Davina (Davy Harwood #3)(17)

But she didn’t sound so certain. Neither was I. I always had a heartbeat. Always. Not having one—I didn’t want to not be a human. I’d completely become The Immortal then and I knew that wasn’t right. I needed to hold onto my humanity as long as I could. A heartbeat was part of that.

“Davy,” Gavin said.

I looked to him.

He said, “We need to decide our next move.”

Wren snorted. “Leave. Get back to Roane as fast as possible.”

Gavin didn’t look at her. He was waiting for me, and I knew what the unspoken question was. Kates. We had left her behind.

Raw emotion rose up, threatening to choke me. Like the panic, I shoved it away. I needed a clear head. “Where is Gregory?”

Tracey answered, “He’s on point, watching.”

“We’re twenty miles away. I think we’re safe, for now.” Wren threw both a disgusted look. Her anger melted into pure impatience.

I nodded. Okay. So this was the decision that had to be made. “We go back—”

“Go back?” Wren echoed me. “To die?”

I ignored her and finished, “—for Kates or . . . we continue forward, hopefully toward Roane.”

“Can you sense him?”

I couldn’t even sense The Immortal, much less my lover. I wasn’t going to say that, though. I shook my head. “I’m too tired, I think.”

“You need to rest,” Tracey said.

“We need to move.” Wren shook her head at both of them. “We move or die. Those are the options we have.”

“Not if we have her at full strength.” Gavin indicated me. “If we have an Immortal at full strength, we can fight back.”

“We’re in Mori territory. They’re going to find us.”

He shook his head. “It’s Davy’s call. We do what she wants.”

“I want to go back.” Tracey cut through any more argument. Wren’s mouth hung open, and before she could say anything, Tracey added, “I wanted to stay behind. My niece is there. I want to know her.”

“Your niece?”

Tracey looked at me and said, “If you go back for Kates, I’ll go with you. I’ll fight at your side.”

“As will I.” Gavin stepped beside her. The two were in solidarity and both turned to Wren.

She shook her head. “We’ll die.”

“Not if she can rest.”

Wren clipped out, “We go to Roane. He’s coming for us. He’ll have an army with him. We can go back for the traitor and your niece, but with him. We’ll have numbers on our side.” Her voice rose. “We’ll have a fighting chance. These are Mori vampires. You guys are forgetting that. They’re not like us. We’re lucky we got free at all. They’re a force all at once. They fight as one being. We’ll never win, with or without a rested Immortal on our side.”

She was right. I looked to Gavin and Tracey. They both knew she was right, but they’d do what I said. They believed in me the way they believed in Roane. The same loyalty Wren felt for her leader hadn’t transferred to me, but it didn’t matter. Even though Gregory wasn’t in the cave with us, he would do what I said. That was his way.

It was my call, and as Wren turned to me, reluctance written all over her face, I knew she knew it as well.

I said, “Let’s rest. For now.” That was all I could say.





ROANE


“Vampire.”

Two days earlier, Roane would’ve been surprised at the sudden appearance of Davy’s blue-clad mysterious friend, but as he was standing on the cliff, overlooking the camp, he was starting to recognize when she’d appear. A slight buzzing would fill the air and feeling the same sensations this time, he merely looked over as she was standing next to him. The wind was fierce where they stood, high above the others, so her blue-tipped black hair was immediately flowing behind her. She gazed out over the cliff’s edge. “You take point up here because of the wind, not just because of the view.”

It wasn’t a statement, and Roane didn’t respond. He was up there for other reasons. Yes, he could smell any enemy approaching better from there, and yes, he could see beyond their camp better, but he was also up there because it would’ve been a spot that Davy would’ve loved. It was the highest vantage point where he could see as far as possible, and if she was within range and if she happened to send him a signal, he wanted to be in the best possible spot to see it.

As it was, he gazed back over the horizon and it was only mountains, trees, and a river’s glimmer sparkling from the moonlight’s reflection. There was nothing in the distance, nothing that he was hoping to see.

“Who are you looking for?”

He gazed back at her and still didn’t answer.

Saren narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. Her leather made a swooshing sound as her arms rubbed over the material. “Answer, Vampire.”

“Why?”

Her head cocked to the side. “What do you mean why? I asked you a question.”

Roane was growing tired of her impatience and condescension. Seeing her reaction, he hid a grin, but answered, “I don’t owe you answers to anything, so why would I start reporting to you now?”