“Have you tracked Allcot down yet?” I asked Dax.

He shook his head. “While the healer was working on you, I got ahold of one of his vampires. He told me Talisen and Willow had been taken by one of the rival hives. He claimed he didn’t know where Allcot was. Said the entire inner circle at Cryrique is in a frenzy.”

“Do you believe him?” It was hard to imagine the Cryrique vampires being anything but in control. Allcot ran a tight ship. If what the contact said was true, it was possible Allcot wasn’t responsible for Willow and Tal’s disappearance, and if he wasn’t, it sounded like they’d been just as surprised as we’d been.

“He sounded shaken, that’s for sure. I don’t think we’ll know anything definite until we see Allcot.”

I nodded. Allcot was a bastard. There was no doubt about that. But chances were high I’d know which way the wind was blowing after we spoke. Some people had a hard time seeing through his lies, but I didn’t. His cockiness was always a dead giveaway. “Do we know for sure vampires took them? Not shifters?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “I’d know it if the pack had their eye on Willow and Tal.”

“Okay.” I rubbed at my forehead, trying to figure out who else would’ve even had access to Willow and Tal at the gala. “The more I think about this, the more I’m inclined to believe this was all a big ploy by Allcot to finally lock Willow in his dungeon.” At one point, Allcot had tried to force Willow to work for him, but over time they’d formed an uneasy truce. While she trusted him, I didn’t. A vampire doesn’t end up the head of one of the most powerful vampire organizations in the US without being a complete prick. And Eadric Allcot was definitely a prick. A self-serving, arrogant prick. And Willow had something extremely valuable to not only him but pretty much every other vampire in existence. If Allcot could control it, he’d be unstoppable.

“Fuck, you’re right,” he said, grabbing the back of his neck. “We just can’t be sure of anything when the information comes from Allcot’s goons.”

“No, we can’t. So that means we need to start from here.” I turned to Link, who’d just returned from a scenting excursion around the ballroom. “Did you pick up her trail?”

Link lifted his head and ran toward the balcony. Dax and I followed him. The wolf stopped at the railing, turned around in a circle a few times, then sat down and sniffed at the bottom of one of the railing posts.

“They took her over this railing,” I told Dax. “Come on. Let’s go find out if there’s a trail of her scent out on the street.”

Dax and I started to move back into the ballroom, but Link stayed exactly where he was, staring forlornly at the ground.

“Link, let’s go,” I ordered.

He didn’t move and let out a sad whimper.

“Oh for the love of…” I bit back a curse and walked back over to the wolf. Crouching down, I placed both hands on the sides of his head. “Listen, buddy. I know you’re missing her, but you need to pull it together.”

He pawed at my foot.

I glanced down, scanning the area. Link put his nose to the ground and nudged something out of the shadows. I knelt and ran my hand lightly over the ground. My fingers closed over the cool stone, and I knew instantly what he’d found. “Good boy, Link,” I said patting his head. “Very good boy.”

“What is it?” Dax asked, squinting into the sunrise.

I held my hand out to him, showing him the crystal Willow usually wore around her neck. It was a protection crystal that Talisen had given her when they were teenagers. “She’s going to be very pissed when she realizes this is missing.”

Dax peered at my hand. “The clasp is broken on the chain. I think it’s clear this is where the altercation happened.” He glanced over the railing, down at the ground. “We’re five stories up, which means the vampire who snagged them has to be powerful enough to fly.”

“Willow can fly,” I said.

“Sure. But unless she was attempting to escape, she wouldn’t have gone over the side.”

“No. But it is possible she fled over the railing. That doesn’t explain Tal though.” Male fae didn’t have wings. And Willow’s wouldn’t have been able to support both of them. I shook my head. “Even if they did try, there’s no doubt the vamps eventually got them. Otherwise we’d have heard from them by now.”

“Sounds right.”

“Ready to go, Link?” I asked the wolf.

He moved to stand beside me.

