Page 8 of Midwinter Night's Prince

Irresistible.

So, enthralled by her own spell, she slept.

5

DIFFICULT

He needed to sleep.

Seth wasn't one to crash more than a couple of hours here and there—less, when he was accompanied by buffoons such as the four men assigned to him.He trusted them as much as he trusted a starving dog to resist a juicy steak. They were no danger to him, but Seth wanted to spare himself the bother of explaining their demise to Aveka.

Every time he went against her, he ran the risk that she finally decided he wasn’t worth keeping around. Seth preferred his risks calculated. The foursome wasn’t worth the headache.

Burg was built like a tank, and nearly as tall as Seth, but his true skill laid in his mastery of knives and pincers that he bestowed upon unwilling subjects to loosen their tongues.None of his victims had been able to say a thing about Blair, no matter what he made them suffer, which confirmed that the minx was indeed a skilled psychic.

Seth could have told anyone as much. Over a year ago now, she'd managed to reachhismind, and from a distance. Not many could have gone through his shields, even as he slept.

Vince, a dark-skinned bald man, was perhaps the least irritating of his new companions, because he was entirely mute. Someone had cut his tongue out. According to Burg, Vince had already been turned into a vampire by the time he was amputated,so it would grow back eventually. Hopefully, not any time soon.

Gerald looked thoroughly ordinary; of average build and dull looks, he wasn't about to catch anyone's attention—which made him the perfect scout.

Adam was the only mortal among them—he wielded magic with some skill, Seth supposed, though he wasn't impressed.Strangely, Adam seemed to be the leader among the four.

The goons lounged around him, impatiently waiting for the dead of night. The five of them were too conspicuous during the day, too quickly spotted. And vampires naturally preferred to hunt in darkness, out of habit rather than true necessity. Sunlight could be mildly irritating to their sensitive eyes, but the vampires of old had waited for night in order to seek easier prey—the lost, the drunk, the foolish. Those no one would bother to miss.

The curtains of the apartment they were renting for the night were shut tight, so that no ray of light touched the large TV screen at the back of the sitting room. Vince kept changing the channel every other minute. Burg let out a growl of annoyance that had Seth wondering if the man was part troll.That would explain the smell.

"I liked that show!" the giant protested.

Adam snorted. "Synchronized swimming?"

"The girls are pretty."

Seth tuned out the nonsense, his attention commandeered entirely elsewhere. He needed to sleep. Right now. The knowledge tugged at the corner of his mind, making itself more and more intense as moments passed.

Unless he was very much mistaken, there was a spell of sorts at work, and Seth wasn't the kind of weakling who let second-rate sorcerers mess with his mind.

But…he needed to sleep.

Dammit.

Seth pushed to his feet, getting off the leather armchair he'd claimed, and announced, "I'm not to be disturbed."

It sounded like an order, and that was exactly what it was. Adam was the leader of the party, according to Aveka, but no one was fooled. Seth wasn't part of their little cult. He was here because he had no other choice, with Aveka's spell requiring him to follow her orders, though he'd bought himself some leeway. Unshackled, he could and would have wiped the floor with their faces.

He made his way to the owner’s suite, each step heavier as slumber slid onto his skin like water. He fell on his back against the hard mattress and let sleep claim him.

Seth's eyes opened in a familiar room. White walls, deep blue curtains, velvet loveseats, and rich tapestries woven centuries ago.A room that had been reduced to ashes last summer.The Stormhale hall on Night Hill.

"Took you long enough."

A smile tugged at his lips as he turned to face Blair. His Blair, with pink tips in her hair. Well, almost. Instead of combat gear, she wore leggings and a leather jacket, with what appeared to be a tutu, the same pink as her hair.

He stared pointedly at the ridiculous skirt.

"Well, I don’t question your fondness for brocade and tailcoats."

Seth lifted an imperious brow."There's nothing wrong with my fashion taste."

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