“And this spell proved no different,” Marcus agreed. “The Red Virus remained the dominant trait. The result was a wolf that was smarter, faster, and more vicious.” His gaze settled on Troy. “Andres was the result.”
“Andres,” Troy ground out, and any panic Cassie felt over that name faded into a completely different fear. Her nostrils flared with the scent of his anger, with the now familiar scent of his wolf clawing to life.
“Troy,” Cassie murmured softly, twining her fingers with his, and trying to get him to look at her, but he stayed focused on his Warden-in-Charge.
“How could you have known this and not tell me?” Troy demanded. “How long have you watched me hunt him without saying a damn word?”
“Don’t even think about going wolf on me, vampire,” Marcus warned, power waving off of him with such force that Cassie lost her breath for a moment. “You are, and always will be, part vampire and I am still your maker, and I promise you that you’re no match for me, be it as a wolf or vampire, or any combination thereof. I knew none of what I now know about Andres until a few months ago, after your ass went MIA, despite a promise to stay in touch.”
Troy inhaled, and dropped his head forward, his long blond hair covering his face. Cassie could smell the changes happening to him, and she had no doubt Marcus could sense them. “Troy,” she whispered, leaning in close, pressing her hand to his face, her mouth to his ear. “Take my arm if you need it. I’m here.”
He reached up and covered her hand with his, lifting his gaze to hers, letting her see that his eyes were still blue, that he was nowhere near as gone as he had been earlier. “And I’m better now because you are.” The words, the trust behind them, were as unexpected as the kiss he placed on her wrist before shifting his attention to Marcus. “Marcus I-”
“We’re good, man,” Marcus said, cutting him off, the two men holding a long stare, and Cassie felt the friendship between them, felt Marcus’s true concern for Troy in his words as he added, “But we’ll both be better when Andres is dead, especially after you hear what I have to say. Not long after you went incognito, the ousted leader of the Rebels came to me seeking protection within Vampire Nation in exchange for information.” He glanced at Cassie. “He knew The Society would kill him for killing so many of theirs.”
“He was right,” she said, not mincing words. “And we wouldn’t expect you to take him in either.”
“He’s dead,” Marcus said flatly, “but not before he told me that Andres used magic in an attempt to turn himself into something half vampire, half werewolf, that would be capable of ruling both races. Sound familiar?”
“They turned me and Andres.”
“No,” Marcus said. “Andres was unchanged. Because you lived, you absorbed the magic, not Andres.”
“They didn’t know what they were doing in the first place,” Aylia added. “They used a stolen, powerful source of magic from our coven that was well beyond their ability to control.”
She glanced at Marcus. “I’d like to explain.”
He gave a quick nod. “Of course.”
“Each of the members of my coven wears a necklace etched with an ancient magical triangle that is bound with the blood of seven of our members. When we cast a spell, it’s locked inside the necklace of whichever one of us was the creator of the magic, bound for use at another time. That spell must only be spoken to evoke the power of the Coven but only the true holder of the necklace can control the true power of the magic. So you see, the spell that created Andres was in a necklace that was stolen right before the Reno incident. And the magic in your blood is that spell.”
Cassie’s breath lodged in her throat as she was almost certain she’d seen the necklace before, that she knew where it was. Her gaze settled on Aylia’s neck, seeking a visual confirmation of what it looked like, telling herself she was mistaken. Only Aylia wore no necklace.
“It was stolen from you,” Cassie said, and Lord help her, Cassie was now certain she knew where that necklace was.
Aylia shook her head and pulled down her shirt, showing a long scar on her shoulder. “I was lucky to survive and I’m thankful it wasn’t a Red that did this or I’d be a monster now myself.”
She was attacked by a natural born. Like herself and Nico. No, Cassie thought. No. Nico would not do that to Aylia. He would not betray his race, his blood. “Did you know the wolf that attacked you?”
Aylia glanced in Troy’s direction. “Sarah,” she said solemnly. “And I’m so sorry, Troy, that my magic has hurt you in the way it has. I regret that spell on Andres more than you can ever know.”
“What does this mean for Troy?” Cassie asked and not gently. Everything was spinning out of control, and she desperately needed to make sense of it all.
“I don’t know,” Aylia said. “But it’s been more than a year since you were infected. It has to be a good sign that the Red virus hasn’t completely claimed you yet.”
“Yet,” Cassie repeated softly and the silence that followed was deafening as her eyes met Marcus’s in pained understanding. They both knew Troy was barely hanging on. They both needed an answer now, not later.
“We all know where this is going,” Troy said, abruptly dropping her hand and pushing to his feet.
Cassie quickly jumped up as well, grabbing his arms, and standing in front of him, giving her back to Marcus and Aylia who were now standing as well. “Where is this going?” Cassie asked. “What are you saying?”
“Marcus,” Troy said looking over her head at his Warden-in-Charge. “I’m going after Andres. I need you to take care of Cassie.”
“I do not need to be taken care of,” she objected, still focused on Troy and Troy alone. “I need you here, irritating me, saying things like ‘take care of Cassie’ who is a member of The Royal Guard… That’s what I need.”
“Cass,” he said softly, pulling her close and kissing her soundly on the lips, then brushing her hair out of her eyes. “The rebels are plotting to kill The Royal Guard, and there’s an insider helping them. That’s why I grabbed you so forcefully today. I wasn’t taking any chances of you being hurt. And you know who I’m afraid that insider is.”
“No,” Cassie rejected immediately. “It’s not him.”
“Let Marcus help you find out.”
“You help me find out.”
“I’m dangerous. You know I’m dangerous. I won’t risk hurting you.”
“You won’t.”
“I’m going after Andres, Cass, before I’m too far gone to do it.” He lowered his voice with a lethal vow. “I’m taking him with me if it’s the last thing I do on this earth.”
“Taking him with you?” Cassie demanded. “No. No. You aren’t doing anything but taking me with you to kill Andres, and Aylia is going to come up with a spell to save you while we do it. That’s what’s going to happen.” Cassie whirled around to face Aylia, too emotional to even try and be fair to the witch. “Fix this, Aylia. Fix it just like your coven fixed you when Sarah attacked you. You did this… this… whatever the hell you did to Troy, with irresponsible black magic and you’re going to undo it.”