Max

Daniel slept with his chin on his chest while Timber kept watch over the crevice. Beside Max, the girl had fallen asleep an hour ago. Her knees were against her chest as she slept with her back to the wall. Many rebels slept with their backs to a wall, but he’d never seen any who slept in a ball before. She was tiny enough as it was. This position made her appear like a fox trying to hide from a coyote.

In her hands, she clenched a small knife before her nose. He knew it had to be a weapon she slept with often if she felt comfortable enough not to accidentally stab herself with it in her sleep. In the early morning sun filtering through the roots, he could see that the scar on her face started at her hairline above her right eye. It trailed all the way down the center of her right cheek to curve around to the middle of her chin before stopping.

The scar was white in color and he saw no evidence of stitches on her skin. The knife she held had not created it. She would have woken long before she could have cut herself like that, but a blade had left the mark upon her.

Max’s hands balled at his sides as the desire to destroy whoever had done that to her slid through him. No one should ever be abused in such a way.

The scar could not deter from her prettiness though. His fingers itched to brush back the black hair falling around her face, but he kept himself restrained from touching her. It had taken hours of her eyes falling closed then opening again to stare at him warily before sleep had finally succeeded in dragging her under. If he touched her while she slept and woke her, she might stab him, and she would never come close to him again. For some reason, he wanted her to trust him, even if he didn’t entirely trust her.

Across the way, Timber shifted and sat with his back against the wall. Sleep tugged at Max’s eyelids, but he wouldn’t give into it, not until she woke again. He had to guard over her.

The girl never moved, but he sensed her eyes on him. He turned his head to find her watching him as one would watch a wolf circling them. She kept her back pinned against the wall when she pushed herself into a sitting position. Anger filled her eyes, but he had a feeling she was angrier at herself for falling asleep than she was with him.

She slipped the knife into her ankle holster and tugged her pants back into place over the weapon. “Have you heard anything from them?” she whispered.

“Nothing,” he replied.

“We can’t move until we know they’re gone.”

“We may not have a choice.”

She scowled at him. The expression pulled on her scar, causing it to become whiter against her flesh. She looked to be about his age. Though the knowledge in her eyes gave her an air of someone far beyond her early twenties.

“I don’t like it either,” he said to her.

They had to get to Jack soon, hiding in the shadows of a cave had never been part of the plan. Every passing day was one day closer to when they would have to call all those they’d been gathering to move against Sabine. They couldn’t delay their plan for more than a day, maybe two. The people and vampires they’d recruited would get nervous if they did, and the fear within the palace would grow. Aria would have to move without Jack; she would have no choice but to go on without him.

No, they had to get out of here, preferably today. Max’s head tipped back as he examined the roots above his head snaking through the earth to create a spotty dome above. Lowering his head, he found her gaze still on him.

“I’m Max,” he said and extended his hand to her. “The tall guy over there is Timber and the one sleeping is Daniel.”

“The queen’s brother is named Daniel, and from what I’ve heard, he has a friend named Max.”

Max kept his hand extended to her. “Hmm,” he replied.

Her gaze went to Daniel, and her head tilted as she studied him before she looked to Max again. “He does look a little familiar, but then it’s been a while since I saw the queen’s brother, and it was only briefly.”

Another minute ticked by before she extended her hand toward him. The sleeve of her shirt pulled slightly back to reveal the scars marring her wrist, scars he knew well. She jerked her hand back before he could take hold of it. Tugging at the sleeves of her shirt, she pulled it back into place while she glowered at him.

Max sat back on his heels as she lifted her chin. He didn’t know what to make of this woman, but beneath her obstinate stare, he sensed her vulnerability. Her eyes followed his movements when he grasped the edge of his shirtsleeve. For the first time since he’d been freed of the palace, he willingly pulled his shirt back to reveal the bite marks and burns marring his flesh.

A muscle twitched in the corner of her eye as she gazed at his scars before looking back to where Timber and Daniel were now watching them both. “My name is Maeve,” she said without glancing at him again.

Max settled his sleeve back into place and leaned against the dirt wall. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maeve.”

When those entrancing blue eyes again met his, he realized he’d actually meant it. Since his time as a blood slave, there were few people in this world he wanted to meet. He never knew who to trust, but he was glad this girl had stumbled across them.

His attention was pulled away from her when shadows danced across the holes in the roots once more, blocking the flow of light into their small cavern as someone passed above. Max held his breath when one of the figures walking above stopped directly over their small cavern.

***

Melinda

“I don’t like how quiet it’s been,” Melinda said as she surveyed the empty town sprawled out before them from the top of the wall. “When will she make her move?”

“Soon, but she may still be looking for Braith,” Ashby said from beside her.

Gideon grunted in response as a cat ran out from between two of the homes and into the woods. A scrap of garbage, caught up in the wind, danced down the street before going still.

