“I don’t know if it was one moment.” Zoe glanced back at Rafael and Sami. The teenager caused the flames to take the shape of a man in a kilt, something the vampire shook his head at, but the girl enjoyed to the point where she began wiggling her hips as part of an off-beat dance. “I always knew they were up to no good. I let anger get the better of me, and they took advantage. Honestly, I just started putting things together, and one of those things was an amulet, one that’s long since gone, that the Academy wanted to use,” she explained, smirking when an exalted Sami threw her hands in the air and caused the fire highlander to dance. “The amulet could enslave vampires. The ones wanting to do the enslaving were shifters.”
“That’s not really the same thing,” I argued. “The two factions weren’t exactly working together in that case.”
“No, but there were some vampires joining the cause,” Zoe replied. “Born vampires believe turned vampires are below them. They treat them as fodder.”
Realization dawned. “That’s what you think we’re dealing with.”
Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know. It feels like a possibility. In fact ...” Zoe trailed off, her eyes going dark.
Confused, I shifted my attention to the fire to see if Sami was acting up. The teenager had gone rigid and seemed to be on the verge of tears. “Mom?”
Zoe was already on her feet and striding toward the trees. Rafael, probably sensing the change in the atmosphere, grabbed Sami around the waist and held her to him.
“What is it?” the vampire hissed.
“It’s Dad!” Sami howled, tears spilling down her cheeks. “He’s in trouble. I ... there are bad people going after him.”
Zoe remained calm, although I could practically feel the anxiety washing off her in waves. “He’ll be fine.” Her tone didn’t allow for any argument. “I’m going to make sure of that. You have to stay with Rafael, do what he says. I don’t want to hear one single word of argument.” She extended a warning finger in Sami’s direction, daring her daughter to put up a fuss.
It was then that the reason for the Winters’ parents waffling strictness became apparent. In times of crisis, like now, Sami recognized when certain boundaries couldn’t be breached. The child nodded and clung tightly to Rafael.
“You’ll know if something happens,” Zoe said, her gaze on me. She looked uncertain. “I’m going after them. You don’t have to.”
She had to be kidding. “Gunner is out there, too. Just because I can’t feel him in the same manner you can feel Aric ...” I didn’t finish. It wasn’t necessary.
“Good.” She flashed a smile that didn’t make it all the way to her eyes and then focused on Rafael. “Take her inside. If an enemy comes—”
“I know what to do.” Rafael’s expression was immovable. “I’ll take care of her.”
“I know.” Zoe ran her hair over Sami’s head. “Do what Rafael says. If something happens and you feel you have to come to us in the woods, don’t.” She kept her tone icy. “It might be a trap. You leave us to figure out our problems. You and Rafael need to worry about yourselves. Understood?”
Sami nodded, solemn. “Bring Daddy back.”
“I will.” Zoe strode toward the woods, me close at her side. “Try to keep up. I won’t stop for anything, and I’ll burn this world down if he’s hurt.”
My blood chilled. I believed her. “I’ll keep up. Let’s do this.”
ZOE DIDN’T LOOK LIKE THE SORT OF WOMAN who could easily navigate the woods and yet she never deviated from her path. She was sure-footed and quiet as we ran between the trees, our footsteps muffled on a bed of pine needles. To my utter surprise, within fifteen minutes, she’d led us to a clearing in the woods. And it wasn’t empty.
“Gunner?” I raced toward the figure on the ground. Gunner, in human form, had an ugly wound on his shoulder. He was breathing hard, his eyes cloudy, but otherwise he looked okay.
“Wait!” Zoe reached out to try to stop me but I easily avoided her.
At the last second before I reached Gunner, sensing trouble, I veered to my left and narrowly avoided a boobytrap when a volley of arrows sailed past me and landed in the trees across the way.
“What was that?” Gunner was dazed.
“Don’t worry about it.” I placed my hands on his skin. He was hot and clammy, as if he was burning up from the inside.
“What happened?” Zoe asked, her keen eyes scanning the darkness. She looked ready to go to war.
“I don’t ... know.” Gunner managed to lift his chin and hold my gaze. “It was fast. They came out of nowhere.”
“Who came out of nowhere?” I was confused. He wasn’t making a lot of sense. “Is this your only wound?”
He hissed when I tried to get a better look at the gaping cut. “Ow!”
Zoe shifted so she was next to me and immediately placed her hand on Gunner’s injured side. When he sucked in a breath, signifying he was in pain, I was ready to pick a fight with her. Ultimately, it wasn’t necessary.
“Wow. That’s nice.” Gunner brightened when Zoe poured blue magic into him. “I ... what are you doing?”
I blinked several times in rapid succession, watching the wound slowly close up. “You have healing magic.” Technically, I already knew that. I’d seen her heal Rafael. Somehow it was different watching her fix my broken boyfriend.
She nodded, her eyes back on the tree line. “Someone is watching us.”
We’d also yet to find Aric, although she hadn’t mentioned that. Rather than question her I focused on Gunner. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, his expression clearing. “I feel better, less confused.”
I moved my finger in front of his eyes to see if he would follow it.
“I can see fine, Scout.” He captured my finger and gave it a squeeze. “I’m okay.”
I
