It took a moment for me to find my voice.

Ever since my memories had returned at the hospital, I’d noticed that it was taking my brain some time to catch up with the events around me. I wasn’t reacting as quickly as normal, which was bound to get me killed if I wasn’t careful.

But I didn’t have time to worry about whether my brain had been permanently damaged by the emerald priestess. I needed to come up with a quick answer that would keep Azure from driving that dagger into my heart.

“My name is Harper,” I said. “I’ve known both you and Rend for a long time, but we just haven’t met yet. We won’t actually meet each other for several decades. I know how crazy that sounds, but I have a story I need to tell you both. I just need you to trust me.”

Azure scoffed, her shoulders shaking with laughter. “Trust? I don’t trust anyone. Least of all witches dumb enough to walk down this alley in the middle of the night actually looking for the most powerful vampire in town.”

“The Rend I know doesn’t drink the blood of witches,” I said. “I was here looking for the entrance to his club. Venom.”

Her eyes flashed with surprise, but she was careful to try to hide it.

“Who sent you here?” she asked, pointing her dagger at me and taking several steps forward. “No one but our closest friends know about Rend’s plans for Venom.”

“No one sent me,” I said, holding my hands up. “I know about Venom because where I’m from, it already exists and has for more than half a century. I could describe it to you down to the last detail. I’ve been in Rend’s home hidden away in the Alps, and I could describe that for you, too. I told you. I know Rend, and I know you, too, Azure.”

Her lips opened at the sound of her name. “How do you know all these things?” she asked. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

“Yes, you have,” I said. “Just not yet. I don’t belong here in the fifties. I belong in the twenty-first century, but the emerald priestess of the Order of Shadows brought me here so she could torture me and try to steal my memories. I killed her, and now I’m trapped here. I need your help, and I need Rend’s help. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m kind of short on time here. I need you to at least hear me out, and I’d rather we find a safe, warm place to discuss this, if you don’t mind.”

Azure shook her head. “Twenty-first century, huh? And I’m still alive?” she asked. “And Rend? He’s good? He doesn’t drink from witches, anymore? At all?”

“Never,” I said. “And yes, you’re both alive and well. Both working at Venom. In the future, there’s an entrance here in this alley. A doorway that appears when someone whose blood contains magic gets close enough to sense it.”

“It hasn’t been built yet,” she said. “The doorway, I mean. But you’re right. We were here scoping out this alley as a potential entrance when Rend just took off. He moved so fast, I couldn’t stop him. He must have sensed your power. You’re a witch from the Order?”

“Not exactly,” I said. “I’m half-demon, half-witch. Descendant of a Prima and a demon king.”

Her hand fluttered to her mouth. “Holy shit,” she said. “No wonder he was so out of control. That’s a damn powerful combination. I would venture to say you are the only one who exists.”

“I’ve known others who are half-demon, half-witch,” I said, “but no, I’ve never met another with my exact lineage.”

I glanced around the dark alley.

“Don’t worry,” Azure said. “No one else is going to come running at you from the shadows. The vampires around here know this is Rend’s territory, so they steer clear unless they have business with him.”

I nodded toward Rend. “Is he going to be okay?” I asked. “I can’t believe you actually stabbed him.”

She shrugged, as if it wasn’t the first time. “He’ll have a headache until he can create one of his potions to counteract the poison I used, but he’ll be fine,” she said. “He just needs to sleep for a little while.”

“You’re not just going to leave him here, are you?”

“It’s tempting after the way he acted just now,” she said, laughing. “But no, I’ll move him inside. Guess there’s no time like the present to make that door. You said in the future it’s located somewhere around here?”

I nodded and put my hand on the brick wall. “Close to this point, as far as I can remember,” I said.

She shrugged and made a motion for me to move back.

“Make sure he doesn’t wake up or anything,” she said. “He should be out for a few hours, but you never know. He’s even stronger than he looks sometimes.”

I stepped back toward where Rend lay on the pavement, his body completely unmoving. Still, I kept an eye on him. I didn’t want a replay of that terrifying event.

A dark blue glow emanated from the area in front of me, though, drawing my eye. Azure was consumed with the light, and I could swear I saw the flutter of wings against her back. They were iridescent; translucent and shining.

Since when did Azure have wings? And come to think of it, how was she still just as young and beautiful sixty plus years from now as she was today?

I watched in awe as she crouched near the bottom of the wall and pushed the light into the brick, transforming it with a single touch. She moved slowly up the wall, and a door materialized out of nowhere.

The sheer power radiating from her nearly knocked me to my knees. I had always assumed Azure was a witch. A human. I’d heard someone once say that she had been with Rend since the creation of Venom, and I wondered if he’d created some kind of potion to elongate her life. I never dreamed she was something more, but seeing her now, I had no doubt that Azure was some kind of hybrid, like me.

But a hybrid of what?

When the door was complete, she stepped back, admiring her work. I caught sight of her wings again as the light faded.

When the light was gone, so were the wings.

“How does that look?” she asked, crossing her arms and staring at it with a critical look on her face. “I feel like it’s pretty plain. Should I make it fancier, you think?”

“It’s perfect,” I said, my voice nearly a whisper. “Um, Azure?”

She turned to face me. “Yes?”

“What are you?” I asked. “I always assumed you were a human witch, but—”

She laughed. “I take it you’ve never seen a fae before?” she asked. “Didn’t the wings give it away?”

I smiled, despite the fear and awe flowing through me. “No, I never have,” I said. “But I have to admit, that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Your wings are breathtaking.”

“Thank you,” she said, offering me a rare, genuine smile. The Azure I knew didn’t smile often, but she wouldn’t be the first person in my life who had been hardened by time and heartbreak.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get him inside the club. I’m afraid there isn’t much to it yet. It’s practically bare at this point. But someday, it’s going to be great. A safe haven for everyone like us.”

She said it as if it were nothing more than a dream, but I knew better.

“It will be,” I said. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes. It’s an amazing place.”

Her eyes widened, and she stared at me, as if not quite sure she should believe me.

“Come on, let’s get him inside,” she said.

I stared at Rend’s motionless body and shook my head. I wasn’t sure how Azure planned to lift him. He was a giant compared to us, but if I needed to, I could probably lift him with my magic.

Azure beat me to it, though. She simply gathered her magic in her hands and nodded toward the door.

“Open that, will you?” she asked.

I ran over to open the door to Venom, almost laughing as I realized that I was the very first person to ever open this door. Jackson would get a kick out of that when he found out.

Azure’s blue light surrounded Rend’s body. She lifted him without a thought, throwing his body over her shoulder and carrying him inside.

I laughed and shook my head. This was turning out to be a very interesting adventure.

I followed them through the entrance to Venom and closed the door behind me.