I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know if we can really take care of the Kindred in two days. No one has updated me as to where they even are right now.
But it’s something. It’s all I can reasonably ask for.
So I nod. Jaxon tips his head down and presses a kiss to my lips. And then he steps away. He glares at Davorian, the target of his anger at the moment, and walks passed him into the kitchen.
My commander raises an eyebrow at me, one that says you know how to pick them. But he turns back to the board on the wall.
“What’s the update?” I ask, ignoring the fact that I’m standing here in nothing more than my pajamas and the fact that there is an audience of darkling agents still watching all the drama unfold.
“They’re still in Tonopah,” Davorian says, pointing to their location. “I don’t know what the hell they’re doing there. But they’re just camping out.”
“Maybe we send a team after them?” I suggest. “I’m getting a little sick of sitting around, waiting for them to strike.”
Davorian shakes his head. “I’d rather fight on our turf, under our terms. We don’t know that area. We don’t know where to go if someone gets hurt or if we need supplies. And this should be easy with all of us here at the ready. Why risk it with a smaller team?”
Ugh. He’s right.
“Well, we don’t have a lot of time,” I say as I turn and look down the hall. I see Renwick leaning in the doorway to the kitchen, talking to Jaxon, even though he’s out of my line of sight. “Jaxon means it. He’ll wait until his sister is out of the hospital, but then he’s going to go. You won’t be able to stop him.”
I look over to see this look on Davorian’s face that tells me that yes, he will be able to. He’s right, we have the numbers.
But I will do anything to keep it from coming to that.
“I’ll give it another six hours,” Davorian says. “If they don’t head this way before then, I might need you to reach out to the resident ultralights.”
I nod in acknowledgment and turn and walk away.
I go to my room and get dressed for the day. I pick a pair of black pants, something stretchy but sturdy. I pull on a black tank top. Beneath all my clothes, I strap on knives. In my hip pack, I pack my gun.
I can feel it. Something is going to happen today. I want to be prepared to fight as a darkling, or with my own human hands.
The day is tense. Jaxon ends up going back to his bedroom, not mine. He stays there, and he's on the phone half of the day, checking on his sister. I leave him be. I am here for him, but he also wants to keep me separate from his family, a fact that I appreciate and understand.
Every darkling is occupying the compound once again. The passageways are full, the kitchen is in a constant rotation of preparation. The washrooms are always being used. So for this reason, I'm glad that Jaxon is staying out of the way.
Our instincts to kill the ultralights are not the same as the ultralights instinct to kill us. This is not our verse. Our instincts don't work as well. But still, they know what he is. And even that simple knowledge awakens our guardian forms. They all have exceptional control. They've been doing this job for a century and a half. But still, it makes me a little nervous that there are forty-seven of us and only one of him.
My anxiety is through the roof. It feels like the longest day ever.
At eight o'clock that night, my phone rings. I look down at it and the name on the display says Vivian.
Adrenaline crashes through my blood, and my blood isn't hot, it's cold.
I step into Davorian's empty office and close the door behind me.
"Vivian," I answer coldly.
"Where is my son, Serena?" she asks in a cold, calm voice.
"He's taking a nap," I say simply.
There is a moment of hesitation. Everything Vivian says and does is calculated. "My son hasn't been answering my calls for the past twenty-four hours. Do you happen to know why?"
"Hmm, let me think about it," I say with acid in my voice. "It might have something to do with the fact that you're leveraging his sister against him."
"The work doesn't slow simply because my son is distracted," Vivian says.
"Careful, Vivian," I say in a low voice. "Your second face is starting to show."
Once more, there is a pause on the other end of the line. "Your participation in this family would be appreciated, Serena. When I first met you, I thought you were the perfect match for my son. You would be a valued member of our team. I'm a little confused why you are fighting against our family. It seemed you understood what kind of family you were walking into from the start. What changed, Serena?"
I pace back and forth across the office slowly. My insides are shifting, ready to explode. I'm barely keeping myself contained at the moment. "What changed is what Jaxon wants. And what Jaxon wants, I will help to make happen. He told you he's not walking away permanently. Do you really have to keep your claws in him twenty-four seven?"
"Yes, my son said that," Vivian says evenly. "Yet he left the wedding party I threw for the two of you without vile anger on his tongue, and you proceeded to threaten me. Jaxon has now disappeared. From my understanding, the two of you weren't leaving for your honeymoon for a few more days. I simply expect my son to keep his word."
I shake my head and my jaw clenches tight. We are never going to find common ground with this woman. She's possessed. She doesn't care about anyone but herself.
"Will you please tell Jaxon that in his absence, Chantel will be taking over while Scarlett is in the hospital? It seems her injury has turned septic. She isn't doing too well. It looks as if she's going to be in the hospital for at least another week. But as I said, the work doesn't stop. Chantel is older, more experienced. She might not have the strength or the weight that Jaxon has, but I think she might perform better than her younger sister. Would you please let Jaxon know this?"
I swear under my breath, but not quietly. Vivian clearly hears it. "I will not let you destroy him from the inside out," I hiss into the phone. I stalk forward, though I have nowhere that I'm actually going. "You and I need to talk. Tonight."
"So you haven't left for your honeymoon yet," Vivian states simply.
"It seems not," I say coldly. "I will meet you at the penthouse. We’re going to talk. Alone."
"I will see you in an hour then," Vivian says, and then she hangs up.
I hold the phone away from my ear and look at the screen.
My eyes shift up to the glass door leading out from Davorian's office. The others are gathered around the ultralight board. And I know exactly what that means.
The Kindred are finally on the move again.
I can't wait. Everything inside of me is roiling and shifting and burning with hatred and adrenaline. I have to do this now. If I don't, things could get so much worse. And I will do anything and everything that I can to protect Jaxon.
I have to get out of here now, before anyone tells me that I can't.
Jaxon will be safe here. There are forty-six other darklings that can help protect him. There are forty-six other darklings that can track down the Kindred and take them out.
For now, I have a different job to do.