Page 42 of Queen of Darkness
Behind us, the banks started exploding. Each one pummeled us with a new shockwave.
“Split up!” I shouted over the ringing in my ears. “Each of us goes for one!”
“Take as much as you can and get out!” he hollered, coughing again as he inhaled. “The code is 80014.”
I braced myself against the wall while punching in the code, then flung the door open. In the middle of a room with bags of blood hanging from racks on a wall was a black box, which I assumed were the explosives. A big red clock counted down from four on the bomb. Moving as fast as I could, I swiped bags from the nearest rack and then dove for the door.
The bomb went off just as I cleared the door. I clutched the blood to my chest, trying to shield it with my body. I hit the floor hard as the door clipped me. A second later, warm heat ran down my side. It must have broken skin. There wasn’t time for that, though. We had to get out of there.
Aaron emerged from his unit a second later, and then it went off. The shockwave hit me full-on, and I felt the blood bags I held explode. Immediately, the scent of iron filled my nostrils. My Hunger didn’t care about the smoke in the air as it inhaled deeply. It had only one focus.
“No!” Aaron barked, slapping me across the face. “There isn’t time for that. Come on. We have to get out of here.”
I snarled, fangs sliding into place as I stared at him.
“I have fresh blood for you,” he said, dangling one of the packs he’d managed to save in front of me. “Do you want that or the spoiled stuff in front of you?”
Lunging after him, I followed him into the elevator, eager for a taste. Once we were there, he dropped the blood and wrapped me up in a bear hug.
“Remember who you are,” he said into my ear as we started upward. “Focus, Jo. Focus on my voice. On me. It’s Aaron. You can do this. You can resist it. It doesn’t own you.You’rein charge.”
I growled, feeling half-lost in myself, but something within his words lent fresh strength to my fight. While I battled for control, Aaron dragged me along, my body following his commands instinctively.
We tumbled out of the elevator and ran for the exit.
“Jo!” Aaron barked as we pounded through the parking lot. “Come on, Jo. Get yourself together. We’re not out of this yet!”
We weren’t? Slowly but surely I fought back the tidal wave of hunger and darkness, reasserting control of myself. I leaned heavily on memories of who I was, of what I was fighting for. My mother. My father. Aaron.
I know what real pleasure is, I snarled, calling up the experiences of the night before. Of my first time with Aaron and how wonderful it had been.Thatwas true ecstasy, and I let the darkness in me know that anything it tried to summon would pale in comparison.
“Come on, Jo,” Aaron urged. “Hurry up. I need you.”
His words snapped me back to reality with an abrupt shock. Heneededme. I was wanted by someone. I shook myself, looking up at him. “What is it?”
Aaron inclined his head in front of us. I turned and found myself standing face to face with a line of dark figures. The parking lot lights over them may have been shattered, but there was no denying the menacing figure standing at their head, sword sheathed over his shoulder.
“Corvis,” I growled.
Also known as the Black Nacht, he was the head of the Nacht Bringers, Elenia’s elite shock troops. We’d tangled several times before, most recently in Seguin, where I’d been forced to let him go, an unhappy truce that saved the lives of dozens of shifters. It had left a sick taste in my mouth.
Now, he was back for revenge.
“What unfortunate timing,” Corvis called across the asphalt that separated his forces from our meager duo.
“I dunno, seemed pretty good to me,” I called, my singed and torn clothing evidence of just how close it had been.
“Truthfully, we didn’t expect to catch you,” Corvis chuckled. “That was simply fortuitous timing. I was just here for the storage. But to have you caught in my web as well. Most exciting.”
I gritted my teeth. This was supposed to have been a simple recovery mission. Grab some blood and get back to the castle as fast as possible. We’d traveled by portal, something I was getting used to, using the old hut in the woods. This time, there was thankfully no vampire bear to chase us. We’d then taken a taxi to the office. Fighting a bunch of elite vampire warriors wasnotsomething we’d planned for. Stealth had been our goal.
“We’re so glad we could help,” Aaron said, backpedaling and taking me with him.
“What are you doing?” I hissed under my breath.
“Buying time.”
“But—”
