“Lucky you,” Skye muttered.

  Lynx flushed. “Not luck. Talent.”

  Micha sent out a pulse of compulsion. Lynx was too powerful to compel an answer, but he could encourage him to reveal the name.

  “Who was the demon?”

  “Igor Triton.”

  Lynx blinked as the name tumbled from his lips, as if shocked he’d revealed his secret partner in crime. Micha was equally shocked. Not by the fact that Lynx had finally revealed the traitor, but who had betrayed the Cabal.

  He wouldn’t have been surprised if Igor had been working with Kane to overthrow Valen. That was what they’d suspected from the start. But to be the leader of a demon revolution? No way. The male might have the balls, but he didn’t have the brains.

  “Igor Triton?” He repeated the name, struggling to accept what he was hearing. “Kane’s devoted servant?”

  Lynx hunched his shoulders, accepting it was too late to deny the truth. “Not so devoted. He was willing to pretend to be a loyal servant to Kane so he could gain a position of authority, but he was desperate to break free of the leech.”

  “He wasn’t a prisoner. If he wanted to leave he didn’t need to sneak around. He could walk out the door.”

  “Yeah, right.” Lynx’s features hardened with contempt. “You leeches love to act all civilized when the truth is that you’re nothing more than cold-blooded bastards who use your position of authority to oppress everyone around you.”

  Micha didn’t bother to argue. Although most vampires had adapted with the modern codes of decency, there were still many vampires who believed that they were superior to every living creature and resorted to threats or violence to impose their will on those in their care.

  Including Kane.

  Instead, he tried to reconcile himself to the possibility that the Cabal had been so easily played by a swaggering idiot. Was it possible? No. No way.

  There had to be something he was missing.

  Micha folded his arms over his chest. “How did Igor locate you?”

  Lynx shrugged. “He’d been on the lookout for a fairy with the natural talent for organizing and inspiring demons.”

  “And you magically appeared?”

  The smell of copper swirled through the air. Lynx was more than a little touchy at the implication he’d fallen into the role of the chosen one. Obviously it was important to his ego that he believe he’d been chosen by fate.

  “Not magic.” The gemstone in his hand pulsed, as if reacting to his flare of temper. “Hard work. I created my destiny. I didn’t have my inheritance handed to me just because I’m a zombie who won’t stay in my grave.”

  “Again. Not a zombie,” Micha reminded him, “but while I might not possess your lofty claim to fame, I’ve often crossed paths with Igor Triton over the centuries. He does have royal blood and a small amount of cunning, but he doesn’t have the intelligence to research the Tempest or how to locate it, let alone track you down to guide you toward your supposed destiny. And he certainly couldn’t organize my kidnapping.”

  Belatedly remembering he was trying to escape, Lynx inched to the side, nearly reaching one of the marble columns.

  “I organized that,” he insisted.

  Micha shook his head. “Someone told you when the Cabal was coming to New York and gave you the keycard to get to the lower floors. They also told you the exact location of my bedroom and how to get out the emergency exit.”

  “Igor.”

  “Impossible.”

  Lynx snorted. “You just can’t accept that a demon could outsmart a bunch of leeches.”

  Micha frowned. His senses told him that Lynx truly believed what he was saying. So that had to mean...

  “He’s right.” A smooth male voice echoed through the cavern. “A demon could never have executed such a glorious rebellion. But I could.”

  Micha hissed, his fangs fully exposed as he whirled around to confront Kane.

  Only it wasn’t Kane standing in the middle of the mosaic tiled floor.

  In fact, the vampire with light brown hair and dark eyes, wearing an ankle-length black robe, was the last male he expected to see.

  “Ambassador Azra,” he rasped in shock.

  * * * *

  Valen watched his mate toss her cell phone on his desk, her body vibrating with frustration.

  “Has Maya heard from Skye?” The words tumbled from his lips before he could halt them.

  It was a dumb question. One glance at Peri’s tense expression and the sparks of magic sizzling through the office revealed that the news wasn’t good. But he’d spent most of the daylight hours pacing the floor while he wallowed in endless recriminations for not realizing that his demons were being poisoned to hate his new mate. Not to mention the fact he’d allowed the perpetrator of his troubles to stay in his lair, where he plotted to kidnap a member of the Cabal and Peri’s best friend.

  The epic mess might not be his fault, but it’d happened on his watch.

  Was it any wonder it was increasingly difficult to think through his smoldering guilt?

  “Nothing,” Peri confirmed, stopping to stare out the window at the darkness creeping over the city. Soon it would be full night and he could return to his hunt for Micha. If only he knew where the hell to start his search. “Maya’s going to track down her various contacts in the city to see if they have any information. She’s not hopeful.”

  With an effort, Valen calmed his seething emotions and moved to wrap a comforting arm around his mate.

  “We’re going to find them.”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m scared. I can feel her, Valen. As if she’s trying to reach out to me, but she’s too far away.”

  Valen brushed his lips over the top of her head even as he felt a sharp chill before Gabriel stepped into the office.

  “I think we should have a word with the prisoners,” the older male announced, his own impatience edging his voice. “One of them has to know where Kane is.”

