Page 57 of Vampire's Breath

I cursed under my breath, raking a hand through my hair. How had I let this happen? How had I not seen it coming? “Well, then maybe… maybe there’s something on here.”

I took back the phone and unlocked it, finding the last number she called. It was an Australian number. I checked her text messages. There were a few to that number, but nothing of consequence.

I dialed the number. It went to Amy’s voicemail.

“Amy, this is Lorcan. Briar’s gone. I don’t know where she is. Has she called you?” My fingers tightened around the phone as I swallowed the rising panic. If she had reached out to Amy, there was still time. If not—“Please call me back as soon as you get this. I’m worried about her.”

Cormac rested his hand on my arm. “Come on, let’s return to the drawing room and figure out what to do next.”

I looked around the room. I could still smell her—I could still smell us. I palmed the back of my neck. “This is all my fault. I’ve chased her away.” I whispered the words. “What have I done?” The ache in my chest sharpened, twisting deep. I had let her slip through my fingers. She was gone.

“Whathaveyou done?” The voice echoed. Low. Sinister. Drawing the three of us out of Briar’s bedroom and into the receiving room of the suite. I knew the voice, but I didn’t want to admit it.

I couldn’t deny it as I gazed across the room.

Aiden.

Lorcan

Aiden lounged against the doorframe, arms folded across his chest, his legs crossed, an infuriating smirk playing on his lips. The light from the windows flickered against his sharp features, casting shadows that stretched unnaturally across the walls. He looked like he belonged there—like some lurking specter of misfortune.

“What have you done?” he repeated, voice as smooth as honey but laced with venom, spinning a white key card between his fingers. “Right now, there’s someone who you’re concerned about? She wandered away—for no reason?”

My stomach clenched, and a cold dread trickled down my spine like ice water. Aiden’s voice was too casual, too knowing.I balled my fists, forcing my breath to steady, but the unease curled tighter around me.

Cormac stepped in front of me. “Aiden, what are you doing here?”

He inspected his fingernails as though he hadn’t a care in the world before standing to his full height. He stretched leisurely, his every movement deliberate and controlled—a lion in a room of uneasy prey. “I just figured I’d stop by. I heard through the grapevine that you had finally found my big brother here, and I thought that after a hundred years, I would meander across the pond to see him.”

Cormac’s expression remained unreadable. “No, you didn’t. And you know that. So why don’t you tell me the truth?”

A grin crawled across Aiden’s lips. “The truth is, dear Cormac, I have found the Cure. I know exactly where he is and how to get him. I simply thought I would come here and give you a final chance to work with me before I tear the mortal’s heart out.”

Cormac’s knuckles whitened as his grip tightened on the back of a chair. His jaw tensed. I knew he was contemplating what Aiden had said. To find the Cure, we needed blood from all four of us. But that was to locate the Cure using magic. Had Aiden somehow figured out a different way to find him?

Cormac’s voice was measured, a hint of steel beneath it. “What is it you want, brother?”

Aiden dropped his voice lower, the menace unmistakable. “I want the same thing I’ve wanted for the past one hundred and twenty years. I am the head of this family, and it’s time you all understood that. I’m the one with the power to live.”

His words settled in the air like poison, thick and inescapable. I felt the weight of them and the quiet challenge buried beneath.

The slight shake of Cormac’s head was nearly imperceptible. So Aiden didn’t know we all held the same power, and Cormac wouldn’t share that knowledge.

“Well, dear brother, if you believe you know where the Cure is, then why don’t you get him?”

Aiden shrugged. “Maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll find—what’s her name—Briar? Because if I can’t have my brothers with me, at least I’ll have a bit of control over one of them.”

My vision sharpened, narrowing to just him. My body tensed, every instinct screaming to rip his throat out. He had dared to say her name. To claim her as a pawn in his twisted games.

“You won’t touch her,” I said, stepping forward.

Cormac placed his hand on my chest. “Lorcan. He won’t find her.” His voice was low, steady. He turned to our younger brother. “I think it’s time for you to leave, Aiden.”

Aiden smirked. “You’re kicking me out of my own house? How wonderful. How rich, from the brother who wants us all to be together.”

“Aiden?” Declan’s voice came from just beyond the doorway. He stepped into the room, his eyes cast downward. “Sorry, our car fell behind.”

Aiden tilted his head, studying him like a predator eyeing weak prey. “Declan,” he drawled. “I know how much you’ve wanted to have a reunion since Cormac visited us in South Carolina. And I’m sure your mate is somewhere around, though you haven’t let on yet. So I’m going to leave you with them. You can catch up and let me know everything”—his gaze darkened—“and I mean everything, happening.”

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