Page 9

8

RIORDAN GRAVES

“T here. Close as I can get, she should be in the vicinity.”

I stared down at the map, Zachary’s finger pressed to a small town in Nova Scotia, brushing the edge of the Northern Atlantic. “I triangulated her location twice, cross referenced the data with the nearest cell stations, measuring the signal strength received from multiple towers and calculated the most likely position based on the signal delays and this is where she is.”

The kid might as well have been speaking a different language, but Nash, Blake and I all nodded, like we knew what the fuck he was talking about.

My heart was pounding so hard in anticipation, my ribcage hurt. In a few minutes—after I ensured Evangeline was safe—my hands would be wrapped around Draven’s throat and all would be right in my world as I watched the life fade from his eyes.

If Blake didn’t get to him before me.

May the best male win.

“Let’s go before we run out of daylight.” Nash signaled his men, lined up outside in the hall. “Out front, ten minutes, then twenty in the air and we’ll have boots on the ground. Keep your eyes open, be ready for anything.”

I rechecked my own weapons, my magic scraping at my insides, desperate to be freed. Even my bones hummed with rage and revenge, and after all the reasons why he should be left alive, Malachi Draven had run out of chances.

I liked the brutal finality of that.

“The fucker’s full of tricks,” Blake reminded everyone for good measure, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, his finger hovering over the end call button, my feet freezing to the floor when I glimpsed the name displayed.

Blake’s Mate .

“Rohr. Fuck, it’s her.” And this wasn’t a text, this was a phone call . His fingers shook as he hit the button, both of us bracing for the worst. “Evie?”

“Blake? Is that you?” A huge release of air. “Yeah, this is me, but I’m sure you already know that. Sorry, I’m rambling, but…” Static crackled across the line, distorting her voice, “I’m down to half a battery and almost no bars, so I’ll make this fast.”

“Are you alright?” Blake gripped the phone as I leaned closer. “Unhurt? Has that fucking bastard touched you?”

“No, he’s too intent on talking me to death.” Her voice turned muffled, like she put her hand over the phone, and then, “What? You haven’t shut up for a solid hour. Now go away.” There was some indistinct mumbling in the background as Blake and I glared down at the screen.

“There. He’s finally gone. Anyway, there’s some things you need to know. Firstly…is Riordan there with you?”

“I’m right the fuck here and if that fucker so much as…”

“Again, half a battery, then I’m out. Ravok has probably turned my father and uncles into thralls. Aria, too. But that’s not the worst. Ravok can see the future, according to Malachi, and when he can’t find the bastard who stuffed him in a metal box, his next logical step will be Crimson House. You need to prepare. Evacuate everyone you can.”

“We’ll…uh…wait for you two outside and coordinate the attack from there.” Nash herded a rapt Zachary toward the door, and the second it closed, my friend exploded.

“Bull fucking shit.” Blake squeezed the phone until the protective screen splintered. “We need to get you the fuck out of there. Now , Evangeline.”

“No, you need to let me do my thing,” she said calmly. “I’ve trained my entire life for this. Malachi is a goldmine and I can gather more information here than I ever could locked up in Crimson House. I’ll feed you as much intel as I can, which you’ll use to keep everyone safe, including my sister.”

“No,” Blake retorted, his temper fraying. “That’s not an option, Evangeline.”

“Actually, that’s a good strategy.” I gripped Blake’s shoulder, tension telegraphing up my arm like a jolt of electricity as I leaned closer. “Are you safe?”

“Safe enough, I’m…”

“What the fuck are you even saying?” Blake punched my shoulder, hard enough to leave a bruise. Definitely harder than a loyal subject should ever hit his king. “We’re not leaving her at Malachi’s mercy.”

“I’m hardly at his mercy, Blake, I nearly killed the bastard last night,” Evie grumbled. “I want another shot.”

“There.” I straightened, rubbing my bruised pec. “She wants another shot.”

Blake glared at me, my heart slamming to a stop at the absolute hatred burning in his gaze. “I am not leaving my mate in danger because she wants revenge . The risk is too great.” There was an edge of primal menace to his voice, one he’d seldom—if ever—used with me.

