“As you wish,” she answered, hoping she didn’t sound as angry as she felt. She walked out as if nothing was amiss, knowing there were cameras everywhere, not all of which were in plain sight. She’d heard Ludcarab once discussing how their hidden cameras helped weed out disloyalty as people let their guard down in areas where they didn’t think they were being watched.

  “Remain calm, Tenia. We will figure this out.”

  ‘How?’ She wanted to snap at him, but she worried her face would give her away. So, she just kept walking. The crisp air hit her as she stepped outside and headed to her quarters. When she reached the door to her building, she heard voices coming from just inside.

  “We will be leaving tonight.” It was Ludcarab.

  “Is it wise for all of us to be gone at once?” Cain, the vampire king.

  Tenia pulled her phone out of her pocket and put it to her ear, acting as if she’d gotten a phone call in case she was being watched. She nodded occasionally, but kept her attention on the two males.

  “This lead is too important not to follow up. And we have a much better chance at success if all three of us combine our power.” The elf king sounded even more giddy than he had when he’d introduced her to the sprites.

  “Besides, we already discussed this with the leaders of the other supernatural representatives. It isn't smart for all of us to be in the same location at one time. It makes us a target,” Alston added.

  “The spy said that if our target sticks to the schedule as expected then we will have no problem with extraction. But we should be prepared for an unexpected alteration. Alston and I can act as two separate distractions if need be, and you can grab the target,” Ludcarab explained. The fact that he was talking so openly made it clear to Tenia that whoever it was they were targeting was so exciting and important that he’d forgotten his usual paranoia.

  “Then we leave an hour after dusk,” Cain said.

  As soon as the last word left his mouth, Tenia opened the door, still keeping the phone to her ear and walked inside. She headed straight for the hallway that would take her to Skender and Torion. She had no idea what she was going to do, but her gut was telling her she needed to get Torion out. She couldn’t trust that Alston truly believed she was loyal, especially now that he knew she’d kept her son’s ability a secret from him.

  “You heard what Ludcarab and Cain said?” she asked Skender. She rounded the corner and saw him in his usual spot.

  He nodded at her, his eyes taking her in from head to foot, as he always did when she returned. He was looking for any sign that she’d been injured, despite the fact that he’d know because of the bond. For some reason, he seemed to feel better when he saw her with his own eyes.

  “You’re right,” he said. “We need to leave tonight.”

  The urgency and worry in his voice almost stopped her in her tracks. “What’s happened?”

  Skender met her eyes. “It’s possible that Torion’s ability has changed, but not in the way Alston expects.”

  “What are you talking about?” Tenia’s heart began to race. What could have happened to make Skender so uneasy? She didn’t pause as she turned the knob. Her stomach hit the floor as he spoke the words she hoped more than anything weren’t true through their bond.

  “He’s a seer. His drawings show what’s to come. Hopefully, this was just a one-time thing, a fluke, a coincidence. If not, Alston will do anything to keep him. Even if it means losing you.”

  Chapter

  Thirteen

  “Sometimes the greater good requires sacrifices that not all might find acceptable. It is for that reason that some are more capable to lead than others. They’re willing to take down evil no matter the cost because the price of allowing evil to reign is greater than any other loss.” ~Perizada of the fae

  * * *

  Peri stood on the highest peak of the mountain range that loomed over the Romanian pack territory. Her gaze focused on the open field where Fane had fought challenger after challenger. A field that was drenched in more than just the blood of those who refused to submit to the alpha. The blood of foolish rogues who thought to stand against the Great Luna’s chosen ones.

  Peri’d watched as the short-lived battle had raged but had not gone to the wolves’ aid. Instead, she’d remained planted, an ice sculpture, immovable, unshakable. Except for one moment when her wall of ice had nearly cracked. That had been when the Romanian alpha female had gotten herself caught in the clutches of a foul beast. Peri had taken a single step in the direction of the battle but had managed to stop herself. It was not her war to fight. As an ambassador to the wolves, she was to assist them in their dealings with other supernaturals, not fight alongside them. She’d overstepped those boundaries one too many times, and she’d finally learned her lesson.

