Page 119 of Fallen Court

With that, she turned on her heel, disappearing into the night before I could utter another word. I stared after her as the magnitude of my newest problem sank in. Now I had a vampire with a vendetta.

As if I didn’t have enough to deal with.

Roark’s heavy hand landed on my shoulder, his voice low and troubled. “What are you going to do, Lach?”

I set my jaw, the answer crystal clear in my mind. There was only one path forward. Only one way to end this nightmare before more blood was spilled.

“It’s time to face the executioner,” I said grimly, stepping free from Roark’s touch.

He didn’t try to stop me as I nipped away. I let the world blur around me, no longer caring if the Hunt snatched me.

In fact, I was counting on it.

Cool night air caressed my skin as I stared at the invisible boundary that separated my life from my death. The weight of what I had to do pressed down on me, but there was no turning back. The Maestri Bridge before me stretched to eternity—unlike my life—and I stared back at the endless night. Taking a deep breath, I stepped over the unseen line and onto the bridge itself.

For a moment, I waited, my fists clenched at my sides, but no one came. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I turned and crossed back over the threshold of New Orleans.

“I take it you got my message,” a voice called behind me.

I turned as Goemon climbed off the bike on the other side of the boundary, his dark eyes glinting in the moonlight.

A spark of anger flared to fury at his words. “Which one?” I asked through gritted teeth.

Goemon blinked, a flicker of confusion crossing his features. “I’m not sure what you mean, Lachlan.”

I strode forward, closing the distance between us until we were face to face, separated only by the thin veil of magic currently protecting the city’s edge. “The bodies,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “The ones with a memento mori carved into their necks. Tell me which coven is working with you.”

Goemon’s eyes widened for only a moment before narrowing in offense. “We don’t operate that way. The Wild Hunt has nothing to do with those deaths.” He paused, studying me intently. “You have enemies within New Orleans as well—or didn’t Cate give you my message?”

I let out a humorless laugh, the sound harsh and bitter in the stillness of the night. “So what else is new?” I threw my hands up. “She told me what you said. If you want to help me, help me. I don’t need more puzzles to solve. Who is this Cabal?”

“I don’t know.” His shrewd gaze assessed me. “And I couldn’t tell you if I did. But they’re the ones who feed your rage. Not me.”

“Great.” I raked a hand through my hair. “Thanks for the help.”

“Magic binds me to a greater cause.”

“I wouldn’t call hunting creatures down like rabid beasts a greater cause.”

“You were happy to let us do it when it served your purposes.” He touched the coin suspended from a leather strap around his neck. “But that is not our cause.”

We stood in silence for a moment before I finally asked the simplest question of all. “Why are you here, then?”

“You crossed the line.” He shrugged.

And he had taken a damn long time getting here. Too long. “I guess you need to be quicker.” I eyed him. “Because by my count this is the third time you’ve had a chance to kill me and haven’t done it.”

“Are you so ready to die? So ready to leave your lovely woman?” he asked.

“Leave Cate out of this,” I ordered. “Just tell me why you haven’t killed me.”

“Your death serves less purpose than your life.”

It was like talking to a gods-damned sphinx.

My fingers twitched, instinct telling me to nip away before it was too late. I’d almost turned myself over to him for execution, but if the Hunt wasn’t behind the murders, the solution wasn’t as simple as my death. The Cabal might stop carving the mark into people’s necks, but New Orleans wouldn’t be safe until they were eliminated. My people wouldn’t be safe.

And neither would my family.