Fear punched a hole in my chest as I wriggled in the cold arms wrapped tightly around me.

One second, I’d been watching the brothers fight the final shade. Then Jerrett’s eyes, such a clear blue I could see them even in the dark church, had locked on me. The terror in them had scared me shitless, because until that moment, I’d never seen Jerrett look anything but cocky and confident.

His fear wasn’t for himself. He’d been afraid for me.

And now I was too.

I had stupidly let my guard slip. I’d been focused on the fight in front of me, intent on keeping the shade out of the small office where the children hid. I hadn’t realized, though maybe I should have, that when the shades kept charging the office door, they weren’t after the goblin kids—they were after me.

The new shade had appeared out of nowhere, stealing my makeshift club before I even had a chance to swing it. Now I was wrapped so tightly in its grip that all I could see was blackness. All I could smell was death and decayed flesh.

I dug my elbows into the monster’s side, dimly aware of three deep male voices shouting my name in panic. I tried to kick, to get some traction against the floor to slow us down, but the shade was taller than me. My feet couldn’t find any purchase.

Gasping for air and gagging with each breath, I tried to pull together my scattered thoughts.

Are we… moving in circles?

I struggled to free my head from the shadow creature’s crushing grip. Shit. We were going in circles. In a spiral, actually, up a winding staircase. Below us, crashes and grunts echoed in the empty church.

“Willllllow!” Jerrett bellowed.

For a second, my panic eased. He was okay, at least. If he could yell like that, the shade must not have him in a chokehold anymore.

But he was still so far away. They all were.

We finally stopped spiraling upward, and I was thrown roughly to the floor in a small room with a large bell suspended in the middle of it. I hit the wooden floor hard, and before I could even turn over, the creature was on me. A bite of pain stung the back of my neck.

Its claws?

No. A knife.

This thing was going to finish whatever job its friend had started that first night.

Summoning all my vampire strength, I heaved my body upward. It worked. The shade was jostled off me, and I darted back toward the stairs. But before I could get far, something heavy hit the back of my head. I went down, my ears ringing as pain surged through my skull.

This time the sting of the knife wasn’t as strong—it had to compete with my other wounds for attention, and my body couldn’t process all the sensations at once.

Warm blood trickled across my skin as the creature began adding to the patterns etched on my body. I was still weak and disoriented, but the sound of footsteps on the stairs gave me hope.

My men are coming.

As strange as that thought was—they weren’t my men… were they?—it kept my body fighting. I dragged myself forward on my forearms as the shade’s weight bore down on me.

Malcolm entered the bell tower first, his face set in a vengeful mask like a god of rage. Sol and Jerrett were right behind him, their handsome features hardly recognizable as they snarled at the shade, revealing their fangs.

The creature stopped carving my skin. It kept its weight on my lower back but hauled my head up by the hair, its claws digging into the tight bun I’d made earlier. The carving knife pressed viciously into the side of my throat, just under my ear, drawing blood.

No one spoke, but the threat was crystal clear.

The men stopped moving, hanging back by the doorway. I could barely see them through the tears swimming in my eyes, but I could feel the morass of emotions churning within them.

My own feelings rose up to match the intensity of theirs.

Disappointment in myself for being the weak link on this makeshift team. Anger at the shades and whoever was behind them for their relentless pursuit of me, for their willingness to sacrifice young, innocent lives for their own gain. Regret that I hadn’t had the guts to claim these brothers like I’d wanted to, to mark them as mine and let them mark me. Sorrow that after everything they’d done to save me, these beautiful, terrifying, perfect men would be forced to watch me die.

I wished desperately for some way out of this, begging Fate to intervene. Sol had said she brought me to them for a reason. She couldn’t let it end now, could she?

My heart stuttered in my chest as the piercing pressure on my neck eased suddenly. Is the knife disappearing?

No. I was.

The knife remained as solid as ever, but like a breath of warm air on a cold night, I was evaporating. The strangest sensation filled me as I slowly became incorporeal. It was like turning into smoke. I didn’t sink through the floor as I had when falling into visions, but I suddenly couldn’t feel the shade’s weight on me at all.

Recovering from my shock, I rolled quickly to the side, passing through the dark creature and scrambling to my feet a short distance away. I caught a brief sight of three stunned faces, then the men attacked. They dove for the shade, but it followed my lead, becoming incorporeal before any of their blows could land.

