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Nix waits for the noise to die down before continuing. “Imagine a world where we don’t have to hide what we are. Where we can hunt freely, where our power is acknowledged and respected. A world where we make the rules, and humans are nothing more than cattle to serve our needs.”
He’s painting a vivid picture, and I can see the crowd getting caught up in his vision. It’s terrifying how persuasive he is.
“But this isn’t just about dominance,” Nix says, his voice softening. “It’s about freedom. Freedom to be who we truly are, without fear or shame. Freedom to build a society that caters to our needs, our desires. A world where we can thrive, not just survive.”
A voice calls out from the crowd, “How? How can we possibly do that? The humans outnumber us, and they have weapons, technology...”
Nix smiles, a predatory grin that sends a shiver down my spine. He pauses for dramatic effect, his eyes scanning the crowd. When he speaks again, his voice is low, almost reverent.
“What if I told you there was an ancient power that could turn the tide in our favor? A power that could bend reality itself to our will?”
The audience falls silent, hanging on his every word.
Nix rests his palm on his dog’s head and strokes its ears. Then he looks up and says, “Who here has heard of The Covenant of Shadows?”
Chapter 30
Luna
Lucien offers to carry me back to the house but, despite him snapping the neck of his favorite security guard on my behalf, I can’t allow him to.
I do not want to give in to the ache in my chest and the need to be close to him.
He hurt me. Not physically; he hurt me in a worse way than that. And I’m not just going to fall into his arms because he appeared from nowhere and played the hero.
After all, he only did it because he wants to keep me here. Right?
Walking beside me in the rain, Lucien’s body is rigid, and his eyes focused ahead.
“I thought you liked him,” I say, cradling my injured arm in front of me, trying to talk normally even though I’m shivering and I feel nauseous from the pain.
“Trent came to me as a pup. He has always been loyal. But I harbored no fondness for him.” Lucien glances at me. “I made the rules very clear. I told him not to touch you.”
“He unlocked my door. I’m not sure if he wanted to make it look like he’d found me escaping and brought me back, so you’d be pleased with him, or if he just wanted the thrill of the hunt.”
Behind us, Lucien’s dogs now pad along gently and calmly. Their snarls and barks are gone, and they seem more like pets than the vicious guard dogs that looked as if they would tear me to shreds if they caught hold of me.
Above, thunder booms and the rain intensifies. Lucien’s hair is slick, water running down his face and tracing his chiseled features. He turns to me and folds his arms. “Would you please let me carry you back inside before you catch pneumonia?”
I look down at my bare feet. They are throbbing. Whatever I trod on earlier broke the skin and I know I’m still bleeding. My clothes are sodden, and I’m trembling. “All right. But not too fast. I already feel like I might throw up.”
Lucien nods and gently lifts me into his arms. I wince as he accidentally brushes my injured shoulder, and he grimaces as though it hurt him too.
Inside, we do not go to my bedroom. Instead, he takes me to a door several feet down the hallway from the room I’ve been locked in for the past few days.
Lucien sets me down in front of the door and ushers me inside.
“Why aren’t you taking me back to my own room?” I ask, lingering by the wall.
“Because your room is currently uninhabitable.”
I raise my eyebrows at him.
“I lost my temper when I realized you were gone,” he says, a little sheepishly.
As he moves, it’s as if he’s trying to do everything carefully and slowly so he doesn’t startle me. This room is far more modern than the one I’ve been sleeping in.
The walls are a deep, matte black, broken only by large abstract art pieces in shades of grey and silver. The floor is polished concrete, cool beneath my bare feet, and a plush charcoal rug softens the space in front of an enormous bed.
