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Tiber remained still as he hung suspended using only his hands and feet outside the castle room where the vampires were being housed. He’d remained in human form for this, keeping his camouflage in place as he climbed.

Using various crevices in the stone, he’d scaled the south side of the castle to one of the guest wings where the visiting vampire coven was staying. That had been the easiest piece of information he’d ever received. Spying in one’s own territory did have its advantages.

He’d been unable to step onto the balcony because of the spell work he’d sensed cloaking the balcony from outsiders. And if he had to guess, it likely kept the sunlight out, if the open windows were any indication.

The spell work was either from a witch or a powerful vampire, he couldn’t tell the difference. He could have busted through it eventually, but that would defeat the whole purpose of spying.

He was here to listen, to gain intel.

And maybe sharpen your blade on his neck , his dragon reminded him.

He didn’t hate that idea.

So far, he hadn’t been able to hear anything of import, just inane conversations about who’d fucked who since they’d been here, who wanted to fuck who, and how much dragons liked to party.

Wind whipped over him as he scaled a couple feet higher. He’d had to strip and call on his natural camouflage before climbing the castle. And if there was one thing he hated, it was climbing naked. Much harder to protect the favorite part of his anatomy without clothing as a buffer.

But it was the only way he could be truly invisible. The vampires inside this wing of the castle might scent him on the wind, but he doubted they’d think much of it since they were in a dragon stronghold.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Oh no. He turned at the sound of incessant chirping, which was followed by the whoosh-whoosh of dragonling wings.

No, no, no. He hadn’t factored this in.

It was Ilmari, who had no doubt scented him on the wind but couldn’t see him.

The little one was flapping around this balcony, looking for him. Sweet goddess, he wanted to play. Or more accurately, he was demanding that Tiber show himself and play because Ilmari scented him.

Goddess, he was such a bossy thing—and it was Tiber’s own fault. He often took the little dragonling that Starlena had brought back from the human realm with him to work. The baby loved to sit with him and chirp his own orders at the guard, then chirp maniacally as if he thought he was hilarious.

Tiber couldn’t shoo him away either, couldn’t alert Ilmari to where he was currently holding himself up.

Guilt speared through him at the sad little cries the dragonling made as he swooped up and down, peering onto the large stone balcony. Under the sunlight Ilmari’s gray scales took on a silvery hue with the faintest of pale blue lines running through some of his scales.

“Oh my god, look at this little darling.” A slender, pale woman with ice blonde hair wearing a long blue dress that covered most of her body stepped onto the balcony. She winced slightly at the sunlight, so he must be right about the spell work.

“Well, hello there.” A woman with dark brown skin stepped out next, dressed similarly to the blonde-haired woman. She had corkscrew curls and while the two women looked nothing alike outwardly, he could sense their vampiric nature. Their sameness.

He’d met enough vampires over his lifetime that he could always pick them out of a crowd, and he wasn’t certain how he even knew. They were different from other supernaturals. The bloodborns were different, their scents more natural to him. But they were vampires all the same.

“Aren’t you just adorable?” the woman with the corkscrews cooed.

Ilmari hovered over their balcony now, chirping away happily to be recognized and adored.

“What is this beast?” A tall man with a human accent he couldn’t place stepped out with the two women. “Ghastly thing.”

“Oh hush, Charles.” The blonde didn’t even glance at him, just made kissy faces to Ilmari, telling him how cute he was.

Tiber was surprised at the vampires’ effusiveness even as he catalogued that this was Charles.

The vampire who was going to die by his hand. Or fire. Didn’t matter.

“You’re just jealous he’s cuter than you,” the blonde said.

“Probably has more game than you too,” corkscrew curls said, making the other woman laugh alongside her.

“When you bitches are done mooning over that monstrosity, I’ll be ready. I want to check out their library.”

Library? That was a much better location to spy than hanging off the side of the castle while the wind tried its best to chuck him off.

He eyed the male as he disappeared inside, finding himself irrationally annoyed by how almost handsome the vampire was. All smooth skin and sleek elegance. More than anything, he was annoyed that the vampire still retained his head.

“We’ll be back later, darling,” the blonde cooed.

More kisses were thrown Ilmari’s way and only once Tiber heard the interior door open and shut, did he reveal himself.

Ilmari chirped wildly and flapped straight at him.

“Brace,” he ordered before pushing off the wall and jumping at Ilmari, who caught him, and only wobbled a bit under his weight.

