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25

Ardesia

YVESWICH, STATE OF KER

Roman had spentthe whole ride here trying not to puke all over Darien’s truck. And now that they were parked down the street from his house—the house his dad’s men might be watching at that very minute—he once again fought to keep the contents of his stomach down.

The road was quiet and still. By the looks of the empty driveways and unlit houses, most of his neighbors had already evacuated.

Thanks to Loren’s shield of magic, the district had been spared in its entirety. Even the streetlights still worked, their foggy halos reflecting in the dark tarmac that glistened with half-frozen rain. But just because the power worked didn’t mean it was safe. Demons were prowling along the perimeters of spell-protected yards and skulking in bushes near the mouths of driveways. Lying in wait.

For all Roman knew, his father—the predator he was—could be doing the very same.

No one in the truck made a sound as they waited for Bandit and Grim to report back. Sayagul had wanted to go with them, but it was too risky. She was far too easy to recognize.

‘I could’ve simply stayed up high,’she argued now, though she sounded drained. Just like Roman.‘An aerial view is always helpful.’

‘Next time,’he told her. The rain picked up, ice pellets peppering the windshield so hard they triggered the wipers to move at a faster setting. Despite his words, Roman hoped there wouldn’t be a next time. Not for something like this.

A few more minutes went by before two pairs of glowing crimson eyes appeared down the road, flitting between parked cars, trees, and mailboxes. Even with the streetlights providing a low level of illumination, the area was so dark Roman could hardly see the misty black bodies of the mountain lion and the Doberman as they approached on soundless paws.

Darien cracked open his door, frigid air seeping in. Bandit jumped up into his lap, while Grim padded to the tailgate to report what they’d learned to Max’s group. Max, Lace, and Dallas were hunkered down low in the truck bed to avoid being noticed by any prying eyes.

Bandit walked across Darien’s thighs and parked his butt in Loren’s lap.

“Hey,” Darien scolded, his door thumping shut. “Did she tell you that you’re allowed to sit on her?”

Bandit turned his head to look Loren in the eyes, his nose nearly bumping against her cheek.‘Excuse me, may I sit on you?’

She smiled and stroked the dog’s cropped ears. “Yes, Bandit, you may sit on me.”

Kylar leaned forward in his seat. “Did you guys see anything?”

‘No one on the street or in the yard,’Bandit replied, nose twitching.‘The blinds are closed, so we couldn’t see in the windows.’

Roman cursed. “They could be in there. Waiting to open fire the minute we walk through the front door.” He rubbed the stubble on his face, feeling like he’d aged three centuries after this whirlwind of a night—and day. Every hour that went by was an hour wastednotlooking for Pax,notlooking for Shay,notlooking for Tanner,notgetting the hell out of the city.

“If you’d rather a few of us go inside first, while you wait in here, I’m fine with that,” Darien offered. “It might be better if we don’t all go in at once. In case shit does go sideways.”

“We’re stronger as a unit, though,” Jack argued.

Roman sighed. “Yeah, but does it even make a difference if Don is in there?”

“He can’t be that strong, can he?” Jack wondered.

Multiple people turned to stare at him in disbelief, including Roman, who said, “Were you not listening when I told you what he did to Darien’s hand?Darien’shand, Jack!”

“Yeah, but he’s never faced all of us together.”

“We’re starving and drained,” Kylar said.“All of us togetherisn’t going to make much of a difference. If we’re forced to fight, and Don’s involved, we’ll lose.”

The truck descended into silence again as everyone thought it through. Loren stroked her hand down Bandit’s glossy back, her eyes on Darien, who stared at the rain dribbling down the glass.

And then he put the truck in drive.

Roman sat up straight, heart hammering. “What’s the plan?”

“The only plan there is: go in and see what the fuck happened—and fight if we’re forced to.”