“Good. Let’s see if you can scent them.” I took off for the door. And this time both Dax and Link followed.

Once we were out on the street, Link put his nose to the ground, furiously trying to sniff out his mistress, but it was no use. He circled the block twice, then sat at my feet and stared up at me, waiting for direction. I glanced at Dax. “Should we try the roof?”

He gave me a half shrug. “What good would that do? Even if Link can scent them, there won’t be any kind of trail. Not if the vamp levitated right off the building.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. He was right. It was impossible to track the ancient vampires the old-fashioned way. They just had too much power. It was time to try a tracing spell. I pulled out Willow’s crystal and held it in my hand. Closing my eyes, I pictured first Willow, then Talisen. Magic tingled and burned hot through my veins. When I opened my eyes, my hand glowed with magic.

“Reveal,” I whispered. The ball of light floated up from my hand, swelled, and formed a window allowing me to peek through the veil of the universe. A Willow-shaped shadow appeared and, slowly but surely, morphed into a picture of my friend. She was in a nondescript room void of any furniture, pacing back and forth. My only consolation was that she didn’t appear to be hurt. Just a little rattled and clearly pissed off.

“Willow,” I said, my voice loud and clear.

She stopped abruptly and frantically glanced around. “Phoebe? Are you out there?”

“I’m here, Wil. Where are you?”

“Phoebe?” she asked again.

“Come on, Wil, where are you,” I whispered again, knowing she could feel my presence but couldn’t see me or hear me.

“Dammit,” she muttered and grabbed fistfuls of her hair in frustration. Growling, she straightened her shoulders, narrowed her eyes, and stared straight ahead, her gaze landing somewhere over my right shoulder. “Some rogue vampires got us, knocked us out, and hauled us away. Tal is here in another room. They let me see him a while ago. He’s hurt, but I think once he gets his strength back, he’ll survive. But here’s the important part—I don’t know where we are or who has us. So far they’ve only spoken to us over an intercom. It’s somewhere high-tech. I saw Tal through a two-way mirror, but then it frosted over.”

“Do you think Allcot’s behind this?” I asked, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me.

“I’d start at the Void building. Look in the records for something or someone called Asier. They specifically said they’re looking forward to Asier’s arrival.” Her attention snapped to something across the room, and her eyes widened just before she launched herself at something. And just like that, my magical light vanished.

“Damn,” I muttered.

“At least they’re all right,” Dax said, his angry tone belying his words of comfort.

“And we now know vampires took them,” I said. “Probably not Allcot or else Willow would’ve said so.”

“I agree. Not Allcot. At least not him personally or any of his regular crew. She did give us a lead.” Dax jerked his head toward the Trooper parked a few feet away. “Ready to get to work?”

I glanced at my watch. It was just before eight. Good. The Void research staff would be arriving shortly. “Ready. Let’s see if we can find any intel on Red while we’re searching the records for Asier.”

---

Security at the Void building had been beefed up recently, and when Dax and I walked in with Link, the guard I knew only as Arlo shook his head. “Nope. No shifters.” He pointed at Link. “Whoever he is, he can’t come through security.”

“Dax is a shifter,” I said reasonably. “You still let his shaggy ass in the building.”

“Thanks, Phoebs,” Dax said dryly.

“Ms. Kilsen, please don’t try my patience,” the older man said. “Mr. Marrok has security clearance. I’ve never seen this wolf before.”

“Sure you have.” I glanced down at Link. “Shift, boy.”

The wolf stared up at me, his eyes narrowed.

“If they let you in here, it’s just going to happen the minute you go through security anyway.”

Link, who actually had been to this building more times than any of us could count, let out a huff. But a spark of light flashed over him, and a second later, a gold-and-white shih tzu was sitting at my feet, leaning into my leg.

I smiled at Arlo. “See? Hardly a security threat.”

“Willow Rhoswen’s pup?” he asked curiously.

