by Lora Edwards
Teagan and Armand materialized in a room, ducking as a vase hit the wall and shattered over the heads.
“No! How did you break my—” The countess’s words cut off as Victoria landed a roundhouse kick to her abdomen, cutting off her air supply.
Armand stepped forward, and Teagan grabbed his arm. “No, Armand. This is her fight, and she has it handled. She needs this.”
They watched in horror as the fight went on, magic and fists flying, both women delivering blow after blow. The room was sealed, and the members of the nest could be heard banging on the doors outside.
“She has sealed them out but is allowing people to jump in?”
She smirked. “Not necessarily. When I broke her spells, I was able to isolate her magical signature. We are still wearing the amulets, which makes us impervious to her magic.”
“Victoria was not given one,” Armand hissed at her as she took a punch in the face.
“Yes, I am aware, but she will never trust herself if we intervene now. She is holding her own and needs to defeat the countess.”
“Reinforcements are present,” Ovidia said from behind Teagan. She whirled to see Bran, Delphine, Flynn, Ovidia, and Erik standing behind her.
“No!” The countess shrieked, her attention divided, giving Victoria the opening she needed. She shouted a spell at the countess and swept her legs out from under her, and the light left the other woman’s eyes as her head hit the stone floor with a thud.
Victoria stood over her, breathing hard, tears streaming from her eyes. The body of the countess slowly disintegrated as she died the true death, her body aging to its chronological age and turning to dust.
Victoria’s legs collapsed beneath her and Armand caught her as she fell.
“Come, we will call a crew to deal with this mess. Let’s get her home.”
“Nice work for a vamp.” Ovidia grinned at Victoria, who gave her a weak smile in return.
“Praise from a Valkyrie—I will take it.”
Armand gathered her closer as they all jumped back to the institute.
He looked at the assembled group of people who were more than operatives; they were his friends. “It is late. Meeting, nine AM sharp, my office.” He strode away, leaving them grinning after him.
Chapter 58
“I will miss this.” Armand smiled and took Victoria’s hand as he looked around his office one last time.
“We can stay, and you can continue to run the institute.” She put a hand to his cheek and gave him a soft kiss.
He shook his head. “It is time for new blood. I have the world to travel with a beautiful woman—why would I choose to sit behind a desk?” She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.
“All right, enough of that, geez. This is an office, you know,” Bran said as he opened the door and caught sight of their embrace.
Armand turned, all playfulness gone from his face.
“I have invited you here to give you an announcement. I am resigning my position as the head of the institute permanently. Bran has excelled at running it during this mission. Bran, if you want the seat, it is yours.”
Bran looked at Teagan, who nodded. “I would be honored, sir.” He peeked around Teagan to look at Delphine. “Only if you agree to continue to help.”
Delphine blushed and just nodded. “Do you have a good maternity leave plan?”
They all laughed.
“Armand, what will you do now that you are not running the institute? I can’t see you being idle,” Ovidia inquired.
“I will take my beautiful mate to see the world.” Armand smiled at Victoria, his heart in his eyes. “I love you now and forever, mi amor,” he whispered for only her to hear.
“And I you,” she whispered back.
“Now don’t run my institute into the ground.” Armand looked sternly at Bran.
“Don’t worry, sir. I know you will be watching.”
“This calls for champagne.” Teagan waved her hands and everyone held a glass of bubbly. She stood and raised hers. “To Armand and Victoria, may their travels be everything they wish, but always lead them back home. We will miss you.”
Victoria sniffled. “To all of you, in the short time we have known each other, you have become more than my friends. You are family, a family I never thought I would have. To all of us.”
“To all of us,” the group intoned, clinking glasses joyfully.
Armand watched as they all drank and began to chat about the upcoming changes, Victoria with Teagan about the places they would go, Bran and Delphine about changes they wanted to implement in the organization. It was time, and the institute would be in good hands.
Epilogue
“Seriously, fish girl, what have you done with my office?” Cleo sneered at Delphine, who looked back at the dragon passively.
“It just needed a Siren’s touch,” Delphine said sweetly.
“Is he in?” she asked, nodding toward the door.
“Yes, he is, but—” Cleo ignored her and strode into the office.
“Hello Cleo,” Bran said, looking up from his paperwork.
“Where is Armand?”
“Off somewhere with Victoria I suspect. You have missed a lot. I have taken over as director of the institute.”
“I see,” Cleo said, backing toward the door.
“Cleo, are you ready for mission work?”
“I am.” She paused with her hand on the door.
“Good because there is a mission that has been waiting just for you."
THE END
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Also by Lora Edwards
Book 1
1888 The Ripper File
Book 2
1715 The Blackbeard File
Book 3
1901 The Society File
Book 4
2018 The Bathory File
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW
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COMING SOON
Look for the next book in the Paranormal Institute Series:
1805 The Ching Shih File
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Copyright © 2019 by Lora Edwards
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents, and dialogue are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictional manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
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Acknowledgments
It takes a lot of people to produce a book, and I have a fantastic team of people that help this book become a reality.
To my Husband for loving me, believing in me and putting up with the light on late into the night. I love you.
To my Mother thank you for all the phone calls and plot meetings and just everything you are the best writing partner and I know that your books are going to be fantastic.
To Macy as always you helped this book shine and I don’t know what I would do without you.
To the institu
te ARC team (Mimi, Laurie, Katie) thanks for reading this book early and making sure that it all worked.
C. Marie as always you made my words so much smoother than I ever could.
BZN Studios you covers rock. If anyone is need of a cover She does an amazing job.
To Jessie, Gabreal, and Brooke thanks for all the laughs and for putting up with my nerdy self. You ladies are my lifeline.
And as always thank you Dear Reader for taking a change on a new author.
About the Author
Lora Edwards is a counselor by day and author by night. She lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, children and rambunctious French Bulldog.
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