  Movement on the end of the field, closest to the forest, caught her attention. Supernatural eyes let her narrow her gaze on and bring a man into focus. She could see him as well as if he’d been standing a few feet away. Lucian. The name alone should have stirred something inside of her. The sight of him should have drawn Peri to him like the tide to the moon. As true mates, nothing would be able to keep them apart without feeling pain from the separation. He didn’t appear to be in pain as he dragged lifeless bodies to a pile. His face was blank, his eyes dark and vacant as he moved. It was as if he was on autopilot, completely unaffected by the death he’d dished out or the blood that stained his hands. There was nothing familiar in the face that at one time had looked upon her as if her very presence kept him breathing.

  Peri searched inside herself. There was nothing, only the sense of duty that she knew fell on her shoulders. If there was no pain from being parted from Lucian then perhaps they had never been true mates to begin with. It was that thought that finally pricked her heart, and she nearly flinched. She threw up a wall, but not soon enough. Lucian suddenly went still as stone. His head slowly turned in her direction. His eyes roamed over the mountain, searching for the source of what he’d just felt. When his gaze was nearly on her, Peri stepped back into the cover of the trees.

  The fae sucked in air, not even realizing she’d been holding her breath. She leaned against the trunk of a tree and closed her eyes, pressing against the rough bark, letting it bite into her back. She welcomed the physical pain. Peri understood why her back hurt. She understood why fire burned when it was held to her flesh. Anything that caused the nerves in her body to respond to a stimulus that was unpleasant she accepted with open arms. It was something she could control. And for her, control was everything.

  “I have the information you requested.” A male voice filled the silence.

  Peri had felt his presence the moment Owan had flashed to her. Her eyes opened, now fully composed. Not even a hairline crack remained in the walls she’d erected around her mind and soul. “And?” She looked at him. He stood rigid, his shoulders tense, arms folded behind him like a warrior. The male’s face was stark as his lips pulled tight across his face. Owan bit his lip, a nervous gesture rarely seen in one of their race.

  “Ludcarab and Cain have used the captured draheim to dig underground tunnels,” he said. “Alston is not aware, nor is anyone else on the Order’s council. I don’t know how many tunnels there are, but I know the network is extensive. They spread under the ground throughout the entirety of the compound. The tunnels lead to dozens of large chambers that have been carved out in the bedrock.”

  “How?” Peri pushed away from the tree and folded her arms in front of her. “A single draheim would not have been able to do so much.”

  “Vampires,” Owan answered.

  Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw clenched. “Dozens of large rooms connected by tunnels that burrow underground over … what … twenty-five or more acres of land?” Peri shook her head. “That would take…”

  “Thousands,” he finished for her. “There aren’t thousands in the compound, at least not above ground. They must be keeping them hidden below.”

  “Cain has been busy.” Peri wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the vampire king was the one siring all of the vampires. He would spread the workload. Not just for efficiency but also to guard against the possibility of losing a large portion of their army if a single sire was killed. “How have they managed to keep that number of vampires, directly beneath their compound, a secret?”

  Owan shook his head. “They aren’t all staying at the compound. Cain and Ludcarab have been sending them to other locations. I don’t know where.”

  “How do you know any of this?” She pursed her lips. “When I asked you to gather intel, you made it clear that you were just another warrior in the Order’s ranks.”

  “You’re not the only one with connections, Perizada,” he answered. “And not all of the pixies that are still alive have remained loyal to the Order, even though they put up a very good ruse.”

  Peri chuckled. “I should have known your helper would be one of the little pests.” She sobered quickly as she considered the fact that the Order, or at least two of its leaders, was shipping out new vampires to who knows where.

  “There’s supposed to be a meeting tonight, in the underground. I heard Cain speaking with another vampire about it. My informant confirmed the same information. The leaders of each supernatural group will be there.” He stared at her expectantly.

