A Shield of Glass (A Shade of Vampire #49)(25)

We followed her, stepping over Destroyer corpses on our way to the citadel, which lay a mile ahead, tall and quiet on the eastern shore.

I mounted my indigo horse, and Anjani climbed up behind me, her arms snaking around my body as she kept herself close, soft against my back.

Phoenix walked ahead, next to Aida and Field, whose fingers were interlocked.

Hansa took the lead on her horse as we followed the succubi and Maras ahead. Jax looked over his shoulder once in a while, prompting me to do the same. We left behind a site of absolute carnage, but I had no regrets.

I was ready to do it again to protect the ones I loved.





Aida





We ran the rest of that mile to Stonewall. We needed to disappear inside the citadel—if there were more hostiles coming after us, they wouldn’t see us.

As soon as we reached the steps, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I looked up, marveling at the sheer size of the place, the massive stone walls and the wind howling through the wide arches. I could hear waves crashing against the shore on the other side, but other than that, there was no sound.

I followed Jax and his wards, along with the rest of our group, as they took us through a spacious courtyard. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and stilled, turning my head to see what it was. A large feline moved quietly along the wall. Field stopped behind me, and I could feel his body heat radiating into my back.

“It’s okay,” he whispered in my ear.

“Bajangs,” Hansa said over her shoulder as she kept walking.

I looked around and noticed more of these creatures quietly watching us from the shadows.

Field didn’t let go of my hand as we kept moving. We entered the citadel and followed a wide corridor as the Bajangs came closer, walking alongside us. Some of them looked at me with big amber or green eyes, sniffing the air and crinkling their noses. They didn’t seem to like me very much.

Jovi noticed my discomfort and winked at me. “Relax, Sis, they won’t hurt us,” he said. “I guess this ‘cats and dogs’ thing is universal, that’s all.”

“You mean ‘multiversal’.” I raised an eyebrow. “You know, since this is the In-Between.”

“Look at you, one day out in the wild and you’re making up new words!” he replied jokingly and put on a smirk.

He was close enough for me to smack him over the shoulder. He flinched, then growled playfully.

“Careful, Sis, I can still kick your ass if you get out of line.”

“I would love to see you try, wise-ass,” I grinned, while Field stifled a chuckle.

I’d missed the banter. I’d missed my brother and my friends. My heart leaped at the thought of seeing Serena again. We’d only been apart for a few days, but given everything that had happened, if felt like eons.

We reached the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a limestone wall. One of the felines that had walked with us, resembling a snow leopard, stood on its hind legs and morphed into a male Bajang. I couldn’t help but gawk at his athletic physique, at the ropes of toned muscle that stretched across his back and the gray and white fur covering the lower part of his body. He glanced over his shoulder at us with icy blue eyes as his lips parted, revealing his sharp fangs. He pushed his thumb into one, drawing blood.

He pressed the same hand against the wall, and I gasped as the stone began to ripple. Anjani looked at Hansa, her eyes wide with surprise.

“This is a cloaking spell!” she exclaimed.

“Yup,” Hansa replied. “Almus taught these people a few swamp witch magic tricks, it seems…”

The Bajang walked through the wall, and we followed, one by one. I felt the liquid stone tickle my skin as I moved forward, holding onto Field’s hand in the process.

“This is so cool,” I heard Field mutter once we reached the other side.

The Bajang guided us farther as we gaped at the spacious interiors, at tall ceilings and ornate details, painted walls and heavy velvet curtains. He took us through the Bajangs’ living quarters, where I saw more of these creatures in their two-legged form—males, females, and cubs, all stopping to look at us as we passed by. The Green Tribe succubi stopped here for their wounds to be treated, except for Wren, who came along with us.

We went through a wide arch, and I heard Serena squeal.

I peeled my eyes from the thousands of books covering the walls and looked ahead as she ran toward me and trapped me in a hug.

“Oh, I am so happy to see you here!” she gasped, and held me tight, kissing my cheek.

I hugged her back, slowly relaxing in her embrace. She beamed at me before she jumped into Phoenix’s arms. He responded by wrapping his arms around her and hiding his face in her black hair. I saw his ribcage swell as he breathed in. She dropped a multitude of kisses on both his cheeks, then cupped his face and looked him in the eyes.

“We’ll get her back, Phoenix. I promise you,” she said, her eyebrows tucked into a frown.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Phoenix replied, his voice barely audible.

Draven came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, a sympathetic look on his face.

“There’s an unbreakable bond between you and the Daughter,” the Druid said.

“Viola. Her name’s Viola,” Phoenix muttered.