While Jax swallowed the potion, I held my breath. Even after he grimaced and pounded his chest, I stood with two hands covering my face. Hell, I might have closed my eyes even, if I wasn’t so afraid of what might sneak up on me. The longer we stayed near the hive, the more nervous I became. “Well?” I waited for a response, a reaction of some kind.

He shrugged. “Lousy aftertaste.”

“Eat a Tic Tac.” I rolled my eyes. “Do you feel any different?”

Jax frowned. “No. I don’t.” He caught Alayna’s eye. “Should I feel different? I guess I kinda expected to feel some kind of ripping in my chest, some evidence the sire bond was truly gone.”

Alayna tilted her head. “This is the first time I’ve ever made this. I have no idea what to expect. I do know that I gave this my best effort. After all, Scarlett’s life is at stake. I wouldn’t play around.”

He laid a hand on her shoulder. “I believe you, Alayna. You have always been honorable.” His shoulders heaved and I knew the weight of our situation was heavy on his shoulders. Slowly he turned to me. “Ready? We need to keep our end of the bargain. With any luck, by the end of the night we’ll know whether or not the potion took.” He winked and I smiled hesitantly.

“Let’s do this.” I looked past him. “We’ll bring her pack. I promise.” Then I laid my hand over my heart in sign of my pledge.

Her eyes teared up again. “Thank you. I trust you.” Then she took a step back and moved toward the entrance of the hive.

Jax glanced at me, a grim look on his face. “Last chance to bail on me, babe.”

“You wish.” I moved closer and hopped on his back. “Come on. Damsel in distress time.”

He hugged my legs tightly. “I can handle it, as long as the damsel isn’t you.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Nah. I’m tough, remember?” Then I leaned close to his ear and nipped playfully. “Stop wasting time.”

Finally, he tucked his head slightly and we raced off into the dark forest. I noticed he was careful to avoid certain areas and I guessed he knew where the rest of the vampires liked to lie in wait. In less than fifteen minutes, we were scampering up the wall of Shadowborne Academy. Jax amazed me with his speed and agility. I mostly focused on not looking down or making a sound. I can’t count the number of gasps I choked back. When he leapt from the wall onto the roof of the main building, I buried my face in his back and heard him chuckle.

“To think I believed you were fearless, Ash.” He shook his head. “I’m so disappointed in you.”

“Right. Well, I can’t come back from a fall like you can.” I huffed.

“You could…” His voice trailed off.

“I won’t become a vampire, Jax. No matter how I feel about you, I won’t give up my life.”

His head hung slightly. “I understand. I wouldn’t have chosen this path either.”

Soon he found a way for us to enter the building, which worked out perfectly since the students were about to leave for field work. The building would be vacant and, ideally, we could explore with less fear of being discovered. Realistically, we’d have to be constantly on guard.

When we reached the tunnels, Jax entered them first. “Complete and total silence,” he ordered.

Instead of responding, I saluted and rolled my eyes.

We managed to reach the tapestry without a single close call. As I’d hoped, everyone seemed to be otherwise occupied. Jax reached out and pulled back a corner, peeked inside, then moved it further to allow us entry. He motioned to show he would be going first. Ever so cautiously, we crept down the steps to the dungeon level where Scarlett was being held hostage. As expected, the door was open and light spilled out into the dark hall. We pressed our back against the wall and came within a few feet of the door before we heard any sounds.

“I told you I needed a potion, a spell, something for immortality, did I not?” My father spoke in a low menacing tone.

Immediately, my heart sank. I looked to Jax and mouthed, ‘Now what?’

He stared down the hall, past the door. I could practically hear the wheels turning in his mind. He jerked his head toward the opposite end of the corridor.

I stared at the puddle of light inches from my toes. The thought of running into my father about crippled me. Memories which had been hidden for so long had returned. Jax had jogged them and seeing Alayna had brought to the surface more, which I’d have preferred remained buried. Frank Norman was an abusive, power hungry man.

Jax started to creep past the door, but I was frozen. There was nothing I feared more than my father. Not one damn thing. When he made it past, he turned and smiled. ‘Cake,’ he mouthed. Then he motioned for me to join him. I couldn’t. In my mind, I could totally picture my father spotting me, coming after me. So, I stood there, unable to move forward, refusing to move back.

