Eternal Magic (Magic for Hire #3)

Chapter 9

Maya watched in horror as Ravyr dropped through the trapdoor in the floor. She had no idea if the fleeing Yalicks were responsible for his disappearance or if the goblin charging toward her had opened the hidden trap. Not that the who mattered, she decided as she reached into her satchel and pulled out a vial of potion. Not when she was about to be smooshed by a furious demon.

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the vial toward the male’s head, grinding her teeth when he abruptly ducked to the side and without slowing dodged toward the nearest window and threw himself through the tinted glass. Scowling in frustration, she watched as he ran through the garden and disappeared into the trees.

Once she was certain that he wasn’t coming back, she whirled around, prepared for the mage to attack. She hadn’t missed the younger woman’s spiteful glare when they’d entered the room. She could almost smell the envy that dre nched the air.

She assumed this mage had gotten her information about Maya in the same place as Courtney. What else would explain the jealousy burning in her eyes? At some point Maya intended to discover who was fueling such hatred among the younger mages, but until then, she had no choice but to defend herself.

Whirling back, she grasped another vial. Unlike the younger mage, she’d learned through years of experience never to waste her magic. It was used as a last l ine of defense.

Surprisingly, however, the woman wasn’t headed in her direction. Instead, she was standing over the hole in the floor where Ravyr ha d disappeared.

What was she doing?

It wasn’t until she felt the tingle of heat in the air that she recognized the spell she was attempti ng to conjure.

A firestorm.

Dammit. Ravyr might be immune to most magic, but the searing flames would eventually consume him if he co uldn’t escape.

Racing forward, Maya intended to knock the woman to the ground before hitting her with a stun potion. That would keep her contained long enough for Ravyr to climb out of the hole so they could track down the goblin. Once they captured him, Maya had the perfect potion to forc e him to talk.

She was still formulating her plan when it all went to hell. The younger mage’s spell snapped into place while Maya was too far away to disrupt the magic, and a wall of flames exploded fro m her fingers.

Maya should have turne d and run away.

The mage was obviously focused on killing Ravyr. A wise decision considering the vampire was going to rip out her throat the second he crawled out of that hole. Her distraction would give Maya ample opportun ity to escape.

It wasn’t like she owed Ravyr a nything, right?

He was a vampire. He r mortal enemy.

And even if they did appear to be hunting the same prey, that didn’t make them partners. And certainl y not friends.

But she didn’t turn. She continued to run toward the mage, who was weaving her hands in a gesture to squeeze the searing flames into a cylinder. Another wave of her hands and the flames were spinning and lengthening. She was creating a tower of fire that would fill the pit from top to bottom.

The mage screeched in frustration as Maya finally reached the edge of the trapdoor, no doubt hoping for the opportunity for a face-to-face battle once the vampire was dead. It’d been obvious in her glares that she ached to prove that she was the superior mage. Maya managed a mocking smile before she plunged directly through the flames and into the open pit.

Excruciating heat swept over her, singeing her hair and charring her flesh. It wasn’t just fire, it was magically enhanced flames that clung to her even after she was through the tornado and plunging downward. Only years of training allowed her to ignore the pain and tap into the magic that she’d stored in the emerald around her neck. Instantly the power blasted through her veins. Unless she could block the flames, her attempt to play hero was going to get her killed al ong with Ravyr.

Maya didn’t bother to try to conjure a spell. Right now she needed raw magic, not a comple x incantation.

As she hoped, the blast of energy pushed back the flames, temporarily driving them backward. At the same time, it smashed into the walls of the pit, shattering the cement as well as the thick foundatio n of the house.

An avalanche of cement and rock and thick earth collapsed over the top of the pit, sealing away the flames. It didn’t stop there, of course. There was no time to create a protective shield, so the landslide slammed into Maya with a brutal force as she pl unged downward.

A particularly sharp shard of cement sliced through her temple, carving a deep wound and thankfully knocking her unconscious. She didn’t want to be awake when she hit the bottom.

