Page 37

L achlan stood in the shadows of the trees surrounding the Chateau.

The fence was a recent edition, but it wouldn't stop them.

Parts of the ruined castle stuck out from the well-clipped turf, and he could easily see where the Sanguis Vitae had been restoring bits of the structure from old plans of Queen Catherine's.

One section had a new brick building, likely where prisoners were being held. It was far enough from the main house that any screams wouldn't be heard.

Keep calm. Don't get angry. It won't serve you here , Lachlan told himself. He wished Apollo was there with him, but it was only because he hated being apart from him. Being on watch was the best place for Apollo.

"Okay, little brother?" Ciara asked from beside him.

Tor was already in his wolf form and sitting beside her like the biggest guard dog in the world.

She would only shift if she needed to, and Lachlan was thankful for that.

Ciara had always been his hunting partner, and having her with him made him keep his head in the fight.

"I'm ready for this shit to be over and for Apollo to be safe," Lachlan replied and lifted his binoculars back up. "Killian and Bron should be hitting the gates soon."

"I got a message from Apollo saying Valentine has arrived and is going to meet Kill," Ciara said, slipping her phone away.

Lachlan tried not to pout that Apollo hadn't messaged him. They had agreed earlier not to because they distracted each other too much.

It had been hard to focus all day because of the night before.

He kept looking at Apollo, and he could see all his sweetness and sexy, evil naughtiness at once.

Considering how hard they had fucked, Lachlan had expected to feel a bit sore and tired, but whatever Apollo had put in that magic oil of his had worked all kinds of wonders.

The worst side effect was wanting to carry Apollo off to do it all over again.

After tonight, you will be able to. Lachlan took in a deep breath of the damp air that smelled of ozone and moss. It was enough to cool his heated thoughts.

There was a large crash in the distance, and an alarm started to wail. Lachlan lifted up his binoculars in time to see something red and silver streak out of a cloud of darkness, wrap around a guard tower, and shred it like wire through soft clay.

"Holy shit, Valentine is popping off, and Kill is hiding him.

Let's go," Lachlan said, putting the binoculars back in their pouch on his belt.

Ciara was already clipping the chain link fence.

Lachlan followed her and Tor through onto the grounds.

He noted cameras on the walls of ruins, but he had to trust that Layla was on top of it.

There was a shout of alarm, and four guards ran toward them.

Lachlan unsheathed his sword and blocked the shock stick one of the guards aimed at him.

He brought the pommel of his sword up and smashed the guard in the face with it.

While he staggered back, disoriented, Lachlan brought the sword down on his neck and took his head clean off.

He didn't know how to counteract any blood magic they might do with wounds, so he was playing by vampire rules and aiming for hearts and heads.

Ciara's blades were already streaked in blood as she and Tor worked in tandem to bring the others down. Lachlan unclipped some keys from the dead man's belt.

They kept moving toward the building where the guards had come from. Tor made a growling sound as they drew nearer, and Ciara gagged.

"There's definitely prison cells here. I can smell the fear and blood and shit," she said.

Lachlan covered her as she opened the doors to the building. There was a clean foyer with an empty guard station in front of thick cell doors. Painted all around them were strange runes and sigils.

Tor whimpered and confirmed what they had all guessed.

They were warded to keep anything supernatural from getting in or out.

Lachlan pulled a silver knife from his thigh sheath and started to scratch at the lines like Valentine had told him.

The medal that was zipped into Lachlan's pocket buzzed angrily.

His ears popped, and Ciara snarled and rubbed at her nose. Tor scratched at the bars.

"Whatever was on there is gone," Ciara said.

Lachlan tossed her the keys he had taken off the dead man.

He looked at the security screens in the booth in time to see Bron swoop down on top of a guard and take off his head with Killian's enchanted sword.

It appeared to work just as well on blood mages as it did on goddesses.

Lachlan grinned, knowing that his cousin had it under control.

Ciara found the right swipe card, and the gate buzzed loudly and swung open. Lachlan kept his sword low as they moved down a corridor to another security door with more wards.

"They aren't fucking about with these," Lachlan muttered and started scratching at sigils.

"They are smart enough to know they would be fucked without them," Ciara replied. Her eyes were full wolf as she added, "Let's open every door and get out of their way."

The cells were concrete blocks with iron and silver doors. They opened the small window of the first one. Inside, Lachlan could see a fae male missing an eye and an arm. His stomach tightened, but he kept his voice steady.

"My name is Lachlan Ironwood, and we are here to set you free. Please don't attack us," he said. He opened the cell door, and the fae man cowered back. "Prince Killian, the Night Prince, is coming. Follow the corridors out into the grounds, and he will be there soon."

"I thought I felt something strange," the fae male whispered and stared wide-eyed at Tor. It must have been enough to convince him that what they were saying was the truth because the male hobbled from the cell as fast as he could.

They moved along each cell and repeated themselves.

