Page 59 of Vampire's Breath

He tiptoed to the decanter and poured himself a glass. His voice was calm. “Cormac will find her. You know that.”

I let out a breath, shaking my head. Maybe. But maybe wasn’t good enough. “I know, but will Aiden find her first? Where did he even go?”

Declan bit his lip. “I don’t know. I wonder if he’s figured out I’ve been working with Cormac. He didn’t tell me much when we came here. He just said we were coming…”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Cormac said the two of you have been working together for the past twenty-five years. That is quite a long time to betray your sire.”

“I didn’t have a choice anymore. He’s too far gone. And now he’s out there, and I don’t know what he’s planning.”

But it was what he didn’t say that worried me. I had heard these things over the years as this modern age grew around us. Aiden was a shadow in the night, slipping through the cracks of the world like mist. No doors, no locks, no security could truly keep him out; only the old magic, the lack of an invitation.

Declan took a long sip of his drink as he sat, his words confirming my fears. “He doesn’t need any of the modern conveniences.”

I nodded. “That’s what scares me the most. He could be anywhere. And so could Briar.” The thought made my pulse quicken, the ache in my chest pressing down harder. What if I had already lost her?

“She isn’t just anywhere,” said Cormac as he entered the room. He slid his phone into his jacket pocket, crossed the room, and stood in front of a bookcase. “Patricia just called. They located a flight reservation in Briar’s name—booked from Dublin next week to Sydney.”

My breath hitched. Sydney. She was running. From me. From us. “But that means that she has—”

Cormac nodded. “Six days. So she hasn’t gone far. Our security team is working on it. I have them requesting the closed-circuit footage from the city. We have a—good—relationship with them.”

“A good relationship with whom?” The voice bordered on jovial, one I knew all too well. My heart pounded as he stood in the doorway. Conall, my youngest brother, from whom I’d once been inseparable. I sucked in my bottom lip, unsure if I should run and hug him or remain stoic.

He stepped inside, his voice soft. “Brother, it’s been—”

I stiffened. “I know.” The words between us were measured and cautious. How much had changed since I had seen him last?

A smile crossed Cormac’s face, his eyes lighting up. “Well, now that you’re here, we can finally start looking for the Cure.”

I shook my head. “But we’re still missing one brother. The one I might remind you is after Briar.”

Declan shifted in his seat. “From what Rory said, you only need the blood of all four brothers.” He pulled a flask from his back pocket, the O’Cillian crest screaming at me from the front. “Allow me to supply Aiden’s contribution to the cause.”

My eyes narrowed. I didn’t give a damn about the Cure when Briar was out there. Aiden had threatened them both, but only one was important to me. I clamped my teeth together.

“Fabulous.” Cormac clapped his hands. “Let’s get Rory.” He stepped to my side and laid a hand on my shoulder.

“We’ll find her, Lorcan. We have the best people working on it.”

I swallowed, my jaw relaxing as I felt the warmth of my brother’s touch. “Thank you, Cormac.”

But as the night deepened and the search pressed on, the truth gnawed at me—Briar was out there, alone. And I had let her slip away.

Briar

Something about the way the train wheels rhythmically clacked beneath me was soothing. The steady hum of the engine vibrated beneath my seat, its bass the counterpoint to the hushed voices of the passengers in a soporific symphony that failed to ease my thoughts. The scent of strong tea and the occasional waft of someone’s perfume drifted around me. I sighed as the gentle sway of the speeding carriage whisked me farther north. Away from London—away from him.

I rested my arms on the table and toyed with the cup of now-cold tea in front of me. Amy had let me know Lorcan called, and he sounded worried. I told her to ignore him. He didn’t want me around, so I wouldn’t be. That was his choice, and the chance for him to change his mind had passed.

I sat back against the padding and closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. I could still feel his hands.

It didn’t help that I had woken up in the middle of the night with his name falling from my lips in ecstasy. I didn’t need to be dreaming about him, but I was. And I couldn’t get it out of my mind—the way he pushed me to focus only on myself.

He had been right that I was always in control. But I needed to be. Because my own emotions took over the moment I stopped focusing on someone else’s pleasure. That was when it started to hurt, and I felt too much. Feelings were more complicated to undo than touch. I had never been this disturbed after fucking someone. I’d been trying for days to remind myself that a one-time thing was not a novel experience, but my heart wasn’t listening.

I clenched my eyes as Lorcan’s body came to mind, trying to will it away. His muscular arms and shoulders, the effortless way he had carried me, contrasted with his feather-light touch. The touch I wanted more than anything, as my lips tingled with the ghost of Lorcan’s kiss. My shoulders relaxed as I allowed my mind to wander and fantasize, promising my heart this would be the last time.

In my mind—where anything could happen—I saw myself in his sitting room, settled on the sofa. His hand ran up my arm until it reached my neck, pulling me toward him. He pressed his lips to mine, his tongue sliding through them in an erotic dance.

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