Lost in the thick darkness, Maya dreamed that she didn’t smash into the cement floor. Instead, she was caught in strong arms that held her tight against a broad chest.

With a sigh, she relaxed in the strong grasp, sheltered from the rubble that continued to rain from above. It was nice, she decided. She never allowed herself to depend on another creature to protect her. Not ever. But for once she didn’t try to fight against her dreams. Instead, she allowed herself to float i n the oblivion.

It was impossible to know how much time passed—maybe a second, maybe an hour—but her sense of peace was shattered as a scream pierce d the darkness.

Maya’s heart struggled to beat, as if it was being squeezed in a vise. She recognized that scream. And the last time she’d heard it. Desperately she tried to wake herself even as the darkness faded and she was transported to the cavern beneat h Batu’s lair.

This isn’t real, this isn’t real, t his isn’t real…

She repeated the mantra over and over, but it did nothing to lessen the sensation of running through the shadowed tunnel, desperate to reach the source of the screams. She wasn’t in control of the dream or vision or whatever the hell was happening. She was reliving the past, whether she wa nted to or not.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, Maya slammed into the thick webs that protected the entrance to the chamber beneath Batu’s private rooms. The shimmering barrier was created out of a strange combination of demon and human magic, interwoven so tightly that no one could unravel the strands. And Maya had tried. On more tha n one occasion.

She’d always known that the secret to Batu’s power was hidden in that secret room. But it’d been impossible to penet rate the wards.

The sounds of the screams intensified and Maya stepped back, adrenaline thumping through her body. She had to do something. Closing her eyes, she grasped her magic and wrenched it into a ball of fury. Before she could consider the consequences of what she was about to do, she smashed it through the shiny strands. The barrier quivered, visibly attempting to remain intact despite the blast of power. There was a high-pitched squeal that blended with the continuing screams; then with a force that shook the ground, the barrier shattered into a t housand pieces.

Maya didn’t wait for the air to clear before she was charging through the opening, discovering Batu standing in the center of the surprisingly small chamber. Kneeling in front of him was Tia, her head tilted back and her lips parted as she shrieked in pain. Horror swept over Maya as she watched the magic being drained from her friend. She could see the shimmering waves being sucked out of the trembling mage, the pull so intense it was draining the color from her long brown hair, leaving it a pale silver.

“Tia,” she breathed, her voice barely a bove a whisper.

It was enough, of course, to attract the attention of Batu. Swiveling his head in her direction, Batu glared at her with eyes that glowed with a jaundiced fire, as if he was feeding off the magic like other leeches fed off blood. Maya didn’t know if he actually absorbed the magic, or how he managed to use it to gain power, but he’d been draining Tia and her for over a century.

N ever like this.

They were two of the most powerful mages in the world. They were too valuable to destroy. But something had obviously caused the vampire to snap. There was death etched on his pale face.

“Get ou t,” he snarled.

Every instinct told her to flee. The vampire was too strong for her to battle alone, not to mention the fact that it was a death sentence to kill a member of the Cabal. It would be suicide to interfere, but she couldn’t force herself to turn around and walk away.

Eno ugh was enough.

Reaching beneath her robe, Maya pulled out the tiny vial she’d kept hidden for decades. Batu allowed them to use spells when he needed their magic to create illusions and barriers to keep out the local humans. Or to punish his demon servants. But he refused to allow them to brew potions. Decades ago, Maya taken the risk of creating one vial, accepting that one day she would be driven to the poin t of no return.

Either she was going to kill Batu, or she was going to die in the attempt.

The yellow eyes narrowed as the vampire caught sight of the potion in her hand, but it wasn’t concern that twisted his thin features. It was a sadistic humor.

“You want a fight?” He parted his mouth, his fangs gleaming in the glow from the stone that was buried in the center of the dirt floor. “Go ahea d. I dare you.”