In an instant, Jax understood my dilemma. He rushed back to me, scooped me up, and adeptly maneuvered us past the open space. We had nowhere to hide right there. He realized it instantly. Within the room, we heard footsteps coming nearer.

“Do you have any idea what happens to those who disappoint me?” He sneered.

Even in the arms of my vampire, I shivered. He pressed his lips to my temple and whispered, “I’ve got you, babe.”

I nodded, but it was hard to believe I’d ever be safe as long as that man lived. It’d be worse if he became a vampire. I bit my lip and listened.

“No idea.” Scarlett managed to sound both bored and annoyed.

“Let me tell you, little witch.” I could hear him circling her, but Scarlett was probably standing her ground in a way I never could. “Or, you could ask my wife, if I ever undagger her.” He laughed and it sent chills down my spine.

I stared up at Jax to see if he’d been paying attention. His eyes had widened. He’d heard it too.

“She was something of a disappointment, so I handled it. Only the queen double crossed me,” he grumbled. “She was supposed to be dead. The girl too.”

“You mean your daughter?” Scarlett sounded surprised, maybe even shocked. “You wanted your own daughter to be killed.”

He laughed. “She’s not mine. Couldn’t be. I’d never create something so weak.”

“I met her. She’s far from weak,” the young woman mused.

Jax held me closer. “See,” he murmured in my ear. I nuzzled into him while I listened.

“In fact, she’s strong and intelligent. I might actually like her if we didn’t want the same guy.” She chuckled quietly.

“She’s in love with a guy?” He sounded mildly interested.

“Oh, did I say guy?” I could hear the chains rattling. “I meant to say…vampire.”

“In love with a vampire! Never.” I could hear glass shattering while he stomped around. “You will finish this potion. Find a way. Without moonlight. Got it? Or when I come back, you’ll wish you were dead and I’ll make it happen.”

Realizing he intended to rush out of the room, Jax raced toward the far end of the hall. There were other doors. He tested the first, but the knob refused to turn. He moved on to the second, and still no luck. Finally, he checked the one at the very end of the corridor. This time, the handle turned and we slipped inside before my father stormed out of the dungeon.

“We’ll stay here until I’m certain it’s safe.” He set me on the floor and I turned around to study the dimly torch lit room.

When I did, I saw a room filled with wooden boxes. Over the top of one, there appeared to be some metal sticking out. “What is that?” I walked toward it. At first Jax remained near the door, listening, in case we needed to move or hide. As I neared the box, I realized what I’d seen and I clapped a hand over my mouth. The box contained a daggered vampire. In fact, as I moved around, I realized every single one of them did, except for the one in the exact center of the room.

I studied this box in particular. I could tell it had been used. There was a scarf carelessly discarded in it. I frowned. The pashmina seemed familiar. I lifted it and held it to my nose. “Jax, this is my mother’s scarf.” I didn’t know whether to be furious or distraught. “My mother was here, at Shadowborne.” I scanned the room while trying to count the boxes. “There must be more than thirty vampires in here!”

He nodded sadly. “This looks like a trophy room.” He moved closer to stand by my side. “I’ve never seen one, of course, but I’d heard they existed.” Jax threw an arm around my waist. “See, few hunters keep the vampires because the only daggers that work to freeze us are made of pure silver. This is costly. Would you believe a room like this is not only a sign of strength and prowess, but of wealth?”

“I could throw up. This seems too cruel. It’s like a vampire coma.” I stiffened. “And he has my mother in one.”

“I’m guessing he moved her when he realized you were here. You weren’t supposed to know she had been turned.” He sighed. “Of course, you were supposed to be dead, so there’s that.”

“He made a deal with your mother.” I shook my head.

Jax laughed. “Well, Mother has a way of getting what she wants. With her, it’s always about inflicting the most pain possible. What would hurt your father more than turning your mother and making her more powerful than him?”

“And now we know why he wants to be immortal.” My brow furrowed. “Why not just kill her and be done with it?”

“He’s holding onto her. I’m guessing he’s not through torturing her yet.” Jax turned me to face him. “Your father is one sick man. And I don’t say this lightly. I’ve lived a long time, Ash. He’s one of the very worst I’ve ever known.”

I nodded. “Lucky me.”