Page 20 of Poison Sun

“Fine,” I say, not wanting to start another argument. “Go on.”

He pauses for a moment, then says, “To counter the downtown vampires effectively, we need to strengthen our alliances. The shifter Guardians in the city are our best bet.”

“What do you need me to do?” I ask.

“The Guardians hold great respect for their star touched shifter, Ruby,” he continues. “Having you—another star touched—by my side when I talk to them might help us gain their support.”

“It’s a good idea,” I say. “And, like I said before—I’m in.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You don’t have any questions?”

Tons. Too many.

But only one, right now, that’s important.

“When do we leave?”

Something lights up in his eyes—amusement, or happiness. The most I’ve seen from him since I drank that potion.

But, as quickly as it arrived, he shifts back into the serious vampire king who’s determined to save his kingdom, no matter what.

“Given that you’re now a beacon for shadow souls, and that they can’t come out in the daytime, we need to go to the Guardians while the sun is up,” he says. “There’s no point in putting this off. So, I’ll give you a quick debriefing, and we’ll leave in two hours.”

Amber

Much to my relief, we take a car downtown—not the subway. It’s going to take me some time to step back into those tunnels after getting pushed into the tracks and nearly flattened by an oncoming train.

The West Village is only a few miles south of the Fairmont’s sparkling skyscraper near Central Park, but it feels like another city entirely. It’s quaint and calm in comparison, with cobblestone streets, tree-lined sidewalks, and stone-faced buildings that are six or so stories tall, at the most.

When I first moved to the city, this was the neighborhood I was supposed to call home. My grandmother’s apartment is somewhere near here.

Part of me wants to go see it.

The other part knows we have more important business that needs attending.

The car ride downtown is awkward, to say the least. I glance occasionally at Damien’s hand resting in the middle of the seats between us, but I don’t reach for him, and he doesn’t reach for me, either.

Finally, we stop in front of one of the elegant brownstones lining the street.

“Not exactly the type of place I imagined shifters calling home,” I say as I gaze up at it.

“And you imagined vampires living in a luxury skyscraper?” Damien asks, sounding more lighthearted than he has in days.

“Makes more sense than wolves in townhouses.”

He gives me an amused smirk, then he’s out of his side of the car and opening my door in seconds.

I step out, warmed by the sun as I study the building. The brownstone is unassuming, blending seamlessly with its neighbors. There’s no sort of marking on it—nothing that would signify it as the secret base of wolf shifters in the city.

I follow Damien up the steps, he rings the bell, and we wait in silence.

A few seconds later, the door swings open to reveal a short, muscular woman in jeans and a tank top.

“Maria,” Damien says her name calmly. “Thank you for meeting on such short notice.”

She barely looks at him. Instead, her focus is entirely on me.

“You’re the new star touched,” she says. “Amber.”

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