That was the final nail in the coffin.
Because it had been possible that some vampire out there—maybe one turned by Magnus—had known how my maker killed and copied him, perhaps wanting to send a message to me for their own reasons. But the handwriting would have been hard to fake.
There was an address. And then, below that, one line:
Tonight at sundown. Come alone, or Eli De La Cruz dies.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE || COLE
“Idon’t like this,” Eli said. “This isn’t how it should be. I don’t want to just stay home while you go off and face some super-evil and ancient vampire.”
“I need to go alone,” I told him flatly. “I can’t risk you.”
“You’re not going alone,” Thierry said firmly. “We’re not letting Magnus separate us again. Absolutely not.”
“He threatened Eli’s life. I must destroy him,” I replied. I fixed my twin’s gaze with mine. “Would you be able to risk Jeremy, if you were in my shoes?”
“Hey, now. I’m a lot less breakable,” Jeremy said, holding up his hand. It immediately shifted—his fingers elongating into wicked-looking claws. “And Magnus has no idea what I am. That gives us the element of surprise. You need me in this.” His tone grew colder. “I’ll kill him for what he did to you two.”
“This conversation is both tedious and unnecessary. You will die if you go alone,” Godric said, fixing me with a hard look. “You will attack Magnus, and he will kill you. He wishes for you to become his ally. He must already suspect that you will refuse him. If you do so, he will end you without a flicker of hesitation. The only chance we have is overwhelming force.”
“How the hell could you possibly know that?” I demanded, feeling outrage flash through me.
“He’s psychic,” Thierry told me, shooting Godric a dark look. “And he was Magnus’s right-hand man for centuries. He knows better than anyone what we’re up against.”
“We must come up with a plan,” Godric added. “We will have one chance at this.”
“Can you see what Magnus is up to?” Jeremy asked.
Godric shook his head. “I have not been able to see him since the night I conscripted you and your mate into aiding me. Magnus is blocked from my vision and has been for days. He is using magic—an amulet, perhaps—to ward himself from magical detection.”
“Which means that this is a trap,” Jeremy said pointedly. “Magnus intended for you to see him. He lured us here. And now he’s attempting to separate us. This is villainy 101.”
Thierry flashed his mate a startled look. “I keep forgetting how clever you are,” he said, the ghost of a smile on his lips and his eyes shining with naked affection.
Jeremy rolled his eyes but returned Thierry’s smile. “I try.”
Then my brother turned back to me. “But yes. Precisely what Jeremy said. Magnus will expect you to go alone, because he threatened your mate’s life.”
“I can stay with Eli,” Harris offered. He had insisted on coming back with Thierry and me—more evidence that he was willing to be… friends. The word felt strange in my mind. He added, “We can go somewhere public, away from here—a hotel or something. Magnus won’t know where we are.”
“Yes. And you must load your gun with silver bullets,” Godric said approvingly.
Harris stared at him. “Wait, I thought those were for werewolves?”
“Silver works on most supernatural creatures,” Jeremy said before Godric could reply. “Silver kills wolves. But it saps thestrength and speed of a vampire. They become more or less mortal in their abilities. It evens the fight.”
Harris’s brows drew together. “Oh. Huh, good to know.” Then he shook his head slowly and let out a low exhale. “I don’t know if I’m ready to accept the existence of werewolves, though. People who can shapeshift into animals is just a littletoostrange.”
Jeremy flashed him a sympathetic look and patted his shoulder. “Sorry, man. It just keeps getting weirder from here.”
“I won’t leave Eli and his sister—because Sam must be protected as well—under the care of just one human,” I cut in. I frowned at Harris. “And I cannot ask you to put yourself in such danger. I can send other officers.”
“No. There’s another way,” Thierry said. He traded a glance with Jeremy. “We have friends. If we ask them to come, they will.”
Godric nodded approvingly. “Yes. This is sensible. Might I suggest Simone and Poppy? Between them and your brave mortal friend, they will protect Eli and his sister. But leave the others out of this. It is far too dangerous to involve them.”
“What, you don’t want anything to happen to Tobias and Bryan?” Thierry asked, frowning. “They’re the ones standing in the way of you and Rico.”