Maya... The sound of Tia’s voice whispered thr ough her mind.

“No, it’s over,” Maya muttered, the endless years of torment and fear colliding together and creating a nuclear fission that exploded with a force she couldn’t control. “I can’t stand thi s another day.”

She raised her arm, and Batu laughed, blatantly taunting her pathetic attempt to destroy him. Aiming at his smug face, Maya was distracted when Tia’s voice once again echoed thro ugh her brain.

Toward me.

Her arm was already snapping forward, but twisting herself to the side, she managed to launch the vial toward the kneeling mage. Batu watched in confusion as it sailed harmlessly past him, no doubt assuming she’d lost her nerve for a direct confrontation.

It wasn’t until the vial had whizzed past his face that Tia jerked her hands up, using the last of her strength to gain command of the magic being steadily drained from her and squeezing it to a thin strand. Then, whipping it upward like a lasso, she used it to place the vial high above the vampire’s head before she shatt ered the glass.

In perfect position, the potion poured down to cover Batu in a sticky green acid that smoked and sizzled as it seared into his flesh. He bellowed in pain, the stench of burning flesh tai nting the air.

The lethal potion would have melted any other creature into a puddle of goo, but leeches were capable of healing everything but flames and sunlight. Or wounds that refused to heal. Which was the extra layer of magic that Maya had placed in the potion.

“Now!” Tia screeched as her own magic failed and she collapsed at the vampire’s feet.

Tia was right. It was now or never. Maya ground her teeth, concentrating fiercely on the male who was desperately attempting to wipe off the clinging sludge. Flooding the potion with her magic, she tapped into the spell that she’d brewed into the mixture. A glow surrounded Batu and the potion thickened, hardening into an unbr eakable shell.

Batu hissed, his nails furiously attempting to dig through the potion that continued to sear deep into his flesh.

“Stop, you bitch,” he roared, stumbling forward as he tried to get close enough to physica lly punish her.

Maya wasn’t done. Standing her ground, she lifted her arm and sent a jolt of power toward Batu’s unbeating heart. He flinched but continued forward, blinded by the potion that smoked and smoldered as the acid ate through his flesh. Maya made a strangled sound of fury, sending another bolt of power followed by another and another....

Batu at last tumbled to his knees, but he refused to die despite Maya’s fierce efforts. She couldn’t fail, she told herself. She was going to send Batu to hell, even if it meant she joined him in th e fiery depths.

Trembling with exhaustion, Maya continued to pour her magic into the potion, knowing that she was dangerously close to a fatal collapse. She could feel it in the agonizing heat that was spreading over her face, destroying her skin as it consumed her flesh to continue drawing power. She had to stop or she was going to burn herself out. Literally.

With a last blast, she had the satisfaction of watching Batu slump onto the hard ground, his skin turning gray as dea th claimed him.

It was at this point that the dream always fragmented. She’d passed out just seconds after Batu died, and hadn’t awakened for nearly a week. By that point she’d been safely hidden in a hut with Tia, who was tending to the deep sca rs on her face.

This time her dream didn’t fade to dark. Instead, she floated on a wave of excruciating pain, choking on the gagging stench of seared flesh. Not just Batu as he was consumed by her magic, but her own charred skin that had been the cost of success. She thought she heard running footsteps and then a muttered conversation before the sense of Batu disappeared. In her dream state she assumed the demons who’d sworn allegiance to the vampire had rushed in to scoop up his ashes, but she couldn’t open her eyes.

Then, icy fingers touched the side of her face and the pain eased, as if she was being healed. Moments later, she was lifted off the ground and cradled in strong arms. It wasn’t Tia. Or even a demon who might ow e her a favor.

It was a vampire.

She cracked open her eyes.

Ravyr...

The darkness crashed over her with enough force to drag her under, shattering the memories and allowing her the peac e she’d craved.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when the sensation of strong arms cradling her against a hard body penetrated her exhaustion. It’d been years since she’d spent the night with a man. And never had his cool touch sent shivers of pleasur e through her.

