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I didn’t deserve him. I just didn’t.

He slid a hand down to mine and turned us back to the window. Halina was still by the loch, her red hair like a beacon in the moonlight. “She needs us both,” he said. “Me to loosen her up. You to show her how to punch things. Both of us to fuck her silly.”

I grunted, my cock twitching.

“But we can’t force her to stay.” He gave a soft laugh. “From what I know of females, we can’t force her to do anything. She has to make her own decisions. And we have to be strong enough to let her make them.” He squeezed my hand. “If you’re patient enough to let her run into your arms, she’ll never leave them.”

He’d know. He’d been patient enough with me.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, my gaze on our reflections in the window and, beyond it, Halina’s slender form next to the loch. “We’ll probably make a ton of mistakes before we figure this out.”

“Aye,” he said, but his voice hummed with his usual happiness. “Love is messy.”

Two vampires appeared out of thin air on either side of Halina, their armor glinting silver.

She screamed and spun toward the castle. The vampire on the right grabbed her by the hair and jerked her backwards.

“NO!” Later, I couldn’t remember if the bellow came from me or Fergus. Maybe both. We were in shadow form and outside within seconds.

But it was too late.

The vampires channeled Halina away, all three of them blinking out of sight.

I streaked to the spot where she’d stood and took human form, my feet slamming into the ground. “Fuck!” White-hot rage pumped through my veins, singeing my nerve endings. My skin smoked. I wouldn’t be able to hold this form for long.

Fergus reformed beside me, his eyes dancing with fire. “Those bastards came back for her. What does it mean?”

“I don’t know, but it’ll be the last thing they do.”

He was already shifting, his pupils vertical slits. “We fly?”

“We fly.” I shifted, too, my words flowing into the ancient, hissing tongue of our forefathers. “And then we rain fire until they give us our mate.”

Chapter Twenty-One

HALINA

As I sat on the stone floor of my father’s audience chamber, I wondered how long it would take for my spine to crumble to dust. I’d been waiting for hours, although I didn’t know exactly how long. It was impossible to keep track of time.

I rested the back of my head on the cold, stone wall behind me. I’d been so stupid to go outside. I’d let my guard down. I’d felt safe.

I should have known better. I could never be safe.

The warriors had appeared by the loch without warning, their fangs sharp in their smiling faces. “Time to go home,” one had sneered. As I’d turned to run, his fist had tangled in my hair.

The world had spun and we’d landed in Castle Krovnosta, where he’d shoved me into the audience chamber and slammed the door. His chuckle had sounded from the other side. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Asshole. He knew there was no comfort to be had.

Although, maybe he didn’t know. Because the warriors who’d grabbed me weren’t from Krovnosta. Halfling though I was, I could scent my own kind. They’d looked like mercenaries—vampires who hadn’t pledged their allegiance to any prince. Territorial vampires regarded them as nothing more than thugs who traded their loyalty for gold. They weren’t welcome in any court.

So it was entirely possible they were unfamiliar with the audience chamber, which was the oldest and most primitive part of the castle.

I straightened and looked toward the throne—a smaller version of the one in the Great Hall. It was the only piece of furniture in the vast space, and that was by design. My father had carried out his day to day business here, receiving representatives from other territories and mediating disputes among his subjects. He was the only one allowed to sit. Everyone else had to stand. Aleksander claimed it encouraged people to speak quickly.

The only other feature in the room was a massive balcony that overlooked the surrounding mountains. Vampires weren’t fond of large openings that let in sunlight, but my father had made an exception so he could stare at his territory when the mood struck him. In past centuries, thralls would drag heavy wooden screens in front of it during the day. But in recent years, Grigory had ordered an automatic metal shade installed.

It was down now, which helped me relax a little but also made the audience chamber dark as a tomb.