Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
Lucian
Fire howls all around us, heat clawing at my spine as the wooden beams of the ceiling groan. Smoke eats the air. Screams cut off mid-breath.
I glance up to see movement nearby.
Raleigh bursts through the smoke like a ghost dragged up from hell, face streaked with ash, eyes feral. He doesn’t shout. Doesn’t waste breath. He just locks eyes with me and jerks his head toward a dark smudge on the ground between the flames.
A sewer grate.
A way out.
He’s already there by the time I reach it, his fingers digging into the iron cover embedded in the concrete floor. With a snarl, he rips it free like it weighs nothing and the metal skids aside.
The stench hits immediately—rot, filth, stagnant water—but it’s an escape.
“Get going,” Raleigh barks.
I don’t hesitate. I tighten my grip on Elliot’s hand and jump, dragging her with me as we plunge into the darkness.
We hit the bottom hard. Filthy water soaks us instantly, cold and slick, splashing up my legs to my hips. Elliot gasps, choking, and I haul her upright before she can lose her footing and go under. A few of Raleigh’s men drop in after us, but only a few. Most of them were claimed by the fire.
Raleigh is last to make the leap, and the moment he hits the bottom, he starts trudging through the muck without looking back.
He splashes through the narrow sewer tunnel, and we follow.
The panic inside me doesn’t fade; it coils tighter, sharper, but Elliot’s hand is in mine, small but real, and I refuse to let her go.
At her shorter size, it’s harder for her to move through the water, but I don’t let her fall. I don’t let her slow.
The tunnel stretches on, echoes of the commotion we left behind chasing us through the dark.
“Keep up!” Raleigh says. “There’s an exit just ahead!”
My vision sharpens to the darkness and not far in front of us I can see a rusty ladder ascending to another manhole cover.
When we reach it, Raleigh lets Elliot climb first and then gestures for me to follow. When she reaches the top, she shoves the cover aside and hauls herself out. I’m right behind her.
Night air slams into my lungs.
Cool. Clean. Crisp.
The rest of what’s left of the Rogues spills out onto the street, soaked, stinking, a bit charred but alive.
Raleigh is barking orders to them, but I’m too focused on Elliot.
Her dress is ruined, the beautiful silver fabric torn and seared along the hem and caked with God knows what.
Her blonde curls are plastered against her face, and she’s breathing hard.
Staring at me with both fear and relief on her face.
Fuck. We almost died.
I step closer to her. “Elliot… I—”
“Lucian?”
I turn to see Andrew standing there, looking grim.
“I saw the explosion, the fire… I know you told me to stay close and not intervene, but I couldn’t.
” He swallows, the scent of blood heavy in the air.
When Andrew glances behind him, I see why.
There’s a man lying on the sidewalk, throat ripped out, his blood pooling in a dark stain on the concrete.
“I saw him running, chased him down. I’m sorry I didn’t wait for orders, but—”
“No, Andrew, you did the right thing,” I say and walk over to the body. I use the toe of my shoe to nudge him onto his back and I see the fancy script S embellished into his shirt collar.
He’s one of Santiago’s.
“Andrew…fuck.” I’m going to fucking rip Santiago to pieces after this.
Fury whips through me like a storm. I brush glass off my suit, ignoring the small wounds and burns that start to heal.
The burn in my lungs is already starting to ease, too.
“Call Vittoria. Tell her what happened. Santiago has just declared war.”
He nods and pulls out his phone.
Elliot walks over and stares down at the dead vampire. “Santiago’s?’
“Yes.”
“What does this mean?” she asks.
“It means I’m going to finish what I should have at the engagement party.”
“You mean we,” she says, peering up at me. “I’m sure Vittoria will want in too.”
“I’d rather you didn’t get involved in this,” I say.
She touches my arm. “After everything that just happened, I think I deserve a piece of him.”
I smile. “I suppose you’re right.”
Raleigh comes up beside us, gaze cutting back toward the building we barely escaped. Smoke still crawls into the night sky, thick and oily, carrying the scent of burned flesh.
“I lost a lot of good vampires in there,” he says quietly.
I nod. “Thank you for getting us out.”
“It was a close call,” he says. “And as much as I’d love to rip Santiago apart for this,” he continues, jaw tightening, “my people come first. What’s left of them.”
“As they should,” I say. I may have thought Raleigh and the Rogues as harmless before, a weaker coven of vampires, but it’s clear to me now that he deserves respect. And VMR’s support.
“We’ll have to regroup, so I won’t be able to help you take him out tonight.” His eyes flick to mine. He finds no argument there.
“I’ll make sure Santiago pays for this,” I tell him.
Raleigh exhales and gives my shoulder a squeeze. “I know you will, Lucian.”
He steps back, signaling to the few Rogues still standing. Raleigh gives me one last look, something dark and satisfied flashing in his eyes, then turns away with his remaining men and disappears into the night.
The street settles into an uneasy quiet.
Elliot goes still beside me. Her gaze lifts, scanning the buildings, the corners, the shadows like she’s orienting herself. I watch the realization hit her.
“We’re close,” she says. “My apartment…it’s only a few blocks from here.”
Something tightens in my chest.
“I should go back,” she continues. “Just once. I need to get some things. Change my clothes. And Kayla—I need to say goodbye. To her. To my human life.”
The word goodbye lands like a blade.
“I’ll go with you,” I say without thinking.
Footsteps approach before she can answer. Andrew comes up fast, phone still in his hand, tension etched into his face.
“Lucian,” he says, “I just got off the phone with Vittoria.”
I exhale slowly. “Let me guess.”
“I told her about the fire. About Santiago. She’s furious, and she’s already mobilizing. I couldn’t talk her down.”
Of course she is.
“She can’t go after him like this,” I say. “Not without a plan.”
“She won’t wait,” Andrew replies. “You need to get back. Now.”
I look at Elliot, every instinct in me pulling toward her. Toward staying. Toward making sure she’s safe.
But Vittoria unchecked is a bloodbath waiting to happen.
I hate this. The last thing I want to do right now is be away from her. There are so many things I want to tell her, like how she may be wearing my collar but it’s she who owns me, heart, body, and soul. Like how losing her would destroy me.
Like how I…love her.
It’s a truth that has always been there, one I’ve known for a long time.
I just don’t know if she’ll ever be able to forgive me for what I’ve done.
I turn to Andrew. “You’re taking her. You don’t leave her alone—not for a second.”
Andrew glances at Elliot. “I’ve got her.”
I step closer to her, my hands finding Elliot’s face and bringing it toward mine. “Go. Get what you need. Say what you need to say. I’ll deal with Vittoria. And then I’ll deal with Santiago.”
I kiss her, a slow, fierce promise pressed into her mouth. She rises on her toes to meet me and her arms come around my neck, wanting more. But I force myself to step back.
“I’ll see you both back at VMR,” I say as Andrew guides her away.
I stand there long after they’re gone, the echo of her warmth still burning on my mouth.
Vittoria had always said loving Nell had been my weakness. But with Elliot, love doesn’t weaken me. She’s my strength; it empowers me.
And God help Santiago for making himself my target.