Slowly she opened her eyes, already prepared to discover Ravyr holding her tight against his body. But even prepared, she gasped at the impact of being up close and personal to his raw beauty. His stunning turquoise eyes with their shimmering silver rims. The features that were crafted with a hint of savage resolve. Even the lethal fangs visible between his parted lips sent tingles of excitement racing through her blood. Wh ich was insane.

She’d seen Batu rip out countless throats with his teeth. Or drain the poor fey females who were forced to feed his perverted hungers. The sight of the fangs should have made her nauseous. Instead, her breath locked in her lungs and her body instinctively arched to press against the chiseled muscles. As if she was eager to feel the sharp stab of Ravyr’s bite.

His hands pressed against her back, his eyes darkening as the scent of her awareness per fumed the air.

“It was you,” she breathed, her brain still fuzzy from her lingering dream. Or maybe it was fuzzy because she’d landed on her head and crac ked her skull.

That would e xplain so much.

His brows arched as a slow, sexy smile curved his lips. “Probably. What did I do?”

“You were the one who carried me out o f Batu’s lair.”

His smile faded, his expression suddenly impo ssible to read.

“Yes,” he s lowly admitted.

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t bear to live in a world where you didn’t exist.”

I couldn’t bear to live in a world where yo u didn’t exist…

The simple words shook h er to the core.

They echoed the darkness that had lurked deep in her soul since she’d discovered that Batu’s lair had been destroyed and Ravyr was missing. A part of her had been mourning his loss for over forty years, even if she refused to acknow ledge her pain.

“And Tia?” she asked, not sure what was unnerving her the most. The fact that Ravyr had been the one to rescue her from Batu’s lair? Or that she’d been grieving for his supposed death at the same time she’d sworn she hated vampires? Or that her body continued to sizzle with a desire that was becoming increasingly diffi cult to ignore?

He grimaced. “If I’d left her behind there would have been questions of how Batu was killed. It was easier to get rid of both of you while I waited for the staff to flee and I could split open the lair as if there’d been an unfortunate earthquake that had exposed Bat u to sunlight.”

“Wait.” She stared at him in disbelief. When she’d returned to Cambodia twenty years ago she’d discovered the soaring stone temple that had stood for thousands of years had been turned into a pile of rubble and covered in a thick layer of foliage. She’d assumed that human looters had caused the damage. “You destr oyed the lair?”

“A few well-placed explosives did the work ,” he admitted.

A surge of anger washed over her. How often had she dreamed of blasting the hellhole into oblivion? Or sending i t up in flames?

“I wish you would have done that the first night you arrived, ” she muttered.

His hands smoothed up the curve of her spine, his cool touch setting off sparks of pleasure. “Me too,” he said, his jaw tightening at the edge of accusation in her voice. “Why didn’t you leave? You might have been a prisoner, but he couldn’t have kept you hostage if you truly wan ted to escape.”

Her anger was abruptly replaced with smoldering regret. “You’re right. I could have blasted my way past the guards the minute Batu w as distracted.”

“Wha t stopped you?”

“He told me that he would destroy my family if I tried to leave the lair without his permission.” A humorless laugh was wrenched from her throat. “It didn’t matter that it was my own mother who’d offered me to Batu in exchange for a large sum of money that she used to move herself and my siblings far away f rom Cambodia.”

“She was a witch.”

The words were a statement, not a question. Only a witch could give birth to a daughter who had the potential to become a mage. Most of them were horrified when they discovered that their child possessed wild magic in their blood, convinced that it was mages who’d caused the various witch hunts over the centuries. Other mothers were savvy enough to try to profit off their daughters. No doubt Batu had sensed the moment Maya’s magic had manifested and approached her mother with his generous offer. And while her family wouldn’t have recognized that he was a vampire, they had to have suspected there was something wrong with a man wanting to buy a sixteen -year-old girl.

