Page 1 of Kiss the Dawn (Order of Helsing #4)

S omeone once told me about places called amusement parks. People used to go there to be amused, I guess. There’d be delicious food and games to play if you paid to participate. Prizes to be won and rides on metal contraptions with tiny carts that people would climb into, eager to be shaken, flung, and swung around. But there was always one huge contraption at each of these parks where everyone climbed into connecting carts to be hauled up high on a metal track only to be dropped onto a course of undulating ones. Up and down in a series of varying highs and dips they’d go, screaming in delighted terror.

They called them rollercoasters, and there was an archaic phrase related to them. Life is like a rollercoaster.

The phrase came to mind as I stared at the box containing neat squares of Edwin’s and Padma’s skin .

Lorenzo’s voice was a low hum in the background, the world a soft, buzzing place as I focused on the logo on the cardboard.

Succulent Delights.

They’d gone to the bakery to get treats, and the bastard Shay had kidnapped them. The bounty hunter couldn’t be working alone. No way would he have overpowered both Padma and Edwin. Which meant he also had a team.

There was a bounty on my head, and they wanted it. Edwin and Padma were caught in the crosshairs, but like hell would I allow them to stay there. “I’m going to kill him.” I set the box on the counter, chest tightening. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” My voice shook with anger, and my eyes burned with it, because how dare he? How dare he attack my friends? Heat gripped my neck, dark rage rising.

“Orina…” Merry lightly touched my arm. “Breathe. We’ll figure this out.”

I blinked down at her, noting the concern on her face. Concern for me when we should be worrying about Edwin and Padma. I couldn’t lose my shit right now. I wouldn’t be a problem.

I exhaled, letting the rage go because it served no purpose here. “I’m fine.”

“Good. I left a message for Crush.”

Shay was a friend of Crush, and as far as I was aware, Crush had been searching for him ever since I’d told him about the bastard attacking me. At least we knew why now. “Let’s hope he can help.”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Merry asked.

“Give Lorenzo a chance,” Holly said. “He has contacts.”

I glanced over at Lorenzo who stood by the window, his back to us, phone pressed to his ear as he spoke low and urgently. Thank goodness he was here.

He’d taken off his coat and slung it over the counter, and his dark hair, which had been windswept and tousled when he’d arrived, was now raked back from all the agitated combing he’d done with his fingers while waiting to be connected to the correct contact. Someone who could help us resolve our fucked-up issue.

The fact he was high up in the mageri ranks meant that if anyone could help with this, he could. The serpent of panic in my belly ceased its writhing.

Lorenzo ended the call and turned to face us. “They’re contacting the tower on the Isle now to get word to the Bloodmere House about what’s happened here. Someone will call us back shortly.”

So now we waited on two calls. One from Crush and one from the mysterious Isle that was governed by witches. A breed that hadn’t been wiped out as we’d been led to believe, but one which had a whole island under its control.

I was still wrapping my mind around the fact that I’d been born there to human parents I’d never had the chance to get to know. The parents who’d raised me weren’t my biological family. I’d been stolen away, probably by the Order, and now these Bloodmere people were looking for me, and had been doing so ever since I was taken, it seemed.

But they didn’t want me back out of love or anything sentimental like that; they wanted me for my genes. For the immunity my bloodline carried, which in my veins was strong enough to be passed on to a witch bloodline if I procreated with them.

I was the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and my human family wanted to breed me in the hope of producing witches that also carried the immunity to a strange virus running rampant on their Isle.

The whole thing was a mindfuck, and now…now two of my friends had been taken and it was all related. All linked to me.

The urge to hit something surged up to choke me. My nails bit into my palms, and I sucked in a breath and exhaled, forcing back the tide of darkness that wanted to come out and play.

Now was not the time to succumb.

“Holly, would you be kind enough to make some coffee?” Lorenzo asked. “Maybe we should sit down.”

Merry nodded jerkily, hands clasped in front of her. “Yes. Let’s do that.”

Holly set to making coffee, and the three of us wandered into the office. I sat at my desk, then stood up and began to pace because sitting down felt too constrictive right now.

“It will be all right,” Lorenzo said calmly.

“How? They know where I am now. Even if we get Padma and Edwin back from Shay and I tell the Bloodmeres to fuck off, they’ll keep sending more bounty hunters, right?”

