A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(47)

“Sverik is a little wimp, even weaker than his father. And the worst part is that Arid may ultimately end up following Sverik’s lead on this. To him, blood is thicker than water and heavier than his so-called warrior pride.”

I could sense much contempt coming from Hansa where the incubi were concerned. I looked over to Bijarki and saw him keeping his head down, his gaze fixated on his boots and his lips pursed. He was clearly not comfortable, but I figured the succubi had their reasons to keep themselves away from the rest of the world and even their own species. With so many turning to serve Azazel, it didn’t come as a surprise.

Judging by how pristine their settlement looked, probably preserved over millennia, the succubi cherished their way of life and stopped at nothing to protect it. I’d heard similar tales of independent warrior women back home, outside The Shade in the human world—like the Amazons of ancient Greece.

“Nevertheless, we need to reach out to Arid and Sverik and stop them before they do something foolish,” Draven insisted. “This has all come too far, and there is still time to put an end to it.”

“So, what do you want us to do? Ride out to Arid and tell him to wait?” Hansa’s eyebrow was lifted, a universal sign of doubt.

“This is about more than just talking to the few remaining incubi factions out there and hoping they won’t turn dark. This is about forging alliances amongst ourselves, the ones still standing, and striking back at Azazel while he’s busy attacking the last resistance cells of Eritopia,” the Druid replied passionately.

“What do you propose?”

“Let’s reach out to them first. I understand you have some extraordinary weapons in your arsenal. We also have tremendous tactical advantage right now. The odds will be in our favor if we come together. It’s not ideal for any of us, but there’s no time to be proud. Pride kills.”

Hansa mulled over his words, while shifting her gaze from Anjani to us.

“Bring out the dragon tears!” she barked at the succubi in the crowd.

Dragon tears?

There was some motion and shuffling between them, until two young warriors came out carrying a heavy hemp sack. They carefully placed it at her bare feet. Hansa bent forward and pulled out a glass sphere the size of a billiard ball, filled with a bright red liquid, and fitted with a fuse.

“Don’t drop it,” Hansa said and threw it at me.

I caught it before it hit the ground. A sigh of relief fizzled out of me, and I couldn’t help but glare at Hansa with raw anger.

What the hell is she thinking?

If this was the explosive that Anjani had told us about, why would she toss it around like a baseball?

“Are you trying to kill me?” I yelped, clutching the sphere in my hand.

“You don’t strike me as a weakling who can’t catch a little bomb.” She grinned.

I handed the sphere over to Serena, who placed it in Draven’s hand. I watched as he brought it up to his nose and sniffed it. He grimaced and coughed.

“What is in this thing?” he asked, clearing his throat.

“A mixture of poisonous weeds from the swamps and a concentrated infusion of shape-shifter blood,” Hansa explained. “One of these is enough to incapacitate a Destroyer temporarily. Up to five are needed to create a blast powerful enough to kill it.”

“How many do you have?” I asked.

“Enough to start a war, I’d say. But we lack the numbers to plant and ignite them where they can do substantial damage.”

“And this is why we need to come together,” Draven declared. “Your bombs, enough incubi to lead an attack, and our Oracles can help us deliver devastating blows to Azazel, regardless of how many Destroyers he has. Once the incubi under his rule see what we can do, they will turn against him, and you know it.”

Hansa’s expression shifted from a jovial grin to consternation, her forehead smooth, and her mouth drawn in a small line as she looked at the Druid.

“Your Oracles?”

“I have three Oracles under my protection. Under the protection of the Daughters, to be precise,” Draven replied.

“I thought Azazel had captured the last one.”

“Not before she passed her powers onto my brother and cousins.” Serena’s voice was barely audible next to Draven. “Our mothers met her about eighteen years ago. The first born children after that encounter turned out to be Oracles. It’s why we’re all here, though we didn’t exactly plan this.” It was clear her last sentence was directed at Draven, and he lowered his head almost apologetically.

“Three Oracles, you say,” Hansa muttered and looked at Anjani. A smile tugged at the corners of the older succubus’s mouth. “I think we have enough between us to actually do something about that filthy snake.”

Relief washed over me. We were one step closer to taking the fight to Azazel and rescuing my sister and best friends from a horrible fate.

“After all, it’s only a matter of time before Azazel sends an entire army after us. Who knows how much longer we can hold out up here?” Hansa continued, her voice tinged with concern.

“So, you’ll help us?” Draven asked.

“Indeed I will.” She smiled and shouted over her shoulder, making Anjani cringe. “Kalli! Thenna! Riga!”

Three young succubi stepped forward. They looked a little too much like each other, and I was willing to bet they were triplets. They wore short, dark green cotton dresses and wide leather belts around their narrow waists with identical golden crests as buckles. They wore their hair long and silky, flowing in shades of black and purple. They were tall and slender, making me think they were very good runners.