What Rourke said was true, but it didn’t lessen my angst. “We need to move. It’s time to go find Ray,” I said. As I stepped back and turned, Rourke caught my arm.
“Wait for a second,” he said, his voice earnest. “Jessica, you have to know you’re not alone in this. I’m not going anywhere. Ever. I’ll stand by your side and we’ll take care of this threat together, just like the last one—and just like the next one. We’re stronger than the opposition.” A low growl escaped his throat. “What you did to Valdov was nothing short of spectacular. You’re incredibly strong and capable, and as a team, we can be invincible. The demons and sorcerers don’t have a real chance against us.”
I wanted to believe him, but I still had the habit of thinking like a human. Rourke sensed my trepidation and brought his arms up and flexed, his T-shirt bunching ridiculously over his well-defined muscles. The flowing lines of his tattoos wound their way up to his biceps like beautiful vines.
“Very funny,” I said, pushing at his chest. “No need to grandstand. I know you’re strong.”
“No, I’m serious. I want you to feel them.” He leaned into me and I acquiesced. The pads of my fingers prodded the muscle. They were like steel. No give. I let the palm of my hand flow over his smooth skin and I tried not to sigh.
“It feels like armor,” I contended. “Very strong.”
“Exactly. This is to show you not all supernaturals are created equal. If we were, it would be chaos all the time.” He put his arms down and wound his warm hands around my middle, pulling me toward him one last time. “Equality would mean constant status fights against every Sect. We have hierarchies in place for a reason. The most dangerous supernaturals are those who try to advance their station. Selene, who wanted ultimate immortality. Valdov, who wanted to be the Vampire King. Those are the supes who will fight to the death. But Tally, who is arguably one of the strongest witches in the world, is not a threat to us unless we attack. Why do you think that is?”
That was a good question. “I don’t know. Why?” Rourke let go of me and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the room.
“Because power respects power. For eons supernaturals have coexisted in this world together. If there was truly only one who was the strongest of them all, we would have a King or a Queen of all supernaturals. But we don’t.”
“But isn’t that exactly why everyone is so upset about me? They think I could finally be that Queen. The supernatural who is finally strong enough to rule everyone.”
“But the Prophecy states you are a reincarnate,” he pointed out. “One who walks again.”
I nodded. “That’s true.” It was weird to think of my wolf as a reincarnate, but she definitely had the knowledge and diva attitude to back it up.
“Then we would have had several Queens over the last millennia, correct?”
“But it doesn’t really matter if I wasn’t put here to rule”—which I could’ve told anyone who bothered to ask—“because unless we convince each Sect, they’ll interpret the Prophecy any way they wish. I’m a threat to their power. End of story.”
“Then we convince them all,” he growled. “If the supernatural race had a King or a Queen, we would know it by now. But make no mistake: I will bloody anyone who chooses not to listen, and we will fight to win.”
“That’s exactly what my father said. We have to fight until they fear our power, and when they stop fearing us, we fight again to prove we are the strongest.” We turned down a long hallway decorated in deep blues. It was weird no vamps were around. We must still be in the old warded part of the Queen’s wing.
“Your father’s right. You’re incredibly strong, Jessica, and it’s clear you don’t realize it. Power leaks out of you. Some will covet that strength, but most will seek to destroy it. Valdov died because he chose to fight you for power, but defeating him equalized us with the vampires. You made the right choice to end his life.”
We arrived at the top of a back stairway. The old treads looked well used. Rourke moved aside to let me go first, grabbing a handful of my ass as I went down.
I had to admit, no matter how shitty my future was as an equalizer of the supernatural race, I loved this man.
22
“Are you sure we’re heading in the right direction?” I asked. My fingertips brushed against cool stone. Feeling the rough texture of the wall was the only thing rooting me in place. We were trying to reach the area where I was held the first time, thinking Ray may be in a similar room. “I can’t see a single thing.”
“I smell something,” Rourke answered. “But it’s not Ray. It’s the old vamp I had by the neck.” Rourke was directly in front of me, his scent making him easy to follow. “I left the door of the cell open, but they must have stayed in the area. If the underground tunnels you told me about were a maze, this place is one too.”
All my senses were muted. “I can’t smell anything. How are you able to get through the mask?” Whatever spell this was, it was strong enough to blanket my senses. “This feels nothing like it did with Conan. Before, I could see everything, except for the fact I thought we were in a dungeon the entire time.”
“I think this is a new ward,” Rourke answered. “It has a taste, but it’s fresh.”
I inhaled, but I couldn’t taste anything. “The other spell had a flavor too. Is it tart?”
“Yes.” Rourke stopped abruptly.
I pulled up just short of running into him. “I wonder why I can’t sense it.”
Rourke’s body tensed, suddenly alert. “There’s something else here. Can you feel it?”
“No,” I said, frustrated. “I’m going to throw my magic out again and see what I can find.” I gathered my power and extended it into the area.
This time I did detect something. It was very faint and heavily masked. “Whatever it is, it has the same crab-apple taste I told you about. I’m thinking—”
“Come.” A broken Russian accent cut through the darkness. “We are here.”
Rourke’s blood jumped. He was a hairsbreadth away from reacting, which wouldn’t end well for the old vampire.
We both knew it was Yuri’s voice, but we couldn’t tell where it was coming from, or if there was another threat attached to it.