Wolves sniffed at Tor before they ran away.

Two more fae females were next. There were things that looked human but most definitely weren't, as well as a woman who claimed she was a witch who had been taken in Germany.

Something no one expected was in the final cell.

"Is that a fucking griffon?" Ciara whispered. "I thought they were extinct."

"Head and wings of an eagle, body of a lion... Sure looks like." Lachlan didn't know how much it understood, so they kept a wide berth as it tentatively stepped out into the corridors. It snapped its beak in an angry sound before it raced back along the corridor.

"That's all of them. Let's get the fuck out of here and blow the shit out of this place," Ciara snarled.

She was struggling to hold down her wolf, and Lachlan didn't blame her. There were less than half the prisoners they had expected. Gods only knew how long the folder of 'specimens' Lachlan had seen in their labs had been collected.

Years and years . He swallowed down bile and started to lay out the small metal vials that Apollo had given him. Once they had cleared the building, Lachlan detonated the vial in his hand and tossed it inside. He was halfway across the lawn to a circular ruin when the building exploded.

It was a beacon that turned the stormy night to day and lighted up the bodies of guards littering the grounds and the prisoners that were gathering around Killian and Bron.

They were the best equipped to deal with calming prisoners because they were the most recognizable in the supernatural community.

Killian could also counteract any magic that the blood mages might have cast on them. It wasn't a job for hunters.

"We have this. Go and help Valentine," Killian said, and Lachlan handed him a pouch of other vials from his belt.

"See if you can get them to drink some of these. Apollo said they are for healing and will help."

"Just as long as you aren't mixing them up with the explosives," Killian teased.

Lachlan huffed, "I'm sure."

He took off after Ciara and Tor, who had already made it to the bridge that connected the older parts of the Chateau to the newer.

Lachlan didn't have to be a wolf to smell the blood.

Killian and Bron had cut a path all the way to the ruins.

They would take out the bridge if they had to in order to buy the prisoners time to escape.

Ciara had shifted and was darting off, the smell of blood the final straw.

Her wolf needed to protect her, and Lachlan was grateful she had lasted as long as she had.

He found Valentine amid wrecked bits of cars and buildings.

His eyes were brilliant with magic and dragon, and he had a peaceful smile on his face as his magic tore hunks off the Chateau, sending blue roof tiles and cream bricks flying before he disappeared inside.

Lachlan was so distracted by the carnage around him that he didn't see Kovacs until he darted out from behind the smoking ruin of a car and slammed his knuckle dusters into Lachlan's ribs. They tumbled to the ground.

Kovacs got one good hit to Lachlan's face, busting his lip, before Lachlan's training kicked in, and he struck the brute off and rolled to his feet. He pulled his throwing daggers free from the bandolier over his chest and sent them flying.

Kovacs laughed and shifted out of their way with unnatural speed before rushing him again. Lachlan blocked the assault, slipped to one side, and drove one of the tiny daggers into Kovacs's back. It hit body armor, and Lachlan swore.

"You're the one who stole my dragon," Kovacs said as he began to circle him. "I had so many plans for him."

"Apollo belongs to no one but himself, you ugly fuck," Lachlan snarled and spat a mouthful of blood onto the grass. He pulled a long black hunting knife free. He was going to need something stronger to get through that armor.

"You can't protect him," Kovacs mocked, still circling and forcing Lachlan to do the same to ensure that his back wasn't to him. "You're just a human. Not worth a dragon's time."

Kovacs rushed him and at the last second dodged past Lachlan and slid along the grass to his right.

"Are we going to fight or not?" Lachlan snarled.

"No need. I have what I wanted," Kovacs lifted his palm from the grass, and it shone red...with the blood Lachlan had spat out.

"Fuck."

Lachlan raced toward him, but Kovacs was already casting a spell. Lachlan's legs stopped working, and he crashed hard to his knees.

Kovacs laughed. "You really are a damn fool. Now, lift that blade up for me."

The dagger in Lachlan's hand shook. Valentine's medal in his pocket burned hot. Where was Val?

"You have some resistance but not enough," Kovacs said and used Lachlan's blood to draw a sigil on the back of his hand. Lachlan's own burned and throbbed as Kovacs took control of it. "Ah, that's better."

Lachlan lifted the blade to his own cheek and cut a line in it. He gritted his teeth against the pain and fought against the knife. It shook again, but it wasn't enough.

"Not so pretty now, are you? My dragon deserves pretty things," Kovacs mocked. "Now, I think I'll make you cut your own throat."

He raised his bloody hand to send the command when a blood-chilling roar shook the sky. Lachlan was frozen and unable to glance up. He was still looking at Kovacs as a clawed golden paw landed on him and crushed him like a bug.

Lachlan gasped and fell forward as the magic snapped. Something big and scaled nudged him, and he stared up into the eyes of a large golden dragon.

He let out a short laugh. "Hey, baby, you really are my golden boy."