Burn the Night (26 page)

“Aurora is the queen,” Rowe said with a shrug.

“And she’s gone mad,” I countered.

“She’s turned on you as well,” Cynnia interjected, turning Rowe’s attention to her in an attempt to keep us from going at each other’s throats. “You gave everything to the naturi. You sacrificed everything for our kind. You followed her command to free us and she turned on you. Banished you.” I crossed my arms over my stomach and leaned my right shoulder against the wooden edge of the mantel. “You owe her no loyalty.”

“But that’s the funny thing about loyalty,” Rowe replied with another dark grin. “Once it has been won, you must stick with the one that you have sworn your fealty to.”

“She betrayed you, Rowe.” Cynnia shook her head, closing her eyes. “She has done nothing to deserve your loyalty any longer.”

“And it’s not just you that she has betrayed,” I added. “She has also betrayed the trust of our people. She is supposed to be our protector. She is supposed to lead us toward a safe and secure future, but this obsession with destroying mankind will only lead to the destruction of our own people. Our people are no longer strong enough to face such a task. The humans have grown stronger over the centuries while we have grown weaker. Their weapons have improved, while we have stagnated and lost touch with the earth and our powers.”

“A war with humanity means an end to our people,” Cynnia said simply. “We will not win that war.”

Rowe leaned back and crossed his legs at the ankles, stretching out his long, lanky frame. “So what do you suggest?”

“Peace.”

“That can only be achieved through war with Aurora,” he said.

Cynnia nodded, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. “True. Aurora will not willingly turn away from her plans. She will not stop in her determination to destroy mankind. Our only option if our people are to survive is to stop her.”

“You seem eager to turn on your sister,” Rowe said.

“The only eagerness we feel is to finally have this ugly task done,” I commented.

“Our people are running out of time,” Cynnia said. She reached across and laid her hand on the sofa cushion near to Rowe. “We can’t afford to have a long drawn-out battle with her. And we believe that with your help, we can end this quickly and quietly.”

“Along with the help of Mira and the nightwalkers,” Rowe sneered. The words seemed to twist around in his mouth before sliding past his clenched teeth.

“Yes, I believe the Fire Starter will be an asset to this endeavor,” Cynnia stated. “She has faced Aurora in the past and nearly succeeded in defeating her.” Cynnia neatly left out the fact that Rowe had been the only thing that stopped Mira from killing Aurora when the naturi shoved a knife in the nightwalker’s back. “I think with our combined strength, we will have a better shot at defeating Aurora than we did at Machu Picchu.”

“And you think that the Fire Starter will abide by whatever agreement you have forced her into?” Rowe demanded with a slight chuckle.

“It’s not about getting Mira to obey,” Cynnia said, pulling her hand back. “She needs peace with the naturi as well. If Aurora forces us into a war with the humans, then it will bring about the Great Awakening—something the nightwalkers and the lycanthropes are trying to avoid at all costs. And in truth, I would prefer to avoid it myself. Mira will help us fight Aurora because it is in her best interest to do so.”

“And after?”

“When it’s all over?” I said. “When Aurora has been defeated and our people are finally safe to live their lives? We will return to the forests that protected us at one time and we will grow strong once again. Our people will flourish. Our children will not die at birth and they will renew their connection with the earth. And I believe that with our return, the earth will grow strong as well.”

“And then what?” he pressed.

Cynnia turned her worried gaze on me for a second before she looked over at Rowe again.

“There is nothing else. We live in peace and harmony with the earth. We remain hidden from the humans. For the first time in countless centuries, our people will thrive. Can you be happy with such a life?”

Rowe stared straight ahead of him, seemingly blind to his surroundings as he honestly considered Cynnia’s question. It would mean giving up his personal vendetta against not only the Fire Starter, but all nightwalkers and humans. It would mean finding another purpose for life after living so many years as a warrior of the naturi people. I understood his hesitation, because it was the same change I faced. My role of protector would end, and I had to wonder if the naturi people would accept my existence if I was no longer their protector.

