It was my turn to hold the fucking reins.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
I finished tightening my ponytail and nodded. This was probably the fifth time Lena had asked, but my answer remained the same. If anything, this was the one thing I was absolutely certain I wanted. Especially after what I’d already done. No going back now.
Voit had told me I needed allies, and he was right.
I couldn’t do this alone. But I also couldn’t endanger the people whose lives hardly intersected with the demonic.
So when I marched out of my apartment yesterday, leaving Afanasiy and my broken heart behind, I did so with the intention of striking a deal that would get me precisely what I needed. The seething mass of anger and hurt had kept me focused on the plan, with the added benefit of creating a barrier that prevented me from dwelling on the details of all it entailed.
It was what drove me on even now, though it was nice, if futile, to see that Lena was offering me time to reconsider the training.
I didn’t deny that the thought of actually mastering my new abilities was scary. Just as I was fully aware that working with her on this was a step that would take me even farther in the direction I had fought off for so damn long it kind of felt like an integral part of me.
But ignoring who I was becoming wasn’t an option any longer.
I had to embrace it—and develop what I’d been given to its full potential. We all knew how fate treated species who wouldn’t adapt.
“All right, then.” Lena closed the door to the training chamber within her lair, then scanned me with a critical eye that was a lot more badass trainer than concerned friend. “Time to prep you.”
Once we were securely sealed inside by physical barriers and wards alike to minimize the damage on the off chance I couldn’t control my powers, she stalked over to an oversized iron chest pressed against the stone wall. As she rummaged through the artifacts carrying a faint scent of magic, I let my gaze wander around the space.
Rudimentary, even crude, everything about this part of Lena’s lair was designed with efficiency in mind.
I wondered who built the demons’ safe havens, but for all I knew about them, that was one bit of information no one had mentioned in passing. Maybe it was a private matter, not suitable for discussing with outsiders. Or maybe I was just reading too much into it and the lairs’ origins were a triviality no one wanted to waste breath on.
Either way, I suspected I’d learn soon enough, half demon and all that…
The soft echoes of Lena’s steps spun me around.
“Here we go.” She stretched out her hand, palm up so that I could see the quartz-adorned silver amulet. “Take it.”
The moment I wrapped my fingers around the pendant, I picked up on a faint buzz coming from the metal. Power.
My own coiled somewhere deep inside in response. I couldn’t shake the feeling that my demonic essence was getting acquainted with this other presence. Testing for compatibility. Threats.
Once the hairs on my arms stopped standing on end and that peculiar feeling of danger faded, I slipped the amulet’s chain over my head. The pendant nestled itself between my breasts.
Like an echo of my own heartbeat, its quiet power hummed against my chest.
“Good,” Lena said, still studying me. “This one is supposed to be pretty universal, but sometimes the powers are simply incompatible. Looks like that won’t be an issue in your case.”
A small smile tugged on my lips. “Thanks for this, Lena.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she muttered, but there was a hint of amusement in her voice. “The demon fire happened twice now? Both times when you were in danger?”
I nodded. “The lab and Melina’s house were both life-threatening situations that threw my instincts into overdrive.”
“Basically an echo of your werewolf self?”
My fingers fumbled with the pendant. This admission felt heavier than the rest, even if I’d figured out as much myself. “Yes.”
“Okay.” Lena widened her stance and flexed her hands by her sides. “We’ll try to awaken those instincts again and keep at it until you can latch onto the sensation.”
“Meaning you’ll attack me?”
A sly smile curved on her lips. “Meaning I’ll attack you.”
More than ever, I was grateful for the sealed chamber. There was little in the way of items to scorch in case my fire got—literally—out of hand. I believed in Lena’s ability to douse my flames, but knowing I couldn’t do any serious damage to her lair put me at ease more than anything else could.
If we wanted this to work, I couldn’t hold back—the very first warning Lena had given me when I’d reached out, asking if she was willing to train a newbie half-demon.
“All right, then.” I let out a husky laugh. “Bring it on, Nightwraith.”
Her grin was the last thing I saw before a ball of demon fire shot in my direction. My werewolf instincts kicked in first, body twisting to dodge the power. Lena laughed but didn’t hesitate to come at me again.
My own power seemed to vibrate within me but stayed there. I rolled across the floor, then sprang back up, barely evading another spear of undiluted energy. Lena upped her game.
With an ominous pop of magic pressure, she hurtled an entire wall of flame at me.
Something in my core cracked.
Twenty-Eight
Blue light burst from my skin. The majority of it rushed through my palms as I thrust my hands in front of my torso in an attempt to block the attack, but that wasn’t nearly the extent of it. I couldn’t just see, but feel my new power. It seeped through my torso, my legs, the blue energy coming together before me in a semicircle.
A shield.
“Fucking amazing,” I heard Lena shout, but I was preoccupied with the amulet’s growing warmth against my breastbone as if it was reminding me it was there.
Lena’s fire died down after a few moments while mine remained. Without truly thinking about it, I pushed my awareness of the demonic embers in the background and focused on nothing but the gentle hum of the amulet. On how it entwined with the energy so alive in my core.