“I wasn’t hiding from you. I was working,” he said as Ilmari coasted down to the ground.

Tiber called on his camouflage again and Ilmari tried to do the same, but instead ended up shifting the same shade as the dark grayish stone of the castle.

Luckily, this wing was on the back of the castle, so they landed softly on the grass with no audience to see either of them.

“I have more work to do, but go to my home.” Though he was cloaked once again, Ilmari had his scent pinpointed and sat perfectly still in front of Tiber. “Home,” he repeated.

Ilmari chirped in understanding, then swept his wing out once.

Tiber leaned over and kissed the top of the dragonling’s head. “Good boy,” he murmured.

Which earned more chirps before the little one took to the skies. He was still a bit wobbly when he flew, but he was much stronger than even a couple months ago.

“Goddess save me,” Tiber murmured, grabbing his clothing and tucking it under a rock. He’d come back for it later.

He ducked in through one of the kitchen entrances, mindful not to brush up against anyone. When he was camouflaged, some might scent him, but there were so many scents in the castle that he wasn’t worried about it.

The only way he would get caught was if someone bumped into him.

He dodged two castle guards striding down the hallway and taking up all the space by launching himself over them.

For a moment, he thought one of them felt the brush of air, but the two didn’t stop for long and continued heading wherever they were going.

Ten minutes later, he found himself in the library with far more people than he’d expected.

This would be trickier than he’d planned, but he’d been in far worse situations.

Even among the fifty-plus patrons, he followed that vampiric scent and found the three from the balcony sitting in a little alcove.

Charles—who was far more handsome than Tiber had imagined now that they were in brighter light—had an old tome in his lap but wasn’t reading, just staring into a drink that smelled like… red wine, not blood.

Though Tiber knew the chef had gathered everything their guests might request. Unfortunately, he couldn’t simply request the chef poison this asshole. Though poison went against his nature for the most part, he had a whole cabinet of them on hand.

The male looked around, as if sensing him, and it took everything in Tiber not to do exactly what he desired—take off his head in one savage stroke.

This male had hurt Mia, had wanted to cause her more pain simply because he could. The powerful vampire hadn’t been able to take that she’d rejected him so he’d lashed out in a way he knew would hurt her. He’d hurt people she loved, knowing that would injure her deeply.

Because despite what Mia said, she wasn’t overreacting. She was right to take the threats seriously, to trust her instinct.

“Jesus, Charles, when are you going to stop moping?” corkscrew curls asked without turning around from the shelf of books she was perusing.

“I’m simply sitting here, enjoying the company.” His tone was haughty and refined.

Goddess, the way the male spoke reminded him of the fae. Another strike against him.

“You’re enjoying nothing except your own misery.” This from the blonde. But her tone was gentler as she sat across from him, two books in her hands. “I say this as a friend, but it’s time to move on. Your little human most certainly has.”

“Yes.” Now corkscrew curls sat on the other chair across from him. “And if we’d known she was one of the artists being showcased we’d have talked you out of coming here. You’re simply making yourself miserable.”

“And it’s not like you’ve even seen her here.”

But there was a glint in Charles’s eyes that said he had seen her since arriving. That along with something Tiber recognized clearly in his expression, even if the female vampires didn’t seem to. Malice.

Protectiveness swelled up inside Tiber as he moved in behind Charles, leaned down close and inhaled his scent. He would never forget the way this male smelled, would never lose him in a hunt.

Perhaps we kill him right now. Simply rip out his heart and be done with it , his dragon said oh so helpfully. We can apologize later.

As if he hadn’t already thought of that.

Charles looked down and away from his friends. “I know I should have told you. But I simply wanted to see her work again, to own a couple of her pieces to remind me of our time together. That is all.” His tone was so pathetic, but Tiber wasn’t fooled.

This male wanted to hurt Mia. And something told him that if he couldn’t have her, he would kill her in the end.

That wasn’t happening. The only death would come when Tiber burned this male to ash for daring to come after his mate.

“You should think of her as a bright part of your life and leave it at that. We’ve all had heartbreak, but if you wallow, you’ll spiral…”

Tiber tuned them out as they continued to comfort the male, because despite being camouflaged, he was under the impression that Charles could sense him.

He might not know what he sensed exactly, but his hindbrain knew a threat was nearby. Because Charles’s body had gone rigid as he listened to his friends comfort him, and he was subtly looking around.

Too bad for this walking dead man, he would never see Tiber coming.