They’d managed to evacuate some of the surrounding towns; unfortunately, they’d also uncovered a few towns like William had discovered when he’d been hunting for Kane. The vampires in the town, who weren’t killed outright, had been locked into cells where they’d been starved until they’d become nothing but mindless monsters who were incapable of being saved and had to be put down.

There were no signs of any humans in the towns. The bodies of the vampire children the king’s guard discovered had left them with a thirst for revenge against those who had killed the children.

Unfortunately, they didn’t know where Sabine’s vampires were, as they’d shown no sign of themselves in the two days since Aria’s message had sailed over the wall. There were no nearby towns for Sabine to go through and rampage anymore. It was only a matter of time before the woman made it here.

“She’s going to eventually give up her search for him and come for us,” Gideon said. “Probably sooner rather than later. We’re still weakened without him and she knows it. Now is the prime time for her to pounce.”

Melinda’s hand instinctively fell to her belly at his words. It was still too soon for her to be showing, but every day she fell deeper in love with the child growing within her, and she would do everything she could to keep it safe. Catching her protective movement, Ashby rested his hand over the top of hers.

“We will get through this,” he vowed.

Gideon glanced between them before his gaze fell to her stomach. “Congratulations.”

“I bet that hurt, didn’t it?” Ashby asked.

Gideon actually chuckled. “A little.”

A flash of movement drew Melinda’s attention back to the street. She tensed, her fangs tingling as she watched shadows slipping through the trees.

“I don’t think that’s the cavalry,” Ashby said.

“Our quiet is about to end,” Gideon said.

A rock lodged in her throat as she watched the vampires cloaked in brown slipping from the trees. They moved with the determined step of those who believed they had a right to be here and believed they couldn’t lose.

“What if she’s found Braith?” Melinda whispered.

“The men and women gathered within here have all seen, or at least heard, what she’s done to those other towns. They will fight her no matter what,” Gideon replied with far more confidence than she felt right now.

Melinda tried to believe him. However, the vamps here may not like what had been done to those towns, they may resist Sabine, but no one wanted to die. When they got a sense of Sabine’s power, they may well think they had no chance of defeating her.

All around the wall, the king’s guard raised their bows in preparation of a fight, but the vamps entering the town stopped before they could be within easy striking range of the walls. The rock in her throat grew into a boulder as the intruders split to each side of the road in one fluid motion.

“Well trained,” Ashby murmured.

“Ours are better trained,” Gideon replied.

From the edge of the forest, Melinda watched as the striking woman they’d seen once before, stepped out of the woods to walk through the vampires who had split apart to create an aisle for her. Her vivid red cloak was as bright as blood on snow against the gray, overcast day as she moved toward them.

Gideon’s nostrils flared. “Power,” he said.

“A lot of it,” Melinda replied. “Enough that those in here may follow her if they think we will lose.”

“We need Braith.”

“In case you forgot, there is a bit of a problem with that right now,” Ashby said.

Gideon cast him a scathing look. “Then we will hold her off until the problem is resolved.”

“I’m sure it’s not all that easy to pull a Lazarus, and it might have been as long as a month before Atticus rose again!” Ashby retorted.

“Stop it!” Melinda interrupted harshly. “There is nothing we can do but defend ourselves and those fighting with us. Fighting with each other is not going to help! Braith has a bloodlink. He will rise sooner than Atticus did. Aria is plotting something. We have help out there, and Jack will come. All we have to do is hold them off until they are ready to make their move.”

“How do you know Braith will rise sooner?” Gideon inquired.

Melinda bit her bottom lip before turning to face him. “He stayed alive with an arrow through his heart for hours, and it was for Aria. Because of her blood within him making him stronger and their link, he’ll come back earlier than Atticus did and he’ll do it for her. If he doesn’t, we are all doomed.”

Sabine stopped at the edge of her followers and lifted her hands into the air to command everyone’s attention. All around Melinda, a ripple of shock ran through the guards on the wall as Sabine’s gesture held each of them riveted upon her. Even from this distance, the pull of the woman’s power could not be denied.

“I am not here to fight!” Sabine called in a clear, girlish voice that floated to the residents gathering nervously near the gates to hear what was about to unfold. “I am your rightful queen! Your true ruler. I am of the royal line, older than your king, or I should say, your ex-king. I’m also more powerful as I’m sure you can tell.”

More murmurs went through the crowd; Ashby took hold of her hand, squeezing it as her skin became clammy and sweat beaded across her brow. The breeze blowing down the mountains and causing tendrils of hair to tickle her face should have cooled her. It didn’t.

“I say ex-king because I have killed him,” Sabine continued.

Melinda’s heart plummeted into her shoes as cries of distress echoed throughout the town below them and sobs filled the air. The king’s guard dipped their bows down, their gazes darting nervously to the three of them as the other members of The Council shoved their way through the crowd to the gates. Melinda couldn’t meet The Council’s gazes when they made it to the front of the crowd and stared up at them with distrust in their eyes.

