Page 54 of Hunted By Darkness

Silas nodded and led me off the floor. Salvator and Lev were already waiting with my two phantoms, though they didn’t know it. Ryker beamed at me before his gaze slid down my body. I noticed Salvator’s do the same.

“You look like you’re having fun,” Lev teased, proud of himself.

I sighed with a little smirk. “Okay, okay. You were right. I needed this.”

Lev fist-pumped, nearly spilling the drink he held. He stopped before the liquid could slosh over the side, then offered it to me. “You thirsty?”

“How’d you know?”

Silas rumbled a laugh, but his eyes were fixed on Salvator. “Love, I hate to tell you this, but you’re a shade of red you weren’t before we went out there.”

Glaring at him, I drank the cocktail Lev gave me. It wasn’t anything I’d had before, but it felt familiar. I tested the taste of it on my tongue, and as if he’d been waiting for it, Lev beamed a smile at me.

“It’s very similar to the one Bane used to make,” he told me, grinning. “I can’t get the flavors perfect since he used magic and ingredients humans don’t grow, but this is as close as I could get to it.”

The glass was already empty when I stared down at it, nostalgia hitting like a damn gut-punch.

I’d been too scared to think about my father and mother since I sent them to their awaiting afterlife. It was too hard. He’d been my everything for so long. With my mother out of the picture from early on, my father had been my haven in a world of pain and agony. He wasn’t perfect, no one was, but he’d loved me the way every father should.

Biting my lower lip, I let loose a heart-weary sigh. “Thank you,” I whispered. “It’s delicious.”

I was worried he hadn’t heard me, but Lev winked and slung an arm around my shoulders. “I think it’s my turn to twirl you about the dance floor. It’s been a hot minute since you and I tore up a party.”

“In the isolation of my room, you mean,” I teased.

Lev laughed with his head thrown back, tugging me close with a secretive smile. “Bet I can talk the DJ into a few songs…”

“Don’t you dare.” I scowled.

“Now I have to.”

“Oi, lad. Hands off,” Silas growled.

Before the two could fight, Ryker was in front of me, hand out. “Pretty girl?”

Salvator took a step in the wolf’s direction, but then we all stopped. An ominous sensation erupted across the space. The lights cut out, and the entire building was blanketed in darkness.

23

Silas

Bollocks!

I’d been suspicious when they let us in ahead of the humans, but I couldn’t sense any bastards after coming inside. My bird deserved a night out without the worries of the world clawing at her. So, I ignored the feeling in my gut.

I shouldn’t have.

The glow of the wolf bastard’s eyes came and went, on the hunt for enemies. He’d search out the party-crashing twats and likely find them before I did. They’d gone to great lengths to conceal themselves and wait until our guard was down, but the mistake they’d made was not attacking from the start.

Now I’d have their heads.

First, I needed to get Nika out of this death trap. She’d try to save every human life. It’d make it difficult to fight whoever had come.

I didn’t think it was Rilas. Even without his time-freezing power as a demon with Soul Collector abilities, my brother would’ve attacked the second the lights cut out—and in a body we didn’t immediately recognize. He wouldn’t want to give us any time to collect ourselves and prepare to fight. He’d strike hard and fast, doing as much damage as possible.

He'd aim to kidnap Nika before all else.

Rilas was a shapeshifter, but not in the same way Bear Claw was. His ability let him become anyone with a little bit of their blood, and in ways that went beyond looks alone. It was next to impossible to know the difference between him and those he shifted into, even with the help of magic.

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