“She was the local healer,” Maya said, her voice not quite steady. “And I worshipped the ground she walked on. Even after my father died, she managed to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table along with tending to the needs of our village. I couldn’t believe she would betray me like that.”

His jaw tightened, as if her words troubled him, but his touch was light as he slid his fingers under her hair to massage her tense nape.

“Fear will drive even good people to do desperate things,” he murmured. “Espe cially humans.”

Maya forced her clenched muscles to relax. A part of her understood that her mother had been doing what she thought was best for her other children. Maya’s wild magic had ignited during the middle of a Water Festival, the power sizzling out of her with enough force to flatten the nearby dam and allow the flooded river to gush through the streets of the village. The locals had called her a demon, and a few had whispered that she should be sacrificed to cl eanse the evil.

Still, she’d assumed her family would stand by her.

That was why it’d hurt so much when she’d been handed over by her mother and locked i n Batu’s lair.

Maya shook away the painful memories. “It was difficult to accept what my mother had done, but my brothers and sisters were innocent. I couldn’t let them be hurt because I’d been exposed as a mage. Besides, I’d decided just days after being imprisoned that I wasn’t leaving until I could destroy Batu. It became my only reason for surviving.”

Ravyr slowly nodded, as if he understood her obsessive hunger for revenge, but thankfully he sensed her reluctance to dwell o n the darkness.

He sidetracked the conversation. “Now it’s my turn to ask the question. Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you risk your life to protect me?”

Maya swallowed a sigh. Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire. This was the last conversation she wanted to have. Or, at least, t he second last.

“You’re the only one who can sense the magic if it leaves New York,” s he pointed out.

His fingers traced the line of her jaw, deliberately emphasizing the stubborn angle. “And that’s th e only reason?”

“What else could there be?” Her tone was dismissive, but the sharp tremor that raced through her body ruined her pretense o f indifference.

His eyes smoldered with turquoise fire. “We’ve both tried to deny the awareness, but it’s always been there.” He lowered his head, pressing a light kiss on her parted lips. “From the v ery beginning.”

It was nothing more than the sweep of their mouths together. A barely there caress. But there was nothing “barely there” about the shock waves of hunger that swept through her. They clenched her stomach into a tight knot and jolted her heart i nto overdrive.

Instinctively she lifted her hands to press them against his chest. Her desire for this male was alarming. “Don’t fla tter yourself.”

He chuckled at her ridiculous words. “You know I can smel l your desire?”

Of course he could. As if her flushed cheeks and racing pulse weren’t enough to reveal her urge to climb into his lap and wrap hers elf around him.

“I also desire cheesecake and double espresso shots, but I know they’ re bad for me.”

The tips of his fangs pressed against her lower lip. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to assure her that his bite would bring not hing but bliss.

“It’s good to be bad,” h e said quietly.

Her fingers splayed over the hard width of his chest, forgetting to shove him away. Maybe because she was preoccupied by the sensation of his muscles rippling beneath her palms. “Good to be bad?” She rolled her eye s. “Seriously?”

“I’ve never been more serious.” His fangs skated over her cheek and down the curve of her neck. They hovered over her thumping pulse as if battling the need to sink deep to taste her blood. Her nails dug into his chest. Protest or invitation?

She wasn’t sure. Obviously, neither was Ravyr. With a harsh groan he lifted his head to stare down at her with a passion that he clearly strug gled to leash.

Minutes ticked past as the turquoise fire burned in his eyes and his fangs shimmered with lethal promise. Then, a shudder shook his body, signaling him regaining command of his hunger.

Maya felt a distinct pang of regret.

She detested those stories about damsels in distress being ravished by their saviors, and the damsels somehow enjoying the ravishing. She’d been confident that she would shrivel up the dangly bits of any male stupid enough to try to treat her like anything but a competent, ind ependent woman.

