“Heisn’t.” Celine swallows heavily. “Malach takes vows seriously. He made promises to me; promises he would never willingly break. He gave me the benefit of the doubt after I left him. It’s time for me to do the same.”
She’s letting romance cloud her judgment. How can I make her see it? “That’s a beautiful sentiment,” I murmur. “I’m sure Malach will find comfort in that if it gets you killed.”
“Watch yourself,” Celine snarls.
“No.” I study her profile. “I’m watching you, and you’re worrying me.”
“It’s not your business.”
“Maybe not, but I have experience surviving a realm designed to kill. You hate your father and you love Malach, but if you can’t temper those emotions, you won’t win.”
“It’s not a game,” she snaps. “There’s no winning.”
I scoff. “Do you have no interest in leaving alive with Malach? What about Luca? Your death could kill him too, thanks to the bond. And Alistair and Ciprian may be on good terms now, but the vampire gave up his credibility to hide at the compound with you. Will they survive the fallout if you never come back, or willthey take turns blaming each other until your memory brings them nothing but pain?”
“Fuck you!” Celine pulls to the side of the road and slams on the brakes. “You have no right?—”
“Right and wrong have nothing to do with it, darling.”
The temperature in the van ratchets up, the heat of her rage trapped inside with nowhere to go. She’s dangerous, but I don’t fear her. Her emotions won’t hurt me. What they’ll do to her is another matter. If I have to push her to make her see that, I will.
“Do you want a reward for being better than your father?” I ask. “Congratulations, you already have four. They see you clearly and love everything they see, even the parts you’d rather change.” I cup her cheek and graze her lips with my thumb. “You fight for them with courage, no one disputes that, Celine, but you must fight for yourself with the same fury.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” she whispers, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.
The windows are fogged from the temperature shift, giving us the illusion of privacy. We’re in a van on the side of the road, but she’s letting me in. Past the bravado. Past the anger. The slice of intimacy calls to me, a forbidden delicacy I can’t help sampling, even if I end up paying for it later.
I drop my forehead to hers and breathe her in. “I know you’re trying,” I say. “I only want you to focus on your future more than your past. The road ahead is bright. It’s filled with laughter and love, but to get there, you’ll need to be your father’s daughter first. Beat S’lach at his own game.”
She inhales raggedly, then nods.
I shudder, blood rushing to my cock as she transforms from a beautiful woman on the verge of tears to something else entirely. I’m not getting lost in Celine’s warm brown eyes anymore. Instead, I’m pinned in place by the analytical stare of a cold-hearted killer.
Ismile.
Celine pulls the van back onto the road.
Ten minutes later, we’re as close to the coordinates as we can get on four wheels.
We walk into the woods, trekking across the thick, damp moss with silent footsteps. Ferns graze my calves, their fronds soaking my jeans from cuff to knee. I ignore it.
Celine’s anticipation is infectious.
Eventually, the trees thin, giving way to a clearing. It’s perfectly round, not a shape normally found in nature. I don’t see any signs of a celestial gateway, but I’m not an angel either.
Celine rushes forward, circling the clearing, kicking stones aside, and peeling vines away from the ancient rocks. Her movements become frantic. My face flickers.
When she sinks to her knees, my stomach flips. We’ve come all this way for a dead end.
I give her as much privacy as I can, walking the perimeter and mentally retracing our steps. This is the spot. It’s obvious somethingotherused to be here. But whatever it was, it’s long gone now.
Something metallic catches my eye. Tucked on a flat rock, its gray, waterproof material blending in with the surrounding stone, I find a small bag. The zipper gave it away. It’s silver, shiny, and wildly out of place in this damp, isolated forest.
“Celine.” I grab the bag. “This has your name written on it.”
She’s back on her feet in a flash, snatching the bag from my hands and yanking the zipper open. A cell phone falls out, and I catch it before it hits the ground. “Be careful, we don’t know who?—”
“Yes, we do.” Celine unfolds a piece of paper. On one side, there’s a handwritten note, on the other, a list of... coordinates? Her hand begins to shake, and it’s all I can do not to snatch the paper away from her and read it myself.
