Page 16 of The Prince's Curse

Doing it tonight.

He laid out the tools she’d given him. Several had been part of his toolkit for years, while others had been built specifically to deal with Shoshanna York. After he’d helped the Shieldsmen raid his brothers’ stronghold at Infinity, Kova had collected broken tiles and drywall marked with Shoshanna’s spell work. Armina said that magic had a fingerprint, and she was able to analyze Shoshanna’s work from those little fragments, giving them an advantage.

In addition to the compass that detected magic barriers, Armina had built him an amulet designed to push back Shoshanna’s power. The protection would not last long, but it would conceal him when he crossed into her territory, not allowing her magic to take hold of him. There was also a nasty little glass globe that would turn Shoshanna’s magic against her for a few seconds, long enough to let him get the drop on her.

Trying not to think about the reality of his task, Kova packed his things, adding a sharp knife in a sheath, along with a gun loaded with wooden bullets for Alistair.

He’d considering attacking during the day while Alistair slept, but daylight would put Kova at an equal disadvantage. Furthermore, the last shred of his honor told him to give Alistair a fighting chance, so he’d know he’d done his best to protect his love.

Kova tucked Lucia’s necklace into his pocket, then got in the car to drive out to the isolated house. It was a small blessing that the witch and his brother lived so far from the others, rather than in the hive-like apartment building so many of them had shared before it was burned down.If he’d had to go through the entire Shroud, he wouldn’t stand a chance. But this…he could do.

Instead of driving to the far edge of the property, he parked at a gas station a mile away and walked the rest of the way, letting himself blend into the night.Soon, he took out the iron compass, which thrummed with energy as it detected the magic laid into the ground. A few yards from the brick wall around the property, the compass lit with a soft ember on one point, and he saw the subtle shimmer of light where the protective wards began.

He fixed his gaze on the house, checked the time, then said one last prayer.

Lucia, forgive me. I promise I won’t let her suffer like you did. And when it’s done, I hope you understand why I had to.

This was wrong. He knew it was wrong, down to the core of his soul. In every cell of his body, he heard his own voice and Lucia’s and Sasha’s and all the rest of them saying don’t do this.

No matter how much he lied to himself, he couldn’t see her as just the witch. Alistair loved her. She was a human being who cared enough to work with his brothers, and she was a threat to Armina Voss. That alone made her worth saving.

But if the choice was between stopping her or ending Lucia’s suffering…it was no choice at all.

Before doubt could talk him down, Kova darted across the massive lawn. His amulet heated against his chest as glowing yellow lines illuminated across the lawn around him. A fiery vine surged from the ground to ensnare him. He dodged its grasp, but a sense of lethargy washed over him as it slapped against his leg.

Traveling in bounding steps to avoid the magic, he practically flew over the manicured grounds. A few yards out, he leaped and caught a windowsill, launched himself onto the roof, and listened.

Inside, he heard a male voice rumbling. Kova dropped onto the brick patio where he’d watched them sharing drinks. Their scents lingered, a lovely mix of vampire and human, tinged with warm desire.

No sentimentality remained now that he was on the hunt. He kicked in the French doors, shattering out glass panes. Magic exploded from the doorway in a blinding flash. Another vampire might have recoiled at the burst of flame, but Armina’s curse had made him nearly unstoppable.

Standing there in a huge, open living room was his brother, Alistair Thorne. His brother’s brow furrowed as his eyes turned deep crimson. Perhaps fatigue or confusion were to blame, but Alistair stood frozen, and that gave Kova all the advantage he needed.

Kova drew and fired on Alistair. Two quick shots, one to the leg and one to the face. Alistair reacted just as the second shot winged his ear. Scrambling backward, he roared, “Shoshanna!”

A crystalline sound reverberated, like someone pinging a fork off a wineglass, and the house began to rumble. Furniture rattled against the polished wood floors, and something shattered across the room. The crystalline sound crescendoed, piercing and maddening.

Gritting his teeth, Kova darted for Alistair and slammed him into the grand piano with a noisy clank of keys. Alistair threw a brutal punch that snapped Kova’s head back.

Kova managed to get one hand free and drew his knife, then slammed it into Alistair’s chest. The other man let out a cry of pain, then finally stared up at him in confusion. “Kova? Stop this, you must?—”

He knelt on Alistair’s chest, then snapped his neck with one vicious twist. His brother’s fingers twitched against the floor as if he was playing that damned piano. A low groan rumbled from him, and there was the tiniest thunk as he lifted his head and dropped it again.

“Allie!” a woman’s voice shrieked.

Brilliant light exploded through the house, like the sun had just crashed through the roof. Searing threads and ropes tangled around him, but he tore through them. His shirt sleeves ripped, leaving raw flesh beneath, but he didn’t feel a thing. The amulet on his chest was disintegrating. He had to get the job done before her magic overwhelmed him.

The witch rushed into the living room, head whipping around until her gaze caught on Alistair. Her jaw dropped as she let out a wordless cry.

Kova lobbed the glass globe from his belt at her feet. Putrid black smoke erupted in her face, and suddenly Shoshanna was screaming in ear-shattering wails. The tendrils of gold light were wrapping around her now, cocooning her and pulling her to the floor.

His heart pounded as he approached her. Her petite form was curled in a ball, smoke rising from her scorched clothing. Shame twisted in his gut as her terrible cries pierced his soul. He hadn’t intended to cause her so much pain.

The light went out.

Thick, deafening silence filled the house.

For one strange moment, as that overpowering, sensory overload of magic faltered, he smelled her. He smelled Lucia. Not a distant memory, but alive, as if she was in the next room.

---