Page 34 of Depths of Desire (The Emerald Dagger Mafia #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

E sme was screaming in extreme pain.

I sit up fast, heart pounding. I could’ve sworn that’s what I heard—Esme screaming. The sound still echoes in my skull. I glance over. Luna’s still asleep, tangled in the sheets, one arm curled where I held her last.

I should’ve gone after Esme right after the wedding. I was that certain that something was off.

But Luna… Luna in that dress, eyes locked on mine, her scent pulling me under like a drug—I couldn’t think. All I could feel was that she was finally mine. Forever.

I ease out of bed and head to the bathroom. It’s already late afternoon. I need to eat, and then I need to find Esme. I grab my phone and try her one more time. When she doesn’t pick up, I text Kael.

Get me a location on Esme if you can.

Will do.

I shower quickly, the water doing little to wash away the gnawing guilt in my gut.

I pull on dark jeans and a black shirt, roll my shoulders to shake off the lingering ache.

I’m still not back to full strength after my fall from the freighter’s catwalk.

Not since the poisoning. Not since the ship. But I’ll make do.

Down in the kitchen, I grab two bags of blood from the fridge and drain them one after the other, no ceremony. Luna’s never seen me feed. That will change at some point. I only hope it doesn’t disgust her.

Carson appears just as I wipe the corner of my mouth. Always perfect timing.

“Carson, I have to find Esme. Stay with Luna. Make sure she eats something.”

He nods, bowing slightly. “Of course, sir. It will be my pleasure.”

“Where are you going?”

Luna’s voice hits me like ice water. I turn to see her in the doorway, wearing nothing but my bathrobe. Her hair’s a mess, her lips swollen. She looks like sex and sleep and everything I don’t want to walk away from. The sight of her damn near breaks me.

I had hoped to leave without this conversation. “I have to find Esme. She’s in trouble.”

She frowns. “Who’s Esme?”

“She’s…” How do I explain Esme without getting into the stuff about my mother? It’s all too complicated. “She’s…a friend.”

Luna’s face clouds. “Where is she?”

“That’s what I have to find out.” My phone goes off. I glance at the screen to see it’s a text from Kael.

I might have a line on her.

“I’m sorry, vita mia. I have to go,” I say as I walk over and drop a kiss on her nose. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” With that, I head out to the garage. It’s too light out for me to travel across the sky, so I have to drive.

I pull out of the garage in my Porsche and call Kael. “Talk to me,” I bark as soon as Kael picks up.

“No one’s seen her in at least twenty-four hours,” he says. “Could be longer.”

A cold dread curls in my stomach. “What do you know?”

“She told her coven sister. Selena that she was heading to the Duomo in San Gimignano. She said she had a lead on your mother, and it had something to do with the church where she died. That was about thirty-six hours ago.”

“Fuck. Okay, I’m heading in that direction. Find me a portal to the magickal realm so I can get there quickly.”

Kael hesitates. “You know that will weaken you, and if she’s still there and in trouble, you are going to need all of your strength.”

“I know,” I grind out. “But I’ve let her down. I should’ve been looking for her this whole time. If something has happened to her, I won’t forgive myself. I’ve gotten her into this mess. She’s like a little sister to me.”

“Okay. But just be aware that you will be weaker and you’re still…recovering from the poisoning.”

“I’m well aware of my weakness, thank you. I don’t have a choice.” I inhale and exhale slowly to ease the fear and anger in my chest, but Kael is right. I am weaker than I should be, and that could put Esme in even more danger…if she’s still alive.

Kael sighs. “I’ll get you a couple of spots to enter in France, and then I’ll get you the closest spot to the duomo to exit. Do you want me to come with you?”

I hesitate. I do want him with me. Kael is excellent in battle. “No. I need you to reach out to my brothers if you don’t hear from me in a reasonable amount of time.” Mostly, I don’t want to risk anyone else’s life on my quest for the truth about my mother.

“What’s a reasonable amount of time?” Kael demands “I don’t like you going on your own,” he grumbles.

“I will reach out as soon as I get to the duomo. Count an hour from then. If I don’t reach out, tell my brothers.”

“Why don’t you take them now?”

My frustration ripples through me. “Because I’ve just put them through enough shit with Luna.”