“I would like a moment alone with your sister,” Rowe said without raising his eyes. I hated to leave Cynnia alone and vulnerable with a skilled killer, but I had to show him some trust if I was to win him over to our side. With a nod from Cynnia, I turned and started to walk toward door that led to the foyer.

“No, I meant a moment alone with Nyx,” Rowe corrected, stunning me into immobility. I twisted around to look at Cynnia, who was eyeing me silently. Yet in the end she simply shrugged and pushed off the sofa. She walked out of the room, throwing me one last questioning glance while I returned to my spot in front of the fireplace.

Rowe waited until Cynnia had closed the door behind her, leaving us alone in the room. I could feel his powers sweep around me as he checked to make sure that my darling little sister wasn’t listening at the door. He pushed off the sofa and walked over to stand directly in front of me. I could feel his body heat radiating off him, bouncing off my own flesh.

“She paints a pretty picture,” he said just above a whisper.

“It’s the truth.” I forced the words out, trying to sound calm and unmoved by his proximity despite the rapid pounding of my heart. A part of me longed to reach out and run my fingers along the scars that crisscrossed one side of his face.

Rowe shook his head. “It’s her vision of the future. It’s a peaceful place where our people will thrive and grow once again.”

“And you have a problem with such a concept?”

“I think such a concept will have a problem with us. Cynnia may be able to lead her followers against Aurora, and she may even be able to lead them to victory with our combined help, but do you honestly think that she will be able to force them to accept us?”

“Possibly,” I hedged, struggling to keep my gaze locked on his.

“You had to convince Kane to join our side by promising that we would lose our place in Cynnia’s court should she become the queen. We will have no place in Cynnia’s world.”

“I know my sister,” I vehemently argued, leaning a little closer to him. “She will not abandon me.”

“The same way you knew Aurora?”

“Aurora never approved of my existence and used me only as her enforcer. She was never a sister. Cynnia is my sister.”

“So you will have a place in the world that Cynnia is creating.”

“Yes, but that’s not what this is about, is it?” I said, tilting my head to the side as I looked at him.

I could see the concern in the corner of his one good eye as I stared past the cold resolution and determination. “It’s about you having a place in this world. You’re confident that since Aurora already marked you as a traitor, you will always be marked a traitor of our kind.” I could feel a rare smile slipping across my lips as I raised my hands to cup his face. He didn’t jerk out of my touch, but actually leaned in closer while his eye fell shut. “I have little to offer you but myself and my protection,” I told him. “While Cynnia will promise you protection and a place among our people, I will promise you a place at my side.”

Rowe’s eye popped open in surprise and I felt him stiffen in my hands. “A place at your side?”

“So long as I have a place in Cynnia’s world, so shall you. They will accept you or we will leave together.”

“And you would be content with this quiet, peaceful lifestyle that Cynnia seeks for us?”

“It will not be as easy as it sounds, but I have a new . . . interest . . . to keep me occupied, I believe.”

Rowe smiled at me. “A new interest? Yes, I think life could suddenly become interesting with you free of Aurora.” Leaning in close, he brushed his lips against mine in a light kiss that left a tingling in my body all the way down to my toes. I tightened my grip on his face and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, tasting him as flashes of the previous night flooded my brain. I wanted to touch him again, to relive the stolen moment we had enjoyed, but now was definitely not the time.

When I pulled away, I could feel Rowe’s heavy breath across my lips, and his one good eye was nearly black with desire. Without touching his mind, I knew that the same thoughts were running through his head.

“We’re in this together,” I murmured, brushing my lips against his. “But I will not choose between you and Cynnia. You can’t win that battle.”

A smirk twisted his lips. “I never expected to. However, do you believe we can honestly live in peace away from the humans?”

I let my hands slid down his chest and shrugged my shoulders. “For a time, maybe. But there will be a point where we will have to fight them. Cynnia’s plan is simply buying us some time to strengthen our forces.”

A new wicked grin spread across his lips. “So you are planning to resume Aurora’s campaign once she is defeated.”

“The humans are destroying the Great Mother. This cannot be allowed.” I shook my head, the smile slipping from my face. “However, we can do nothing to help her if we are weak.”