  Peri started to speak, but she felt Elle’s power just before the fae female appeared. She wasn’t alone. Jennifer Angehlescu stood next to Elle, her blue eyes bright with her wolf as she homed in on Peri. On Elle’s other side stood Sally Miklos. Though her eyes didn’t glow, the healer looked equally pissed off.

  “I haven’t been able to reach you for over a week.” Elle released the two other females. “So, imagine my surprise when I suddenly, for just a split second, felt your magic close by. I’d know your signature anywhere, Peri. You’re getting sloppy in your old age.”

  Okay then. Apparently, her silence had not gone unnoticed, and her comrade was not happy about it. Now, ask her if she cared. Elle’s feelings were not high on the fae’s list of priorities, nor were the feelings of the two other females present. Her job was to keep them alive and safe, not hold their hand and tell them everything was going to be okay.

  “You’d better hope we discover your mind has been taken over by a very powerful, psycho supernatural, and that is the reason why you’re acting like a crazy bitch,” Jen snapped as she advanced on Peri. “Because this is not okay. Not at all.”

  Owan started to move forward, but Peri held up a hand to stop him.

  Jen stopped less than a foot away. Her breathing was shallow, and Peri noticed fur ripple down the woman’s arms. She was barely holding onto her wolf. “I am not concerned with what you think is okay, mate of Decebel.” Peri heard the detached tone in her own voice, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Sally’s mouth drop open. She turned to look at the healer and saw Sally’s brown eyes flash with indignation. “Nor do I care that I have obviously offended you, mate of Costin.”

  “If you care so little, then why aren’t you using our names?” Sally asked. “Why do you need to distance yourself from us by using such a formal address?”

  Peri almost felt sorry for them. How weak-minded they were that they needed so desperately to know if she cared for them. They fancied themselves more than just an obligation, a job to be performed. “Why do I need to use your names?” she parried. “We’ve gone over this before, though it has been a long time ago since we first met. I am the ambassador to the wolves and healers. I do the Great Luna’s bidding. That is all that is required of me.”

  A string of profanities flew from Jen’s mouth. She turned sharply on her heel and began to pace. Her hands clenched in fists at her side, and her back rose and fell rapidly while her breathing increased. Peri looked on, waiting to see what Decebel’s mate would say next. If she was nothing else, Peri could admit that the she-wolf was, at times, entertaining.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Sally asked, her voice sharp as a whip. Peri hadn’t been expecting the gentler of the two girls to go on the attack. “At the Keep—”

  “Do not,” Peri hissed, cutting Sally off. Peri’s power began to pulse inside of her, the beat growing stronger as she met the eyes of Costin’s mate. “The past is in the past, and you would do well to remember that when you speak to me.” She turned, fully facing the healer, and stood up straighter as she folded her arms across her chest. “I do not answer to you. I don’t answer to any of you.” Her eyes snapped to Elle. The fae female didn’t even flinch, though Peri saw surprise briefly spark in her eyes. “I have things I need to do, and you three are wasting my time.”

  “So that’s what we’ve become to you?” Jen asked. She stopped pacing, propped her hands on her hips, and glared daggers at Peri. “We’re a waste of your time? Do you even hear yourself?”

  “That’s a foolish question. But I should expect nothing less from one who is barely a child compared to me. I don’t answer foolish questions.” Peri shifted on her feet. She knew she needed to flash and move on with what she must do. The information Owan had shared with her only solidified her resolve.

  “Humor me,” Jen growled. “You said we’re nothing more than your charges. We are simply a chore given to you by your goddess. That’s what you’re telling me?”

  Peri sighed. “You obviously understood what I’ve told you, or you wouldn’t be able to repeat it back to me. What is your point, or do you even have one? If I recall, you do tend to like the sound of your own voice.”