Mal bared his teeth in anger, snarling at the monster. But there was nothing the brothers could do. Not until the thing became solid again.

The shade stalked toward me, its massive, shadowy form slightly transparent in this state.

A sudden thought froze my blood.

We were both in the same state. Could it touch me now?

I backed away quickly, but not fast enough. The shade swiped out, raking a clawed hand across my chest. A breathy grunt fell from my lips as I watched the razor-tipped claws pass harmlessly through me.

Guess that answers that question.

But I couldn’t attack the shade either. We were at an impasse like this. And it would never let me walk away peacefully. The thing crowded me, hovering so close I could’ve sworn I felt it brush against me.

“Hey! Get the fuck away from her!” Jerrett’s voice was thick with anger.

Steeling myself, I charged through the creature and ran to the other end of the tower, but the shadow monster was on me a minute later. Shit. We could do this all night.

“We need to make it go corporeal,” Sol said grimly.

How had they done that before?

Oh, right.

Malcolm had pretended to drop his guard so Jerrett could attack.

“Guys! I’m going to make it shift!”

My voice sounded strange like this, ghostly and faint. But I knew they heard me, because they all shook their heads in unison.

“No, wildcat! You’re safe where you are. Stay like that.”

Malcolm’s voice was firm and commanding. If I’d been one of his brothers, a trained fighter used to following orders from my leader, maybe I would’ve listened. But I wasn’t. I was a scared shitless incorporeal vampire who knew only one way to get us out of this mess.

I honestly wasn’t sure how to become solid again. It wasn’t like there was some muscle I could flex. So I just focused on the end result I wanted, willing it to work.

It did.

And then several things happened at once.

I became solid.

The shade screeched, becoming corporeal almost at the same moment.

My vampire protectors lunged forward, but the shade pivoted, slashing out with the wicked dagger it still held. It caught Jerrett in the side, and a fountain of blood welled.

“Jerrett!”

The scream tore from my throat even as the shadow creature leapt for me again, wrapping an arm around me.

This time, I didn’t go incorporeal. Using a trick Malcolm had taught me, I spun into the shade’s movement, redirecting it to the side as I grabbed for the knife. The shade was bigger and much heavier than me, but I had momentum on my side. I shoved, and the creature moved backward a few steps, stumbling toward the large bell hanging over a hole in the center of the room.

Its foot slipped off the edge, stepping into the black abyss. Its head cracked against the giant metal bell with a sickening, dull ringing sound.

And then it fell through the opening, its arms still clutching me.

We plummeted through the darkness together, and my stomach rushed up into my throat. I grappled for the knife, the shade’s claws gouging my flesh as we fought for control. Just before we landed, I grabbed the hilt with both hands and twisted the knife toward the shade’s chest.

The impact was like getting hit by a car. It ricocheted through me, sending pain radiating through my bones.

For several long moments, I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

I could only lie on top of the shade’s withered, desiccated body as my vampire healing slowly put me back together.

Finally, when my muscles and bones stopped screaming, I sat up. The shade’s dagger had pierced its chest, the impact so hard it’d crushed the entire sternum. I shivered, crawling away from the dead body and lurching to my feet.

Footsteps pounded on the stone steps, and a moment later, Sol, Jerrett, and Malcolm stood in the entrance to the room.

The knot in my chest loosened at the sight of them. Jerrett’s shirt was stained with blood, and the earthy, smoky scent of it made my mouth water. But the wound appeared to be healing over already.

“Are you okay?” I gasped. “Was that the last shade?”

I moved toward them, but stopped suddenly when I caught sight of their stony faces.

Shit. They were pissed. And they had a right to be—I’d disobeyed Malcolm and barely survived my reckless maneuver.

“I’m sorry. I know I should’ve followed your orders, Malcolm. But I didn’t see another way.”

They didn’t respond, just kept staring at me.

“I didn’t mean to go over the ledge with that guy! I wouldn’t have done it on purpose. I’m not crazy.”

That got no response either. Worry began to creep up my spine. I’d seen these men trade banter while fighting dangerous, undead supernaturals. What could possibly be so bad it rendered them speechless?

Finally, Jerrett opened his mouth, his blue eyes shining like pale stars in the darkness.

“No. You’re not crazy, Will. You’re fae.”