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Peri stiffened. They both knew why she would never consider Aston’s generous offers.
Valen. The local vampire and the ultimate ruler of this particular Gyre.
“I won’t bend my knee. Not to anyone. Not again.” An icy chill raced over Peri. As if the mere thought of Valen was enough to make her shiver. “Gotta fly.”
She was turning away when she felt Aston’s hand brush through her hair, destroying the glamour spell to reveal the rich brown strands.
“Be careful out there, Peri,” he warned.
“Never,” she called over her shoulder.
A wistful smile touched his lips. “No shit.”
Dodging her way through the crowd that had thickened until it was hard to breathe in the elegant nightclub, Peri exited through a side door. She paused, sucking in the night air before she plunged into another mass of people. It was midsummer and a horde of tourists clogged the streets around Times Square.
She’d managed to forge a path to Penn Station when she felt another chill brush over her. This time she didn’t dismiss it as a product of her imagination. She was being followed.
Resisting the urge to draw on the magic she’d stored in her bracelet, Peri picked up her pace as she entered the large building, congested with hundreds of commuters despite the late hour. She avoided the large, open lobby and instead darted toward the temporary partitions erected around the inevitable construction area. When she’d arrived in the city earlier in the evening, she’d taken the precaution of creating a circle of protection in case things went sideways.
A habit she’d developed after being chased by a gang of young goblins who’d suspected she had sold them a bogus dragon scale. Ithadbeen bogus, of course. Dragon scales were incredibly rare, but when they were discovered they could be ground upand used by demons as a potent aphrodisiac. It also caused hallucinations and bouts of extreme violence. Which was why they were illegal to sell.
It had been her job to uncover the ringleader who was seeking to find a dragon scale to sell to the local demons. Just one of the many strange tasks she’d been asked to perform for the Benefactor who protected the Witch’s Brew.
Stepping through the wards, Peri was suddenly surrounded by a thick, impenetrable wall of silence. She remained on guard, listening to the people as they rushed past. None of them sensed her presence, not even the demons who were mixed among the mortals.
She was on the point of heaving a sigh of relief when the air temperature abruptly dropped and a dark, silken voice spoke directly in her ear.
“Hello, Peri.”
Valen.
Peri froze. Even her heart stopped as the icy threat pressed against her. It wasn’t exactly fear, she tried to tell herself, just a healthy dose of caution twisting her stomach. Vampires were lethal predators who ruled their territory with an iron fist. Any transgression could lead to instant death. Or banishment from the Gyre. A fate worse than death to most demons.
Sternly reminding herself that she was an independent mage with no ties to Valen or the Vampire Cabal, Peri squared her shoulders and turned to face the male who was standing inches away. She swallowed a low curse as the impact of standing so close to a vampire slammed into her.
No, not just a vampire.Valen,a voice whispered in the back of her mind. He wasn’t a large male. He was a whisper over six foot with a slender body that was currently attired in a black Armani suit, a crisp black shirt and a silver tie. The stark, sophisticated style perfectly matched the austere beauty of hischiseled features. His blond hair was cut close to his head and smoothed back from his narrow face, and even in the harsh lighting of Penn Station it shimmered with threads of the purest gold. His eyes, in contrast, were the exact same shade of silver as his tie, although Peri had seen them flash to a steel gray when he was angry. Thankfully, she’d never had that infamous temper directed at her. Probably because she’d done her best over the past nine years to avoid crossing paths with this male.
“What’s up?” She forced the question past lips that felt weirdly stiff.
He was silent as his unnerving gaze swept down her elegant gown, lingering on the scar just over her heart. Awareness vibrated through her. If Aston oozed sensual appeal, this male blasted it with the impact of a nuclear weapon.
Not that she was stupid enough to give into temptation, she sternly reminded herself. She might dance close to the flame, but she didn’t leap into the fire.
At last his gaze lifted, his expression unreadable. “Are you lost?”
“Just headed home.”
“Can I ask what you’re doing in my territory?”
“You can ask.” The words came out as a taunt. Tension brought out the snark in her. Okay, to be fair, lots of stuff brought out her snark. Mornings. Rain. A bad hair day. However, it was especially high when she was standing inches from Valen. “But that doesn’t mean I have to answer.”
“Yes.” The word was soft, but the silver eyes were suddenly as hard as steel. “Yes, it does.”
She shrugged. “Fine. I’d heard all sorts of rumors about your new club. I had to check it out for myself.”
“And?”
“Really not my scene, but I’m sure it’ll make you oodles of money.”
