“Shit! They’re escaping!” another one cries out, and they jump into action. I attack two, and my punches are so strong now the vampires take steps back and shake their heads in confusion. I grin as they attack me again, fangs bared, their eyes burning with bloodlust.
The one who recognized Donatello sticks two fingers between his lips and whistles. Something tells me he’s calling for reinforcements. Ren attacks the third vampire, and Apollo and Oreo gang up on the fourth one. No, I have to be quicker. If another one appears, we’re screwed. I can’t let them get hurt.
My heart pumps with adrenaline, and it feels like the very blood running through my veins is made of stone. I roar in rage and close my fingers around a vampire’s head, then slam him against the wall. The second guy is gaping at it, and I take his distraction to get rid of him, too. I don’t look back at the red splatters. The guilt will have to wait. Moving to the others, I free Apollo first, then Ren. We pick up our pace, the thunder of several sets of footsteps right behind us.
More and more vampires appear. I take them out, one by one. My knuckles shine red, but I don’t stop to look at them. I don’t let myself think about it. Two things matter, and only two—burn Cass’ body and get the others out.
We reach the main hall. Some vampires halt, looking between us with frightened eyes. One is a child, or at least is in the body of a child.
Donatello stumbles closer. “Leave,” he says to these vampires. “You know what Kayn’s doing is wrong. We just want to stop him. Leave if you don’t want to die.” His voice climbs higher in the last sentence, as if it’s meant for more than the handful of people in front of us.
To my surprise, these vampires run away, toward the exit. They leave the door open, the soft breeze of an early evening wafting inside. Not the best time of day to fight vampires, but we don’t have a choice.
In fact, the lack of sunlight might actually help me.
Whirling around, I face Donatello and Mei. She locks her gaze with mine, her face pale but her jaw set. “You two should leave,” I say. “While it’s night, Donatello won’t burn in the sun.”
Donatello shakes his head. “No. I’m not leaving you behind.” A sad smile crosses his face. “How am I going to let you die in my place? I’m the one who fucked up.”
Apollo scoffs. “You’re not the only one.”
“I’m the oldest.”
“And I’m the strongest,” I cut in. “If there’s anyone to blame—”
Ren barks, but it’s Mei who talks for him. “We don’t have time for the blame game now,” she says, arm around Donatello’s waist, her small frame trembling with the effort of helping him. “And it’s obvious no one is leaving. What’s the point? Kayn will hunt us down, anyway. Let’s at least make this worth it.” And she forces a smile on her face. Mei, who has nothing to do with this, pushes her fear away and smiles in reassurance.
I smile back, then turn around to take the lead once more. “Let’s find Cassandra.”
Ren takes the lead, sniffing the way ahead. It is not easy. More vampires get to us, more than we can handle. Apollo limps harder, blood seeping past his lips. Ren is covered in blood, both his and not, while Oreo’s fire burns dimmer. Even with my shifter form and my tougher skin, my sides ache, and it’s getting harder and harder to breathe. The effort to keep up with this is catching up to us, and I’m scared to death of the moment Donatello and Mei join the fight for lack of options.
We make it to a library, and I shove the doors back so hard one of them falls clean off its hinges. Apollo finds new strength inside him and runs into the place as he calls for his dragon. I watch his back glowing with the fire inside him as we burst into the open space between bookshelves. A woman who had been sweeping jumps with surprise, the broom falling from her hands. Her face goes paper white as she stumbles back into a desk. My gaze passes her to the form stretched over the wooden surface.
Cassandra lies there, her face empty, her eyes closed. A white sheet covers her to her chest, her shirt and neck dark with her dried blood. The sight is a punch to the guts and air escapes me. New tears invade my eyes. It’s like no time has passed. Like we walked into that nightmare of a day all over again.
Though seeing her is exactly what we expected, the shock makes us all pause. And we pause long enough that we don’t notice the figure standing next to a window.
“I cannot say I’m surprised to see you here,” Kayn says, and he turns his crimson eyes toward us.
CHAPTER23
CASSANDRA
This is what I get for trusting new people. I mean, I’ve never been the brightest one out there, but trusting a demon should have been an easy no-no. Zaki was the only one with an escape plan, sure, and I could have used that. Instead, I let my guard down. I allowed him to stab me in the back.
And I was the one who gave him the knife. I was too busy rubbing myself all over him to think like a rational human being.
Gods, why can’t I learn? And what is wrong with me? I have four handsome mates back home, four men who love me and make me feel good, and never fail to make me feel special. Why did I feel this attraction toward Zaki? Why couldn’t I stay away from him?
I refuse to accept he’s a fifth mate. Demons don’t have mates. It doesn’t even make sense for an incubus to have one—not when Zaki hates the thought of sleeping with the same person twice.
Maybe I’m just feeling lonely, with my mates so far away and the possibility of never seeing them again. Yes, that has to be it. There’s no other explanation.
Bringing my knees up, I hug them to my chest. What’s the deal with these people having cells in their houses? I glance around the small dungeon, the dim light only allowing me to see a few feet outside. I miss my nighttime vision. That was so handy, and I barely had the chance to get used to it. Narrowing my eyes, I try to see past my tiny cage into the others, but they’re either empty or too filled with shadows. I hear someone—or something—breathing heavily down the right side of the corridor, but that’s it. No one else. No cries or whimpers or anything that could be another person.
No one to tell me it will be alright. No one to plan an escape with me, to help me through this.
I’m alone.