I’d done Silas’s bidding for years — not because he’d forced me — but because I was a coward. Because it had been easier to live under the protection of a monster than to face the terror of being alone.
Even when I’d been forced to listen to what he did to that huntress who’d escaped.
Even when Silas draggedmeinto that basement, stripped me bare, and made those cuts on my back — one cut for each mistake, carved into my skin over and over again to make sure they’d leave scars despite hunters’ quick healing.
“I can’t —” I broke off, unable to draw a full breath with the panic that was clawing its way up my chest. “I can’t leave the Quarter — not without that stone. Do you know how fast he found the last hunter who tried?”
“So stay.”
I gave her a look. “Youknowwhat the clans will do to me once word gets out that I’m no longer under Silas’s protection.”
Imogen swallowed. There was a reason Silas stayed safely tucked away in his house while the rest of us risked life and limb to harvest the blood. The vampire clans looked out for their own, and if one was caught poaching, well . . . they made sure the punishment fit the crime.
“Are you sure this stone evenexists?” Imogen asked after a moment.
“No,” I admitted, my chest clenching at the possibility that I’d risked everything pursuing a myth. If Julian hadn’t been able to track down the stone . . .
“There is someone who might know about the stone,” said Imogen slowly.
My brows lifted in surprise. Despite being a witch, Imogen was a dyed-in-the-wool skeptic. She didn’t trust magic she didn’t understand, and I could tell she thought the stone was a long shot.
“Who?”
She bit her lip, and I knew immediately that I wasn’t going to like the answer.
There was only one person I knew of who could cause Imogen to make that face, and that woman wanted me dead.
Chapter
Six
When I finally succumbed to a fitful sleep, I dreamed of fire and wings.
In my nightmare, twelve faces wavered in and out of the dancing flames, which seared my skin with their otherworldly heat.
Pain. I was in so much pain. But through my haze of agony, I saw the outline of huge dark wings.
The moment they appeared, my tormentors scattered, but a fresh slice of terror ripped through me as the figure drew nearer. Iridescent black wings wrapped around me, smothering the flames. Strong hands gripped my shoulders, and I looked up into a pair of fathomless gray eyes that swirled with fury and vengeance.
In the low light of the deserted alleyway, Kaden looked even more beautiful than I remembered — almost like an avenging angel. Choppy raven locks set off chiseled, sun-kissed cheeks, and those full lips parted as he beheld me.
But then the flames flickered, throwing shadows overmy rescuer. Kaden’s mouth turned up in a menacing smirk, and he narrowed his eyes. His gentle touch tightened to an iron grip, and I remembered that Kaden wasn’t an angel. He was fae.
Jerking out of Kaden’s grasp, I reached for my daggers, but my sheaths were empty. I looked up, and Kaden flashed a wicked grin as he held my witchwood blade by the tip.
I lunged, but Kaden merely laughed as flames danced in my periphery. Magic wrapped around my arms and legs — invisible manacles that took me to the ground.
I was helpless once again — completely at his mercy. It was somehow worse than having that demon take control of my body, because I knew I couldn’t fight this.
Kaden tossed my dagger in the air and caught it again, sidling over to where I lay pinned to the ground.
“Clever little huntress,” he crooned, bending over me and pressing the tip of my dagger into the divot between my collarbones just hard enough to draw a bead of blood. I sucked in a breath, and Kaden’s eyes darkened as he dragged the blade over the neck of my leathers, down between my breasts.
I awoke thrashing on Imogen’s couch, a high-pitched scream ringing in my ears. Warm hands gripped my shoulders, and it took me a moment to realize that the scream belonged to me.
“Lyra!”
I jerked awake to find Imogen hovering over me, her warm brown eyes wide with concern. A tatty old quilt was twisted around my legs, and the tank top I’d gone to sleep in was completely soaked with sweat.