“Yes. He’s working with me for the time being.” I pulled my dagger out of its holder and proceeded to unload the rest of my weapons and magic-infused jewelry into one of the baskets. Then Link and I walked through the scanner.

Arlo placed my basket into one of the lockers and handed me the key. If they went through the scanner, all my spells would be neutralized and rendered completely useless. Dax did the same, and together the three of us headed upstairs.

I was just about to round the corner to head into the research office when a young witch I recognized as the director’s assistant ran up to me, clearly winded, and said, “Agent Kilsen, the director is waiting for you.”

“She is?” I glanced back at Dax. “Did you get a directive?”

He shook his head.

“Director Halston wants you to report to her immediately,” the young witch said, glancing over her shoulder. “It’s urgent.”

“Fuck me,” I muttered. What else kind of shit had gone down last night? Whatever it was, the Void was just going to have to get some other agent, because I had two fae to find.

Dax immediately turned and started to make his way toward the director’s office. Link stayed at my feet, waiting for my order. How come all shifters couldn’t be as loyal as the shih tzu? I jerked my head, indicating we should follow Dax, and led Link into the west wing of the building.

“She’s in there,” the assistant said, her hand shaking as she pointed at Halston’s office.

“Carla, right?” I asked, hoping I was remembering her name correctly.

“It’s Marla.” She gave me just a hint of a smile before she glanced nervously at the director’s office again.

“Right. Marla. Um, is there something we should know before we walk in there?”

She nodded, but when she opened her mouth to speak, no sound came out. Her face turned ashen, and shaking her head, she ran back down the hall.

I met Dax’s gaze and cursed the Void and their goddamned stupid security rules. There was something seriously wrong in Halston’s office, and not only did I not have any weapons, but neither Dax or Link could shift into wolf form while in the building. The neutralizing scanner had seen to that. It’d be a few hours before they got their abilities back.

Walking with a calm that didn’t actually exist, I moved to Marla’s desk and pulled the top drawer open. I stifled a groan when all I found were extra pens and notebooks. “Come on, Marla,” I said under my breath. She had to have something I could use as a weapon. A stapler, a letter opener—hell, a paperweight would be welcome at this point.

Dax, who’d obviously caught on to what I was doing, opened the drawers on the left while I took the right. Both of us quickly rummaged around. I scowled in annoyance at the drawer full of every snack under the sun. Pushing aside what had to be two dozen individually wrapped Kiss Me Chocolates, I shoved my hand into the back of the drawer. My fingers closed around a cool metal handle.

Yes! Jackpot!

I tugged the knife free and almost laughed at the bright pink handle. Good for Marla. I tucked it into the small of my back and turned to Dax. He held up a stun gun, indicating he’d been just as successful.

“How the hell do you think she got these past security?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“Halston. No doubt she gave them to her assistant just in case.”

“Well, it’s a good thing she did, even though Marla is probably off vomiting somewhere.”

Dax stuffed the stun gun into his pocket and pressed his back to the wall on one side of Halston’s door. I wrapped my hand around the hilt of the knife and did the same. Link, my new sidekick, stayed at my feet, obedient but on alert. Even in shih tzu form, his presence felt slightly ominous, and I started to seriously regret not taking one of his littermates… even if I would’ve had to sacrifice my entire shoe collection to a gnawing puppy.

Link and I hadn’t gotten off to a great start. It’s hard to love the creature who eats your favorite boots for dinner and your favorite red pumps for dessert. But now I was thinking it was a sacrifice worth making.

Dax slowly reached over to grab the doorknob. He looked up at me and I nodded, indicating I was ready. He nodded back and in the next second, he threw the door open and spun, the stun gun out as he scanned the room for danger. “Son of a bitch!” he yelled and flung himself into the room.

Without hesitation, I whipped the knife out and followed. The moment I stepped through the threshold, I froze, taking a moment to process the scene.

“Holy shit! Allcot, what the fuck are you doing?” I cried.

