The noise ceases suddenly, and the fog dissipates. Aurora appears in front of me, holding a crystal in her hand. A crescent moon glows on her forehead, and her eyes are also glowing.
“Rora!” Saxon rushes past me, reaching his mate in two quick strides. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes return to normal, and the crescent moon disappears. “I’m fine.” She then looks at me. “Where are Sophie and Tish?”
I pivot on the spot. The walkway is empty now, and there’s no sign of Sophie anywhere. But a little ahead, I see Igor on the ground, leaning against a stall with his hand covering his abdomen. He looks hurt.
“Igor!” I run to him, dropping into a crouch. “What happened?”
“They came for her. I tried to stop them.” He grimaces.
Aurora kneels next to him and pulls his arm from the wound. It’s bleeding profusely. “Who did this to you?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see his face. He was wearing a mask. My guess is he was a hired mercenary.”
Her eyes widen. “Hired help that uses dark magic?”
“So rogue mages,” I conclude.
Igor shakes his head. “Worse. Rogue warlocks.”
Aurora and Saxon trade a glance. “I didn’t know that was a thing,” he says.
“Me neither. Ryker won’t share much with me until I start my training.”
“Why would they kidnap Sophie?”
“For Jacques. He hired them,” Igor replies.
“What does he want with Sophie? I can’t imagine that son of a bitch is a doting father,” Saxon grumbles.
“He wants to use Sophie to free Madeleine Boucher,” I say. “That was the mission he had given her.”
Aurora looks at me. “We can’t allow that to happen. If Madeleine is set free, a river of blood will flow through Salem.”
Forty-Nine
LUCCA
Rikkon doesn’t flinch when I fill two bags with his blood. Humans are only able to donate one bag every sixty days or so, but being a Nightingale has its advantages. I wouldn’t have asked for more than one bag, but he insisted.
While he rolls down his sleeve, Mauricio sets a glass of orange juice in front of him. “Drink this. It will help you.”
“Thanks.”
I grab the two bags from the desk. “I should bring these to Uncle Raphael while the blood is still warm.”
Since Vivi and Miranda are currently in the kitchen, I decided to do the whole bloody business in Mauricio’s office. They’re both used to the sight of blood, but they might be eating, and I don’t want to be disrespectful.
Rikkon already drank the entire glass of juice, and he stands to follow me.
“Whoa. Where do you think you’re going?” I ask.
“You said I could wait outside your uncle’s room as backup in case things take a turn for the worst.”
“You just donated a lot of blood. You’d probably be a hindrance.”
He scowls. “Why did you say that, then? Besides, I feel fine. I’m a Nightingale. I recover fast.”
