“Then you are a traitor to your species.”
“No, if anything, I am the only decent vampire standing in this estate, and that’s saying something, because most would call me an uncaring bastard.” Viktor’s voice came out as a growl now. “I rejected your authority the day I walked out your door. I rejected everything you represent - your cruelty, your paranoia, your pathetic clinging to outdated hierarchies because you’re too afraid to adapt to the modern world.”
He could feel Ant’s presence behind him, solid, steady, and absolutely fearless despite being surrounded by vampires who wanted him dead. That certainty, that trust, gave Viktor the final push he needed.
“You want to know why I left?” Viktor continued. “It wasn’t because I couldn’t handle your rules and expectations. It wasbecause I realized you were building a prison and calling it a kingdom. You gather power by feeding on fear - your guards’ fear, your coven’s fear, the fear of anyone who might challenge you. You’re not an elder, Claudius. You’re nowhere near it. You’re just a bully who lived long enough to convince yourself you’re important.”
Claudius’s face went rigid with fury. “How dare…”
“I dare because I don’t answer to you anymore. I don’t answer toanyoneexcept my mate.” Viktor’s smile turned vicious. “And right now, my mate needs to leave - he has a report to file with the Justiciary. So here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to get the fuck out of my way, or I’m going to paint this hallway with your guards’ blood and makeyouwatch this time.”
For a heartbeat, nobody moved. Then Claudius’s composure completely shattered. His face contorted with rage, his eyes flashed red, and he snarled, “Kill them. Kill them both. And make sure thathumanscreams loud enough that Viktor can hear him in hell.”
The guards lunged forward, but this time Viktor didn’t go on the defensive. Instead, he spun around, grabbed Ant and scooped him into his arms, then bent down and hauled Able up with his other arm. The German shepherd yelped in surprise but stayed still, trusting Viktor completely.
“Hold on,” Viktor whispered.
Then he pulled his invisibility around all three of them like a cloak. He’d used it countless times to move unseen through the world, to protect himself, to hunt, and sometimes just because he was nosy, such as when he first started spying on Ant.
But he’d never tried to extend it to cover two other living beings at the same time. Viktor felt the magic behind it trying to slip, felt the edges of his invisibility rippling and threatening to fail.He gritted his teeth and forced more power into it, pulling from reserves he didn’t know he had.Hold. Just hold.
The first guard’s hand swept through the space where Viktor had been standing a moment before, encountering only empty air. Viktor had already moved. Confusion flickered across the vampire’s face, then alarm.
“Where…”
It’s holding,and that was all Viktor needed to know. Confident that none of them could be seen, Viktor ran. He burst past the guards before they could process what was happening, moving with every ounce of speed he possessed. Ant’s weight barely registered, and Able remained perfectly still against his chest. It’s not like Viktor hadn’t carried them both before.
Behind them, it was pure chaos. Guards were shouting, Claudius was screaming orders as if that would make any damn difference, and footsteps thundered through the hallways as the entire estate mobilized to find them.
Viktor had never been so grateful for the way his gift worked. They couldn’t be seen, heard, or smelled in any way. The only way they could be found was if a guard accidentally bumped into them, but Viktor wasn’t going to let that happen.
Taking the steps three at a time, Viktor’s boots made no sound against the marble. A guard rushed past him going the opposite direction, so close Viktor could have reached out and touched him - if he had his hands free - but the vampire’s gaze slid right over them without stopping.
It’s working. Holy fucking shit, it’s actually working.
Through the foyer, past the stunned house staff who were being ordered to seal all exits. Out the front doors that Viktor shoved open with his shoulder, praying that in the chaos nobody would notice, storming his way into the garden.
The sun was bright after the dimly lit halls of the coven house, but Viktor didn’t slow down or stop. It was tempting to just get in his SUV, still standing in the driveway, but Viktor had no way of knowing what the wards might have done to the electrics in his vehicle, and that was a plan deviation. Ant wanted to get to the fountain, so Viktor wove his way through ornamental shrubs and flower beds to get there.
“Fan out.” Claudius’s voice carried clearly across the grounds. “They’re still on the estate, they have to be. Check every shadow, every corner. Use your other senses if you can’t see them.”
Viktor felt his invisibility beginning to fray. The strain of covering three bodies was too much. Already, he could feel his magic starting to crack, little ripples of visibility flickering at the edges like a failing lightbulb. It was fifty meters to the fountain…forty…thirty…
“There!” One of the guards pointed directly at them. “I can hear something…”
Viktor didn’t care. He covered the final distance in a burst of speed, skidded to a stop beside the fountain’s stone basin, and carefully set Ant down on his feet while Able jumped free and took up a protective position.
The invisibility shattered completely the moment Viktor released it, the magic collapsing inward with an almost audiblesnap.
Suddenly, they were visible again - three figures standing exposed in the garden’s center while guards closed in from all directions.
Viktor’s second form burst through - another shirt ruined, but his vampiric side wasn’t a fashion buff.Thank fuck I always pack a couple of spares.Although if they had many more of these incidents, Viktor would be running around shirtless.Yetanother reason to get the hell out of here.Tearing the shreds of material from his shoulders, Viktor turned to face their attackers.
“You wanted twelve seconds, babe,” he growled. “I’ve got you.”
Behind him, Ant’s hands were already glowing with gathering magic.
Chapter Seventeen
