“So,” she said, more to break the uneasy silence than the need to speak, “do we have a plan?”
“We get Cezar, kill Morgana, and get the hell back to Chicago,” Styx retorted, his voice clipped.
Anna grimaced. Not much of a plan.
“Okay.”
Without warning the golden gaze swung in her direction, the hard features softening with a flare of compassion.
“Anna, if you’d rather wait in the car no one would think less of you.”
Her mouth fell open at the mere suggestion that she would cower in the car when Cezar was in danger.
“No way,” she barked, her eyes narrowing as Styx’s lips parted. “No, Styx. Cezar’s in trouble because of me. Besides, it’s my duty to face Morgana. I’m the one in the prophecy. No one else can hurt her.”
Styx’s expression hardened. “You do know that Cezar will kill me if something happens to you?”
She might be all kinds of stupid, but she didn’t even flinch beneath the hard glare.
“I might be Cezar’s mate, but I still make my own decisions,” she warned.
The vampire gave a short, humorless laugh. “That sounds remarkably familiar.”
Anna’s lips twitched at his reference to Darcy, but before she could respond she felt a tug deep inside her.
“Slow down,” she commanded, pressing her hand to the window, as if it would help her connect to Cezar. “Take the next exit and turn right.”
Without question Styx followed her directions, slowing the car as she shut her eyes and concentrated on the muffled sense of her mate.
Styx slowed the car as they traveled farther from the highway and deeper into the isolated farmlands. Three more times they turned onto progressively smaller, less traveled roads until the way became nothing more than two ruts between fields.
“He’s close,” she whispered softly.
Without warning, the car came to a halt and Styx reached out to touch her arm.
“Anna?”
Keeping her eyes closed as she clung to that fragile sense of Cezar, Anna heaved an impatient sigh. Dammit, she couldn’t bear anymore delays.
“What?”
“Anna, look at me,” he commanded, his voice sharp enough that her eyes snapped open to meet his fierce, compelling gaze.
“Why have you stopped?” she demanded. “Cezar is…”
“Cezar is in danger, yes I know,” he interrupted. “But Morgana is not his only risk at the moment.”
Anna frowned, really not in the mood to consider yet another horror that might be lurking in the shadows.
A demented aunt with a God complex seemed like quite enough.
“I don’t understand.”
Styx’s remote expression gave nothing away. “That is the problem. You are not a vampire.”
Her raw nerves flared at his words. That was why he’d stopped? To point out that she wasn’t a demon?
“That’s hardly a news flash, Styx. Do you have a point?”
The gold eyes narrowed. “You are not a vampire, so you do not fully understand what it means to be mated.”
“Styx, can’t this wait until after we’ve rescued Cezar?”
“No, because I sense your desperation.”
“She reeks of it,” Jagr muttered from the backseat.
Anna shook her head in frustration, a hint of her power leaking out to swirl through the car, heating the air and stirring her hair. What the hell was going on?
“Would you rather I didn’t give a damn what happens to him?” she rasped.
“It would be easier in some ways.”
Anna sucked in a deep breath, struggling to control her straining powers. Was Styx trying to piss her off so she would be ready to explode once she was near Morgana?
If he was, it was working like a charm.
“Styx, just tell me why you’re wasting precious time.”
There was a brief pause, as if Styx were carefully considering his words.
“Cezar has taken you for his mate,” he at last said. “If you die, he dies.”
Anna froze in shock. “You mean…he’ll actually die?”
“Not immediately. But yes.” He gave a stiff dip of his head. “You have become his reason for living, Anna. Without you, he will lose any instinct to protect himself. In fact, he will seek out danger in the hopes that he will find an end to his suffering. Vampires rarely survive more than a few months after the death of their mate.”
A cold chill clutched at her heart. Shit. Somehow Cezar failed to mention that little tidbit of info when he was telling her about the whole mate business.
“Why are you telling me this now?” she demanded, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Because you are willing to sacrifice yourself to save him.” He touched a cold finger to her pale cheek. “If you do, Anna Randal, you condemn Cezar to your own fate.”
Chapter 20
The attic of the farmhouse was a filthy, cramped place that was barely fit for pathetic humans, let alone a powerful queen.
It was, however, a perfect location to keep an unconscious vampire hostage.
Ignoring the thick dust that marred the hem of her gossamer gown, Morgana studied the demon who hung from the rafters by the silver leash.
His rich, dark hair was disheveled to tumble around the elegant lines of his beautiful face, and since she had commanded Troy to strip him of his shirt, there was nothing to hide the chiseled perfection of his bronzed chest.
She could understand Anna Randal’s fascination with the creature.
All vampires possessed a potent sensual appeal. They were predators who used sex to lure their prey. But this vampire…
He was perfectly formed to pleasure women.
And pleasure them well.
It was almost a pity she was going to have to kill him.
Shifting her attention from the unconscious vampire to the tall imp with his crimson mane of hair and wary expression, she allowed a cold smile to touch her lips.
“You have done well, Troy.”
Kneeling, the imp lowered his head. “Thank you, my Queen. I live to serve.”
Morgana’s lips twisted as she moved forward to capture Troy’s chin in a brutal grip. Yanking up his head she savored the stark fear that flared through the emerald eyes.
“Or you serve to live, eh my little traitor?”
“I have brought you the vampire,” the imp rasped. “Surely I have proven my loyalty?”
Her anger whipped through the cramped space. She would not forget the imp’s treachery. Anna might very well be dead now if the arrogant bastard hadn’t whisked her away from the nightclub. But, she was wise enough to realize that for the moment Troy was a tool she could use to her advantage. He was the only one who could get into the vampire’s lair. And now that she had so kindly reminded him of the pain she could inflict, he was the one creature she could be assured wouldn’t disappoint her again.