Page 130 of The Prince's Curse

Paris had been out with Dominic, searching for Sasha and Kristina. Upon hearing of the accident, Dominic continued the search while Paris diverted to pick up Misha and the others. In no uncertain terms, Parishad told him to stay put and manage the court while he cleaned up this mess, and so Julian waited and paced mindlessly in his office.

No, his Maker and old friend had never dealt with a night quite like this, and Julian was not sure that Eduardo Alazan would have fared any better. The court he had not asked to lead was in danger, with the woman he thought he’d lost forever hanging in the balance.

The dingy white walls of his office closed in, and he eventually exercised his executive power to move through the compound and check on the court. One by one, he looked in on them—first into the lounge, where Danielle was serving drinks to a small, anxious crowd. Then he found Karina Nowak in her office fussing over a computer, while Olivia sat amidst a stack of cardboard boxes as she contemplated her renovations in a downstairs lounge.

At the makeshift infirmary, he found a sign on the door that read:

Nurse on Duty: Elspeth Quinn

Call 404-555-2134 if needed.

His heart ached at the sight of it. It had been days since Rhys was lost.

Not lost, he told himself. They’d find him.

As he walked the grounds, he double-checked their security software, confirming that everyone who was supposed to be on-site was there. Half a dozen vampires lived in the city, and had confirmed that they were safe. The only question marks on his list were Sasha and Kristina. The sight of their names with the unknown tag set his stomach churning.

Someday, this would be easier, or at least he prayed it would.

Instead of returning to his office to pace, he stayed outside and walked circles beneath the hazy night sky. The stars were barely visible through an overcast sky. He heard the vehicles crunching up the drive well before he saw the lights, and he ran to the driveway to greet them.

Grim-faced, Paris got out of his car and said, “I told you?—”

“I’ve been within the spell perimeter,” Julian said sharply. “What happened?”

Scarlett climbed out of the seat, her face scratched and hair disheveled. But she was whole, thank God. Misha lurched out of the back. His face was pale, eyes too bright. That was the sign that he’d been overdoing the magic, something Julian had now seen multiple times.For all of Misha’s polite reminders that he worked for the Crown and not for Julian, the man had a habit of pushing himself to a breaking point for the Durendal vampires.

“It’s been a rough night,” Misha said drily, hauling a backpack over his shoulder. “Give us thirty minutes to clean up and eat. Alistair is bringing Shoshanna back, and I want her here to figure this out.”

Without waiting for a response, the Russian witch nodded to Paris, who sauntered after him toward Building Five.

Julian nodded to Scarlett, then said, “Let me take a look at your face. Let’s stop in the infirmary.”

“I’m okay,” she said, chin jutted out. But her expression was haunted, her eyes fixed on something far away as they shone.

“I’m not. Let me take care of you, please.”

Her gaze snapped to him, and she nodded silently. Hand-in-hand, they walked across the quiet compound. Someday, this would be a lovely place, their own little neighborhood hidden back behind the trees. Occupying this area had been an unfortunate necessity at first, but the aged brick buildings and slightly unkempt landscaping had grown on him.

And for just a moment, he was a simple man holding his lover’s hand as they strolled under the silent stars. Someday, this would be a normal night. It surprised him that he dared to hope so clearly. But instead of arguing himself down, he let himself enjoy the way her fingers twined into his and the way her scent wrapped around him.

This was what they were fighting for.

A faint rattle caught his ear. The low rustle of dead grass followed. Whipping his head around, he saw a lithe shadow moving across the lawn with a faint glint off tiny scales. He shoved Scarlett behind him and lunged. With one hand, he caught the thick body of a scaled intruder, its tail rattling a noisy threat.

Cold air whipped around them, and he could have sworn he saw lightning flash in the snake’s beady eyes. It hissed at him, fangs dripping with venom. Shuddering, Julian threw the snake like a javelin, then scooped Scarlett into his arms and ran.

The whole fucking world was trying to kill her. She protested weakly, but her arms looped around his neck, hair whipping in his face as he ran for Building Two.

With Elspeth gone for the night, the building was all theirs. Julian quickly entered the security code and ushered Scarlett inside. He watched in rapt fascination and horror as another snake slithered across the sidewalk and toward the door, arching off the ground as it let out a terrible hiss that was far too loud for such a small body.

That was beyond unnatural. It was one thing to stumble across a snake in the wild, another entirely to have a snake track them down. Snakes would avoid a threat, not chase one down.

Gritting his teeth, Julian caught the snake. Its tail whipped around his arm, head flailing back and forth as it tried in vain to bite. But it wasn’t trying to bite him. Its head was angled toward the door, as if it could see Scarlett and wanted her.

“I don’t know what the hell you are, but…” Julian grimly snapped the creature’s spine, and it went limp. He was no expert, but the patterns on its back were like nothing he’d ever seen. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the intricate swirls of black scales on gray were magical symbols. They looked like the arcane languages Misha and Shoshanna used. He left the dead snake on the sidewalk, then hurried in after Scarlett and locked the door.

Brushing past her, he scouted the hallway, then guided her into one of the exam rooms where Rhys usually did his work. It smelled of disinfectant and vanilla, thanks to the air freshener the young nurse kept on hand. It smells more welcoming, he’d protested.

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