Page 51 of Winterfall Destiny

As I drink from a white mug, I splutter a laugh as the bizarreness of the situation drops onto me. "I can't believe I'm sitting in a posh house in London while waiting to take down the leader of a supernatural terrorist group."

Jamie smiles wryly. "If only it were that simple."

"Would you ever want to live somewhere like this?" I ask him, as Ash wanders into the room.

"No. I want peace once this is done with," he says.

Ash nods in agreement and opens the fridge. "Sweet!" he exclaims. "Someone left beers."

We make our way to the middle floor into our oasis of ordinariness, where the sitting room doesn't contain any dead bodies. We only found one, although I don't imagine most Airbnbs come with any.

I sit on the plush yellow cushioned sofa, snuggled between Ash and Jamie, their solid warmth soothing me slightly, but I'm on alert for Tobias and Andrei returning the whole time. I can't stop the acid in my mouth and stomach building beach time I consider the First might never return them.

Jamie suggests watching a show, and I smile and agree, although nothing could take my mind off losing them again. He manages to focus on the comedy; I'm not in a laughing mood.

I'm dozing against Ash's hard shoulder when he suddenly jumps to his feet. I fall sideways onto the chair arm, looking in alarm as he stands at full-height, eyes dark, tuned into his surroundings.

"I warded every entrance and window with runes while Jamie made coffee earlier," I say. "Winterfall. Nobody could get past them."

He slants his head. "Basement."

My stomach flips. "You think the vamp is... back?"

Jamie stands too. "I'm sure he wasn't a vamp."

"Nor a shifter," adds Ash.

"Wonderful. Now we have zombies to contend with," I say.

They both look at me, but only Ash cracks a smile.

Then I hear the familiar heartbeat, a connection that grew stronger the last few days, and my own heart speeds with relief. "They're back. Andrei and Tobias."

"How do you know?" asks Jamie. "And why the basement?"

I hop down the carpeted stairs two at a time with Ash and Jamie in pursuit. "I hope it isn't with them."

The basement door's already open, and a bewildered Andrei stands at the top of the steps. He points into the dim behind him. "What the fuck? You've killed someone already?"

I look over his shoulder at where a second figure climbs the stairs. "Tobias? How did you both get here?"

"The First's blood magic."

"Is it here?" I ask sharply, and he shakes his head.

"Didn't come with us." Tobias joins Andrei and we crowd in the basement doorway. "Who was the dead witch?" he asks.

Jamie takes the folded paper from his jeans and hands it over.

Tobias reads, expressionlessly. "The First should've interrogated the victim. It likes games."

He thrusts the paper back at Jamie and I reach out to him. "What happened?" I ask.

The pair don't look much different physically, no visible injuries, and the jeans and jackets they wore in preparation for leaving the Winterfall House aren't torn or dirty.

But something isn't right—Andrei's eyes changed a few days ago, but I can still read the confused and lost look; one that Tobias also holds in his. "Are you both safe?" I ask.

"Yeah." Andrei shoves his fringe from his face. "Dorian has a broken nose though." I'd expect a smug smile, but everything about him stays flat.

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