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Amaliya glanced away from Bianca for a scant moment, but when she looked back the apparition was gone. With one quick movement, Amaliya snatched up the hissing cat and handed her over to Samantha.

“Little bitch, we need to go now,” Amaliya said, grabbing Samantha by the arm and pushing her into the living room.

“I had to get my cat!” Samantha protested, but shoved Beatrice into a fancy pink cat carrier.

“Let’s go now. We got her,” Jeff said, grabbing the carrier. Over his shoulder were two bags. “And I got your overnight stuff.”

Samantha held out her hand toward the depths of the house. “I can’t just go!”

“Yes, you can,” Jeff answered.

Amaliya understood Samantha recognized the truth of the situation, but was reluctant to admit that she was about to lose a part of her life. It reminded Amaliya vividly of the moment she had stood in her dorm room and realized her life as she knew it was over. She wrapped her fingers around Samantha’s outstretched hand and pulled her out of the house. The blonde phasmagus came willingly, but her sadness was tangible. Cian and Cassandra fell in behind them as they walked to the cars.

“Nothing stirring,” Aimee said. Her long bronze-colored hair rippled around her making her look even witchier.

“Let’s get out of here before they regroup,” Jeff said.

The group split between Cian, Jeff and Samantha’s vehicles. Amaliya was relieved that she and Cian were riding to Jeff’s home alone. She didn’t want to tell the others what she had seen. At least, not yet.

Grabbing her unburned hand, Cian kissed it while he drove out of the darkened neighborhood trailing behind the red lights of Jeff’s Land Rover. “You did good back there even if you don’t think you did.”

“I failed. I could have brought the dead up, but I got blocked. And I ruined the ward.”

“Baptiste was just trying to help,” Cian said, continuing to hold her hand against his lips.

“Yeah, well, fuck him. I could have taken everything out with a good zombie rising,” Amaliya said, scowling.

“But we survived without that happening. You’re not always going to be the rescuer of everyone, Amaliya.”

Tilting her head, Amaliya gazed at Cian’s profile. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved him, but he didn’t fully understand yet what she felt inside.

“That you have to win this war alone against him?” Cian said, smirking.

“Oh, fuck you. This mind reading thing is going to be annoying.” Amaliya withdrew her hand from his grip, but only to rest on his thigh.

“Yes, you’re both very powerful vampires and necromancers, but you have a strong group of people around you. Samantha killed the were-bear-”

“Was that what it was? Gross!”

“-and Baptiste helped vanquish the demon. Aimee and Cassandra killed several vampires. We held our own.” Cian slid the small glowing orb out of his pocket and tossed it onto her lap. “One very trapped demon right there. Courtesy of me.”

Amaliya picked up the sphere to see it was a crystal that had been shaped into a ball. The heat pulsing inside of it was disconcerting. “Can it get out?”

Cian shook his head. “No. Not on its own. Maybe a black witch could do it, but not without a lot of trouble. Aimee gave me that just in case there were demons about.”

“We weren’t ready, Cian,” Amaliya said, her voice barely above a whisper. “We’ve been talking about this shit for weeks now and we weren’t ready.”

“I know.”

The sedan sped up to follow the other two vehicles on to Interstate 35. The black smoke from the burning building was a haze against the moon. Sirens still sounded in the distance. Amaliya wondered if the blaze was under control yet.

“He came for Samantha. Not me. Her. She’s dangerous to him. She can’t go home.”

“I agree. She’ll stay with Jeff. Next to our house, his place is the most fortified magically and otherwise.” Cian reclaimed the orb and shoved it in his pocket. “We’ll figure it out.”

Amaliya swept her hair back from her face, keeping it off the burns on her arm. What she was about to say was not going to make Cian happy.

“Why not?” Cian asked.