Burn the Night

by Jocelynn Drake

  That seems a bit of a stretch, Danaus silently said. She’s more correct. I serve drinks instead of removing heads now.

  The Dark Room is a safer place for both nightwalkers and humans now because of you.

  That might be true, but you’re stretching the truth, he pressed, but I could feel the underlying laughter in his mind, which only made me long to lean across the sofa and press a long kiss to his full lips. For now, the hunter was happy in his new life with me and Savannah. I planned to bask in that happiness for as long as it lasted. In time, I knew he would grow restless again and keeping the peace at the Dark Room wouldn’t be enough for him. But considering his long life, I was hoping he would at least stick around for a few decades before the boredom kicked in.

  “Is the Dark Room really that dangerous?” she asked in awe-filled tones. “I mean, I don’t know a lot of nightwalkers. Just you and Tristan, which I am really, really sorry to hear about. I don’t know what happened—”

  “We don’t discuss it,” I said sharply, slashing cruelly through her apology.

  “I am sorry, Mira,” she continued after a tense moment of silence. “He was a wonderful person. Tristan, and you, and Knox, are the only nightwalkers I really know, and I never saw you as all that dangerous. I didn’t know that the Dark Room was such a scary place. I guess it is a lucky thing that Danaus is there now.”

  “Shelly, what brought you to Savannah?” I suddenly demanded, causing Danaus to wince as I cut straight to the heart of the matter. The mere mention of Tristan’s name had dissolved the last of my patience. Now was not the time to give the little earth witch a lesson in exactly how dangerous nightwalkers could be. She had seen the violence with her own eyes, and yet it seemed she had chosen to whitewash the memory so that nightwalkers didn’t come out looking half as scary as we truly were. Of course, if she was willing to face the fact that she was sitting with one of the most dangerous nightwalkers in all the world, I truly doubted that she would have come on this little visit alone. On the other hand, she had been smart enough to pick a night that Danaus was free from his duties at the Dark Room. She could have been counting on the hunter acting as a buffer, as he always did.

  “I’m actually here on someone else’s behalf,” she admitted slowly. Leaning forward, she placed her elbows on her legs and twisted her fingers together as if knotting them in her growing anxiety. It was one of the few times I saw a frown cross her small, bowlike lips. Her long blond hair fell forward, framing her heart-shaped face, accenting the flush to her cheeks, which I hadn’t noticed there a moment ago. In the silence of the room, I could hear her heart pounding in her chest.

  “Who?”

  “We need your help, Mira,” Shelly evaded, raising her wide eyes to me as to somehow weaken my will.

  “Who?” I repeated, my voice growing harder and colder. A knot twisted in my stomach the more anxious that she became.

  “Cynnia would—”

  “No, absolutely not!” I said, coming out of my seat. I paced to the far end of the room, shaking my head while clenching my teeth. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with that renegade princess. Sure, I admired her for the gutsy way she used me as protection against both nightwalkers and her own kind. But that admiration only stretched so far. Trouble followed that naturi no matter where she went. And after the rough several months I’d spent fighting against and with Danaus, I thought we both deserved a little peace and quiet. Cynnia would not allow such a thing.

  “Please, Mira. She only wants to talk to you,” Shelly said, rising to her feet as well when I paced back toward the sofa.

  “I’m no fool, Shelly,” I snarled. “Cynnia wants more than just to talk. She used me as her own personal bodyguard last fall. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s come back looking for a repeat performance.”

  “Actually, that’s been my job.” Shelly tilted her head up a little as she spoke, pride filling her words.

  “What do you mean?” Danaus asked. I leaned against the arm of the sofa and crossed my arms over my chest as I watched the witch through narrowed eyes. She stared back unflinchingly, head held high.

  “I encountered Cynnia and Nyx not long after Machu Picchu. There were looking for someplace to stay hidden while they formulated a plan to stay alive against Aurora. Since that time, I have been acting as Cynnia’s personal bodyguard along with her sister Nyx.”