Evie dropped her voice. “Blake, this goes beyond revenge. If we wait, Ravok will be too strong for any of us to kill. There’s so much more you should know, but…he has to die soon, or everything we’re fighting for is at risk. I can do this.”

Those last words—barely a whisper—gave Blake pause and we traded a look.

The truth, or more of Malachi’s lies?

Could be either, but if you think for one second I’m leaving my mate with him for another fucking second, you can lock me in a fucking iron cage and throw away the key.

I held my hands up in defeat. Fine, but I hope you’re ready for the fight of your life.

“Let me guess. With your magic?” Blake hissed, sounding like his throat was lined with broken glass. “Yes, we know. Fiona filled us in on the witch and the unbinding ritual.”

“Yes, my magic, which,” she dropped her voice, and I could almost imagine her heading somewhere more secluded, “is staying locked away until I learn better control. You seriously don’t want me at Crimson House. I almost reduced this place to rubble.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your magic, or Ravok. Where the fuck are you? Tell me ,” Blake snarled, clearly finished with polite conversation.

“I don’t know.” The quiet, vulnerable admission made her sound so young, my heart clenched. “Everything outside the windows is dark, I can’t see anything except a lot of pine trees. I think I smell the ocean, and I’m in a big, fancy castle, which totally tracks for an asshole with delusions of grandeur.”

“I’m coming to get you, Evie.”

“And I’m staying, Blake.”

“You are not fucking staying .”

“I am. I have to. I…we can’t risk drawing Ravok to Crimson House. Angel’s there, she’s pregnant, and I’m keeping this bullshit war between Malachi and Ravok, right where it should be. I’m not dragging innocents into this. Not again .”

“That is not an option.” Blake stalked away, every furious step as sharp as a gunshot as I followed, ears straining.

My jaw clenched, right along with my stomach at the idea of her there, but I stayed quiet. I had to trust her. We both did. Forcing Evangeline into a box never worked. I’d tried that approach and it had backfired spectacularly.

Something Blake was about to discover for himself.

“Look, if this is half as dire as Malachi’s making it out to be, we’re in real trouble. Ravok can see the future, and we already know he’s familiar with all of us. He’d have his own reasons for coming after us, so just…give me two more days. When I have more information, I’ll check back in with an update, but until then, I have to stay off my phone.” She sniffed in disgust. “There aren’t even outlets here, much less a charger.”

Two fucking days? She might as well have told us two years.

“Not up for discussion, Evangeline.” Blake bit every word off with a snap of teeth. “We’re coming for you.”

“She’s your mate, Blake, but she makes her own decisions,” I reminded him, even though I was firmly in the throw her over my shoulder and get her out of there camp. “We have to trust her.”

“ I do . I don’t fucking trust Malachi.”

“But you have to trust Evie to know what is best. She’s smart, she won’t take chances…” I tried for a reassuring smile and missed the mark. “You won’t take too many chances, will you, Silver?”

“You know me, taking chances is my middle name.”

I groaned aloud, even though I could practically picture the wild grin splitting her face.

Blake’s eyes flicked to me, his face carved out of ice, pure rage radiating from him, his lethal gaze filled with a cold blooded challenge that chilled me to the bone.

If you encourage this madness , he murmured, so soft I barely made out the words echoing inside my head, and anything happens to my mate, you and I are fucking done.

Something in my chest crumbled at the threat, his ire licking at me like flames, but Blake was mired too deep in his mating bond to think straight, and him hating me right now was better than Evie hating him.

“I have to figure out my magic and this is the perfect place to wreak destruction if things go wrong.” Evie, oblivious to our standoff, continued laying out her plans. “By the time you hear from me, hopefully Ravok will be dead and…well, Malachi made me swear an oath not to kill him, but I had my fingers crossed behind my back the whole time, so…”

The door opened and Nash stuck his head in, gave us a thumbs up. Everything was in place. We knew where she was, and could get to her in minutes.

“You’re not talking me out of this,” Blake growled. “We’re coming to get you, Evie. We know you’re in Nova Scotia, by the way.”

