Wait for Dusk (3 page)

“Is Gaizka gone?” I asked, unable to stop the tremble that slipped into my voice at the mention of the bori that tried to steal Danaus away.

“It’s gone.” He cupped my face with both his hands and looked me in the eye. “You saw it. The doorway opened and Gaizka was drawn back inside. Caged. Gone forever.”

My eyes fell shut as a tear slipped down my cheek. “Forever,” I repeated, bitterness eating away at the word before it could travel much farther than my lips. Forever seemed like such a pretty concept. Aurora and the naturi were supposed to be locked away from the world forever, but they escaped. Why couldn’t the horde of bori that were waiting in their own little holding pen break free as well?

“What’s Gaizka?” Valerio asked.

I turned my head toward the nightwalker, still resting my face in Danaus’s hands. His warmth was wrapped around me in a comforting embrace, and I wasn’t ready to leave it just yet and dive back into the cold brutal world that waited for me. “A bori who escaped. We locked it away again.”

I opened my eyes to find Valerio standing with a somewhat blank expression. One hand was outstretched, with the tips of his fingers pressed to the doorjamb as if to steady himself as the room threatened to spin around him. I could easily guess that it was taking all of his strength and considerable willpower not to show the terror I knew was screaming away in his mind.

The bori, along with the naturi, were our greatest enemies. Yet where the naturi were content to simply destroy us, the bori were determined to once again control us. They were, after all, the creators of all nightwalkers. Centuries ago the nightwalkers and the lycans locked away the bori and the naturi, but recently our prisoners had been escaping their bonds.

“It’s gone?” Valerio asked in a breathless voice. “You’re sure it’s gone?”

Pulling my face out of Danaus’s grasp, I rested my head against the desk behind me and closed my eyes. “It’s gone.”

“It . . . Gaizka . . . did this?” Valerio inquired.

“Yes,” I quickly said before Danaus could speak. It was a lie, but it was something I knew Valerio would easily believe. I still had no idea what I would tell Danaus when the time finally came, but for now neither man needed to know who had been in the library with me. I was trying to come to terms with it myself. I didn’t need to think about the repercussions of other people knowing.

“But it’s gone now,” I said with a grunt as I tried to push to my feet. To my surprise, Danaus swept his arms beneath me and picked me up, cradling me against his large chest.

“You need to rest,” he said firmly, starting to walk out of the room.

“She needs to feed,” Valerio countered in a cold voice as he came to stand in front of the hunter, stopping him from taking me to whatever soft, comfortable location he had in mind. Bed sounded very nice. Feeding required more energy than I was willing to expend until the next evening.

“But I’m not going to get either, because I need to know why you’ve suddenly shown up in my domain,” I said tartly, pinning Valerio with a dark gaze. “This isn’t a pleasure visit, is it?”

“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Mira.” Valerio smiled, as some of the tension eased out of his strong shoulders. The destruction of the library, my appearance, and the mention of the bori had temporarily shaken up the nightwalker’s usual unflappable calm. But he now seemed to be settling back into his usual self of untouchable poise and charm.

Laying my head against Danaus’s chest, I listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, letting the soothing sound push back the pain. Valerio and I had some kind of business to discuss, and I had a dark feeling I knew who it involved. “Danaus, either put me down or put me in the parlor. There’s no rest for the wicked in this city.”

A part of me half expected the hunter to simply drop me on my ass exactly where he stood, but I must have looked pretty damn bad because he carried me into the main parlor and gently settled me on the sofa while he took a nearby chair to my left. Valerio followed us silently into the room, which was impressive considering the creaky, hardwood floors, but then Ancients had all kinds of special skills that we younger ones could only dream about.

Valerio walked over to the marble fireplace and turned around, his hands on his hips as he looked down at his feet, a frown toying with the corners of his lips. The nightwalker was weighing his words. If he was trying to be cautious, I knew it did not bode well for me.

“Out with it,” I snapped. “You’re not here for Knox.” Yet even as I uttered the words, I felt a strange tightening in my chest at the thought of it. What if he was here to take back the nightwalker he had made centuries ago? Not only had I come to count on Knox to help me maintain the peace in my domain, but I also saw him as a good friend. I didn’t want Valerio to snatch him away from me.