I closed my eyes to submerge myself fully in the sensation, then let my will infuse every atom of the link.
My lips parted, though no sound came out.
The power—it was almost sentient, understanding my wishes and communicating with me in a language that had no words yet was perfectly clear. In some odd way, it reminded me of Afanasiy’s mark beneath my skin, the link to his soul. I only had to call up his image in my thoughts, wish him beside me, and the thread connecting us would flare to life.
Intent. Will.
These were the keys.
I envisioned the fire retreating towards my hands, then forming two spheres around them.
Lena’s laugh filtered through to my ears over the rush of my own accelerated heartbeat. “I don’t think you’ll need that much training after all.”
My eyes fluttered open and I gasped.
Two seamless orbs of brilliant blue power ensconced my hands from just below my wrist to a little above the tips of my fingers. The energy swirled and pulsed, yet the shape never wavered.
I lifted one arm, then moved it to the side before bringing it before me again. I flexed my fingers.
The demon fire stayed contained, its size adjusting to the different hand positions without breaking shape.
Arching an eyebrow, I met Lena’s smug gaze. “I passed the test?”
“Surpassed it.” She grinned and walked over to scan the spheres up close. She must have liked what she saw because she gave me an assured nod and said, “Now send one of those babies flying at the wall.” She stepped aside, offering me a clear view of the target. “Don’t hold back. Don’t try to keep the flames from burning. The wall is your enemy, so show it no mercy.”
I swallowed and steadied my breath.
I can do this.
I flung out my arm, while at the same t
ime imagining the fire detach from my skin. The orb flickered for a moment, then surged. My breath got knocked out of my lungs at the sudden absence of power when the connection severed, and I could do nothing but watch, mouth agape, as the ball of fire crashed against the wall. A dark scorch mark marred the uneven stone.
Recollecting myself, I repeated the process with the other one. This time, I was ready for the blow of the loss, and in turn, the power hit the wall with much greater force.
“Welcome to the demonic side,” Lena purred beside me.
I huffed out a laugh. The notion didn’t seem like such a bad thing at all.
After busting my ass with Lena until all I could think about was a gigantic cup of coffee and a long shower, we left her lair to fulfill the next bullet point on my agenda.
Dressed in some of Lena’s borrowed clothes that managed to fit my taller frame, we left this pocket of the Shadow World behind and emerged somewhere in Serbia. She explained that meeting with demons who belonged to other courts was safer in my realm, where the borders separating the territories were just that instead of actual shields of power. A demon would still know when someone entered their land, but at least the new arrival’s presence wasn’t broadcasted straight to the higher-ups.
I had some difficulties wrapping my mind around the difference between courts among the shadows and territories up here in the mortal realm. They overlapped, yes, only the rest wasn’t quite so straightforward—which made it prime material to give me a nasty headache. I didn’t even have the energy in me to pretend to understand the workings of the Shadow World, but at least I knew that the demonic territories in our world ranged from something as small as a house to entire city limits. Sometimes they encompassed several demons and underlings, and sometimes they belonged to a sole individual.
That latter was the kind we were in now.
Alin—one of the demon lords and mate to Lena’s eldest sister, Lana—had been unable tell us where to find Svinimir. He had, however, directed us to someone who could.
We walked up the path of the isolated building sitting within view of the small town that was under the demon’s rule and protection, the wards set up around the place brushing against my skin as if I were walking through molasses. I sensed something else underneath, too, although for the life of me I couldn’t figure what it was. The presence wasn’t anchored in the wards themselves, but deeper—as in literally underground, with its pulse seeping through the earth and gently permeating the air.
The sensation became stronger once Lena and I came to a stop on the threshold, but before I could dwell on it, a handsome, golden-haired man opened the door. No, not man. Demon.
His blue-green eyes swept over us briefly and with clinical precision, but once the examination ended, his expression was welcoming. “Alin sent word of your arrival. I’m Kaloyan.”
Lena took his hand first. “Lena.”
“Lotte.” I followed suit.
“Please, come in.”
We trailed behind Kaloyan into the house. While spacious and tastefully decorated, it wasn’t a manor, exactly, but came close. The high ceilings and archways called to my werewolf love for freedom. Something—I thought back to the sense of vastness the Shadow World had infused me with—I suspected was not a foreign concept to demons either. As we ascended a wide, curving stairwell and entered a living room-library combo, I caught a faint whiff of a human female embedded in the currents. The scent was fleeting, indicating she visited often but wasn’t a permanent resident.
A pang of hurt sliced through me.
Like Afanasiy.
I shoved down the emotions I really didn’t have time to deal with right now and plopped my ass down on the offered chair beside the bay windows. Lena took the one on my left. Given my legs were burning from all the drills she’d forced me through, I was more than thankful for a quick respite.
After all, this day was far from over.
“Alin said you’re looking for Svinimir?” Kaloyan’s rich voice was steady, but there was no mistaking the underlying distaste.
“The bastard stalked my friend. Wanted to make her his slave.”