  “They’re going to get you killed.”

  “They’re fighting for a good cause. If you have to die, isn’t it best to die fighting for a good cause?”

  “Dead is dead. Glory and honor are just pretty ideas that don’t exist anymore,” I whispered, talking mostly to myself. Honor was a concept I still clung to, though mine was more than a little tattered and torn these days.

  I stared at Shelly in silence for more than a minute, dark thoughts swirling through my head. Just a couple centuries ago I would have told her to bring Cynnia forward and the consequences be damned. I was always searching for the next fight, the next adventure that led me so close to death that I could kiss the grim reaper.

  But now things had changed. I had seen more than six centuries pass before my eyes. I had watched people I loved greatly fall at my feet and die. I had been washed in the blood of my comrades and my enemies more nights than I ever wanted to count. A part of my soul was tired of it all. Besides, now I had Danaus to help soothe the ache when the memories came to haunt me. I had Danaus’s gentle touch and teasing smile. I had his wisdom and experience to help guide my decisions and to drive me insane when we didn’t see eye-to-eye on a matter. I had Danaus now, and I no longer wanted to chase after death. For the first time in more years that I could count, I was ready to live.

  “She does need your help,” Shelly said gently when I finally seemed to calm down, “but for now, she would be content with a meeting. She just wants you to hear her out. Cynnia has already sent Nyx out to speak with someone else. It’s my job to convince you to at least meet with her, listen to what she has to say with an open mind. That’s all we’re asking.”

  “If Nyx is away and you’re here with me, then who is guarding the little princess? That’s not being a very good bodyguard,” I taunted.

  “It was a risk Cynnia was willing to take. She knew that I would be the only one you’d listen to for even a few minutes, so she is taking a big chance by allowing me to leave her alone for a period of time.”

  Staring at Shelly, I furrowed my brow before glancing out the window behind me. Cynnia didn’t take big chances. She took calculated risks. Right now she was being hunted by Aurora’s followers, and there was only one place nearby that they might fear to tread.

  “Damn it, Shelly! She’s already in Savannah!” I shouted, throwing my hands up. Pointing at Danaus, I growled, “Check the area! How many naturi are lurking in my city?” I could have tried to complete the search myself, but while Nick had given me the ability to sense all the different types of power, I still had trouble distinguishing the naturi from the lycanthropes, and I wasn’t very good at estimating their numbers.

  Frowning at me, Danaus nonetheless pushed his powers out from his body and through the house. I closed my eyes and was swept along in the wave as it washed through my city. I could feel the soothing vibrations of the nightwalkers across the landscape and then the jarring sensation of the naturi.

  “There are seven,” he replied, pulling his powers back into his frame. “They are sticking to the outskirts of town, possibly across the river in lycan territory. None in the city proper.”

  “That’s not good,” Shelly murmured, balling her hands into fists before her. “When I left, Cynnia had only three guards with her. I don’t know who the other three are.”

  Sucking in a slow breath and releasing it to cleanse my mind, I looked over at Shelly as she was torn between her duty to convince me to listen to her charge and her duty to protect the princess. It was a position I could understand.

  “Does Cynnia’s need to talk to us have to do with her sister Aur
ora?” I asked in a low, even voice, which made me sound more reasonable that I was feeling.

  “Yes, I’m afraid it does.”

  I looked down at Danaus, who simply shrugged his broad shoulders at me. “You knew it was coming.”

  “I foolishly wanted a little more time.”

  Turning my back on Shelly, I glanced out the window into the large park square opposite my town house. Cars swooshed by, their lights dancing across the trees so the shadows lunged about the open area. I sensed no nightwalkers close to my home, only humans enjoying the warmer than usual spring evening. There were still many hours until the sun rose. Plenty of time to hear the plea of a naturi princess.