  “If that’s all I am to you, Perizada, then why did you help me when I gave birth to Thia? Or have you forgotten how you were willing to do something utterly ridiculous, not to mention illegal, because you wanted to help me? Is that the kind of stuff you do for someone who means nothing to you?” Peri started to speak, but Jen wasn’t done.

  “IF,” she bit out through gritted teeth, “we are nothing more to you than a task to be handled, then why did you bring me back when I should have died? Why did you fight for Sally when she sacrificed herself for you? Or have you forgotten that she did that? Why did you protect the new healers and go to battle against Volcan with them? Why did you offer your aid to the Romanian pack time and time again? You fought for our people in the In Between. You were with us in the dark forest, standing by our sides ready to do whatever it took to keep evil from winning. WE HAVE STOOD BY YOU.” Her voice rose, and she threw her hands in the air. “We have taken you in as one of our own, as pack! Have you forgotten how much we care for you?” She paused and tilted her head in a very wolfish manner. “Or maybe, maybe, you don’t give a damn. Is that it? Or is it something more?” Jen dropped her hands and walked slowly toward Peri. “Has the great Perizada, high fae and all-around bad ass, realized that she isn’t invincible? Did watching Alina die, and being unable to do anything about it, finally push you off the crazy train that you’ve been riding for one-too-many centuries?”

  Peri’s hand flew out, and Jen went flying backward until she slammed into a tree. The impact was so hard, the whole tree shuddered, and a few branches cracked and fell. Elle’s own hand flew out, and she used her power to keep the falling limbs from landing on Sally, who simply stared, stunned, at Peri and her best friend.

  “Perizada,” Elle snapped.

  “What are you doing?” Adam’s voice came from behind Peri.

  Peri ignored the male and kept her attention on the female who dared question her. “Who are you to think I owe you any sort of explanation?” Peri felt the winter air around her beginning to whip about, the bite slashing at her skin. Ice began to form in the air from the drop in temperature and there was a gasp to her right.

  “Dammit, Perizada, stop!” Elle advanced on her. “You’re cutting them? Sally is bleeding, for goddess’ sake.”

  Peri didn’t take her eyes off her target. Her mind was a haze of fury as she stared into the wolf-blue eyes of Decebel’s mate. How dare she bring up things that were better left buried? Nothing good would come of thinking about the past. Nothing could change it. “This is the last time I will say this.” Her voice was low, even though it shook with the repressed temper she wanted to unleash. “I am Perizada, high fae and ambassador for the Great Luna. I have walked this earth long before you were even a thought, and I will walk it long after your bones have turned to dust.

  “My existence does not depend on whether I care for you or whether you care for me. I have a purpose. That is enough. I will fulfill my purpose, and anyone who gets in my way is considered fodder for the greater good. Right now, Jennifer of the Romanian pack, you are in my way.”

  “Peri, this isn’t you.” Adam’s voice soft as he stepped up beside her. “I’ve known you for more than a thousand years. You are many things, but cruel is not one of them.”

  Peri dropped her hand, and Jen fell to the ground, her bones making a cracking sound as she connected with the hard earth. The woman jumped to her feet, phasing to her wolf form at the same time. Her lips pulled back in a snarl as she lowered her head and growled.

  “Perhaps if I had kept my emotions out of things, then we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in now.” She turned to look at the male. “I let my feelings for others affect my ability to protect them, which is what I was charged to do. I will never let that happen again. From now on, you work under Nissa. I am no longer your commander.”

  “After all this time, you can so easily walk away from us?” Elle’s hands clenched at her sides. “All the wars we’ve fought side by side, the enemies we’ve killed, the pain we’ve endured, it means nothing?”

  “That was a long time ago,” Peri answered. “And we weren’t friends, Elle. We were comrades. There’s a difference. Friends make you weak.”

  A soft whimper caught Peri’s attention. She turned her head to see Sally, tears rolling down the healer’s cheeks as she stared at Peri. Sally shook her head and sucked in a deep breath. “If you walk down this path, it is not one you can easily come back from, Peri,” she said softly.