“No, this isn’t about Knox,” Valerio admitted with a shake of his head, sending a soft lock of hair down across his forehead. The nightwalker released a heavy sigh and stared at Danaus, who was frowning at him, looking distinctly uncomfortable. The last time he’d met Valerio, it had not been under the best circumstances. Both the naturi and the coven were trying to decide how to kill us, and Valerio was struggling to choose a side.

“I think it would be best if we discussed this in private,” Valerio finally admitted, tearing his eyes away from the hunter to pin me with his dark gaze.

“If this is about the coven, he can stay,” I grumbled as I slid into a sitting position. I gently placed my feet on the floor, feeling to see if my knee and leg were fully healed. Strength was returning to my battered frame and I felt that a lot of my aches and pains could be washed away with a hot shower. “Danaus has met the coven. He’s been through hell with me. He can stay to hear this.”

At this, Valerio finally frowned at me. “Are you saying that you’ve finally taken a pet?”

“No!” Danaus said, instantly lurching to his feet.

“No,” I seconded in a softer, yet firm voice.

“Then what, Mira? Are you saying he’s your equal? You, a member of the coven, are equal with a vampire hunter?” Valerio demanded, twisting the knife that he had plunged into my chest when he started this conversation.

I didn’t know how best to explain it. Danaus had walked through the fires of Hell with me, survived attacks from both naturi and bori. If this creature was going to continue to watch my back, I couldn’t keep secrets from him.

“It’s complicated, Valerio. Let’s leave it at that.” Valerio gave me a skeptical look that implied far too much.
Leave it. It’s not what you think,
I told him again, in thought, which only earned me a slight grin. The nightwalker positively reveled in being a complete pain in the neck.

Motioning for Danaus to return to his seat, I ran one hand roughly through my hair, pushing it out of my face. “Can we just get down to business?” I said to Valerio. “What does the coven want?” While Valerio had never mentioned it, I knew the coven was one of the few things that would drive the nightwalker out of the splendid comfort of the Old World into my domain.

“They want you,” he stated, shoving his hands into his pockets as he leaned one shoulder against the mantel of the fireplace.

“For what?” Danaus inquired.

“They’re convening, aren’t they?” I asked, trying not to sound like I was whining, but I wasn’t succeeding too well.

“Yes, and your presence has been ‘requested,’ ” Valerio said with an amused little sneer.

Requested, my ass. The coven wanted to meet and have me officially inducted as a member. I had skipped some of the formalities when I joined the coven during the summer due to a desperate moment of need—if we were to have any chance at stopping the naturi. Jabari, one of the coven Elders, had been there to verify my petition, but I never received the official approval of the other two members of the coven. I had never given other nightwalkers a chance to challenge me. Hell, Our Liege could simply stop my ascent to the open seat by ripping my head off.

I swallowed a half-dozen snide comments as I rubbed my temples with one hand. I needed to rest and to talk to Danaus. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t have the chance to do either until I got rid of Valerio. “Am I the only reason the coven is meeting?”

“I don’t think so,” the nightwalker said with a small sigh. “Keepers from domains all around Europe have been complaining about the recent naturi infestation. There’s a chance that the coven might take some action at last, but it’s unlikely it will happen unless you’re there.”

“I guess it’s too much to ask that the keepers take care of their own domains like they’re supposed to.” I slouched on the sofa, dropping my head into my left hand while resting my elbow on the arm of the sofa. “It’s not like it’s the job of the coven to police the world for the naturi.”

“It may be, now that they are running loose again,” Valerio pointed out grimly.

“At least until Aurora has been taken care of,” Danaus added.

That was doubtful. I had mortally wounded Aurora, but I wouldn’t believe that the queen of the naturi was dead until I saw her cold corpse rotting before me. Besides, there was still Cynnia and Rowe. The naturi nation had too many would-be leaders waiting in the wings that could easily take up the cause once Aurora was killed. Unfortunately, with our penchant for infighting and betrayal, the nightwalkers were nowhere near as organized. Right now we needed a united coven to take on the naturi threat, and the ongoing war between Jabari and Macaire would keep us from ever being at our peak strength. To make matters worse, my presence on the coven would not help mend the gaping fissure that tore through the nightwalker ruling body.