  “Agreed,” Valen murmured, lowering his arm as Peri turned to regard him with a stubborn frown.

  “I’m coming,” she stated in tones that defied argument.

  Valen didn’t bother to try to reason with her. He didn’t have the strength to waste on butting his head against a brick wall. There were bigger battles to concentrate on.

  Keeping his arm around Peri’s shoulders, he headed to his private elevator and used his keycard to open the doors. The three of them stepped into the carriage, dropping to the deepest floor in silence. They’d spent hours debating what they’d seen and heard at the theater. There was nothing left to say. Not until they had new information.

  The elevator swooshed to a stop and the doors slid open to reveal a long cement hallway that was lit by bare light bulbs hanging from the low ceiling. It was deliberately designed with a gulag vibe, warning Valen’s enemies that they’d truly screwed up if they were headed to this location.

  Stepping out of the carriage, Valen was turning in the direction of the cells when Gabriel abruptly reached out to place his hand on Valen’s shoulder.

  “Wait.”

  Valen stopped, his senses on full alert. “What’s wrong?”

  Gabriel sniffed the air. “Are there any other vampires in the area?”

  Valen shook his head. He had a couple of vampires who oversaw his businesses at the far edges of his territory. He preferred not to have any in his primary lair. It avoided any unfortunate complications when it came to who was the boss.

  “There are none in the dungeons.”

  “This way.” With long strides, Gabriel headed in the opposite direction of the dungeons.

  Valen kept Peri close as he followed his friend.

  They continued through the hallway before Gabriel abruptly turned into a short passage that was blocked by a massive steel door.

  “The WCS,” Valen muttered in surprise.

  Gabriel glanced over his shoulder in confusion. “The what?”

  “Worst Case Scenario.” Valen scooted past his friend to place his hand flat on the steel door. “I built a panic room in the unlikely event the lair was ever overrun by enemies or the more likely event of a natural disaster.” He nodded toward the red lights above the door. “It’s been triggered.”

  Gabriel stepped forward. “How do we get it open?”

  “It can only be unlocked from the inside.” Valen slammed his hand against the unyielding steel that was a foot thick. “This is Valen.” He waited for the lock to click. Even through the massive barrier he would be able to hear the click. Nothing. He smacked his palm against the steel. “Ambassador? Open the door. You’re safe.”

  Gabriel pursed his lips. “I don’t think he trusts you.”

  Valen hissed in annoyance. “We have to find out what happened before Kane can escape.”

  “I’ll open it.”

  The soft voice floated from the main hallway and Valen turned around to discover Peri lifting her arm, the jade bracelet around her wrist already glowing with power.

  “Peri—”

  “I can do this,” she insisted, her floral scent mixing with tingles of electric magic.

  Valen grabbed Gabriel’s elbow and pulled him out of the passageway, giving Peri a clear shot at the door.

  “I have no doubt you can do it,” he assured his mate, adding a hint of warning to his voice. “I’d just prefer you open the door without turning our lair into a pile of rubble.”

  Peri shrugged. “I make no promises.”

  “Wait,” Valen commanded. He would survive the building landing on top of him, but he wasn’t sure that Peri would.

  “I’m kidding,” she assured him as she closed her eyes to concentrate on her spell. “Hopefully.”

  Next to him, Gabriel shook his head in resignation. “I don’t envy you.”

  “It’s an adjustment,” Valen conceded, only to grunt when a sharp elbow was dug into his ribs. “A magnificent adjustment,” he clarified.

  Peri clicked her tongue, her eyes still closed as she vibrated with the power that surged through her.

  “Stand back and don’t distract me.”

  Valen brushed a hasty kiss over her cheek. “Be careful.”

  She was already lost in the wild magic that coursed through her blood, and Valen hastily moved to press his back against the far wall. Gabriel was wise enough to join him as bolts of lightning danced from Peri’s slender fingers. The powerful magic sizzled with a white-hot heat, proving it wasn’t just an illusion. And just in case there was any doubt, the ground began to shake and the cement walls cracked from the sheer pressure of the snowballing spell.

  Valen felt the hair on his nape rise with an instinctive fear before Peri muttered a word of power and released her magic. With a loud hiss it blasted through the passageway, the lightning weaving together to form a battering ram before it smashed into the door with shocking force.

  Valen winched at the painful shriek of ripping metal, but it was impossible to see what happened as a cloud of pulverized cement wafted out of the passageway. It wasn’t until the choking fog faded and the ground at last stopped shaking that Valen and Gabriel tentatively stepped forward to inspect the damage.

  The older vampire grunted in disbelief. “Damn.”

  Valen slowly smiled, wrapping his arm around Peri as she sagged wearily against him.

  “She never fails to amaze,” he murmured, pride in his voice as he took in the steel door that had been blasted off its hinges.

  There wasn’t a vampire in the Cabal who could have matched her strength. In fact, there was a very real possibility that only the dragons possessed more raw power.

  For a second they admired the devastation in silence. It wasn’t often they were astonished by the power of another creature. Then there was a flicker of movement from inside the safe room and Valen released his hold on Peri to flow forward.

