Page 69 of Vampire's Hearth

My heart clenched at her question. I bit my lip and glanced away. I hadn’t admitted it out loud, but I knew. My voice was a whisper as I pulled the pendulum from my neck. “Yes.”

I opened the map on my phone, focusing on my connection with Mac, forcing my breath into a calm rhythm. I closed my eyes, gently calling to my ancestors in my mind and feeling the pendulum swing. Finally, it pulled through my fingers to a location close to us. “He’s at the warehouses.”

Jade’s expression hardened. “Are we going?”

I toyed with the chain in my hand. “He asked us not to.”

“And you said he sounded like he was in trouble,” she pressed. “Would you leave me there?”

I gritted my teeth together and gave her a sideways glance before laying cash on the table. I placed the pendulum back around my neck and clutched it. What would we find when we got there?

I didn’t have to wonder long as we rounded the building shown in my dowsing. Mac, his back to us, was hunched over something. Slowly, his head rose as though he heard our footsteps. He stood, moving toward us with vampiric speed.

“I told you not to come,” he growled. My breath caught, the dangerous look in his eyes throwing me off guard before I glanced behind him. The body of a man, balding and overweight, his eyes wide open, unseeing, splayed on the ground. Blood ran from his neck, staining his tattered blue shirt.

Jade gestured toward the body. “Did you do this?”

Mac’s eyes flashed, his voice defensive. “No. I found him like this, left for me. Who would do this?” He ran his hand over his mouth.

I pressed my lips together and looked into his eyes, searching for the truth, only to find fear and pain. “You had no hand in this?”

His voice was low and full of sorrow. “What motive would I have to come to your city and openly feed? Have you seen me do so yet?”

Isla’s words came to mind.It happens to all vampires when they feed.I looked into his eyes, clear as the ocean waters. He hadn’t fed.

He stepped forward, placing a hand on my arm. “I’ll explain it all later. First, I have to clean up this mess.”

The warmth of his touch melted into my arm. Despite everything, I trusted him. “Let’s go,” I said to Jade.

“You’re just going to leave him?” she asked, incredulous.

I nodded, my voice hardening. “If he says he didn’t do it, then he didn’t.”

“Thank you,” he said before pecking my lips with his.

As Jade and I drove home, the silence hung like a cloud. In my heart, I feared she was mad, but the stunned confusion in her eyes screamed the need for some time to process what she saw. The tires ground against the driveway as we pulled to a stop in front of the house.

“Well, if this couldn’t get worse,” I sighed. Lyra leaned against the porch column, arms crossed tightly over her chest as if holding back a storm. Her eyes narrowed into slits as Jade and I approached, cutting into us with a sharp, accusatory glare. A cold, damp wind rustled through the trees as Jade slammed her door and walked to my side.

“So,” Lyra began, her voice biting as she pushed off from the column, the old wood creaking beneath her feet. “You’ve made it back already.”

I could feel Jade tense beside me, her fingers twitching. I held up a hand, signaling to let me handle it. I was used to Lyra’s cutting remarks. Her scorn was familiar, and I couldn’t afford to lose control—not this time. I squared my shoulders, my voice calm but firm. “Mac and I left as soon as we realized you were gone.”

Her eyes flashed with disdain. “Oh, I’m sure that’s exactly what happened—private jet and all.”

I took a step toward her and lowered my voice, clenching my fists at my sides while doing everything in my power to keep my anger in check. My nails dug into my palms as I forced my voice to remain even. “Where’s the grimoire?”

“My mother has it, and you’re not getting your hands on it. She’s changing the spell to find the Cure to locate the unkillable vampire.” Lyra sneered, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Her presence loomed on the top step like she was trying to make herself bigger. “I can’t believe you—the great High PriestessHeir. Allowing a vampire into our home. Bringing darkness and evil into the heart of the coven.”

I stepped closer, refusing to be intimidated. I pulled my shoulders back and tilted my chin. “Mac is no threat to us. He’s here to help.” I climbed the stairs toward her. “And this is my home, my coven. You have no right to judge me.”

Lyra’s eyes narrowed further, her voice dripping with venom. “Your coven? Do you think you’re protecting your coven by letting a vampire run loose? He’ll bring nothing but ruin. He’ll throw off the balance of power in ways you can’t even begin to understand.”

“And what do you think your mother is doing?” I shot back, my voice rising despite my attempts to stay calm. “You think she’s the savior of all of this? How is she restoring the balance of power between the hunters and the vampires? Our coven exists to protect the Cure. How is subduing one vampire going to restore what we have lost?” I threw my arms wide in frustration. I couldn’t fathom how Aunt Amara didn’t realize the best path forward was finding the Cure in Ireland with Conall.

Lyra’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “You’re lying! If we were to protect the Cure, we would be doing that. My mother’s doing what needs to be done. When she’s finished, we’ll finally have the power we deserve.” A dark light flickered in her eyes.

A cold wave rippled through me as her words sank in. Power? She thought this was about power? My stomach churned as I grasped my lynx pendant, steeling myself as my voice dropped. “The coven is not about having power, and I’m sure that’s not what Aunt Amara is after.”

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