallowed hard, realizing he was right. Of course. Nodding my assent, I reached for Aidan’s hand. “Let’s go,” I said. “Make it fast.”

* * *

An hour later, we all sat around Aidan’s kitchen table, Matthew holding an ice pack to his head. His face was bruised, several shades of purple and blue, but otherwise he seemed okay.

“We’re sitting ducks here,” Aidan said. “This is crazy. How long until Nicole calls for us?”

“Soon,” Luc said. “And until dawn, there’s an entire squad of guards surrounding the building. You’ll be safe.”

“Well, where were the guards before?” I asked sharply. “Maybe they could have prevented that whole fiasco back there.”

Luc’s obsidian eyes met mine. “The sun had only just set. Besides, we had not expected an ambush. My guess is that they were telling the truth about acting on their own, not following anyone’s orders. Two rogues, thinking that they might be rewarded generously for bringing Aidan to our enemies.”

I glanced over at the window above the sink and shuddered. “Well, whatever they were, I’m willing to bet there’s more of them out there.”

“The guards will keep watch throughout the night. The Wampiri haven’t yet arrived, and they’re the only ones of our kind who can hunt during daylight hours. You’ll be safe. I promise you.”

I turned toward Aidan. “Why are we trusting him?” I asked. “Seriously. This is one of the vampires who locked you up, who helped torture you. And we’re supposed to trust him to keep us safe?”

Aidan let out a sigh. “I trust him, Violet. I do.”