“That wasn’t your fault. Malrick is the one?—”

“I’m not going into it all now. Just get me an entry point to the magickal realm and an exit by the duomo.”

“Fine,” Kael growls back. “But I don’t like this.”

“Noted. You can tell me I told you so later.” I hang up the phone.

As a vampire, I always curse the daylight, but now I am more vehement about it.

The lingering sunlight makes flying too dangerous to try.

I have to drive. I go as fast as I can in the direction of San Gimignano as I wait for Kael to give me an entry portal location.

San Gimignano seems like a lifetime away.

There used to be a portal close to the villa, but there was an incident, and some witch got into a fight with a group of fae and blew it up.

Of course, it blew up on both sides of the ether, so the humans knew about it and were still struggling to explain the explosion several years later.

A decision was made to close that portal since humans were paying much closer attention to it now.

The Bluetooth speaker in the car announced a text from Kael, and I jab the button to play it.

He’d found an address for an alternate portal.

It wasn’t too far, still in France. Maybe an hour.

I press down harder on the accelerator. The sooner I find Esme, the sooner I get back to Luna.

I am still awestruck by how much the marriage ceremony changed things.

The knowledge that she’s mine for life brings me great joy and a possessiveness that I’ve never experienced. I would do anything for Luna. Anything.

The miles and the hours fly by, and I pull into a parking spot on the narrow lane. The portal is located in a small restaurant. I enter, and the woman at the front asks me in French if I want a table for one. “ Ah non, merci. Je cherche une …” I have no idea what to ask for.

She frowns at me and then cocks an eyebrow. “ Oui? De quoi avez-vous besoin ?”

Great. She’s asking what I need, and I have no idea what to say. If I say I need a portal to the magickal realm and she’s human, she’ll think I’m insane, and there’s no way to explain it.

“ Monsieur, je pense que vous chechez la cave a vin .”

I turn and see the bartender nodding at me. “Yes, the wine cellar. That would be good.”

He gestures for me to follow him. I move around the woman, who continues to stare at me, and rush around the bar. I hurry down the stairs and then turn the corner, finding myself in the wine cellar.

“Press that bottle,” the bartender says pointing at an old wine bottle with no label.

“Thanks. I had no idea what to ask for up there.”

He nods, and I have a feeling he’s a firangelis like Carson. “Most don’t. Travel safely,” he says.

I thank him again and then grab the bottle and go through to the magickal realm.

The world shifts, and suddenly I’m thrust into the strangest landscape. Creatures are all dressed in outfits from long ago mixed with the latest fashions. The world is a kaleidoscope of colors, and it takes me a moment to adjust.

I move as quickly as I can down the sidewalk.

I nod to a few as I move through the crowd.

I have no idea what’s going on that there are so many creatures out and about, but it’s hampering my speed to the exit portal I want to take.

This trek shouldn’t take more than an hour, but at this rate, it will be two.

I grind my teeth and continue to maneuver through the streets.

The crowd continues to thicken, and now my hackles rise.

Something is going on, something in the air that makes my fangs grow and puts all of my senses on high alert.

I hear it first. The sound reaches me well before most in the crowd.

The crunch of bone and then the smell of blood.

Not human blood. As I approach, the crowd starts to pack tight, everyone jostling for position.

They all want to see. The stench of blood orc hits me, and I try not to gag.

“What is going on?” I ask a fairy next to me.

She looks up and blinks. She is light purple with silver sparkles running through her hair and wings. “Haven’t you heard?” she demands like I’m crazy for not knowing.

I shake my head. “I only got here a short time ago. I’ve been on the other side.”

“Ah,” she says and then nods sagely. She drops her voice so it’s barely a whisper. “The Blood Orcs seem to have gone mad. They keep fighting anyone and anything that will take them on. They are tearing places apart.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Isn’t that typical Blood Orc behavior?”

She nods. “But now they are fighting each other.”

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Blood Orcs don’t tend to fight each other unless directed to do so, and even then, it goes against their instincts. It takes a lot to make a Blood Orc take on one of its kind.

“Yes, you see the issue. Something is going on. We can all feel it.” She flutters her wings as if in fear. “A low-level hum in the realm. The hum is driving the Blood Orcs crazy.”