Now, she couldn’t deny a treacherous wish that Ravyr would have rolled her onto her back and covered her with his hard form. And even ripped off her clothes so she could feel the cool touch of his fingers against her bare skin.

Ravyr’s nostrils flared, as if he was drawing in the scent of her desire, but his touch was gentle as he cupped her cheek in his hand. “I wish I could ch ange the past.”

Maya’s lips parted to agree, but her words dried on her tongue. There was nothing about Batu’s imprisonment that hadn’t been sheer torture, but a part of her accepted that her time in his lair had forged her into a powerful mage who could overcome any obstacle. And without Batu, she would never have enco untered Ravyr.

A thought that was strang ely unbearable.

“All we can do is try to change the fut ure,” she said.

His gaze lowered to linger on her lips as his thumb stroked over her che ek. “Together?”

“For now,” she warily agreed.

“I ’ll take that.”

She trembled as his thumb deliberately skimmed over the scars that most men tried to avoid. Abruptly she remembered her dream, and the cool touch that eased the agonizing pain as she was carried out of Batu’s lair.

“You healed my face, ” she breathed.

“I did what I could,” he admitted, continuing to caress the rough skin. “The burn cam e from inside.”

“My magic nearly consumed me when I battled Batu.”

A distant echo of the pain pulsed through her cheek as she remembered waking in a hut with her flesh still raw and oozing. Tia had been there with her herbs and potions, implying that she’d been the one to rescue her from the lair and begin the healing of her face. The older woman had also implied that she was no w in her debt.

It had been the beginning of the end for th eir friendship.

“Have you fully recovered?” Ravyr asked, his fingers moving to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“Physically.” Her hands stroked over his chest; she felt like she needed the reassurance of his solid body to confront her deepest fear. “Batu haunts me. I’ve tried to tell myself it’s because I was so young and impressionable when he captured me that it was inevitable I would be scarr ed. But now...”

Her words trailed away. She couldn’t force them past h er stiff lips.

Ravyr wrapped his arms back around her body, tugging her close as if he sensed her need to be protected. Even if it was from her own nightmares.

“If Batu survived, we’re going to track him down and destroy him,” he assured her in grim tones.

Maya didn’t doubt that Ravyr had every intention of discovering who was causing the strange pulses of magic, even if it meant exposing Batu. But the ultimate decision of what happened after they discovered the truth would be made by the Cabal. And more specifical ly, by Sinjon.

It was a fact she would be a fool to forget. Even if she did allow him to sate the hunger he’d stirred to a fever pitch.

“ If we can find him,” sh e reminded him.

“It’s only a matter of time.” Ravyr didn’t seem insulted by her lack of faith in his hunting skills. Like all leeches, he possessed an arrogant, unshakable confidence. “Did you recog nize the mage?”

Maya shook her head. She’d used the demons’ intense focus on Ravyr when they’d entered the Yalick estate to concentrate on the mage. She’d been young, only a few years older than Courtney, but far more powerful. Magic had pulsed in the air with an open challenge. As if she actually thought she could intimidate Maya. Amateu rish theatrics.

A skilled mage never allowed their opponent to sense the level of their magic.

“No, I’ve never se en her before.”

“She looked like she held a personal grudge against you,” Ravyr said, stati ng the obvious.

“It seems to be a trend,” Maya retorted, genuinely miffed. She’d accepted that she would always have enemies. Her line of business meant she was constantly pissing off one demon or another. But she didn’t expect such animosity from fellow mages. “I don’t know why. I’m a very fr iendly person.”

His lips curved into a smile that set off scorching zings of anticipation. “ I like you, i f that counts.”

Her pulse raced, but she refused to be distracted. “I don’t recognize her, but she thankfully wasn’t t rained by Tia.”

“Ho w do you know?”

“She doesn’t m ask her magic.”

“I’m not sure wh at that means.”

“A mage who has more power than the minimum will leave behind a t rail of magic.”

He studied her in confusion. “You mea n their scent?”

