Page 145 of The Prince's Curse

“They took him,” Julian said.

Misha’s mouth pressed into a grim slash. “Where? Who took him?” Then his red eyes landed on Stella, and he grimaced. “Did you know this would happen? Start talking.”

Stella shook her head. “I tried to warn you they were coming,” she said. “Did they stake him?”

Julian nodded.

Her amber eyes flinched. “Lux is trying to turn them into puppets,” she said.

“Can you undo it?” Julian asked.

“Any spell can be undone,” she said.

“That’s not what I asked,” he replied.

“I didn’t make it, but if I can see the original work, then yes,” Stella said.Her brows arched. “I have Armina’s original spell that she used to bind Kova and Carrigan Shea. It’s not exactly the same, but I’d bet Lux used it as a starting point.”

“Where are they hiding?” Julian asked.

She shrugged. “Before I came to see you all, we were in a cabin up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but I’m sure they’ve moved since then.”

“How many did they get?” Misha asked numbly.

“Paris and Danielle,” Julian said. “In addition to Kristina and Sasha.”

Stella cleared her throat. “She wants to take everything from you. All of you.”

“They tried to kill Olivia, and Nikko turned her,” Julian said. He shook his head. “Enough is enough.”His throat worked as he stared down at Shoshanna. “How bad is it?”

“I have no idea,” Misha said blankly. “She’s alive, and her heart is strong, but she’s not responding at all. It’s like she’s not in there. What did Armina do?”

Stella shook her head. “I don’t know. She sent him to attack,” she said, pointing to the bearded man. “Is he…”

“He’s alive,” Julian said. “I can hear his heart. What happened to him?”

Scarlett eased up from the rolling stool, rubbing her arms absently. As her fingers danced in the air, he saw those glowing cracks again, and the air seemed to warm. “I’m not sure. He came in here to attack Shoshanna. He was relentless.”

Misha nodded. “I held him off while Scarlett dealt with him,” he said. His brow furrowed. “Scarlett, did you use magic?”

“I think so,” she murmured, staring at her hands. “I was fighting with him and trying to keep him away from Shoshanna, but there was another vampire coming through the roof. I just got frustrated, and I yelled in his face to snap out of it. And I saw something. It was like I saw the strings pulling him, and I just…I ripped them out.”

“And what happened?”

“He just started yelling, fell to the ground, and then I kicked him in the face,” Scarlett said matter-of-factly. “He’s been out ever since.”

Kova shrugged. “Good enough for now.”

She stared down at the fallen man and said, “Just…if you have to lock him up for now, don’t be cruel. He’s been through a lot, and he came here to hurt Shoshanna because Armina forced him. I don’t think he’d come after her on his own.”

Julian nodded. He admired her integrity, though it was a blessing for Jordan Cole that his former ally had mercy, as Julian had none left. “Kova, you and Scarlett keep an eye on him here for now until we figure out something.” He gestured to Misha and said, “Let’s get her somewhere comfortable.”

Misha nodded, carefully lifting Shoshanna as he rose. Julian followed as they trudged across the grounds, back toward Building One, where Shoshanna and Alistair had been staying temporarily. The sky was lightening to bruise-purple, with sunrise imminent.

They had just reached the door when Alistair shouted from across the lawn. Fear prickled through Julian, but there was no attack, just a frightened man who was facing the loss of his soulmate.

“I can take her,” Alistair fretted.

Misha nodded to him and said, “I’ll carry her. You go ahead and make sure there’s a place to get her comfortable.”

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