Page 142 of Winterfall Destiny

“You took a trip to the florist on the day we’re hoping to tear down Gabriella and the Dominion?” I chuckle. “You never stop surprising me.”

His smile brightens his eyes. “Sometimes in a good way?”

I lean down and kiss him, a soft brush of my lips. “Very occasionally.”

Andrei mock gasps and pulls me to him. I rest my head beneath the perfect spot between his shoulder and head, inhaling the scent of him and our intimacy, never wanting to forget the taste of his kiss again.

Andrei isn’t lost. The First will never kill the guy I love. I’ve told myself this every day since he took the blood, and I will never let go of that belief or him.

50

MAEVE

I stand beneath a bus shelter across the road from a disused building, heart banging. The theatre’s name is painted in white on the brick, faded and ghost-like. As the windows boarded with graffitied wood, and the entrance doors now covered in metal panels, the theatre no longer welcomes patrons. Positioned on the corner of a secluded street amongst older redbrick houses, few cars pass and nobody else joins us at the bus stop or walks along the pavement. A useless spectre of the past not needed or noticed by anybody.

“How do we get inside? The place is locked down.”

Ash chuckles. “Really, Maeve?”

I scowl. “Okay, how do we get inside without somebody noticing five people breaking and entering?”

“Seems like Gabriella can,” says Ash.

“If this is definitely the address,” says Jamie.

“Mother Dearest likes her theatrics,” says Andrei way too casually as he strides from beneath the shelter. “I’m positive she’d hold a ritual here rather than at that other address.”

If we’ve located the building, we’re prepared that numerous Dominion recruits could attend. Unpredictable recruits. We’ve little information about the situation we’re facing but have reached agreement on several things.

Find all exits and ensure they’re usable.

If the number of Dominion appears to large, even for us, leave.

If we find Gabriella, detain and not kill her straightaway.

Stop the ritual.

Don’t call on Dorian unless absolutely necessary—something that adds to our determination to win this battle alone.

The ‘find and don’t kill’ Gabriella part caused the most dissent, Andrei understandably keen to end the woman who ended his life both literally and figuratively. Jamie surprised me in his supporting Andrei, still subscribing to the kill or be killed point of view. Both their attitudes disturb me because once we kill Gabriella, tens or maybe hundreds of others will die.

The argument this may be another of the First’s lies doesn’t wash with me. Andrei died when Dorian ended Gabriella’s life. Ash remained quiet, not sharing his thoughts and Tobias merely repeated the plan several times over the last few hours.

The addendum to the plan annoys me: don’t allow Maeve to come under threat. I protested I’d no such intention and if I can take down Andrei, I’ve the shadows at my disposal.

But the reason behind makes sense. Andrei and Ash in particular won’t react logically to my life under threat. But, if the ritual’s attendees are also the ones from the catacombs, they’ll recognise Andrei and his capabilities.

Let’s hope he doesn’t need to use them—or choose to raze the place.

“Two of us should find a way inside the theatre, and the others continue to ‘wait for the bus’ and keep an eye out,” suggests Tobias. “Ash?”

With a mock salute, Ash hurries after Andrei and the pair disappear from sight behind a side wall. Andrei scaled the red brick without anybody noticing, including me, and I hold my breath as Ash effortlessly climbs over.

The cool, drizzly weather assists in not looking out of place in our dark clothing, and using the bus stop distracts from our loitering. Andrei may look odd wearing sunglasses, but he’s already freaked out humans once today. I’ve watched him carefully since our time together earlier and although there’s no hint of the shaking, scared guy, I prefer when I can see his eyes.

“How will we know this definitely is the place?” I ask Tobias, hand firmly in Jamie’s.

“With luck, there’ll be evidence of preparations,” he replies, taking in every inch of the building’s condition.

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