  “If Cynnia is talking about engaging Aurora and is thinking of potentially using Savannah as a battleground, then Barrett Rainer, alpha for the Savannah pack, should be involved in this discussion.”

  “I don’t think she wants to use any city as a battleground,” Shelly quickly countered. “However, there is always the chance of Aurora coming after her.”

  “Barrett should be involved,” I pressed. That was my first big mistake when dealing with the naturi. I had made it a nightwalker issue and kept the shifters in the dark in an effort to protect our own shame and secrets. In the end, many good lycanthropes had died without knowing why. I’d learned my lesson the hard way. Barrett deserved a voice in what was going to happen next.

  “All right,” Shelly said. “I don’t think Cynnia will be averse to your suggestion. We shall meet—”

  “Tonight,” I finished. “I want this over as quickly as possible. We are currently faced with another pressing problem, and I would prefer not to have the naturi in the region causing problems as well.” Danaus was frowning at the callous way I was treating Shelly, but I didn’t care. She was bringing a threat into my domain and it was my job to protect my people, not bring them more harm. “We need a neutral location. I’m not holding the meeting here.”

  “The Dark Room?” he suggested.

  “No naturi will ever step foot in the Dark Room again,” I said, glaring at him. The last time such a thing happened, Knox had nearly been killed and several other nightwalkers and lycanthropes in fact had.

  “The Docks?” he tried again, mentioning the newly restored nightclub that I favored down on River Street.

  I shook my head. “Too loud and too many humans.”

  “Then how about the tunnels?”

  A smile lifted the corners of my mouth and I resisted the urge to kiss him. It was brilliant. It was a favorite haunt of the shifters during the day when they needed to take care of a little business, while other nightwalkers used it as a daytime lair and a secret way of sneaking around the city.

  “There’s an entrance to the tunnels just off River Street where it meets up with Bay near the shipping yards. Tell Cynnia to meet us there in two hours. I’ll bring Barrett.”

  “Thank you, Mira,” Shelly said in a rush. She unexpectedly closed the distance between us and wrapped me in a quick, tight hug before she was out of the room and out the front door, heading back to the naturi she was supposed to be guarding.

  Threading the fingers of my right hand through my hair, I bent my head and stared at the ground. I was trying to convince myself that it all wasn’t crumbling away beneath my feet. I had worked so hard getting my life back in order, putting some distance between not only myself and the naturi, but myself and the coven as well.

  “You will just go and listen to what she has to say,” Danaus said. I could hear the leather creaking beneath him as he pushed off the sofa and approached me. He laid his large hands on my shoulders and squeezed, attempting to ease away some of the tension.

  “The war with Aurora is coming, and Cynnia needs our help if she is going to survive. We’re getting sucked into another battle with the queen of the naturi,” I said, my voice trembling.

  “Look deep inside yourself, Mira. Tell me there’s not a part of you longing to take another shot at her.”

  A slow chuckle rose from my lips as I dropped my hand back down to my side. Danaus knew me too well. Aurora and Rowe were the reasons I had been tortured so many years ago. Aurora was the one who nearly had me killed among the ruins at Machu Picchu just a few months ago. Destroying her would mean that her people would be weakened, and in time they could slowly be picked off. Destroying Aurora would be one of my most favorite kills of all.

  “The cocky bitch has been causing too many problems in my domain for too long.”

  “All you need is Cynnia to point you in the right direction and potentially provide you with a little bit of an army,” Danaus whispered in my ear. “It could be fun.”

  “You’re a deliciously evil man, Danaus, but you’re right,” I said, twisting my head so I could press a kiss to his hand. “Killing Aurora, and if I’m lucky, Rowe, would finally cleanse me of the naturi. I could restart my life again without this shadow from my past hanging over me.”

  “Just one more battle and then it will all be over with the naturi,” Danaus said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

  I jerked around, a smirk twisting my lips. “I seriously hope you don’t believe that. Nightwalkers and naturi living in peace? Now that’s the stuff of fairy tales.”

