“Then we’re fucked.” I looked at Selena, saw the fear in her eyes that mirrored my own. We’d be on the run for the rest of our lives. Hunted. Hiding. Always looking over our shoulders. But eventually—whether it took weeks or months or years—either Angelo or Costin would track us down and kill us.
And it would be all my fault.
“You have such a limited imagination, Prince.”
“Don’t call me Prince,” I growled, my hands curling into fists.
I didn’t deserve that title.
He shrugged, utterly unfazed by my anger. “That’s what you are, whether you admit it or not.” His red eyes gleamed with something that might have been amusement. “You can’t think of anyone who can help you with time?”
Time?
Rose’s brow crinkled. Then her eyes widened. “You mean Alice Carroll? You know about her powers?”
Balthazar laughed—a dark, rumbling sound that made my skin crawl. “Demon.”
Of course he knew. Demons knew everything.
I turned to Rose. “Where is she?”
“She’s still here in New Orleans,” Rose said. “With Darius.”
“You have less than twenty-four hours.” His mouth twisted into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Oh, by the way, Dracula owned four different castles.”
“How do we know which one?” I glared at him, barely keeping my voice steady.
Balthazar tilted his head, studying me the way a cat studies a mouse it’s already decided to kill. “You’ll know.” He flashed me an amused look. “Follow the scent.”
Follow the scent. Like we were dogs being sent to fetch. The arrogance of it made my fangs ache.
“One more thing—demons can’t touch the shard. Not even I would. Nasty little bugger. So Vex would have hidden it in a protective barrier. Remember that you fools!”
I glared. “What kind of barrier?”
He shrugged. “Could be anything. But you won’t be able to open it.”
“Fuck,” I growled.
“Such a temper, prince. Remember these words—Cruor meus, clavis tua. Aperi." He smiled, all teeth. “You'll need to bleed for it, of course. Just a little. Consider it a taste of what's to come.”
He crossed the room and approached Rose. The temperature seemed to drop with every step he took. Rose held her ground. Valentin came up behind her.
He leaned in close—too close. “Don’t summon me again. Or next time, I might not be as forgiving.”
Rose didn't flinch. Didn't blink. But the candle flames around her guttered and died, plunging the circle into shadow.
And then he was gone. No flash of light. No dramatic exit. Just there one second, and not the next—like the darkness had simply opened its mouth and swallowed him whole.
No one moved. No one breathed.
He left us with an impossible task.
Chapter Twenty-One
Selena
Balthazar lived up to his reputation. Ruthless. Arrogant. Evil.
