“At certain decibels, the bats died, and so did a number of scientists.” She then spoke of what Lily had heard before—the Council of Ancestrals ending all experiments. “The Paris laboratory was destroyed, filled in with rubble, but word has it that the actual data and weapon, and the key to operating it, were hidden away, probably behind powerful Ancestral disguises. I’ve also heard that the same thing happened with other labs, other weapons, so there might be more than one.
“But of everything that I recall, the place I’d suggest to start is the group of crystal caves in Mexico. I know that a significant, secret, and highly illegal research facility was located there and operated against Council law, over the next decade well into the sixties, until a tragedy occurred, namely that a large number of scientists were killed.”
Lily settled her elbow on the arm of her chair and let her head rest in her palm for a moment. Her heart now thumped in her chest. The moment Eve had said “Mexico,” Lily felt the location click with her tracking ability.
Adrien reached a hand toward her and touched her arm. “You’re feeling it, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “Mexico will give us some answers.” Then she looked down at her halter, skirt, and boots. “But I need to get changed before we head out.”
* * *
Adrien flew Lily back to his Paris apartment, the unofficial hub of their operations, and watched her lose her short skirt. Though her jeans were much more practical, the leather skirt revealed a lot of skin so he had mixed feelings about the switch-up. When a pair of blue running shoes replaced her boots, he repressed a sigh. What was it about heeled boots on a woman that got a man going?
Her body had become like air to him in this short time of being bound, but as he watched her brush out her hair, he seriously started questioning if what he felt was just about the chains.
His experience with Lily had begun ass-backward, and yet what he felt toward her, the tenderness, the compulsion to stick close and protect her, the off-the-charts need to get her beneath him, seemed completely disproportionate to the time spent or even to the bonds of the chains.
So what the hell was going on here?
It didn’t help that the chains vibrated almost constantly, metal against skin, informing him of Lily’s emotions at all times, if not her thoughts. But those he could guess at.
The situation freaked her out and why wouldn’t it? Shit, if he’d been in her shoes, he’d be going nuts right now. Vampires and a world she hadn’t known existed until a couple of months ago? He’d always been acutely aware of the human world, something all vampires avoided except in matters of business, like Eve’s wine-import company.
When Lily turned to face him, rubbing her earlobe where a single flash of amethyst could be seen through her thumb and forefinger, his heart lurched.
He was so damn attracted to her, plain and simple, as though every gene in his body reached for her. It had been this way from the moment he’d laid eyes on her in the Himalayan cavern. And he hadn’t worn a binding chain then, yet he’d struggled to get to her, overcome by a hurricane of need not just to get her on her back, but to hold her close by his side, to protect her, to be with her.
He felt the same way now as she gave a tug on the hem of her purple tank top. “I like that the new chains give us a greater reach. What would you say it is? Twenty feet? Thirty?” She frowned slightly. “What’s the matter? You’re kind of, I don’t know, all over the place.”
He shook his head and forced himself to breathe. He even liked the tenor of her voice. She had a certain resonance that spoke to him, that spoke of a deep sense of confidence she had in herself even in the face of her current nightmare.
“I’m proud of you,” he said, without thinking, his feet in motion as well. “You’re one of the most courageous people I know.”
He could feel her confusion, her surprise, and beneath those emotions, a texture of having been pleased. He took her in his arms. “Whatever happens, Lily, from this point forward, I want you to know that I value who you are.”
“You do?” she asked, frowning.
“I do.”
She searched his eyes and drew in a ragged breath. “Thank you.” Her large hazel eyes were bright. “I don’t know what to say.”
She needed the moment to pass, that’s what the chains told him. So he let it go. “It’s okay. We need to focus on Mexico. Can you access your tracking ability? Now that we have a lead, I’d like to know if my Ancestral power can help with that.”
“Good idea.” She blinked a couple of times then met his gaze. “That was so strange. I thought about Mexico and suddenly those weird searching tendrils zoomed there and I saw a cavern of white crystals. There were also three tunnels, and I had the sense that the weapon was down one of them.”
“Was this easier now, because of the new chain?”
“Absolutely. Night and day, like altered flight.”
He held her gaze, realizing that they’d become the very thing Daniel had been working toward: a tracking pair that could locate whatever needed to be found. Which meant that though he could celebrate having accomplished something with Lily, essentially he was still doing Daniel’s bidding.
“What do you know about the crystal caves?” she asked.
“A system of great beauty, filled with white crystals of all sizes, some massive, some very small, and a full range between. Mostly abandoned these days after one of the tunnel systems collapsed and killed nearly a thousand inhabitants. But given what Eve told us, maybe there was another reason the system was shut down.”
“Because of the extinction weapon.”
He nodded.
Lily drew in a deep breath, and her gaze skated away from his. “Do you think we’ll have company?”
“Yeah, I do, so let me ask you this: Are you sure you want to continue?”
“Yes.” He felt her despair and wished he knew the truth.
She glanced down at his leathers and to the new weapon he now wore in a large sheath attached to his belt. “That’s the biggest blade yet. More than a dagger, I take it.”
He nodded.
“Any particular reason for it?”
“Instinct.”
Her lips curved just so. “I can get behind that.”
He smiled as well. “We’re for Mexico then. We’ll fly straight through but I’ll slow it up at the end, once we’re inside the system, to have a look. I’ll only stop if I think it’s safe.”