Page 22 of Heir of Blood and Moonlight

I returned to staring out the window, losing myself to the breathtaking view. “Almost twenty years ago.” I chewed on my lip, debating whether to ask for the one thing I needed. “I know you said we’re in lockdown, but I’d like to make a phone call.”

“That would be unwise,” Gavin said, his tone gentle. “The Sun assassins are likely watching anyone you might reach out to.”

I took a deep breath, debating revealing my final secret. But if I was going all in with this vampire, I would need to show him all my cards.

“I have to warn my son,” I said. The words hung in the air for long seconds.

Until, finally, Gavin spoke. “How old is he?”

“He’s seventeen, and he doesn’t know I’m his mother,” I said, my voice sounding hollow to my own ears. “I’ve been his tutor for the past three years. We meet twice a week.” I turned my face toward Gavin. “Bastian has been masquerading as my cat for three months, which means Sun has been watching me for at least that long. They’ll know Micah is important to me. He’s in danger, and I can’t—” My voice broke, an invisible fist clenching around my heart. “I have losteveryoneI haveeverloved. I will not survive losing him, too.”

Gavin inhaled deeply, releasing the breath slowly, his eyes searching mine. “I can have my people pick him up and bring him here, but what about his family?”

“They won’t be a problem,” I said, shaking my head. “He graduated from high school early and goes to UW now. He lives in the dorms and visits home maybe once a month.” I suppressed a weak laugh. “To do laundry.”

“If we bring him here, you’ll have to reveal who you really are to him,” Gavin said. “Are you ready to do that?”

I nodded without hesitation. I had been ready for my son to truly know me since our first tutoring session, when we sat in the public library together to prep for his first round of AP tests.

Gavin nodded, a single dip and rise of his chin. “When and where is your next meeting with him supposed to be?”

“Tomorrow,” I said, raising one hand to chew on my thumbnail. “On campus, but I don’t want to wait that long.”

Again, Gavin nodded. “Is there anyone who could get a message to him today? Someone you don’t usually interact with?” Someone who wasn’t likely to be under surveillance by the shifters, he meant.

At least a dozen professors and graduate students came to mind. “Yeah,” I told him confidently. “I know just who to call.”

Janice, the grad student who TA’d for Micah’s History of Genetics course. She had taken him under her wing, and she and I chatted briefly about him the last time she visited Special Collections.

Gavin handed me his phone, and I found her office number in the faculty directory. Thankfully, Janice answered the first time I called. I made up a story about losing my phone and not having internet access, then asked her to pass a message on to Micah at this afternoon’s lecture about changing the location of our tutoring session to a spot downtown.Thisspot. Today.

Now, it was only a matter of waiting for him to show up.

Of waiting to see ifhe would.

13

Javier and I weredeep in the woods on Tiger Mountain, about a mile away from the cabin we had holed up in after fleeing from the horrific massacre. I was eight, and he had fed me some of his pure, untreated blood for once instead of that bland tincture. The instant his blood touched my tongue, the world brightened. The colors, the sounds, even the feel of the crisp breeze against my skin—it was allmore.

“Focus, Luna,” Javier said, his voice gentle but firm. “Reach out with your mind, feel the energy around you. The life force of the birds up above, the trees all around you, and the bugs beneath your feet.”

I closed my eyes, doing as he instructed. Or, at least, trying. At first, there was nothing, just the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze. But then, gradually, I sensed something else, a pulsing, vibrant force that seemed to sparkle all around me.

“I think—I think I feel it,” I whispered, opening my eyes to look at Javier. “It’s like everything is connected.”

He smiled, his dark eyes warm with pride. “That’s your power, Luna. Your connection to the world around you. It’s what makes you special, what will make you a great High Queen someday.”

I bit my lip, suddenly uncertain. “But what if—”

Javier held up one hand, his head cocking to the side. His nostrils flared, and his eyes narrowed. He touched his straightened index finger to his lips, silently telling me to remain quiet.

My heart hammered, and I was afraid to move. Afraid to breathe. Only one thing would cause such a reaction.

A heartbeat later, a trio of wolves stalked out from among overgrown ferns. Not wolves. Shifters. Assassins. They circled us, forming a triangle.

My entire body trembled, fear holding me captive, and warmth dripped down the insides of my legs.

Javier grasped my hand. “Close your eyes, Luna,” he said, his voice soft. Deadly.

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