Page 24 of The Prince's Curse

“Have a seat, Mr. Cole,” Armina said sweetly. Her bracelets tinkled together as she gestured to one of the leather couches.

The dhampir man plopped onto the couch next to Marlee. He drew a deep breath before speaking again. “Please tell us what you need,” he said, biting out each word with obvious irritation.

“A few days from now, you’ll accompany Scarlett to Atlanta to deal with what remains of the Auberon court. They’ve undergone a bit of restructuring since you last encountered them, Mr. Cole,” Armina said.

“I’m assuming this is a kill mission,” Marlee said.

The witch shook her head. “No. There are certain members of the court I want brought back to me.”

“I don’t take prisoners,” Jordan said.

“Then leave and go back to Mr. Eslinger,” Armina said. “I’ll find someone else who can follow simple instructions.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. Finally, he nodded. “Tell us the job.”

Scarlett listened with growing unease as Armina gave the hunters orders to capture Julian Alcott’s subordinates, giving Scarlett access to the man himself. Why were they bothering with prisoners? It gave her some small comfort that the other two hunters seemed uneasy; this wasn’t the way they usually did things.

But they didn’t argue, and Scarlett held back her own questions as they were dismissed for the evening. She played hostess long enough to show the two dhampir to the training gym, then left them in Stella’s hands to find guest rooms.

After a grueling training session, she returned to her cottage and checked her phone. She instinctively went to Kova’s contact, finding no recent messages. In fact, the last message he’d sent her was months ago. Why would he start now?

Having Marlee and Jordan here should have set her at ease, but she only felt more out of place than ever.

The next evening Lux came to her cottage and told her to report to the training gym. Her stomach churned as she contemplated facing Carrigan Shea, but it was not the brawny vampire that awaited. Instead, an older man with faded tattoos—Adrian—and the glossy-haired woman—Paige—held a snarling younger vampire, her blonde hair wild around her red face. Marlee and Jordan stood together in the corner, watching intently.

“What is this?” Scarlett demanded.

“Experimentation,” Lux replied. “The fucking Auberon ruined my experiments with Shea’s court.”

Marlee shifted uneasily. “Your experiments? According to Jonas Wynn, Shea killed one of our best hunters,” she said. Her dark eyes met Scarlett’s, then skimmed away.

She’d already left town by that point, and she couldn’t help wondering if she’d screwed them over. But when Armina said it was time to go, she followed. Jonas Wynn made some bad calls, her aunt had said dismissively, as if it was a poorly chosen gambit in chess.

“Does Armina know you’re doing this?” Scarlett asked.

Lux let out a barking laugh. “She taught me everything about being a Night Weaver, and more beyond. Of course she knows.” Then she gestured to Marlee. “I’ve got him wound up so tight he can’t blink without me knowing. If you want a little revenge, just let me know.”

Did Lux know he’d tried to take a bite out of her in the woods a few days ago? Hell, maybe Lux had put him up to it as a test.

Strangely, Lux’s words seemed to set Marlee at ease. A strange smile unfurled on her face, and she nodded. “I’ll think about it. What are you working on?”

The witch handed Scarlett a stake made of dark metal, its surface glowing with silvery-blue runes. It was ice cold to the touch, with a stiletto-sharp point. “Get this into the back of her neck.”

“You don’t need me for that,” she protested. It was light, but it tingled against her skin like it was electrified.

Jordan let out a derisive laugh. “If you don’t want to, give it to me.”

“No one asked you,” Lux snapped. Her eyes snapped to Scarlett. “I want to see if you can get it in her, and if she can get it out. If you’re going to kill Julian Alcott, then you should be able to handle a toddler of a vampire in your sleep.”

“Fuck you,” the blonde shouted. “Let me go!”

Lux chuckled. “Eliza, calm down. If you can get past Scarlett, then I’ll let you go.”

“What will it do?” Scarlett asked.

“It’ll put a leash on her, much faster than the usual way,” Lux said. “Imagine if the Shieldsmen could instantly take control of a vampire. Imagine if you could put this on Julian Alcott and kill him before he realized what hit him.”

“But—”

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