Lucius descends one step.“Is that so?”
“I’m the woman who came back.”
His eyes flick to me.“With a bull on a leash.”
Briana smiles, but it’s all teeth.“My mate,” she corrects.“Again, keep up.”
Cruz’s laugh carries from somewhere near the west wall, and Lucius’s expression hardens.Perfect.Anger makes arrogant men sloppy.
“You allowed yourself to be marked,” he says.
Briana’s hand tightens in mine, and the bond flashes with fear for one breath, then heat, then defiance.
“I chose to be marked.”
Lucius’s gaze turns ugly.“Human sentiment.”
“Consent,” she says.“I understand why you wouldn’t recognize it.”
The room inhales, and Lucius stops halfway down the stairs.My heart hammers against my ribs, not from fear but from her.From the beauty of her standing under a false collar, my mark not so hidden beneath, telling an ancient vampire exactly what kind of pathetic creature he is.
I want to kiss her.I want to kill for her.I want to kneel at her feet and worship her.And not necessarily in that order.
Lucius lifts a hand.“Kneel.”
Power lashes through the room.Vampire glamour and witch magic.The command pattern is linked to the real collar.
Briana stiffens beside me.I feel it through the bond, the sudden spike of panic, the old memory trying to drag her under, the way her body almost obeys because trauma knows commands faster than the mind can refuse them.
I turn toward her.Not grabbing, and not touching beyond our joined hands.
“Briana.”Her eyes find mine, and I let the bond open enough for her to feel me.
Her breath shakes before her gaze hardens.“Mordane.”
The collar flares again, and Lucius jerks as red light slices across his palm.Not enough to drop him, just enough to surprise him.
Briana smiles at him.“You really should stop trying that.”
The lights go out, and darkness slams into the room.Not complete for my eyes, but thick enough to blur shapes and twist distance.Screams break out.Glass shatters.The music starts again, louder now, a pounding pulse beneath the floor.
Briana’s hand grips mine, not from panic but for contact.
“I can’t see,” she says.
“I can.”
A body lunges from the right, and I break its arm and drive it into the floor without releasing her hand.
She doesn’t flinch from me.The bond between us stays bright and fierce.
A blade flashes from the dark toward her ribs.Briana moves first, drawing the knife from her thigh and slashing across the attacker’s forearm.Akasha’s charm ignites, gold fire crawling over vampire flesh, and he screams.
Briana steps into my side, not behind me, beside me.
“Good girl,” I growl before I can stop myself.
Her head snaps toward me, and even in the dark, I see the heat that hits her face.