“Ah, no wonder I can smell the ocean. Thanks, that info will probably come in handy at some point.” Evangeline sighed. “I need you to trust me on this, Blake. I want to stay and find out what I can about my magic. I think, for once, Malachi’s telling the truth. If this is as big as he says, then we need to put our differences aside, at least until Ravok is dead.”

“That, my love, is bullshit.” I could practically see the steam coming from Blake’s ears. “Draven and the truth are strangers, in every sense of the word, and I’m killing him, the second you’re safe.”

“No, Blake, you’re not.” Even through the phone, her voice was bladed steel. “I’m going to see this through. I’ve been in worse situations with less resources and Malachi won’t hurt me.”

“The fuck he won’t.” My friend’s control was shredding by the second and I shook my head, debating whether to take the phone, even though I knew how that would play out.

You fight her on this, she’ll only dig her heels in deeper. We know where she is, we can get to her in minutes, so give her the two days.

“I’m assuming that long pause is Rohr talking sense into you?” She blew out a long breath. “We’ve been through worse, and I love you, remember? More than anything in the world. You are my mate and I know how hard this is for you, but if you kill Malachi now, Ravok will come straight for us.”

“If anything happens to you,” Blake’s gaze cut to me, sharper than a knife, “I cannot be held responsible for the destruction I will wreak.” His voice was a velvet threat. “I will not only make Malachi and Ravok pay, but this entire world will suffer the fucking consequences.”

“Blake, please listen.” She switched to pleading. “You have to trust me. Ravok is the threat here, not Malachi.”

“Malachi is a master at twisting the truth. Who’s to say he isn’t…”

“He’s trying to stop Ravok while he still can. And we both know,” Evie dropped her voice, “after what happened with Riordan, Ravok has his own reason to come after us. After the blood circle, after forcibly evicting him, after drugging him and tricking him…he most certainly wants the three of us to pay.”

She’s right. His rage almost ripped me apart. Ravok is a fucking monster. As hard as this is, we need to trust her on this, Blake.

His nose flared with every breath, canines desperate to rip into something, rage seeping from him like caustic poison. “ Fine .” He chewed the word apart before spitting it out.

“Good, we’re all agreed. Now listen carefully. Ravok’s been gathering meaningless clues about the future for as long as he’s been alive. Whatever’s coming is big, and we need to stop him. Talk to Fiona and Eldric, see if there’s anything in vampire history that points to Ravok’s possible motives. Get Angel and Bex to help with research, it will give them something to do.”

“Be careful,” I warned her, not believing the words were coming out of my mouth. “Don’t take unnecessary chances.”

“Oh, you know me, I’m always careful.” This fucking girl. “But keep an eye on Blake for me, will you?”

I swallowed, bracing for Blake’s impending explosion. “Now you’re just being mean, Silver. I’ll keep an eye—two eyes—on your mate, and check-in is the same time tomorrow. Don’t fucking miss it, or we’ll both be on your doorstep. A text will suffice.”

“Consider it done, your Majestic Highness of All Things.”

Before I could say another word, she was gone.

* * *

“What the fuck, Riordan?” Blake whirled on me.

“We agreed this was for the…”

“No, you two agreed and outvoted me ,” he hissed, bearing down on me as Nash opened the door, then slammed it shut just as quick.

“Which is bullshit. She’s in danger, and she’s reckless. Do you seriously trust Malachi to have her fucking back if things go to shit? Because he’ll sell her out to save his own worthless skin.”

“Evangeline can handle herself. And according to Fiona, she has powerful magic.”

“Magic she doesn’t even understand. Power she doesn’t know how to control , if Fiona locked it back down.”

Silence banked between us like a wall, built with bricks of rage and resentment, mortared together with animosity. With a disgusted snort, Blake turned on his heel and stormed toward the door, dragging a trail of shadow behind him.

“We have to trust her, Blake,” I called, fucking hating the distance growing between us. “We have to. I tried locking her up to keep her safe.” But that door slammed shut before my final words?—

“Don’t make the same mistakes I did.”