She’s right. I’ve been so intent on getting to Esme that I didn’t notice it, but now that she’s said it, I realize I have been subconsciously aware of it the entire time I’ve been here.

There is a barely audible hum, almost more of a thrum of energy.

It’s giving me a headache. The Blood Orcs don’t have a whole lot of mental power at the best of times.

This would definitely drive them around the bend.

“How long has this been going on?”

The fairy shakes her head. “Too long. A day and a half, I think. We’re all starting to fall apart. If we can’t stop this hum soon, I fear many of the creatures are going to cross into the human world.”

“Shit. That won’t be good.”

“No,” she agrees. “It wouldn’t take long for the humans to discover our existence and then…” Her wings flutter again as her voice dies out.

“Thank you,” I say, “and good luck.”

I press forward and move as quickly as I can through the crowd.

I can see the Blood Orcs fighting now. It’s ugly and it will go on until one of them dies.

I try not to gag at the stench and finally manage to force my way through to the other side of the crowd.

More creatures are walking towards me to see what’s going on, but I wade quickly through them, hoping to make up as much time as I can.

I arrive at the other portal, and a Mirenath stops me.

I haven’t seen one in a while. They used to be at all the portals, but over time, other creatures have started taking over.

Mirenaths are a rare ancient species, older than vampires or witches.

Neither living nor dead but tethered to both realms.

“Where are you going?” he says slowly. His reflective silver eyes glow like small mirrors or moonlight on water.

“Excuse me?” I growl.

“I have orders not to let creatures into the human world. You must tell me where you’re going.

” The Mirenath is tall, taller than me even, with an elven silhouette but longer limbs that blur at the edges when he moves.

I like to think I can take him if I need to, but Mirenaths are unpredictable, so it’s not a sure thing.

“I live in the human world. I only came through to get somewhere more quickly,” I argue.

He narrows his eyes at me. “Name?”

“Nico Valdici.”

The creature starts. “Ah, you’re a vampire. One of the ones that Morwenna says is cursed.”

“I fail to see how that matters.”

The creature steps out of the way as he mumbles, “It matters, it matters a lot.” He points at the portal, and I press the button on the wall. Within seconds, I feel like I’m falling and flying at the same time. Then I land on the other side.

I have exited in an alley just down from the duomo.

I take a moment to adjust. The smell of Blood Orcs is still in my nose.

I take a step, but the world seems to tilt and I have to lean against the wall to keep from falling.

I close my eyes and will my body to obey me.

The quick trip through the magickal realm has weakened me, as I knew it would.

But the trip was unavoidable. My body will readjust, but that process will take a few hours.

The lack of gravity and all the forces that exist on the other side of the ether are powerful adversaries in my weakened state, and I should rest to recover. But I don’t have time to wait.

Gathering myself, I walk to the end of the alley.

I pause and cast out my senses to see what, if anything, is out there waiting for me.

Nothing. No unusual sounds or smells. No creatures lurking in the dark shadows.

Only the sound of humans going about their daily lives, oblivious to all that exists around them.

A few scurrying rats and some early bats flying overhead.

I wait a moment longer, but nothing seems threatening to me.

I wend my way to the duomo, pausing briefly before entering the piazza.

Darkness has set in now, and the square is almost empty.

I cast out my senses one more time. Still nothing.

The duomo itself has lights on inside, but the night seems ordinary.

Nothing jumps out at me. Is Esme inside?

Did she start here and go somewhere else?

I can only hope that since there are lights on there will be people inside that I can ask.

I send a quick text to Kael telling him I am about to enter the duomo.

Start the clock. If I’m not out in an hour, send my brothers.

I walk across the piazza, senses heightened, muscles coiled at the ready to strike any foe.

I climb the steps to the door of the duomo.

It’s closed, but I push against it, and it opens.

I step inside. The lights are dim, and I realize it’s candlelight only.

Someone is in the front pew on their knees, praying.

A woman. She’s dressed in black with a veil over her face.

I scour the rest of the duomo, but no other living creature seems to be here.

I inhale deeply. Esme. Her scent hits me, and a wave of relief washes over me. I walk up to her

“Esme?” I say quietly.

The woman stands and turns towards me, lifting her veil as she does so.

“Mother,” I say half disbelieving.

“Hello, Nico.” Her smile is pure venom.