A pure, undiluted, predator’s roar vibrated along the walls of the estate. The sound was angry, starving, and just this side of madness. The library walls trembled from the power thrashing through the house.
Alek.
Hold on, mate. Just a little longer.
I sent the words with all the love and power I possessed down our bond, and the scream dulled, just slightly. I flipped page after page, my vampire eyes reading faster than I ever knew possible.
“Lyric,” Avi’s voice was so soft and low and devastated, it nearly broke the thread I was holding on to. I jolted at her sudden appearance before the table.I hadn’t heard her come into the library, not even a whisper at the doors.
“I have to find it,” I said by way of answer, not once taking my eyes off the massive tome before me.
Avi placed her gloved hands on the table, forcing me to meet her gaze. Her stunning blue eyes were drained of life, that spark I loved so much about her winking in and out like her heart was stuttering.
“I will find it,” I said, answering her silent plea for me to listen to reason.
“The Night Thistle has taken Alek,” she said, and my heart clenched at her words.
“No,” I said, flipping another page. “I can feel him. Through the bond. He’s there. I know he’s there—”
“You want him to be—”
“Of course, I want him to be!” I hissed, my fangs descending with my anger. Avi’s eyes widened, her brow arching at the display. I quickly retracted them, shaking my head. “He is there.”
“We have to consider the merciful route, Lyric.” Avi blew out a breath, and I swear if she didn’t look so fucking devastated, I would’ve thrown her across the room. As it was, my vision flickered to thermal without my permission, the rage in my blood pumping fire through my veins. “Alek asked for an honorable death at the compound. Benedict told me. And Julian…he’s searching like you, but we don’t have much time. You know how powerful Alek is, and if he were to kill any one of us, he would never rest in his afterlife. Don’t you understand?”
A cold stillness crept over my skin, cooling that rage pounding its fists against my soul. Against our bond, the precious braid of light that connected me to Alek. It flickered, weak as a draining heartbeat, but it was still there.
Guilt gnawed at my stomach, and I paused my search for a second to think. Alek would absolutely not forgive me if I let him harm Avi or Hawke or any of his beloved Assassins. His friends. His family. Me. I clenched my eyes shut, a knife carving up my chest.
Avi had been his sister for much longer than I had been his mate. She’d been vampire longer than me. She knew infinitely more than I did.
Alek’s burning blue gaze.
His strong hands gentle at my waist.
That smile he only showed me, his mate.
The images combated my thoughts of submission. And yes, Avi was older, wiser, and of royal blood. I should bend to her will as she outranked—
Wait.
No.
She didn’t outrank me.
None of them did.
As Alek’s mate, his chosen queen, I outranked them all.
A surge of power and determination crackled across my skin, and I returned to my frenzied search.
“Lyric,” Avi sighed my name like she’d been holding her breath for hope. Like she’d expected me to bow to her wishes.
But I didn’t have to bend or bow to anyone.
Except Alek.
And I would get that chance again.
“Here!” I snapped, my eyes blazing as they caught on the arrangement of letters I’d desperately been searching for.
I read the passage about remediums once. Twice. A third to be absolutely certain.
“What is it?” Avi asked, hope flaring in her eyes. That hope mixed with devastation cooled my fire toward her. She wanted what was best for her brother, and in her eyes, there was no cure.
But if I’d learned anything about this new supernatural world, there was always a cure. A balance to uphold, no matter if that balance was seriously skewed one direction or the next.
I lifted my chin, straightening as I shoved the book toward her.
She spun it around, her eyes eating up the page, but I was already gone.
I sped down the hallways, down the stairs, and only slowed my pace when I rounded the corner that led to my chambers.
Hawke and Lachlan stood guard outside our door, Benedict and Julian and Ransom all pacing the length across from them.
My knees wobbled at seeing Ransom whole, but when his eyes met mine…God, they looked so devoid of life. All of them did. My heart swelled at the love gilded between these Assassins—unbreakable bonds that would no doubt last an eternity regardless of the circumstances.
They had my respect and my love.
But that didn’t stop me from saying, “Move.”
Hawke’s sharp gaze narrowed further at my request.
Lachlan’s look was more pleading. “We’ve chained him to his bed, lass,” he said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it. “We wanted him to be as comfortable as possible when he—”
His words died in his throat when he saw the look in my eyes—the uncompromising will there.
“Move,” I said, this time with a little more strength behind the word.
Hawke shook his head. “No. We will not lose you too.”
I took a steadying breath, the bond flaring and thrashing inside me.
“Please, lass—”
“Queen,” I cut Lachlan off, and he immediately straightened his position. Ransom hissed behind me, and Hawke merely…smirked. “It’s Queen,” I said with a bit more softness. Fuck, I hated pulling rank like this, but dammit, they weren’t listening to me. Alek would not die. Not while there was breath in my lungs.
“You are our queen,” Lachlan said, dipping his head slightly. “And we are duty-sworn to protect you. Even from yourself.”
My fangs descended on their own accord, my patience wearing thin. “We don’t have time for a debate. You heard what Genevieve said, yes?”
They all nodded.
“I found it. What she referred to. I’m…” I shook my head. There wasn’t time. “I’m much more complex than any of us suspected. And Alek and I will explain everything after—”
“Alek,” Hawke cut me off. “Has succumbed to his baser side thanks to the fucking Night Thistle—”
“Easy,” I warned, using all the power I felt flowing through my blood to face down the most terrifying vampire I’d ever met. Hawke was ruthless as he was gorgeous, but I would not be delayed.
He clamped his lips shut, a flicker of respect shining through his eyes.
“Let her in,” Ransom said from behind me. “She is our queen. We have to trust her judgment.”
I nearly bowed my shoulders with relief at the support of the general.
“If we lose our king and queen in one night, the nobles will flock to the blood in the water,” Hawke snapped. “And that blood will be Avianna’s. They’ll stop at nothing to—”
“I am the cure,” I hurried to say, wanting to reassure him. “I am, Hawthorne.” Saying his full name, the way I’d heard Alek do on more than one occasion, silenced him. “Please, I know you all haven’t known me that long. I get that. But, I promise, we will have centuries to bond. I will earn your trust, but right now, I need you to give me some blind faith. I will return Alek to you.” I hated the way my voice trembled, the way I knew for a fact I couldn’t best the four Assassins to get through that door. No, they’d have to trust me. And that seemed a much harder feat than overpowering them.