Davina (Davy Harwood #3)(21)

That knot doubled. Taxed, was that all it was? I hoped so. God, did I hope so.

“But they’ll be coming.”

I looked down. We didn’t have long. That was what he was saying. “One more day.”

“You think you can handle an entire Mori army in one day?”

I felt slapped by his disbelief, but it was because he was right. I wouldn’t . . . I’d have to go alone. I couldn’t take them with me into danger. I could cloak myself. If the Mori hadn’t realized they were there, three very powerful vampires, maybe I could do the same for myself. I could wait one more day, work on being able to cloak myself, and once that happened—I’d leave on my own. That was what I would do.

I looked back up and said, letting the Goliath-sized vampire see the truth, “One more day, then we’ll go.”

“For what it’s worth,” he said quietly. “I’m rooting we won’t have to leave.”

The knot moved up to my throat, forming into a lump. I whispered back, “Me, too.”





The meeting was set in a back corner of a restaurant. As the wolves strode past them, in their human forms, the customers were clueless to the danger so close to them. They laughed, drank, ate, and conversed. They flirted. Others fought. All were clueless, except a few. As the wolves walked by, one after another, they surrounded the most important wolf, their Mother Wolf.

She was dressed in a white dress with a blue robe covering. It wasn’t a robe that one would wear at home. It wasn’t comfortable or made with the purpose not to be seen. This robe was extravagant. It was made of silk with gold trimmings lining the edges. As it draped over her head, a jewel hung from the tip and it dangled above her forehead. The other wolves kept their eyes forward. They weren’t there to play with humans. The lesser ones, the human servants, were at the end of the line. Their heads were bent forward, and their shoulders were slumped down. One was right behind Mother Wolf, holding the end of her robe and dress so it didn’t get dirty from the floor.

A hostess led them, but she didn’t hold any menus. Her head was held high, and she walked with purpose. She wasn’t in fear of the wolves, though she knew who they were. She had been told to stand at the front of the restaurant and wait for the other supernatural beings. And as the wolves came into the restaurant, the other human hostesses shrank back. They didn’t know what beings the wolves were, but they knew they were something other than human. The power came off them in waves. The only reason the other customers were clueless was because a spell had been cast over the customers. They almost didn’t even see the impressive parade except a couple that came in, after the spell was cast. They felt the power immediately, and while they were seated in the back, their eyes were huge by the time the wolves went past their table. Neither moved, reacting on a primal instinct inside of them. They knew they were the prey among predators, and as the wolves went past, they shrunk down in their seats. Their hands trembled, holding onto each other in their laps.

They were ignored. And as the last servant went past them, the couple got up and ran out of the restaurant.

The Mother Wolf turned at the doorway, right before entering the back room, and watched their departure. The corners of her eyes crinkled up and her lip twitched into a faint smile, but as quick as it appeared, it disappeared. A stoic expression settled back in place, but her insides were amused. She forgot how some humans were. It’d been so long since she was around these new humans, ones that knew nothing of their existence and only were aware of their own lives. They were self-absorbed and ignorant, thinking they were safe in their daily lives. They were not. The rest of her wolves had stopped and were waiting for her. She went into the back room, but she had a brief thought in the back of her mind. Perhaps it would do to send her wolves out to this new world, maybe every now and then. It would be good to remind humans how weak and powerless they were. They could do with the reminder.

Then, she turned and faced why they had arrived in this very busy city, and to a restaurant that the world thought was trendy. She saw the sorcerer. He stood in the back, still in the shadows, but she felt his power and it was equal to hers. He came from the oldest and most powerful vampire family, and normally, he would be her enemy.

Right now, on this day, he was her friend, and she smiled. “Hello, Jacith.”





ROANE


Roane felt her arriving, just like the last time on the cliff, but he felt her rage more than the slight buzzing in the air. When she did appear, he was scouting ahead of the group on a higher embankment, and he dodged the impending attack.

“Vampire!” Saren roared, flying through the air.

She regrouped and came at him again.

He ducked one more time. As her hand jabbed at him, he bent backwards so he was almost horizontal to the ground. Saren flew up in the air again and kicked out with her leg. This time, as he started to come back up, she clipped him in the head, but he was unfazed. He reached up and caught her ankle, twisting her body in the air again.

Saren gasped from the surprising speed of his reaction, but countered once again. She dipped backwards, jerking her foot out of his hand and she followed through, doing a backwards roundhouse. As she righted so she was standing on her feet, her second foot swiped out at Roane. He caught that one, too, but instead of trying to throw her, he shoved her away from him.

She landed on her feet, her knees buckled, her arms out in a ready stance. “You killed me.”