“No females?”
“None that tempted me to forget my duty to my king.” He lowered his head, scraping a sharp fang along the line of her jaw. “Not until now.”
She swayed forward, as if drawn to him by a primitive spell. “Not so rusty.”
“When this is over—”
His soft pledge was brought to an abrupt end as a violent tremor shook the ground. Knocked off balance, Brigette was pitched forward, landing heavily against Xi’s hard body. His arms immediately wrapped around her, pulling her close.
“I got you.”
There was another tremor, and another. Xi and Brigette remained tightly clenched together, neither of them speaking. There was no need to discuss what was causing the small earthquakes. They both knew that Maryam had left the tunnels and set off the explosions.
Braced for a painful death, Brigette felt each second tick past at a sluggish pace, as if the very world had slowed to a mere crawl. Then, when no hideous death appeared to snatch her into the jaws of the netherworld, she tilted back her head to exchange a relieved glance with Xi.
But even as his head lowered, as if he was going to kiss her in celebration, Brigette was pulling out of his arms and sprinting toward the pumping station.
Xi raced to jog next to her. “What are you doing? Brigette…”
She ignored his exasperation. Lowering her head, she sucked in deep breaths as she circled the building. Maryam hadn’t left the tunnels from this exit. Which meant she had used one of the others.
“Call Styx and warn him that Maryam isn’t here,” she muttered, her head bent low as she ran through the dark streets.
Sucking in deep breaths, Brigette absorbed the scents that filled the air. She could easily shuffle through the mundane smells of the city, along with the humans, but it took a concerted effort to pick through the numerous vampire scents that flooded the area.
Pain slammed into her as she instinctively attempted to call on her wolf, only to have it refuse to answer. It didn’t matter how much time passed, she would never be used to the loss of her animal. Or the knowledge that it was her own damned fault that the best part of her was buried forever.
Grimly shoving aside her aching regret, Brigette followed the tunnel that was beneath the streets. Maybe if she backtracked, she could find where Maryam escaped.
Focused on the hunt, Brigette was distantly aware of Xi running beside her, his dagger clutched in his hands. He was protecting her so she could concentrate on tracking her prey. As if they were true partners, not just strangers temporarily thrust together.
Strange sensations swirled through her, a mixture of pleasure and longing and fear. Pleasure at the realization that she wasn’t alone as she flowed through the darkness. Longing for a future where Xi was always at her side. And fear that she would, all too soon, be back in her desolate village. Isolated and forgotten.
A familiar scent jerked Brigette out of her dark thoughts. Thank the goddess.
Coming to an abrupt halt in the center of the street, she knelt next to the heavy manhole.
“Maryam came out here,” she said.
Xi knelt beside her. “Alone?”
“No, Roban’s with her.” Brigette leaned down to touch the manhole. The scents were distinct, but already fading. “They escaped at least half an hour ago. The triggers must have been set to give Maryam and Roban plenty of time to get out of the area before going off.”
“Dammit, I should have thought of that,” Xi growled, his face tight with self-disgust. “I need to warn Styx.”
Brigette straightened. “You tell him. I’ll follow the trail.”
“We’ll follow the trail.” Xi pulled out his phone, hitting speed dial. “We’re in this together, right?”
In this together…
Brigette tried to squash her fierce stab of satisfaction. She wasn’t entirely successful, but at least she didn’t blush. She was going to take that as a win.
“What about the other rebels?” she asked as soon as Xi finished his call and returned his phone to his pocket.
“Styx and Viper have it under control. The important thing now is to capture Maryam.”
Brigette nodded, following the trail at a swift jog. They’d traveled straight south for several blocks, heading toward the sprawling suburbs.
“They aren’t going to the airport,” Xi muttered.
“Or the parking lot,” Brigette added.
“So where the hell are they going?”
Brigette picked up speed. “Only one way to find out.”
* * * *
Levet stumbled over Troy as he hurried forward. The stupid male had stopped just inches outside the exit of the portal. Worse, he had his arms folded over his chest and a dangerous expression on his face.
“Someday…” Troy growled as Levet regained his balance and flapped his wings to get rid of the dust.
“Oui. I know.” Levet waved an airy hand. “You will rip off my wings or chop off my head or some other nasty punishment. I have heard them all.”
Troy’s eyes flashed with a predictable fury. “I’m sure I could come up with a few new ones.”
Levet ignored the male’s yakking. He had more important things to worry about than a pissy imp. Like figuring out where they were.
Turning in a slow circle, he discovered they were on a high bluff overlooking a wide, muddy river. Oh. Continuing his circle, he caught sight of exactly what he’d been expecting.
A farmhouse.
There was nothing to make it special. It looked like every other farmhouse in the Midwest. It had two stories, with a wraparound porch and a sharply angled roof. It was painted white, although it was peeling in more than one place and the gutters were drooping.
A rolling yard surrounded the house, dotted with a handful of outbuildings along with a fringe of trees. The pungent scent of ancient ash and oak and flowering dogwoods spiced the air. It looked charming and rustic and wholesome.
The sort of place that would welcome you with a warm meal and a kindly smile.
Thankfully, the locals had long ago learned to avoid the place as if it was infested with the plague. Only the call of an owl disturbed the heavy silence.
The house was, of course, a mere diversion. It was the series of caves that stretched for miles beneath the rolling hills that interested the vampires who inhabited it.
Levet clicked his tongue. “We are back where we started.”
Troy sent him a baffled glance. “Not exactly. Chicago is at least a couple hours north of us.”
“Oui, but I have been here before.”