“Maybe we should have told them,” she whispered.

“No, we shouldn’t have,” Gideon said. “They have no idea when he was supposedly killed.”

Gideon turned away from her and thrust his shoulders back as he faced Sabine. “Anyone can claim to have killed the king. Do you have proof of this?”

Sabine’s smile grew as her eyes narrowed on Gideon. Melinda was certain he’d just signed his death certificate, but if these walls were breached, none of them would be walking out of here alive anyway.

“I do,” she replied and turned away. Her blood-red, pointed nails shone in the sun when she waved her hand toward someone at the back of her following.

Melinda took an involuntary step forward to watch as the white haired vampire made his way down the street toward Sabine.

***

Aria

From her vantage point in the tree, Aria’s fingers dug into the bark, tearing it away beneath her nails. Her fangs pierced her bottom lip as she leaned forward to watch Goran making his way past the rows of vampires who had spread out to allow Sabine to pass. It had been over a day since Daniel and the others had left. They should be returning tonight if all had gone well, but what if something had gone wrong?

Proof! Sabine had proof of Braith’s death. How? When?

Oh, Aria knew when he’d died, she could still feel that wrenching of her soul deep within her, but when had Sabine gotten proof of such a thing? What was the proof? Had Jack and Braith been discovered?

Please no.

William rested his hand on her shoulder, drawing her back when she perilously leaned too far over the limb. Her stomach pressed flat against the branch, and her arms and legs were twined securely around it as she tried to make herself as small as possible. William clung to the branch above her, his knuckles white from his grip. He’d always been able to move through the trees, never with her ease, and it had never been his favorite thing to do, but since he’d fallen over the cliff in Badwin, his dislike of heights had grown. He’d followed her into the branches of this tree to keep watch over the palace with her.

“Maybe you should go down,” he suggested.

“I have to see,” she whispered.

“It might be best if you didn’t. I’ll let you know.”

Cold seeped through her body as her fingers dug deeper into the bark. “I have to see. I’d know if she’d found him.” She turned to him, her tone more pleading than she would have expected. “Wouldn’t I?”

In his eyes, she saw the truth she felt within herself. She’d already known the second Braith had left her; there was nothing else for her to know anymore.

Terror rolled so rapidly through her mind that it caused her head to spin, and for one disconcerting moment, she thought she might actually fall out of the tree.

A sob lodged in her throat as Goran stopped at Sabine’s side and handed her something. Aria couldn’t tear her gaze away as Sabine turned back to the palace walls and lifted something in the air. It took her a minute to realize that Sabine held a brown cloak. On the back of it was the golden wolf insignia of the king that the king’s guard wore, but this one also had a crown above the wolf’s head. Aria didn’t have to see it up close to know it had belonged to Braith.

“Braith lost it in the battle when they attacked us,” she murmured.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” William said and tugged at her shoulder again.

She refused to move until she knew what was going to happen next. “Not yet.”

“A cloak is no proof!” Gideon called from the wall.

“It is the king’s cloak,” Sabine said with a smirk. “I can have it brought to you if you would like.”

“I can see it’s the king’s cloak, but it’s easy enough to lose one of those in a fight or to simply leave one behind!” Gideon replied with a laugh. “I, myself, have done that a few times after spending some time with a lady!”

Beside him on the wall, the king’s guard all nodded enthusiastically and a few chuckled. Aria admired Gideon’s unruffled and brazen demeanor. Sabine would make him pay for it if she ever got her hands on him, but he would not back down from her, no matter what happened.

Sabine’s fingers went to her lips as a smile curved them. An uneasy feeling settled in Aria’s stomach. Sabine was too smug right now, too sure of herself. There was more; there had to be. She should get out of this tree, right now.

She found herself unable to move.

“Then I will show you more proof,” Sabine said in a nearly singsong voice.

“William,” Aria whispered as the hair on her arms stood up.

His hand constricted on her shoulder as Sabine turned to Goran. From within his cloak, Goran removed something, but Aria couldn’t see what it was from her angle. Atop the wall, a murmur ran through the crowd as those closest to Sabine and Goran got a glimpse of what it was. More than few of the king’s guard took a startled step back.

“Aria, come with me, now,” William commanded and pulled more firmly on her shoulder.

She was unable to move even a centimeter, never mind the fifty feet or so it would take to get out of this tree. Sabine turned back to the wall, her smile so big, Aria could see the glistening points of her fangs as she lifted something into the air.

“How about his head?” Sabine taunted as she lifted a head high into the air. She had her fingers entwined into its thick black hair as she proudly displayed it for everyone to see.

Aria’s vision blurred. Black hair and the open eyes of the head were all she saw before the world plummeted out from under her.