The blond vampire, who looked like he couldn’t be a day over seventeen years old, had Halston hauled up against the wall and was holding her by the neck with one hand. Her face had turned almost purple, and she was clawing at his hand, indistinguishable sounds coming from her. He whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes wild as he growled at me.

Dax shot forward, the stun gun sparking to life.

Allcot dropped Halston, just as I knew he would, and flew at Dax. The old vampire was so fast I barely saw him move. But then he was on Dax, his hand wrapped around the shifter’s wrist, and he squeezed, the bones crushing under his vise-like grip.

Dax roared and clocked Allcot in the temple with his free hand. More bones crunched, making me wince, but I wasn’t sure if it was Allcot’s face or Dax’s fist. The vampire barely rocked back from Dax’s powerful blow.

I rushed to Halston’s side, dropping to my knees as Link ran back and forth barking, clearly frustrated he wasn’t part of the action. “Director,” I said, pressing two fingers to her neck right over her thready pulse. Good. She was still alive at least.

She let out a gargled choke. Then her eyes flew open and she sat straight up, her light blue wings fluttering in clear agitation. “What are you doing?” she rasped out as she pointed to Dax. “Are you just going to let Allcot kill him?”

“I was— Never mind.” Grateful Allcot hadn’t killed her, I shot to my feet. The old vampire had quickly overpowered Dax. The shifter was on his knees, and Allcot had grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanking his head back so far it was a wonder the vampire hadn’t broken Dax’s neck.

“Where. Did. They. Take. Her?” Allcot ground out. “You have one shot, shifter.”

“That’s exactly what we’d like to know,” I said, my tone full of ice and fury. “Why the hell would Dax abduct Willow?”

“Willow?” Allcot let out a short humorless laugh. “Do you think I’d go through all the trouble to get to the director if I were here for Willow Rhoswen?”

“You have in the past,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, not believing him for a second. “I remember when you and your crew blew a hole in the wall to help her escape.”

“That was business,” Allcot said and yanked harder on Dax’s hair. The shifter let out a high-pitched whine that I knew had to be involuntary. Dax would never willingly show weakness in front of Allcot. Allcot cast him a disgusted glance then added, “This is personal.”

“Damn right it’s personal. This is my best friend we’re talking about. The fairy you swore you would protect from the other supernaturals in this city.” Allcot and Willow were related. Sort of. His consort Pandora had family connections to Willow’s nephew and the woman who would’ve been Willow’s sister-in-law had her brother not perished in an untimely death. At Pandora’s request, Allcot had agreed to keep them all safe. “Did you forget you made that promise to Pandora? What would she say about this?”

Allcot threw Dax against the wall. The shifter crashed into it, causing the plaster to shatter and fall around him. Link let out a howl and shot forward, running to Dax’s side.

“Dax—” I started, but Allcot cut me off, backing me up until the backs of my legs hit Halston’s desk.

Allcot’s fangs extended as his ice-blue eyes pierced me. “This is not about Rhoswen, witch. I’m here for Pandora.”

My mind whirled as I tried to parse exactly what he was telling me. “Pandora sent you?” That made no sense. Why would she think someone from the Void had taken Willow?

“She didn’t send me, you fool!” Allcot roared as he picked me up by the shoulders and shook me as if I were a rag doll. I tightened my hand on the knife and tried to remain patient, waiting for my opening. “I’m here because— Oomph!”

Dax had come out of nowhere and smashed a metal chair over Allcot’s head. Link was right beside him, barking his little shih tzu head off. The vampire stumbled, and I slipped from his grip, landing easily on my feet. The vampire turned his back to me and let out a roar so loud my ears started to ring. And I knew in that moment that Allcot had lost all sense of control. If I didn’t do something, Dax was going to die. Allcot would end him and not even blink an eye.

Without hesitation, I lifted my knife and lunged forward, jamming the knife into the left side of Allcot’s back.

The vampire instantly froze, and I knew I’d hit my mark. “Move one muscle, Allcot,” I whispered, “and I’ll end you once and for all.”