Pretty When She Destroys (Pretty When She Dies #3)(47)

“Nah, I don’t have any desire to crash at either place. I’m fine on my own. I need my space.” Eduardo ruffled Alexia’s hair, much to her annoyance.

Baptiste looked amused by the exchange, but remained silent.

“Why don’t we all move in together?” Samantha asked. “Isn’t there strength in numbers?”

Cian and Jeff glanced at each other uneasily.

Cian answered the question. “If he successfully attacks one safe haven with all of us in it, we lose. If we’re split between two, if one haven falls, we still have the second to take up the fight.”

“Well, that doesn’t make me feel too good,” Benchley decided grumpily.

Samantha let out a little startled sound, jerking away from Jeff. “What the hell?”

“Phone.” Jeff shifted his weight so he could yank his cellphone out. Frowning, Jeff stared at the screen. “It’s been acting up a little and it does this thing where it sends all my emails at once and it makes it vibrate like a...a...”

“Vibrator?” Amaliya asked, her gaze teasing.

Alexia snorted. “That was funny.”

The growing look of horror on Jeff’s face killed any joviality in the room.

Cian stepped closer to the hunter. “What is it?”

“Oh, hell.” The color drained out of Jeff’s face. “We weren’t the only ones hit. London, New York, Boston, Seattle, and Rome were all attacked tonight. London thought they were close to finding one of the rings. Rome reported that they had found one of them still in the Vatican. I was going to tell you tonight, but...”

“Let me guess,” Eduardo said in a flat tone. “The Summoner has them.”

“The Vatican is on fire,” Alexia said, looking up from her own phone. “It’s on Yahoo news.”

“The Assembly group in Bristol is reporting the destruction of the group in London. Portland has taken in one survivor of the group in Seattle. Boston...” Jeff faltered.

“Another fire there,” Alexia said, staring at her phone.

“New York managed to fight off the attack with no losses, but they’re heading underground,” Jeff finished.

Cian gave the group a sharp nod. “So he’s on the move.”

“We’re losing,” Samantha murmured.

“Fuck.” Cassandra frowned, shaking her head.

“That’s four possible rings he has,” Amaliya said, then ticked them off on her fingers. “He has one. Etzli has one. The one in the Vatican. Maybe one in London.”

“But he doesn’t have all of them,” Baptiste pointed out. “We are still ahead in the game.”

Cian appreciated the reminder. “Very true.”

Jeff stood and continued to scroll through his phone. “Don’t you get it? He’s just not going after the rings. He’s killing our allies. The Assembly. The Vatican even.”

“Cian,” Samantha asked, lifting her eyes to gaze at him, “how many of The Summoner’s children are still alive? What if they have the other rings?”

“Rachoń doesn’t have one,” Baptiste pointed out.

“Yeah, but he didn’t trust her.” Amaliya lowered her head so that her dark hair shielded her face. “Or Cian. That’s why they don’t have rings. But Etzli has one. What if he has favorite kids out there?”

The thought of The Summoner’s surviving children assisting him was uncomfortable for Cian. He’d not met the survivors of The Summoner’s games. “I’m uncertain how many might be alive.”

“But Rachoń might. Until their falling out, she did know more about him than you did.” Baptiste shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. Cian supposed it might be difficult to accept how close Rachoń had been to the man who wanted to destroy the world. “But Samantha is right. What if his other children have the other rings already?”

“Then we might possess the last one.” Cassandra widened her eyes dramatically. “Great.”

To his surprise, Cian was hit with the impulse to comfort her. Yet another indication of his growing attachment to the daughter he didn’t raise, or even know about until recently. “Baptiste, see what you can get out of Rachoń.”

“I’ll speak to her tonight.”

“So now what?” Benchley asked, his voice a bit higher than usual.

“We keep focused,” Cian said. “Same as before. And we learn, adapt, and try to beat him at this game.”

“Do you really think we can win?” Eduardo’s inquiry was laced with sarcasm.

Cian pondered the question, then answered truthfully. “Yes.”





Chapter 13


“You really think we can win?” Amaliya asked, staring at Cian skeptically.

Standing at the end of their bed in only his pajama bottoms, Cian gave her a short nod.

“You’re f*ckin’ nuts.” Perched at the top of the bed with the pillows piled behind her, she cradled her bandaged arm against her.

Her lover gave her the slow, wicked smile she loved so much. “Well, I’m with you.”

She hurled a pillow at him, which he easily dodged.

She loved him, but after the events of the night she had to wonder if he was a bit crazy. So much had gone wrong she was still amazed that they had won. Yet, she had to admit that she and Samantha had worked well together as a team. That had to be a good sign.