Page 67 of Blood and Hexes

Second Breath

Mikar joined Diana and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She leaned into it. They remained inside the empty hall, numb to everything else for a long moment.

When Mikar let himself be distracted by something other than Diana, he saw that Alexius and Avani were licking each other’s muzzles, still in wolf form. Chloe was holding Ruby’s broken corpse up on a bench, placing her leather jacket over the wound. Like that, she looked like she might just have been sleeping. Levi joined her, wrapping his arm around her. Eirikr squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, before striding to Greer. He checked her pulse, and looked her over, fingertips stopping at the slash on her forearm.

“Aveka took some of her blood,” Chloe said. Her voice sounded wrong. “She needed it for a spell to subjugate all vampires. With Ruby’s liver, Ariadne’s hair, and…”

“Your heart,” Eirikr gleaned.

She nodded.

“You know the spell?” None of it was familiar to Mikar.

“I know most of Titania’s magic. She created the hex toward the end of her life, but never managed to perform it.” His eyes flashed. “I saw to that.”

“So, it would work? She could turn us into robots following her every whim?”

Eirikr stood up, Greer’s sleeping form in his arms. “Not quite. No vampire would have the power to go against anything she orders. But say she forgets to order us not to kill her…” He shrugged. “There’s always a loophole. Still, I’m glad she didn’t manage to perform it. She won’t be able to try again till next Samhain. Are the bedrooms set up?”

Chloe nodded. Without another word, he carried Greer upstairs.

“What happened? I was fighting Aveka, and then, she just…”

“Belial,” Diana explained.

Mikar wasn’t shocked; he’d felt the demon’s presence, his scent, although he hadn’t seen him.

“He owed me a favor. I had him send everyone on their merry way.”

“Good job,” Mikar told her, kissing her forehead as though it was the most natural of gestures.

Which, he realized, it was.

Diana didn’t seem sure. She frowned up at Chloe. “You were winning. You had Aveka, and now…”

“I wasn’t winning,” Chloe replied. “I would have died. I would have died three times. Her guards would have been on me. I had to take the chance, though, for everyone else.”

How could someone be so entirely selfless? Focused on the good of others rather than hers.

This. This was why Chloe needed protecting. And why she was worth following.

“I owe you my life again.” Chloe closed her eyes. “How’s everyone else?” She was suddenly panicking. “Is anyone…”

“Bash was hurt when we left,” Mikar said. “Cat took him to the Institute. He should be fine. It was too crazy to see much of what was going on, but I think some vampires did manage to squeeze past us. But the Institute was defended by the huntsmen. Moments ago, everyone was pretty banged up, but in one piece, more or less.” He shook his head, incredulous. “The wolves came. They’ve never helped us before, but they came tonight.”

“At the end of the day, they’re part of Oldcrest.” Chloe was attempting a smile.

“And you,” Diana snarled at Levi. “How dare you not let anyone know you had backup on its way! I thought we were going to die, dammit!”

The vampire shrugged. “And you fought your damnedest to survive, rather than wait to be rescued. I wasn’t even sure when Luke would make it back with our friends.”

“We have friends?” Chloe asked.

“Sure. Charles from NOLA is one of yours, for example.” He smiled at his mate. “Luke spent the last few weeks informing everyone who would listen that we aren’t the problem—Aveka is the one assembling armies to take power. Most people weren’t buying it. One side was saying one thing, the other side, something else. So, when we did get attacked, I had Luke contact everyone with proof. Vampires may not enjoy taking care of someone else’s problem, but we do like our freedom. If there’s an army moving against us, any of them could be targets next.”

All of that was news to Mikar. He was with Diana: Levi deserved a kick in the balls for hiding what he’d been up to.

“We should go, see if everyone’s okay,” Chloe said, still looking at Ruby. She was unwilling to leave her, Mikar guessed. Levi gently herded her toward the doors.

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