Mael was off the table. So was Lana.
Raziel was a complicated mess.
But that bitch?
That bitch could die. Right now.
Nadi pushed through the panicking crowd, using her smaller size to slip between guests and around security forces engaged with the attackers. A fae warrior appeared in her path, wild-eyed and bloodied, raising what looked like a silver blade.
“Ui quala vuampi, fi’ti!” Nadi dropped her glamor to her own face, swearing at the fae warrior that she wasn’t a vampire, and calling him a colorful name to boot.
The fae warrior blinked, his silver sword freezing in mid-swing. He didn’t even apologize before moving on to cut down his next target.
Swearing again to herself, she shifted back to the vampiric Monica and ran toward the house. It had cost her precious seconds.
The main house loomed ahead, its white walls now scarred by bullet holes and scorch marks. Volencia had disappeared inside, but Nadi had seen the direction she’d taken. The east wing, where the family kept their private offices and secure rooms.
Behind her, the battle raged on. She could hear Raziel’s voice cutting through the chaos, shouting her name, and part of her wanted to turn back. To find him, to stand beside him, to face whatever came next together.
But this was her mission. Her purpose. The reason she’d sacrificed everything to get here.
The matriarch who had ordered her family’s death was finally within reach.
And Nadi intended to make her pay for every drop of blood she’d spilled.
She reached the main house and slipped through a side entrance, leaving the bloodshed of the wedding behind. The interior was eerily quiet after the violence outside, her footsteps muffled by thick carpets as she followed the route she’d seen Volencia take.
Somewhere in this house was the woman responsible for everything—the deaths, the suffering, the decades of hatred that had shaped Nadi’s entire existence.
Today, that debt would finally be paid in full.
TWENTY-TWO
The interior of the Nostrom estate felt like stepping into a tomb after the chaos of the garden battle. Nadi’s footsteps were muffled by thick antique carpets as she moved through corridors lined with portraits of long-dead vampires, their painted eyes seeming to track her movement through the shadows.
The sounds of gunfire and explosions continued outside, but here the violence felt distant, almost dreamlike. She followed the route she’d seen Volencia take—past the grand staircase, through a sitting room filled with antique furniture, toward the family’s private wing.
Her hand found the serpent pendant at her throat, thumb running over the hidden blade mechanism Raziel had shown her. The weight of it was both comforting and thrilling—a reminder of the man who’d given it to her, and the moment she’d been building toward for eighty years.
Focus, she told herself.This is what you came here for.
She turned the silver dagger over in her other hand. Now, its weight was a familiar comfort, like greeting an old friend.
A soft click ahead made her freeze. Through an open doorway, she could see into what appeared to be a private study—rich mahogany paneling, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, andVolencia Nostrom standing before a wall safe, her fingers flying over a complex combination lock.
The vampire matriarch was pulling her silver-streaked hair from its formal hairstyle into a severe bun, transforming her from elegant society hostess to something far more dangerous. She had kicked off her heels and donned a pair of slip-on flat shoes that were easier to run in. Nadi was impressed at the hag’s practicality.
Nadi slipped closer, staying in the shadows of the doorway. The safe clicked open, revealing stacks of documents, several small weapons, and what appeared to be vials of dark liquid. Volencia began stuffing items into a leather satchel with practiced efficiency.
A predator’s smile curved Nadi’s lips as she watched. How fitting that Volencia would be packing for an escape she’d never make.
“Going somewhere?” Nadi stepped into the room.
“Good, you can help me get my things together and you’ll finally be useful—” Volencia rolled her eyes in annoyance at her.
Cracking her neck, Nadi let Monica’s appearance drop away like a discarded mask. She felt a savage kind of satisfaction at how Volencia’s expression shifted from annoyance to shock.
“You,” Volencia breathed, her amber eyes taking in Nadi’s true form with rapid assessment. “I knew there was something off about you. But this…” She gestured at Nadi’s obvious non-human nature and her pale, green-blue skin. She laughed. “I admit, this is unexpected.”