“Probably,” Lorenzo said. “Which is why we need to speak to them to find an alternate solution.”

“What other solution could there be?” Merry said. “They want her to make babies with witch dudes.”

I pressed my fingers to my temples to quell the headache that was threatening to erupt.

Holly entered carrying a tray of mugs. “I made yours with an extra sugar,” she said to me.

“Thank you.” I took it and blew across the top a few times before sipping. It was still too hot, burning a path down my throat. But the sugar hit was just what I needed. “Being here is more important. It’s vital for me.”

Lorenzo arched a brow, waiting for me to elaborate, and it hit me that if he knew about the Bloodmeres and the Isle, then there could be no way he wasn’t privy to Ezekiel’s predicament.

Fuck it, I needed his help, and he couldn’t give it to me without all the facts. “I know about Loviator.”

His eyes narrowed. “Go on.”

Yep, he definitely knew too. “I’m her . Ezekiel’s curse breaker. ”

He processed this for a beat, eyes flicking from side to side. His beautiful mouth tightened, and a slight furrow formed between his dark brows. “Curse breaker and seventh daughter of a seventh daughter who somehow makes it into the Order…that’s some trifecta…”

And didn’t I know it. “Yeah. So I need to be here.”

“Yes, you do. And this gives us serious leverage. The situation on the Isle is important, but none of that will matter if Loviator goes free.”

“My thoughts precisely.” I wanted to ask how much he knew, but now wasn’t the time. Once Padma and Edwin were safe and this mess was sorted, then we’d talk.

He studied me for several beats. “How long have you known?”

“Suspected for a few days, but for certain? Only a day. I’ll tell you all about it once you extricate me from this mess.”

He smiled wryly. “It’s a deal.”

His phone buzzed, and he answered quickly. “Hello…Yes. Patch us through.” He hit speaker and placed the phone on the table while he uncuffed his shirt and rolled up the sleeves.

There was a beep, then a woman spoke, her tone clipped and cultured. “Hello, this is Daphne Bloodmere, head of Bloodmere House. Who am I speaking with?”

“Lorenzo Crescent, Mageri Council. I’m here with Miss Lighthart, the woman who’s been identified as a Bloodmere. I have you on speaker.”

There was a beat of silence then… “Miss Lighthart, I apologize for the methods that have been employed to find you. I assure you that we do not condone kidnapping and mutilation, and the bounty hunter involved will be reprimanded.”

I didn’t care about her apologies. “I want my friends back.”

Another beat of silence. “Yes, of course. I understand. However, your friends are in the hunter’s hands, not ours. But what we can do is null his contract and bar him from reentry to the Isle. The appropriate paperwork will be forwarded to you within the hour. It was never our intention for anyone else to be harmed in our efforts to locate you.”

“Look, I know what you want from me, and I can’t give it to you. I have obligations here.” I also didn’t want to, but I refrained from telling her that.

“The Loviator problem,” Lorenzo said. “I’m sure as head of Bloodmere House you’ve been briefed on it.”

She was silent for several beats before replying. “Of course I have.”

“So you understand that the goddess’s release could exacerbate the virus…”

“I do…” Her tone had taken on a wary edge.

“Then you’ll also understand that as the key to keeping those gates locked, Miss Lighthart needs to remain here, close to the vampire king. ”

“ She’s the curse breaker?”

“Yes.”

“One moment please while I place you on hold.”

The silence stretched, no hold music or beeps of any kind that usually indicated being put on hold, and I was beginning to wonder if we’d been cut off when she came back on.

“I have been advised, in light of this new information, to be candid with you. We believed Miss Lighthart to be dead, not taken, but we were lucky enough to have two potentials producing heirs, and another seventh daughter was born a few months later. We proceeded with betrothals with the appropriate covens, and Eliza was handfasted to her mates two years ago. However, she has been unable to get pregnant. All tests were run, and it is not a medical issue. With the covens’ help, we determined that the problem was mystical. There is an ancient blood and magic contract between the covens and the houses of Bloodmere and Rathmore that infuses each seventh daughter with the ability to procreate with a pure-blood witch.”

I scrambled to process what she was saying. “Wait, are you saying that witches can’t normally do that?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. This ancient blessing we have is vital to the continuation of our ability to pass the immunity on to the witch bloodlines because any offspring born of a human and witch union is a pure-blood witch. The human element is eradicated, leaving only the prized gene. But I’m sure you aren’t interested in the science of it.”