  “I find that idea no different than our situation.”

  “Ours is different. You came to your senses. The naturi will not,” I teased, slipping away from him before he could grab me.

  “I hope you are wrong,” he called after me as I headed back to the office to call Barrett.

  “Me too,” I whispered. I wanted Aurora’s head clasped firmly in my hands, but I didn’t want a war with the naturi. There would be no hiding it. The humans would see it, and our world would be thrown open at last. No more hiding in the shadows, only the Great Awakening.

  Thirteen

  The only thing keeping me from pacing the open tunnels was the fact that both Barrett and Danaus were perfectly still despite the growing tension. Like any potential meeting, we brought along our respective seconds in command. Cooper, Barrett’s brother, leaned against the car that had carried the lycanthropes, while Knox leaned against one of the brick columns that stretched up to the ceiling of the tunnel. Danaus was both my lover and my confidant, but in the nightwalker world, Knox would always be my second in command in Savannah. However, I had a slight suspicion that Knox would just as willingly take orders from Danaus as from me. That’s why I trusted Knox so much. He was smarter than most nightwalkers.

  “How do we know this isn’t some naturi trap?” Cooper suddenly demanded, shattering the silence that had filled the tunnels. His voice echoed off the stone walls, carrying deep into the thick darkness that hugged close. “I mean, we’ve got the leaders of the vampires and the lycanthropes right here. What better way to take over the city than to kill them both in a single fight and then move into the city?”

  “Danaus, how many naturi are in the city?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at the hunter.

  “There are four naturi approaching us, but there are at least a dozen on the outskirts of the city,” he replied a couple seconds after the warmth of his powers had swept past me.

  I frowned. There had been only seven naturi in the region when we spoke to Shelly earlier. I wasn’t comfortable with how their numbers were growing, but for now I was more concerned with the contingent of four approaching our location. With any luck, that would be Cynnia and her honor guard.

  “I truly doubt that four naturi is enough to kill us all,” I said blandly.

  “And if they’re members of the animal clan?” Cooper shot back at me, anxiety creeping into his voice. Two of his brothers had already been killed as the result of fights caused by the naturi animal clan.

  “We’ll handle it,” Danaus said.

  “She’s late,” Barrett muttered.

  Folding my arms over my chest, I leaned my hip against the side of my car, keeping clear of the headlights pointed toward the doors that led into the tunnels. “She’ll be here. This
is too important a meeting for her to miss. She knows this is her only chance to win our support.”

  Luckily, we had to wait only a couple more minutes before one of the large metal doors leading to the tunnels creaked open. Shelly entered first, raising her hand against the blinding light of the two sets of car headlights aimed at her. We wanted the advantage when our opponents entered the tunnels. For several minutes they would be blinded while we were hidden deep in the shadows that filled the tunnels.

  “Mira?” she called out, blinking her eyes rapidly as she struggled to adjust to the light.

  “We’re all here,” I confirmed.

  Shelly slowly walked into the tunnels with her hands raised to her shoulders, open and empty, to show that she wasn’t holding any weapons. I was about to tell her to drop her hands, but I felt that the submissive stance put the others at ease. Cynnia followed close behind with her three guards. They were armed, but with their arms raised and away from their weapons, in a neutral stance. They needed to protect their princess so they had to remain armed, which was fine, because we were all armed as well. Trust was definitely thin on the ground.

  Cynnia looked much the same as when I had last seen her among the ruins of Machu Picchu. She had a slight frame, while her tanned face was framed by a wealth of dark hair. She still appeared to be little more than seventeen to nineteen, but I knew her to be several centuries old. Young to take the throne, I suspected, by naturi standards. Nyx looked to be older than her sister Cynnia, and yet the younger sister was the one stepping forward. I knew there had to be more to the story behind that arrangement, but it had nothing to do with us. I didn’t care to become involved in naturi politics. It was enough that I was up to my eyeballs in nightwalker politics with the coven.