I dont know. Bad enough hes sent his Gen One assassins in to stir up problems.
He has assassins who are also first-generation Breed? Claires expression fell a little more. I had no idea. Dragos must be a very dangerous enemy to have.
Yes, Reichen agreed. But Gen One assassins are only part of what makes him so dangerous. He has other things, too
the Order believes he controls one of the Ancients, hidden somewhere in a location weve yet to uncover.
Claire frowned. But all of the Ancients were killed during the Middle Ages. It was the Order that declared war on them and carried out the slayings. Even I know that part of Breed history.
Reichen slowly shook his head. One escaped the war with the Order. He was secreted away in a crypt in Bohemia for a very long timeuntil Dragos had him removed. I saw the empty crypt myself, last year, when I climbed the mountain outside Prague with some of the warriors. Wed been hoping the Ancient was dead and dust
by now, but hes not. Apparently Dragos has been keeping the creature alive for centuries, using him to create a new generation of the most powerful vampires in existence. With enough time and resources, Dragos could craft his own personal army of Gen One assassins bred to do his bidding.
Not if the Order can stop him, Claire said hopefully.
We
have
to stop him, Reichen corrected. We have to strike at him wherever and however we can.
Claire watched him with cautious eyes. We? But you arent
I owe them, he said solemnly. The Order has been there for me when I needed them in the past, and I have pledged to them that I am here when they need me. I meant that. I cant go back on it.
What are you saying?
Theyre down one man in Boston now. I need to step in and help them.
Youre going to Boston? He didnt know why that should make her pulse lurch the way it did, but he felt her alarm echo in his own veins. But youre not one of them, Andreas. Youre not a warrior, so how could they ask that of you?
Theyve asked nothing of me. Ive offered them my assistance because they are my friends.
She glanced away from him, seeming to struggle with her words. But I thought we were
I thought, after last night, after everything we said to each other
He laid his hand gently on the side of her face. It doesnt change a thing about what weve shared here, or how I feel about you. I love you, Claire. But this isnt a choice between you and them. Its simply my duty. My honor. And if teaming with the Order to move against
Dragos brings me closer to finding Roth, so much the better.
Claire got up and paced away from him, across the room. Her shoulders were held in a tense line. Even if he hadnt been linked to her by blood, he would have known without question that she was troubled by something deeper than anything she had said so far. I dont want you to go, Andre. You cant go to Boston. Not now.
You had to know that neither one of us could stay here like this for long. He moved toward her, gently turned her around to face him. The Order is sending a vehicle. It will be here within the hour.
Youll be killed, she said, her voice cracking. Andreas, you will die if you go to Boston. I can feel it in my heart. If this vengeance of yours doesnt kill you, then your fury surely will.
He lifted her chin so that she was forced to look into his eyes. I have more reason to live than ever. Im not looking for death, but I cant pretend Ill have a moments peace until Roth and his ilk are wiped from existence. Neither will you.
You cant go, she murmured, stubbornly refusing to hear him. When he started to shake his head in denial, she spoke with even more determination. What if I asked you to let go of your hatred of Wilhelm Roth? What if I were to ask you to choose
Dont, he whispered. There is no choice for me to make here. He smoothed her hair out of her face, feeling as though something precious were slipping through his fingers. If I stayed noweven if I set aside my hatred of Rothwhat will we do when he comes looking for us? Because he will, Claire. You know that as well as I do.
Then we will face him together. When and if that time comes, well defeat him together.
Reichen shook his head slowly. This is my battle, not yours. I wouldnt want you anywhere near when I finally get my hands on Roth. Its far too great a risk. What do you think would happen to you if the fires inside me ignite and wont ebb?
God, hed thought about that awful scenario a hundred times, beginning on that day in the farmers field outside Hamburg. Hed been thinking about it as recently as last night, and today, as well, when he could still feel the heated embers glowing in his belly.
How would he ever forgive himself if he brought any harm to Claire?
I cant risk it, he said again, more forcefully now. And I wont let you risk it, either. I want you to come with me tonight to the Orders headquarters. Youll be protected in their compound, and you can stay there until
Until when? She closed her eyes for a long moment, as if absorbing the weight of his words. Until you are either dead or very near to it? You want me to stand by and watch you pursue your own destruction, Andre? Now you are the one asking too much.
He wanted to tell her that her fears were unfounded. More than anything, he wanted to promise her that he had no doubts about how this thing with Roth was going to work out. He wished he could assure her that somehow they would come through all of this in the end, that they could have a future togetherthe future Wilhelm Roth had denied them so many years ago.
But he couldnt deceive her.
Taking down Roth might demand the last of his thin control. If he had to unleash his power to its hellish maximum
in order to destroy the bastard, he would. And if the situation called for that, he knew the odds of him emerging from it with any shred of his humanity intact was virtually nil.
He gazed down at her lovely face and tenderly smoothed a damp tendril from her brow. Get dressed now, all right? We can talk more, but it wont be long before our ride arrives to pick us up. And you are going with me, Claire. That much is not open to debate.
She looked at him for a long moment, saying nothing. Then she pressed her lips together and gave a faint shake of her head. I know where Roth is, Andre.
