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T he catacombs of Paris were cold and full of ghosts. It wasn't Lachlan's first time in them, but he had never felt like the stakes were higher.

Lachlan had gotten a few hours of sleep on the plane to Paris, so his head didn't feel so clouded. He had only just checked into his usual hotel in the fourteenth arrondissement when Layla had called.

"I've found Apollo," she said before Lachlan could say hello. "He was taken from a private airfield to a building in the seventh arrondissement. It looks like a cosmetics company of all things."

"Maybe they really were after his shampoo recipe," Lachlan said, but the cold in his gut told him that their luck wasn't that good.

"I've done some digging, and they are involved in cosmetics, but also their parent company is caught up in genomics and other scientific research," Layla continued. "It's crawling with security too. I've tried getting into their camera system, but it's locked down tight."

"Got any good news?" Lachlan prompted.

"Yeah, maybe? The catacombs run underneath them. That might be a way in undetected. I can't give you much more than that," Layla replied, sounding dead tired. "I can call the Greatdrakes and let them..."

"No. I need to do this before we tell them."

"Now's not the time to be a hero, Lachie."

"I'm not trying to be. I want to protect them.

The Sanguis want dragons. I'm not handing them another one.

If I have to knock out a few guards and steal their gear, it will be better to be by myself.

We are used to infiltrating places we aren't meant to be.

The Greatdrakes aren't. Especially not a place crawling with other magic users who will feel them the moment they cast a single spell," he argued.

"Can you find me an entrance to the catacombs that's not the one on the Avenue du Colonel Henri Roi-Tanguy?

I don't want to deal with the public today. "

"Already sending it to your phone. Message me as soon as you are free and clear, okay? We can't hide this from Cosimo," Layla said before hanging up.

His cousin knew that Lachlan had faced worse odds in the past—and survived—which was the only reason she hadn't argued with him more. Getting into places where he shouldn't be was always easier when he didn't have a team to worry about.

Lachlan shone his torch around the dark tunnel in front of him and checked the map on his phone. Reception was sketchy, but he had programmed a route into another app that could work offline. According to the map, this should have been an open tunnel. Instead, he found a brick wall.

He had hoped that the Sanguis Vitae hadn't considered the catacombs under their building, but they were alchemists and weren't the average villain. Lachlan had come prepared. He pulled out three patches from a box in his satchel.

Charlotte always had special treats for him to try out on a hunt, and he had taken them all with him.

Lachlan adjusted the leather bandolier of blades that crossed his chest and shifted the sword hanging on his hip.

It usually sat on his back in a hunt, but he didn't know how tight the tunnels would be, and he didn't want it banging on every low ceiling he came across.

Lachlan attached the patches to the wall beside him and walked back a safe distance before whispering the words to activate them.

He didn't have magic, but Charlotte made sure he didn't need it.

The air buzzed, and he covered his ears as a silent detonation blasted part of the wall free.

His ears still popped hard enough to rattle him for a moment.

She had got the silent part right, but not the air pressure.

Lachlan switched his torch off and stepped through the rubble. No alarms were going off, which was a good sign. Lachlan climbed through the gap in the brick walls and found himself in a bedroom. It was gold and blue. His skin crawled.

Who the fuck would make something like this in the catacombs? He spotted a pile of clothes on the bed, and his heart gave a painful thump. They were the clothes that Apollo had been wearing. Had they taken them from him? The thought of people stripping Apollo lit a firestorm inside him.

"Yeah, looks like I'm going to have to murder you all now," Lachlan growled under his breath. He went to the door, and it swung out into a hallway. It wasn't locked because it was empty, which made his job easier.

The hall was empty, too, but well-lit. He checked for cameras but didn't see any. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not that they didn't want these sections of the building being filmed.

Lachlan tried two of the doors, and they both opened to reveal more opulent rooms. It was giving a creepy sex dungeon vibe, and his urgency to find Apollo ratcheted higher.

The third door he tried was made of steel, unlike the others, and it was locked with a keypad.

Lachlan didn't waste time trying to hack his way in. He pulled another patch from his bag and stuck it on the keypad. This one melted whatever it touched. Electronics began to burn as the keypad, the wires, and the wall behind turned to liquid goo.

Voices rose in panic, and Lachlan pulled free his favorite dagger. He kicked in the door and stabbed the throat of the first person running towards him. Blood sprayed over a white coat, and the man fell to the tiled floor.

Apollo was on a steel table with cuffs strapping him down, needles stuck in his body in different places. Lachlan's body shut down into a killing calm, and he launched himself into the fuckers who dared to touch what was his.