Maya wasn’t surprised he’d never heard of that particular weakness. Mages were like leeches and demons and even the slumbering dragons. They hid anything that might make t hem vulnerable.

“Not a scent, but a visible shimmer of magic that lingers in the air. And depending on the strength of the mage, it can remain for days. So metimes weeks.”

He didn’t ask why he couldn’t see the trail. Only another mage could detect the magic. And Joe, she silently acknowledged. He had abilities he sho uldn’t possess.

“I assume you ca n mask yours?”

“Only with an iron control that took years to perfect,” she said, battling the u rge to grimace.

She would never forget the endless hours Tia forced her to build layer after painful layer to shield her power, only to shatter it with a burst of magic and insist she rebuild it until it could hold against the most vicious attack. At the time, she’d been willing to endure the agonizing training—even if she wanted to pin Tia to the wall and pummel her. It wasn’t until later that she realized the older mage had her own agenda. And it had nothing to do with any co ncern for Maya.

“That iron control is impressive, but it’s also intimidating.” Ravyr’s gaze swept over her face with a slow intensity, as if he was memorizing each feature before lingering on her mouth. “Do you ever let yo ur guard down?”

She allowed her gaze to do an equally intense survey of his face, although she didn’t need to memorize anything. Every line and curve had been seared into her brai n decades ago.

“Do you?” s he challenged.

“Touché.” His smile was wry. “I’ve had to develop a hard shell over the centuries.”

“The lone w olf syndrome?”

He parted his lips to reveal his massive fangs, as if insulted by the question. “Never a wolf.”

“More like a snake in the grass?”

“Sometimes,” he surprisingly agreed. “Being an ambassador to Sinjon has meant making hard choices and ignoring my own desires. I told myself I was serving a h igher purpose.”

Maya arched her brows. “H igher purpose?”

“Okay. T hat sounded...”

“Unbearably pompous?” she help fully supplied.

His fingers glided over her brow, his expression impossible to read. “You’re right. It does sound obnoxiously conceited, but I wanted to feel like I was making a difference in the lives of my people.”

Something melted inside Maya, destroying yet another layer of hatred she’d built o ver the years.

“I get that, ” she breathed.

His fingers skimmed down the side of her face, lingering to caress the spide rweb of scars.

“But I’m discovering that the ends don’t always just ify the means.”

Maya sucked in a sharp breath. The lust scorching through wasn’t a surprise. Even when she wanted to stick a stake in this male’s heart, she found him sexy as hell. Who wouldn’t? The brutally handsome face. The short hair that shimmered like silver even in the darkness. The outrageously exotic turquoise eyes. And the hard, muscular body she’d dreamed of stripping naked to lick from head to toe. But the tenderness tuggin g at her heart?

That was a whole di fferent danger.

“Where are we?” She determinedly turned the conversation to their curr ent situation.

He paused, as if reluctant to follow her lead. Then, with a last brush of his fingers against her cheek, he settled his back against the dirt wall and tugged he r even tighter.

“In a tunnel beneath the Yalick estate,” he revealed. “I think it will eventually lead to their hi dden drug lab.”

Maya wrinkled her nose, belatedly noticing the sulfurous stench that wafted t hrough the air.

“That’s what I smell.” She tried to determine if there was anyone nearby. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the über skills of a vampire. All she could sense was the weight of the house above them and a looming emptiness in the tunnel. “Why are we wai ting to leave?”

“It’s close to dawn and I have no idea if there are enemies waiting to attack once we find an exit.” His head tilted to press his cheek against the top of her head. “We both need some ti me to recover.”

She didn’t even consider arguing. Every muscle in her body felt like a wet noodle, and there was a dull ache at the base of her skull that warned that she’d drained her magic to a da ngerous level.

“Agreed,” she conceded wi th a deep sigh.

“Rest,” he murmured, the cool brush of his power wrapping around her in a protective barrier. “We’ll return to our hunt once the sun sets.”