“Then you have won me to your side,” Rowe said, leaning in for one last kiss that was only broken by a resounding knock at the front door to the house. We had a visitor, and it was time to return to the business of saving the naturi from destruction.

Nineteen

A
pair of lycanthropes was ushered into the parlor by Cynnia and Shelly, while Rowe and I separated. The one-eyed naturi moved to the far edge of the room and lounged against a doorway leading to another part of the house, and I remained leaning against the mantel. A look of deep concern filled Shelly’s eyes as she gazed on the older of the two shifters. An uneasy feeling twisted in the pit of my stomach as I watched these two newcomers. This wasn’t a social call.

“Nyx, Rowe,” Cynnia began, capturing our attention. “This is Barrett Rainer, alpha for the Savannah pack, and James Parker, one of the pack’s members.” I nodded to the two men but otherwise remained silent, waiting to hear what had brought them to Cynnia’s doorstep at such an early hour. The sun had yet to creep over the horizon, though I could see through the nearby window that the sky was slowly changing from its midnight blue to slate gray as dawn approached.

“We’ve come to ask for your assistance,” Barrett said, taking a seat on the sofa. To my surprise, Shelly settled on the sofa beside him, while Cynnia returned to the other end of the couch she had been sitting in earlier. James hovered nearby, fingering his gold-rimmed spectacles while pacing with the pent-up energy of one with too much anxiety to settle in any place for long.

“What has happened?” Cynnia asked, bringing a frown to my lips. We had enough problems of our own. We didn’t need to be dragged into the problems of the local lycans after just winning Rowe over to our side. I needed him to stay focused, not distracted by minor scuffles with the shifters or even bigger fights with Mira and the nightwalkers.

“The Daylight Coalition has been harassing the lycans and nightwalkers of Savannah recently,” Barrett explained, resting his forearms on his knees. He looked tired and more than a little haggard, as if he had spent too many sleepless nights worrying about something. “They knew where to hunt us during the full moon. They knew too much. We deduced that they must have some kind of insider providing them with information, so we decided to send our own mole to infiltrate their ranks.”

“Who went?” Shelly inquired.

“A local police detective by the name of Daniel Crowley,” the lycanthrope replied. “He has long been a supporter of our kind, and we needed a human who could sneak into their ranks. I promised his sister-in-law—a member of my pack—that he would return to Savannah safely.”

“I don’t know this Daylight Coalition,” Cynnia said with a shake of her head as she looked over at me.

“It’s a human group of mercenaries,” Rowe said, unexpectedly speaking up, but then I was forgetting that he had been alone on earth for centuries while I was locked away. He would naturally be more familiar with what was happening among the humans and the other races. “They made it their mission to hunt down anything they don’t classify as human. For now, they seem content to set their sights on the nightwalkers and the shifters.”

“But should they discover that there is someone else out there in their world, I am sure they will be happy to expand their focus,” James added.

“Is that a threat?” I demanded, pushing away from the mantel. The young man with the copper-colored eyes met my gaze and pressed his lips into a firm line in attempt to hide the fear I could feel rattling around in him.

“It’s a statement of fact,” Barrett said calmly, ending the standoff. “They think they are protecting the purity of the human race. The lycans and the nightwalkers have been betrayed by someone to this group, so it is not a stretch to believe that the naturi are not safe either.”

“How long has Mr. Crowley been with the Daylight Coalition?” Shelly inquired.

“He left three days ago,” Barrett said with a shake of his head. “He reported back that he made initial contact with the group, and we have since heard nothing from him. He was supposed to report in each night and retreat to Savannah if things started to feel bad. Daniel is an experienced cop and a good detective. Something has happened to him.”

I shifted from my left foot to my right, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn’t like where this was leading. “But it’s only been a few days. He may not have a good opportunity to report in if he’s being closely watched by the coalition. I think you should give this more time before acting.”

“There isn’t time,” Barrett growled. “We had an agreement that he was to report in every day. If he went silent, we would come in to get him. We made a promise.”