  He sensed Gabriel next to him as they reached the end of the passageway, both halting at the mangled door to peer inside. There was no use in risking Peri’s unpredictable magic only to rush into a trap.

  He narrowed his eyes against the bright security lights that had been triggered when the door was forced open, sweeping his gaze over the small room that held a wooden chair and table where a laptop was available to keep in contact with the outside world. There were also numerous weapons and a freezer filled with frozen blood, but they were stockpiled behind layers of magic that could only be unlocked with his personal touch.

  There was another flutter of movement, and Valen realized there was something or someone cowering beneath the pile of blankets in the corner. Striding forward, he grabbed the covers and tugged them aside, his mouth dropping open in pure shock.

  “Shit, Kane,” he rasped, barely recognizing the massive vampire.

  The long blond hair had been ripped from his usual braid to hang in clumps around his face. A face that was currently twisted in pain. His leather jacket was missing and the T-shirt that covered his chest had been shredded by whatever weapon had gouged deep wounds into his body. Several of them continued to leak blood down his torso and onto the cement floor.

  Kane held up a beefy hand, his expression one of sheer terror. “No, no.”

  Valen stared down at him in confusion. He’d assumed that Kane was long gone from the lair. Not hiding in his panic room.

  “What the hell happened to you?”

  “Are you with him?” the male rasped.

  “Who?” Valen demanded, sensing Gabriel move out of the cramped space as Valen’s servants rushed to discover what had happened. He thankfully realized that Valen wanted to question Kane without being interrupted.

  “Azra.”

  Valen glanced around the room in confusion. “The ambassador? Is he here? Has he been hurt?”

  “The bastard.” Kane released a low snarl, his hand covering one of his deeper wounds. “He tried to kill me.”

  Valen crouched down, focusing on the male sprawled on the hard cement. It wasn’t as easy to read a vampire, but Kane was gravely injured. It should make it easier to detect a lie.

  “Why?”

  “Traitor.” The word ended on a groan.

  Valen leaned forward. “A traitor to who?”

  “The Cabal.” With an effort, Kane’s hand reached toward the nearby freezer built into the wall. “I need to feed.”

  Suddenly Valen realized why Kane had been in this corner. He’d been trying to force his way through the layers of magic to get to the blood.

  “Not until I have some answers,” he warned the male, struggling to accept he might have leapt to conclusions.

  He had convinced himself that Kane was the traitor. Every clue pointed to the ambitious male being behind the endless troubles that had been plaguing them. Including the kidnapping of Micha and Skye. But there was no denying the fact that Kane was the one who’d been severely injured while Azra had disappeared. And while it was possible that Kane had been the one to attack Azra first, it wouldn’t explain where the ambassador had gone. Or why he’d taken his belongings with him.

  “You’re claiming that Azra—Sinjon’s most trusted servant—is a traitor?” He needed to be sure he hadn’t misunderstood the male.

  Kane licked his lips, his face twisted with pain. “I can’t...”

  “Try really hard.” Valen leaned forward, allowing his power to press against Kane. “We already know it was Igor who came to New York days ago to stir up anger toward my mate.”

  Kane hissed but seemed to accept that he wasn’t going to get the blood he so badly needed until he’d answered Valen’s questions.

  “Why not?” A soul-deep hunger flared in the depths of the vampire’s eyes. “This Gyre should be mine.”

  “If you believed that, you would have openly challenged me to take control of my territory. Instead you were a coward, hiding behind your trusted servant, who was sneaking around, trying to turn my people against Peri.”

  Kane released a low growl. “Not trusted.”

  “What?”

  “He...he betrayed me. With the ambassador.” Kane shuddered, his skin unnaturally pale as his powers visibly drained away. “Give me blood.”

  “How did he betray you?”

  Kane shook his head. “Food.”

  Valen swiveled to the side, placing his hand flat against the magic. There was a sharp tingle that crawled up his arm, as if seeking to confirm his identity, before there was a loud pop as the spell was broken. With a deliberate desire to torment Kane, he slowly opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of blood, holding it just out of reach.

  Kane’s fangs protruded, his body trembling with hunger.

  “Talk,” Valen commanded.

  “Fine.” Kane’s gaze remained locked on the blood. “It’s true that I sent Igor to cause trouble.”

  “Why?”

  “I hoped your witch would be provoked into losing control of her magic and the demons would demand a new leader.”

  “I assume you would be that new leader?”

  “Of course.”

  Valen battled back the surge of fury at the memory of Peri’s distress at the fear she’d never be accepted as his mate. Kane was fading. He had to get the information he needed before the vampire became too weak to talk.

  “Why kidnap Micha?”

  “I had nothing to do with that.” Kane swore in frustration as Valen dangled the blood directly over his head. “I swear.”

  “Then what happened to him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “This isn’t a game, Kane,” Valen snapped. He was tired of feeling like he was constantly running one step behind a mysterious enemy. The shit stopped now. “You share what you know and I’ll allow you to feed. Or you can starve. It makes no difference to me.”