Page 7 of Hell's Queen

“Focus on Thorne and what he looks like.”

I swallow as I picture the long white-haired vampire. The one I fell for. He is intelligent and funny and loved how up-to-date I was. Being around him, cooking with him, watching TV…

“Now follow him. Follow the shadows leading to him.”

My mind returns to the room where we were in Thorne’s house. I remember the moment Draco enters the room and the moment that he bites Thorne. The shadows whisper to me, showing me the way. The vampire drags him out of the house like a sack of potatoes before disappearing. My chest tightens, but I stay focused, following the shadows they left behind until finally, I find Thorne in a warehouse. He’s bloody and beaten, and vampires surround him, watching him.

He lifts his head and turns his head as if he can see me.

“Is Ryker here?” I ask.

He blinks, sighing. He can hear me as he nods slightly.

“Is it a trap?”

He nods.

I swallow. “We will be there soon.”

His eyes widen, and before he can do anything, I’m gone, looking for a shadow from which to get into the warehouse.

My first-time jumping shadows is rough on all of us. Thorne has always been the one that picked me up after work or took me places.

Ledger gags like he might puke. “Does it always feel like this?”

My head nods. Nerves finally set in with me. I just realized that we are outside the vampire headquarters… and I can barely fight. I can scarcely help. Why am I even here?

Hazen touches my shoulder, calming my nerves without knowing it. “Let’s move inside.”

I point. “That door is open. Left, right, then left is where Thorne is.”

He nods, lowering himself and leading the way. We all follow him, trying to channel my inner ninja for this one. While waiting for Agnus, I quickly changed into jeans and a T-shirt, only pulling my hair back. Once everyone is safe, I’ll shower away the blood clinging to me.

Once at the door, he peeks inside, and when it’s clear, he opens the door, and we all go in. It’s a bit hard to be ninjas when all men are over seven feet tall but whatever.

Nerves set in more as we follow my directions. The shadows whisper to me, telling me where people are. Thorne told me about how they did that once, but I didn’t believe him at the time. He said I wasn’t actually listening to them. Creepy. In the last room Thorne is in, I peek in. Five vampires surround him. They sit around, talking as if they didn’t think I would actually show up.

“Hazen, get the left one. Jigsaw, next to him. I’ve got the dude in the middle. Ledger… can you handle two?”

He smirks and nods as if he’s been waiting for this opportunity.

Sneakily, we enter the room until the one Hazen is supposed to fight notices us. He rushes him, tackling him. The other four charge at us.

I focus, trying to remember all the advice that Inarian gave me. The guy swings, and I duck, jabbing his ribs. I doubt it hurts, but I don’t stop. Uppercutting him, I twist, jump up and kick him in the face, knocking him out. Okay, hitting the ground so hard knocked him out.

I straighten, about to help the hounds, but they are all waiting for me. Their men are taken down easier than mine… I gave them the weaker ones.

Moving to Thorne, I touch his chin.

“Asura,” he growls, blood leaving his mouth. “You know damn well this is a trap.”

“I’ve already told her,” Ledger mutters, helping me untie him.

“I need my men back,” I say to them.

“The other two are in a room being guarded by that fae bitch and Draco.”

I freeze. “Two?” Did they get Khazon?

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