“You have my word.”
“Stay safe.”
Ten minutes later, the city was immersed in a shroud of darkness. Prince admired the beauty of lights that illuminated the streets. Few remembered a time as he did where only torches lit the way on a moonless night.
When his phone rang, he quickly answered. “Yes?”
“Well, if it isn’t Prince himself.Prince. A man should have a full name. You are no better than the rest of us that you should only have one.”
“I’m older than you, Vlad.”
“Ah, but I’m a Mage and I’ll outlive you.”
We’ll see about that, Prince thought, pulling over to the side of the road in front of a gas station.
“I feel like a conversation is in order,” Vlad continued. “Bring the woman but no one else.”
“Where?”
“You know the old bridge with the arch? Be here in five minutes.”
Prince went from zero to sixty in four seconds. Tires screeched when Kat peeled out behind him, trying to keep up. The traffic thinned out, and it looked like a hill of rock had been sliced in half to accommodate the road. When they crossed onto Pennybacker Bridge, he saw Vlad standing behind his car with the hazard lights on.
“Vlad, you bastard. What are you up to?” he whispered.
He eased his car off to the right and Kat pulled up behind him, almost smashing into his bumper before hitting the brakes. He got out and approached Vlad, scanning his surroundings in search of anyone who might be lurking in the shadows.
Vlad sat against the front end of his car, arms folded and a flicker of madness in his eyes. If not for his modern clothes, he looked unchanged from the time Prince had known him centuries ago. Except cleaner.
Vlad’s sardonic smile faltered when Kat rushed toward him in quick steps.
When she passed Prince, he gripped her arm and held her back.
“The fearless ones always die first,” Vlad said gruffly. “You know, I much prefer you with blond hair.”
“Where’s my sister!”
His brows rose, revealing several long lines in his forehead. “Sister… or father? Once I threw her in with Alexei, he gave up her identity in a fit of rage. I didn’t see the resemblance,” Vlad said, a sonorous laugh escaping.
Prince spoke through clenched teeth. “Why did you summon us?”
“Yes, we are too old to play childish games.”
“And yet you keep playing them,” Kat snarled.
When Vlad cut his sharp eyes at her, Prince pulled her protectively to him.
“You see me as a depraved man, but you do not see the fault in those around you. Your father took something of mine I entrusted to him. He is nothing but a thief.”
That made Prince rock with laughter. “And why should I believe that? You would entrustnothingto a man you imprisoned.”
Vlad narrowed his eyes at a passing car. “Is that so? During the Breed exodus from Russia, his wolf was assigned to escort one of our generals out safely. We were ordered to stay behind and exterminate the prisoners. Alexei was supposed to return to the camp and meet his fate with his brethren, but I had promised him freedom if he would deliver something of mine to a trusted companion across the border. I made a special pouch for his wolf to keep it hidden beneath his fur, but instead of placing this item into safe hands, he put it in his pocket and escaped. Paid off the general with money he’d kept hidden from me.”
Kat wriggled free from Prince’s grasp. She took one step forward, and the wind lifted the long locks of her dark hair. “Good for him. A wrongfully imprisoned man outwitted you by patiently planning his escape. My father is a hunter and a fisherman, so he’s a patient man by nature. I can’t believe that after all these years you’re still holding a grudge. Look at what century we’re in,” she exclaimed, holding out her arms. “It’s time to let go of the past and get over your fucking ring.”
Vlad pushed off the car and approached them, stopping short and cocking his head to the side. “Who said it was a ring?”
CHAPTER14