“That doesn’t sound like science to me.”

“That’s because the science you know isn’t touched by magic.”

“Please continue with the story,” Lorenzo said, shooting me a stern look that made me feel like a kid in the schoolroom.

“Yes, well. The covens’ investigation led to the conclusion that Miss Lighthart was alive.”

“What kind of investigation?” Lorenzo asked.

“That’s irrelevant,” she said curtly. “What is relevant is that fact that Miss Lighthart’s existence is preventing Eliza from having children. The contract ensures that the ability to produce heirs passes in line from one seventh daughter to the next. There can only be one active at a time, and you, Miss Lighthart, are still…active.”

It took a moment to see where she was going with this, and realization brought a surge of indignant heat to my blood. “You were going to kill me.”

“There is a war going on here. One that has waged for centuries. One that we will lose without witches and hunters to fight it.”

“So that’s a yes, then.”

“You would have been given a choice of taking your place in the household and handfasting to the chosen coven witches.”

Lorenzo exhaled through his nose. “Like I explained, Miss Lighthart is essential to keeping Loviator locked away.”

“Which leaves us in a dangerous situation,” the woman continued. “This not only affects Eliza but every seventh daughter to come. We cannot produce immune witches without the blessing.”

“Can’t you make another blessing?” Merry asked.

There was a deep silence before Daphne spoke again. “Mr. Lorenzo, the Loviator problem is highly classified. I can understand Miss Lighthart knowing, considering our circumstances, but who is this other person in the room?”

“I assure you that everyone in this room is authorized,” Lorenzo said. “So please answer the question. Can you make another blessing?”

“No.”

My heart sank.

“There has to be another way,” Lorenzo said.

“If there is, then we don’t know of it. I’ll be candid with you once more. The order for execution will be put on hold now that we know Miss Lighthart is the curse breaker; however, once the Loviator situation is resolved, we will have no choice but to send our hunters to find her. There are only two options here—take your rightful place as the next seventh daughter and produce the heirs required or die so the mantle can pass to Eliza.” Her tone hardened. “You may be the curse breaker, Miss Lighthart, and you may be key to stopping Loviator, but you’re also key to preventing the death of magic as we know it. Once you have served your purpose on the mainland, the hunters will come, and I cannot guarantee that the people whom you love will be safe.”

She was threatening me, and the hard look on Lorenzo’s face said he heard it too.

“Threats serve no purpose here,” Lorenzo said. “I suggest we work together to find an alternate solution. Every mystical or magical binding has some loophole if you search hard enough.”

“Are you implying that the witches haven’t done so?” she snapped.

“I’m saying that maybe they’re not as motivated to find it as they should be,” Lorenzo replied in an icy tone. “Especially if the problem can be solved with a simple execution.”

Another beat of silence was followed by a soft sigh. “What do you suggest, then?”

“I suggest you let me see the contract.”

“One moment.” The line went silent for so long that I was ready to chew my nails before she spoke. “I have consulted with the others, and we agree to your proposal on the condition that Miss Lighthart accompany you.”

Lorenzo’s mouth turned up in a wry smile. “That sounds very much like a trap.”

She sighed again, heavier this time, as if this whole process was a tedium. “You know we can’t hurt her now. Not without breaking the Mundi Ending Res . ”

“I’m glad you realize that, as I’m sure you realize that Miss Lighthart will have nothing to contribute to my investigations there.”

“No, she won’t, but…there are people here who wish to meet her. Family who’ve mourned her loss for too long.”

My heart stuttered. How had I not considered this fact? I was the seventh daughter…One of seven. I had family on the Isle, people who were a part of my heritage. People who looked like me…were my blood…

“I’m putting you on hold,” Lorenzo said. He hit the mute button and turned to me. “Take a moment.”

I breathed evenly and slowly, waiting for the rushing in my blood to subside. “I’m good.”

“I won’t tell you what to do here, but I can say that the best option is for me to take a look at this contract and try and find a way out of it.”

And for him to do that, I needed to go with him. In fact…I wanted to go. Yes, these people had been willing to put me down less than an hour ago, but there was a part of me that could respect their willingness to do whatever it took to protect the majority.

Like she’d said, they were fighting a war. If I took this personally, what kind of soldier would I be?

“Yeah, I’ll go.”