Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(19)

He wasn’t going to be led around by his cock.

“It’s no coincidence you are in this precise spot at this precise moment,” he accused.

With an elegant motion Nefri moved toward the window overlooking the backyard, her hair rippling like liquid ebony in the moonlight.

“No, it is no coincidence,” she admitted. “Like you I am searching for the prophet.”

Santiago curled his fingers, ignoring the itch to run them through those satin strands of hair.

“Why?”

She turned back to meet his wary gaze. “It was our hope to protect her from the Dark Lord by taking her beyond the Veil.” She waved a hand toward the empty room. “I fear we were too late.”

Yeah. He knew the feeling.

“How did you even know of Cassandra?”

A Mona Lisa smile curved her lips. “We are not utterly isolated.”

“So you’ve been spying on us?”

“There are those who travel between worlds,” she said without apology. “And when it became known that there were rumors of a seer I began to investigate. She is ...”

He frowned as she hesitated. “What?”

Nefri reached into the pocket of her robes to pull out a thin book no larger than the palm of her hand.

“She is vital to the future of all our worlds.”

He studied the book, sensing its age. “What is that?” She stroked loving fingers over the battered red cover. “A book of prophecies that I took beyond the Veil when the Dark Lord began to destroy them.”

His brows lifted. Books of prophecies were as rare as actual prophets.

“And?”

“Most of them are gibberish, I fear.”

Santiago snorted. “Typical.”

“But, there is one that speaks of the birth of the Alpha and the Omega.”

The Alpha and the Omega ...

Santiago stiffened. They were the same words spoken by the Sylvermyst who warned that the child Laylah had protected for so long was destined to return the Dark Lord to this world.

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“What does it say?” he rasped.

“It warns that the ‘harbinger of truth’ must not be silenced,” she said without hesitation.

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

He clenched his teeth. Why the hell couldn’t prophets just spit out the future in words a person could understand?

“Still gibberish.”

“No.” Nefri shook her head. “A warning that I intend to heed.”

She lifted her hand to grasp the medallion around her neck. The gold metal inscribed with some ancient hieroglyphs began to glow, filling the room with a strange heat.

Santiago instinctively lifted his sword. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I am going to search for the female.”

Despite his hatred toward the Immortals, and the very real possibility she might fry him if he tried to interfere in her dramatic departure, Santiago stepped forward, grasping the woman’s arm.

“Not without me, you’re not.”

She went rigid beneath the firm grip of his hand, her dark gaze studying his fierce expression.

“I had forgotten,” she whispered.

His fangs throbbed at the exotic scent of jasmine and pure female.

“Forgotten what?”

“How aggressive males tend to be in this world.”

He leaned forward, allowing their lips to brush as he spoke his low warning.

“Querida, you haven’t seen aggressive yet.”

Chapter 5

Jaelyn perched on the steeply slanted roof, her eyes narrowed as Ariyal easily tugged open the unlocked skylight.

She shook her head, her unease intensifying as she shifted to crouch beside the Sylvermyst.

“It must be a trap.”

“No one ever thinks an attack will be coming from above. Especially vampires.” Ariyal shot her a taunting smile. “Not surprising considering the fact they spend the majority of their lives in the dank ground.”

Jaelyn clenched her hands, silently condemning Siljar and the rest of the Oracles to the nearest hell.

It had been bad enough to be stuck with the unpleasant duty of tracking down Ariyal and hauling him to the Commission. But now ...

She was a Hunter, not a babysitter for an aggravating, pain-in-the-ass Sylvermyst.

“We aren’t dealing with a vampire,” she said between clenched teeth.

He shrugged. “No, but this lair was built for one and Sergei spent most of his life in the company of a leech.”

She allowed her frigid power to swirl through the air. “You’re pressing your luck, fairy.”

He flashed a wicked smile before he was shifting to drop through the skylight with a liquid grace. He landed without a sound and tilted back his head to meet her jaundiced gaze.

“Are you coming?” he softly demanded.

“As if I have a choice,” she muttered beneath her breath, refusing to acknowledge his astonishing beauty as a stray beam of moonlight played over his pale, perfect features and the fascinating shimmer of his bronze eyes. Instead she pushed forward and landed next to the fey in the narrow hallway, her senses sweeping through the townhouse. “The mage is below us.”

“Yes.” He paused, turning his head toward a closed door just down the hall that was paneled in a dark, glossy wood with gilt-framed paintings gathering dust. “But there’s a spell of protection through there.”