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"Going against Arman means you go against the entire clan," the other says with a sneer that shows off his perfectly sharp fangs. "That makes you atraitorwho would rather support a witch than your own people."
"You don't know what you're talking about," I spit at them. "We aren't atwarwith the witches, or any other faction for that matter. Arman is fabricating a threat where none exists. If you would just listen and—"
I'm interrupted by a fist crashing into my jaw. It's followed by more hits. I don't make it easy for them, landing a few punches and sinking my teeth into the fleshy forearm of one of goonies until blood trickles down his wrist and drips onto the floor. But in the end, with their mass, the element of surprise, and the fatigue weighing me down because I haven't fed indays, I lose.
It doesn't take long before they've knocked me to the ground, where I look up through a quickly swelling eye at the open door. The two guys laugh, one of them spitting on my face as they slam the door shut behind them. It locks automatically.
Thatdidn't go as I hoped. I try to sit up, nursing what I know to be a few broken ribs. My head is spinning, and my temples are pounding with a headache. I don't have time to be wounded, I need to get up and get out of here. But when I force myself to stand, it feels like my brains have been put into a blender. Darkness shrouds the corners of my vision as I fall back down on the ground, wishing that I had blood in my belly to help me heal.
7
BLAIR
Isuspected Treyton didn't leave my apartment on his own, but I couldn't figure out why until I remembered that Arman would probably be able to break through my magic before the others could. After he woke up, he must have come looking for me , and when he arrived at my apartment, he found Treyton lying there on the ground, helpless thanks to my misjudged spell.
Treyton waskidnapped. And since Arman didn't find me, he's probably on his way to the coven building next. It isn't hard to anticipate his next move, and at least that allows us to stay a step ahead of him. If only I was a step ahead of him earlier, before he took Treyton.
But I don't have time to feel bad about that now. Regret will only slow me down and I'm already working against the clock. Arman and his henchmen will come after us at the first light of dawn, and I need to find Treyton before something awful happens to him. I'm sure Arman won't take too kindly to the fact that he was even in my apartment to begin with. Likely, he'll will have his goons question Treyton, maybe even torture him.
My coven sisters have gone into hiding to protect themselves the from vampires hunting them. They all need to stay safe and separate until we can perform the incantation that will get rid of Arman. And then we have to search for another leader to take his place.
A replacement is crucial for this plan to work. Otherwise, the vampire clan will go rogue without a leader. No one will be safe with a bloodthirsty horde of vampires running loose in the city—especially not the humans.
Sybil went to the stay with the Fae to be with Caspian, her faerie lover. Elspeth is staying with Lucian and the werewolf pack, who I know will protect her fiercely. And since Isla doesn't have any strong connections with any of the other factions, she went to hide out with the Jinn. She didn't look happy about it, but she also didn't protest.
It's a lot safer to keep the four of us separated so the vampires can't wipe out the entire coven at once. Even if one of us was killed, the three witches left could do the incantation, although it would be difficult.
Each of us undertook one part of the plan. Sybil is in charge of finding another vampire noble to replace Arman. And she'll have the Fae's magic at her disposal to do so.
Elspeth is making a plan with the werewolves to strike down Arman. I can't think of a better faction to be in charge of that task. The werewolves and the vampires are mortal enemies; their feud dates back to ancient times. And even though the two factions have been trying to coexist, I know for fact that Lucian will take great satisfaction in putting Arman and his clan down. I just hope that Elspeth keeps her mate reigned in. We only want to get rid of the clan leader—notthe entire clan.
Isla has the most difficult job of all. She has to create a memory-altering potion that we can somehow slip to all the vampires so the switch in leadership goes unnoticed and unchallenged. She has the grimoire with her that contains the spell, and I have no doubt that Isla can do it,ifshe manages to avoid being distracted by the Jinn.
I'm in charge of reciting the incantation, which I am not quite confident that I have committed accurately to memory. But before I can focus on that, I need to find Treyton and get him away from Arman's clutches.
I take advantage of the fact that the entire vampire clan is most likely hunting for the coven, and go back to the den to see if I can get inside and search for Treyton. The den nearly empty, as I hoped would be the case. Even though I'm pressed for time, I'm careful to make sure that I go unnoticed. Just because most of the vampires aren't here doesn't mean that their clever clan leader didn't leave a few stragglers behind to keep an eye on things in his absence. I walk silently and try to suppress my impatience as I search all the rooms, narrowly avoiding a pair of vampires lurking around a corner. Their presence reaffirms my suspicion that Treyton is here. If the den was completely empty, there would be nothing to guard.
After a bit more searching, I end up in front of a locked door. Of all the doors I've seen in this place so far, this is the only one that has been closed and locked.
He's in here.
I hesitate as I place my hand on the doorknob and open my mouth to recite a spell that will unlock it. It could be a trap that Arman placed to ambush me. But instead of standing here wasting precious time overthinking, I choose to follow my gut. IknowTreyton is behind this door, so I whisper a few words and the lock opens. When I see him lying there on the floor, beaten to an unconscious and bloody pulp, I clasp my hand over my mouth to muffle an audible gasp.
"Treyton!" I whisper as I rush over to help him.
He opens one swollen eye and looks at me. A small smile grows slowly over his split lip.
"You're okay," he says breathlessly, like it hurts his chest to speak. "I'm so glad. I was worried about you."
"By the looks of it," I say, wincing in sympathy as he pushes himself to a sitting position, "It's me that should have been worried about you. What happened? Did Arman do this to you?"
"Just a couple of his cronies. I should have seen it coming," he says as he shakes his head. "I did manage to get a few good shots in at least."
"We need to get out of here," I say as I help him to his feet. "Can you walk?"
He doesn't answer me right away, but he doesn't need to. The fact that he can't stay on his feet without almost crumpling over is answer enough. I need to tend to some of his more serious wounds before we can leave.
"Stay still," I say as I pull some of the magic from my veins to cast over him. Thankfully, I still have power stored from the lunar eclipse.
