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“Okay,” he finally conceded.

“Can you get your people out of here and somewhere safe outside the city?” Danaus asked him. “Somewhere hidden?”

“Yes, we can get out of here. What about you?”

“What about us?” Knox demanded, coming up behind me. I thought that I’d sensed him alive earlier, but it was a relief to see him in person.

“I’ll provide a distraction for the nightwalkers and the lycanthropes,” I said, fighting back a relieved grin. “Spread the word. The distraction won’t last long, so they have to move fast. Tell everyone they need to lay low for the next few weeks. Find new hiding places outside the city if necessary. Wait for direction from me.”

Knox nodded once and then disappeared back into the shadows thrown by the massive trees, to spread the word to the rest of the nightwalkers in the area. I turned to Rowe, who gave me a little salute before launching back into the air. I held my breath as he streaked across the sky on massive black wings. Spotlights followed him as he moved, but not a single shot was fired. From the crowd of humans, I could hear exclamations of terror and shock. For now, however, they were too stunned and afraid to fire. I hoped that mind-set would last a little while longer.

Alone with Danaus, I found the hunter staring at me, waiting for my next move. I had one shot at this, and only one way of getting him out of there alive. I just prayed that I had enough strength left to pull off this little stunt. I was shaking with exhaustion, but still had to carry on, for both his protection and the protection of my people.

“I’m hoping you’ve got an escape plan for the both of us,” he said with a smirk. “I would really prefer not to spend the rest of the night and the next few centuries locked in a human prison while they try to figure out exactly what I am.”

“I’ve got a trick or two left up my sleeve. However, you’re just going to have to trust me on this one.” I extended my right hand toward him, with the palm open. Without hesitation, he threaded his fingers through mine as we slowly walked out into the opening that was littered with the dead bodies of both naturi and nightwalkers.

“Put your hands behind your heads!” ordered the same gruff human voice.

With a smile, I raised our entwined hands and pressed a kiss to the back of Danaus’s hand before I released it and placed both of my hands behind my head.

“Drama queen,” Danaus muttered under his breath as he did the same with his hands.

“You only wish you would have thought of it first,” I teased, squinting against the bright light.

Danaus gave a snort but said nothing more as I mentally contacted the other nightwalkers, warning them to be ready. Closing my eyes, I tapped into the powers that had been with me since birth, the power that had caught the attention of nightwalkers, naturi, bori, and even a god. All around the park a wall of fire sprang up, separating us from the humans. At different intervals I created breaks in the fire, allowing the lycanthropes, naturi, and nightwalkers to slip through while the humans focused on the unexpected fire.

To my surprise, Danaus’s hands were on either side of my face and he turned me to face him. I opened my eyes in time to see him lean down, and then my eyes fell shut again as he deeply kissed me. I tasted both his strength and his fear for what was to come. I tasted his dry sense of humor and his protectiveness in that kiss. But most of all, I tasted his love for me.

I dropped my hands so they rested on his shoulders and leaned my forehead against his. “Are you ready for this?”

“I’ll follow you anywhere,” he whispered, brushing a kiss against my cheek so that he caught a falling tear.

Extinguishing the flames in a sudden flash, I tapped into some of the powers Nick had blessed me with and we disappeared from the park in the blink of an eye, without a trace, leaving the humans with only the image of two creatures in a loving embrace.

Thirty-six

Holding Danaus close, I buried my face in his chest, not wanting to look around at the all-too-familiar pale white-gray stone that rose up around us to make the ruins of Machu Picchu. In August we had marched up this mountain to stop Rowe and the other naturi from setting Aurora and the rest of the naturi horde free. It had taken us a few months, the sacrifice of several good friends, and the loss of our secrecy, but Aurora had finally been dispatched. And oddly enough, I now counted Rowe as one of my allies, though I didn’t expect that particular development to last long.

Now we had returned for an equally dark and dangerous task I was once again hesitant to face. If it were at all possible, the stakes were higher, but then I had more to lose this time around. I was relying on Danaus to follow my direction, though I knew it would clash with everything he believed. It was too much to ask, so I was meeting my accomplice.

At a small metallic click behind me, I turned around. Adio stood on a ledge just a few feet above where Danaus and I stood in an open field with a single tree. In his hand, he held a gold pocket watch, which he shoved into his pant pocket. He stepped down to the grassy area with a vampire’s grace and slowly walked over to where I clung to Danaus. The hunter had yet to speak, but then, I feared he was beginning to guess at my grand plan to stop Nick.

“You look as if you’ve had a rough evening already,” Adio stated, his eyes skimming over me from my mud-caked boots, to my blood- and mud-splattered clothes, to my wet hair and face. Where the rain had just abated in Savannah as the various forces retreated, the air in mountains surrounding Machu Picchu, Peru, was clear and cool. Overhead, millions of stars twinkled in a cloudless sky, enveloping us as if we were the only three creatures left on the planet.

“You’ve gotten your wish,” I said, reluctantly dropping one hand from around Danaus’s waist so I could better turn to face Our Liege. “The Great Awakening has started. The humans witnessed the battle with the naturi, and then a second fight with the Daylight Coalition. By now the war has been broadcast all across the world. Nightwalkers will awaken to discover that the world is now hunting for them.”

“We will make this right, Mira,” Adio tried to smoothly reassure me, but I wasn’t buying it. “I have nightwalkers picked to step forward and act as spokespeople for our race. We will do some damage control. The Daylight Coalition will not be the only force out there making their message heard. Our people will survive.”

“But what kind of a world will they face?”

“A different one,” Danaus said, squeezing the arm that was still wrapped around his waist. “But one that they will find a way to survive and thrive in. It just might take a little time.”

I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment, then raising my gaze back to Adio. It was nearing time. “I sent a packet of information to my closest assistant and friend. His name is Knox, child of Valerio. He has been given money and directions on how to reach my second domain of Budapest if things become too difficult in Savannah. He has also been given instructions to seek out Valerio in Vienna if necessary. I would like your word that you will keep a protective eye over them.”

“I will,”

“Knox may also be traveling with a human named Gabriel. He is to be protected as well.”

“I understand.”

“There is nothing I can do for the remains of the Savannah pack,” I murmured mostly to myself with a shake of my head. Barrett had suffered so much, mostly because of me. So many lives had been lost, and yet he’d stuck by me through so much death and destruction.

“You have done what you can,” Danaus said, stopping my train of thought. “Barrett will see to his people. He will protect his family and James.”

“Valerio and Knox have been among my closest companions and trusted allies. See to their safety. Also, as much as Stefan and I don’t see eye-to-eye, I believe he will be a good leader of the coven if it remains intact. Find others with a similar strength and vision to save our people.”