“Sonovabitch,” he hissed and ran a hand through his hair, then met my eyes. “Female friend?”
“Yes. She stripped him of his power when he tried to trap her with the bond.”
Kaloyan trained his gaze on the window, his jaw tense. “I killed his brother, you know.”
The admission took me by surprise. It must have shown because Kaloyan looked at me, a humorless smile resting on his chiseled face.
“He invaded my territory, stripped me of my power with the aid of Vesnins.” He shook his head, blond curls shining like pure gold as they caught the light. “I can’t help but applaud your friend for her courage, although I can understand how pissed off Svinimir must have been to find himself in such a predicament.”
“Pissed off enough to have one of his lackeys beat Melina within an inch of her life.”
Lena reached over and gave my knee a quick squeeze then focused her attention on Kaloyan. “We intend to return the favor. With a slightly different end.”
“Good.” He stood, muscles rippling with the movement. He turned his gaze on Lena. “Be careful. Svinimir—like me—belongs to Ariana. You need to be fucking careful that nothing about his death can be traced back to you. While I doubt my liege would have the balls to start a war with Yelena over a mid-ranking bastard like Svinimir, it’s better if you don’t take any chances.” Briefly, regret flashed across his face. “I can’t come with you because of that. But if you need some extra muscle, I can introduce you to some reliable people from around here.”
“Thanks for the offer, but we’re good.” Lena glanced at me, smiling, then offered her hand to Kaloyan. Her expression turned wicked. “Lotte can handle herself. And they don’t call me the Bounty Hunting Queen for nothing.”
An hour later, I was dressed in my own clothes Lena had picked up from my apartment. Cowardly, maybe, but I hadn’t wanted to pop in myself on the off chance Afanasiy had decided to stake the place out—he hadn’t.
I wasn’t entirely sure whether that came as a relief or a blow. A little bit of both, perhaps.
But as I donned my battle gear, that part of me locked down and retreated into the background. I’d excavate it when all of this blew over.
Lena and I stood in what was the bedroom within her lair, adding a few finishing touches in silence. Like Lena’s, my outfit was mostly leather, soft and pliable to offer some protection from whatever shit we were about to walk into while not hindering my movements. My friend, tutor, and partner in not-exactly-crime had also outfitted me with a few of her trademark knives, but the blades were more of an afterthought than anything else.
My main weapon I carried within me.
Lena, on the other hand, was a walking armory. Guns, daggers, and a whole lot of that amazing mag-tech stuff she was so keen on. She rechecked the utility belt wrapped around her hips, its many pockets brimming with gadgets my crash course had only covered the basics of. Her thighs and arms sported knife sheaths, and coupled with a shoulder holster and another gun secured within her boot, Lena looked so much like a kick-ass killing machine that I couldn’t hold back a slightly nervous laugh. At least seeing how assertive she was kept my own fear at bay.
I might be a natural predator, but I was still a baby in this game.
I checked my own thigh sheath one last time, making sure I could get to the knife with ease, then snapped an elastic band around my wrist and started braiding my hair. A few shorter strands kept slipping free, but I managed to secure them with the bobby pins Lena handed over.
“If I didn’t like my hair so much,” she drawled and set the box holding the pins back down on the black-lacquered vanity, “I would have chopped it off ages ago.”
I met her reflection in the mirror, noting the dull glint of the pins stuck in her hair, and snorted. “Tell me about it. I’ve struggled with this shit for years on the court.”
>
And never uncovered a foolproof way of holding everything in place.
Well, sweat helped a bit. And I had a suspicion I would be drenched in it before our little excursion was over.
Once I was done, Lena gave me an appraising look. “Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said dryly, though a kernel of excitement rose.
Lena led the way into the ritualistic chamber, grabbed my hand, and grinned. “To the first of our many adventures.”
We materialized in what felt like the middle of nowhere.
A quick sampling of the night air, however, told me we were far from alone.
Kaloyan had warned us to expect as much. With his penchant for women, Svinimir preferred to reside in his aboveground dwellings, dipping into Shadow World just enough to maintain his power base. But with the latter literally gone, it didn’t come as a surprise that the bastard chose to hide out here, surrounded by those who were honor bound or had offered loyalty in exchange for an obscene amount of money.
Svinimir knew Melina’s fight back had left him vulnerable—and had compensated appropriately. But if he thought his minions would be enough to protect his ass from someone really determined to kick it six ways to Sunday, he was also seriously mistaken.
I glanced at Lena and nodded.
In perfect silence, we prowled through the surrounding woods. A palm-sized gadget rested in her hand, one screen measuring energy signatures, the other pinpointing any wards concealed within the landscape. Coupled with my werewolf senses, our system was nearly infallible.
We crept up a small incline. The patchy grass and hard soil crunched almost inaudibly beneath our feet, a sound easily mistaken for small game unless you knew what to listen for. I inhaled deeply as the wind shifted, then grabbed Lena by the wrist and held her still.
Body tense, she arched a dark eyebrow.
Transient Moon Page 19