Reichen couldnt speak as those words spilled out of her mouth. He stood there, dumbstruck and confused, a building sense of rage forming swiftly from deep inside him.
I felt his presence through my blood bond to him last night, when we first arrived in Boston.
Her admission was calmly voiced and steady, filled with certainty. It made him pause, even while his pulse slammed into a violent tempo. Hes here in the United States?
She nodded faintly. In Boston.
Reichens blood began to sizzle. You knew this? You knew this, but you didnt tell me.
He didnt mean for it to come out as an accusation, but the heat flickering to life within him made it hard to form words. His head was buzzing, and it was hard to do anything but fight to keep control of the kindling fire that was already starting to spread through his body.
Roth was a mere hour away
.
All this time, so close to his grasp
.
I couldnt tell you, Andre. I didnt want to give you information that might only get you killed. Thats why I left the airport without telling you. But then you followed me
here, and I thought maybe if we spent some time together, the way we used to, then I could convince you to give up your need for vengeance.
Reichen could barely breathe. His nostrils filled with the acrid tang of smoke and heat. All along his limbs, electricity crackled, growing hotter by the second. For fucks sake, Claire. You should have told me about this. I needed to know. Goddamn it, the Order needed to know also.
I didnt want my blood bond to Roth putting you or anyone else in danger.
His vision beginning to bleed red with rage, he stalked away from her, fuming.
Claire, you have been the one in danger all this time. With Roth so close, he had to know you were here, too. He could have shown up on this doorstep at any time.
But he didnt, she said quietly from behind him. I couldnt tell you that I knew where he was, or you would have gone after him. You cant tell me that you wouldnt have insisted I help you locate him, Andreas. Youre so determined to claim your justice, how long would it have taken you before you asked me to use my blood bond to lead you to him?
Never, he said, appalled. He spun around to face her then, his body teeming with heat. I never would have used you. Never. God, dont you know that?
I suppose I wasnt willing to find out, she replied. Andreas, please, dont be angry with me
Im fucking furious with you! he roared, unable to bite back the fear that had such a firm hold on his heart. His chest heaved with every breath he pulled into his lungs. He shook from a place deep within, a pit of dread so black and endless, it might have swallowed him whole. And the heat of his destructive power continued to rise, burning
through his reason and self-control. I cant be near you right now. I have to get the hell out of here.
When he moved to walk past her, Claires hand shot out to him.
Too late to warn her away, he felt her fingers close around his hand. She yelped in sudden pain and pulled back, cradling her palm to her chest.
Oh, God. Hed burned her
.
He had stomped on her heart and now he was hurting her in still another way. Just as he feared he would do eventually.
He stepped past her and, with a few brisk strides, chewed up the distance to the door.
Andreas, she called out behind him.
He didnt look back.
His body lethal with the heat of his fury, he stormed out of the room and leapt off the second-floor balcony to the foyer below. He heard her cry his name again, but he didnt so much as pause for a second.
Glowing now, his pyrokinetic curse screaming through his veins and limbs, mind and soul, he threw open the front door with a sharp mental command. Then he stalked out into the crisp, cool night air without looking back.
CHAPTER
Nineteen
I
t took him the better part of an hour before he was able to rein in the worst of his pyrokinetic heat. He was still angry with Claire by the time he returned to the house, but at least he couldnt hurt her further. Not that she wasnt still feeling some pain, he acknowledged as he walked up the driveway and found her standing outside with the warrior whod been sent from Boston to pick them up.
Ah, you see? Rio said when he spotted Reichen. I told you he would come back.
The Breed males rich voice rolled with his Spanish accent, and when he flashed a welcoming grin and thrust out his hand to Reichen in greeting, the scars that marred the
left side of his face practically vanished. Good to see you, my friend.
And you, as well, Reichen said as he briefly clasped the warriors hand.
Rios pretty auburn-haired Breedmate, Dylan, was with him tonight. She strode up and gave Reichen a casual kiss on the cheek. You had us all a bit worried here.
My apologies, he murmured, slanting a look at Claire.
She would hardly look at him, and he could see that she was cradling her singed fingers close to her chest. Reichen felt sick that his curse had wounded her, even a little. He wanted to tell her as much, but it was a conversation best done privately.
She didnt seem eager to talk to him anyway.
Nor did she seem inclined to argue anymore about going with him to the Orders headquarters. She followed Dylan to the vehicle and started to climb into the backseat.
Everything good? Rio asked when the females were out of earshot. You dont look so well, amigo.
Ill feel better once shes safe in the compound, he said.
In truth, hed feel better once he had a chance to hunt and slake the thirst that was still riding him from the pyro. The last thing he needed was to be cooped up with Claire for the next hour or more on the drive back to Boston. Bad enough he craved blood to cool the final few embers that still burned inside him. It would be pure torture having to curb his need if he was seated mere inches away from the woman he thirsted for above all others.
Rio seemed to clue in on that as they walked together toward the SUV Dylan wont mind if you ride shotgun, he said. She and Claire can ride together in back and get
acquainted. Dylans far better company than either one of us.