“What were your orders?” I demanded, pushing my concerns regarding the naturi aside. I would have to deal with the coven first and survive that ordeal before I turned my attention to the naturi.

“Fetch you.”

“Good dog.” My wry grin succeeded in wiping any lingering smile from his face.

“Watch your step, Mira,” Valerio warned. “My orders are to bring you to Venice immediately. I could grab you now and take you. In your current condition, I don’t see how you would last too long.”

Danaus shot to his feet and came to stand directly between Valerio and me. The hunter slid his hand up to the knife strapped to his side, while his own energy surged from his body to beat against me.

“It’s okay, Danaus,” I said, laying a hand on his arm. I gave it a gentle squeeze, trying to reassure him. It was touching that he was ready to kill my friend to protect me. “If Valerio planned to do that, he wouldn’t have wasted time telling me.”

Danaus stood in front of me, staring down Valerio for several more seconds before the hunter finally backed off, returning to his seat beside me.

“Tell them that I will board a plane just before sunrise today and be in Venice tomorrow night in time for a meeting of the coven,” I said, lifting my head from my hand to look at the nightwalker directly.

“It’s not what they want,” he warned.

“But it’s what I want, and as a member of the coven you have to obey my wishes. If Jabari wants me there tonight, he’ll have to fetch me himself.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Danaus growled, shifting in his seat as if expecting to see the Elder suddenly appear before him.

“If you must, tell the coven members that I am tidying up some of my own naturi matters,” I said to Valerio with an absent wave of my hand.

“Don’t you mean bori?”

“No, I don’t,” I said sharply. “And after you relay the message, you may want to reconsider being present when I arrive. I’ll be bringing Danaus.”

“Really?” Valerio said, cocking his head to the side as he took a step closer to me.

“As my consort.”

“Oh . . . really?” he asked with a deep chuckle. “That hasn’t been done in . . .”

“Centuries, I know.”

“And never with one of his kind.”

“True.”

A wide grin spread across Valerio’s handsome face as he shook his head at me. “I wouldn’t miss this meeting for anything in the world. I’ll see you in Venice.” With that, he disappeared in a small surge of energy, leaving me with Danaus and the mess that I was about to make.

Chapter Three

I
was alone with Danaus. After days of running and fighting both the naturi and the bori, I had begun to wonder if we would ever have a quiet moment together. Things had changed between us, but I couldn’t begin to describe how or why. I was afraid to put words to it for fear of destroying what little positive ground had been made. My stomach twisted into knots and muscles tightened in my chest. There had been other men in my long existence, but none of those times felt half as delicate as what I currently faced. To make matters worse, there was a good chance that I was about to obliterate what progress had been made with my newest scheme, but in truth I was willing to take the chance if it meant that he was coming to Venice with me. I wasn’t prepared to face the coven alone, and if Nick had his way, I would need to keep the hunter at my side for the time being.

“Do you plan to feed tonight?” Danaus asked, drawing my gaze back over to his face.

I shook my head. “I just need to rest a little before I make some phone calls.”

To my surprise, the hunter stood and scooped me up in his arms again. He wordlessly carried me up the stairs to the bedroom with the yellow paint and a pretty striped comforter. The covers on the bed were twisted in disarray from someone who had slept in the bed the day before. A lump formed in my throat. Lily had slept in this room. Her sweet scent was so thick in the air that I could have closed my eyes and believed her to be standing right next to me.

But she wasn’t. That sweet young girl was lying dead in Factors Walk, her body broken from when she had been thrown into the stone wall by the one nightwalker she seemed to trust above all others: Tristan. The bori had taken control of the nightwalker, forcing him to do things he would never think of doing.

“Danaus.” I choked on his name as I grabbed his shoulder with my right hand. “Why? Oh God, why now?”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and gently gathered me even tighter into his arms. “You’re going to see the coven. You have to deal with this now or it will sneak up on you in a moment when you can’t afford to be weak,” he said. His voice had grown rough and hoarse as he spoke.