Page 50 of The Prince's Curse

“Shooting at me doesn’t count,” he said, still holding out that big hand. “Julian Alcott.”

The smile fought its way past her better judgment. She put out her hand and said, “Scarlett Ward.” He flinched slightly, but gave her a firm handshake. Making contact with him made her feel like she’d been punched in the chest, driving the air from her lungs.

Staring up at him, she saw him fragmented through kaleidoscope vision; a version of him with longer hair and an odd hat, another with short-cropped hair, another with a fine velvet jacket. Every one of them looked anguished, and she had the distinct impression that he was looking down at her, with the moon high in the sky above him.

As if she lay dying and stared up at him in her final moments.

With a gasp, she yanked her hand back. “Good night, Julian,” she said, hurrying inside. As she walked across the tiled lobby, still holding that card, a familiar, dangerous smell stopped her dead in her tracks.

Vampire.

Old.

And the cold-decay smell of Tante Mina’s power, but not her aunt. One of the apprentices, wearing a strong perfume that masked her scent but not her magic.

Scarlett whirled on her heel just in time to see Carrigan Shea sidle up to her, one firm hand closing on her arm, hard enough to bruise. “Your mistress is very worried about you,” he said in a mocking tone. The sleeves of his dark gray shirt were pushed up, revealing the blood-red marks drawn on his forearms and up his skin, disappearing beneath the fabric.

“Let go of me, or I will kill you in front of all these people,” she said, already shoving her right hand into her pocket for the needle full of concentrated wood poison.

He clicked his tongue and said, “No need for that.”His eyes lifted, and she saw the blonde-haired apprentice approaching. Lux, the aspiring puppetmaster.

One hand was at her side, fingers curled around something slender and cylindrical. “Dear, it’s time to go home,” Lux said.

She looked around, then twisted in Shea’s grasp. “Let go of me!” she screamed. She stomped on his foot, then slammed one fist into his face. He snarled and reached for her, but the markings on his arms flared bright, holding back his murderous instinct.

This late, there were only a few night owls drinking at the bar, but she saw heads snap up at the sound of her voice. A radio chirped with static, and she saw a man in a crisp white shirt start running toward her.

No, no, no.

If he got in Shea’s path, he was dead. Instead, she shoved Shea toward the lobby doors, then bolted past him, hoping he’d take the bait and run outside. Adrenaline spiked in her veins, and she shoved through the damnably slow revolving door.

Four steps past the door, she nearly barreled over a now-welcome sight. Julian was already jogging up the sidewalk toward the doors.His green eyes had gone brilliant ruby red as he saw the vampire and the witch chasing her.

He grabbed her hand and said, “Come on. I can carry you.”

“I can run,” she snapped back. Then he let out a low growl and shoved her out of the way. As her protest slipped out,Carrigan Shea’s scent bowled her over. She whirled to see the older vampire grab Julian, then tosshim across the street like he was nothing more than a crumpled bit of trash.

Her heart sank.

Shea couldn’t hurt her, but Julian had no such protection. Ducked behind the valet stand, Lux was already weaving some nasty spell, hands working through the air, fingers wrapped in gray-black threads. When she looked back, Julian was gone, and then she turned again to see him pouncing on Shea. With a roar of fury, he slammed the other man into a concrete retaining wall,shattering it to pieces. It was satisfying to see him go down, but he was already on his feet, giving Julian a good fight. God, they were both fast and unbelievably strong.

She was frozen, not knowing what to do. Here was the man she was supposed to kill, fighting with bloody, bone-cracking blows against an evil vampire bound to the woman who might be planning to kill her. Neither one seemed like the right side, and she could only watch as her mind tore at itself.

“We haven’t had the pleasure,” Shea growled.

“Still haven’t,” Julian replied, neatly dodging the man’s blow and slinging him around. He recoiled suddenly, prying at his face as black, vein-like marks slithered over his skin. His back arched and he let out a single clipped shout, reaching awkwardly back as if something was biting into his back.

Seeing him struggle broke Scarlett out of her inaction. She bolted for the valet stand. Scarlett slapped Lux’s arm, then punched her in the small of her back, prompting a shriek of pain as her magic faltered. It was probably unnecessary, but she threw a second punch into the woman’s side, knocking the wind out of her.

Lux had been helping Mina hurt Kova, and she was an asshole on her best days. She had it coming.

Julian groaned in relief, though the black marks still slithered across his skin. His eyes met hers as he put out his hand.“Let’s go!”

She nodded, meeting him and taking his hand. They ran into the night, and she focused on her feet, on the wind whipping her hair. With the curses and complaints behind her, she was glad for all those grueling midnight runs with Kova on her heels. Her feet flew, and she kept her focus on two things: staying with Julian and breathing. That was the only space her brain had right now.

As they ran, Julian spoke in French, but she didn’t speak it well enough to understand.

“Your auntie is going to be very cross with you,” a cruel male voice taunted. “Scarlett, you’ve been naughty.”She didn’t dare look back, but Shea’s voice grew louder with each step.He was going to catch them, he was going to?—

---