“Three buildings to go. Pay attention to your surroundings.”
Amick’s whispered order is directed at me and the annoying entourage we have following along with us.
It was smart of Gladian to move Jeremiah farther away from me.
If he asked one more time how much longer, I was going to cut his fucking tongue out. I’m not sure what he thought after Amick discussed the plan with all of us, but he must have assumed we’d be sprinting through the damn woods and streets the whole way here.
Fucking idiot.
My head twitches and my silent steps falter briefly as music penetrates my mind.
There are multiple different songs going at once. I can separate each, not only in my head, but where they’re playing in the building we’re approaching.
The one that’s the faintest is upbeat. Lively. It gets your heart racing and excitement strumming through your blood.
The second is louder but slower, more alluring. It makes you want to pull a warm body close to you and move with the tune.
The third…is heavy. Every beat that drops is jagged, unpredictable in the rhythm. It makes my heart pound in my chest with anticipation.
Those last two tunes are the sounds we’re seeking to follow.
One will lead us to the sex chambers.
The other to the fights.
We plaster our backs to the building directly beside Seductions. The alley gap between the two structures is about ten feet, and the voices that are lingering in the middle are loud.
“I sense the power pulsing. It’s around the whole structure. Yemi?”
She slowly drifts toward me at Amick’s command, and I hold my arm out to stop her from going any closer to the corner of the building.
“I need to get closer to see if I can do anything about what she’s put around the building. Preferably touch it,” she whispers.
“We’ve got company in the alley. She can’t get closer to the building until they’re out of the way.”
“Then get them out of the way.”
My fingers flinch at Amick’s urgent tone. He’s walking the last line of patience that he has now that we’re so close.
I peer around the corner to get a body count and whirl back toward the wall.
“Hey! Who the fuck is back there?”
Shit.
“Creed, get Thayla’s swords.”
“What?” she asks, but he does so with no questions, and I snatch her closer to me by her hand.
I tug her around the corner and then slam her back into the wall. My hand that isn’t holding my sword cradles the back of her head, and a hiss passes through my lips as my knuckles collide with the brick.
The sound silences as I plaster my mouth to hers.
My action takes her by surprise for a second before she melts into me.
For a brief, blissful moment, I’m no longer in the Abandon. I no longer smell blood. My hands stop trembling.
Until a low whistle rings through the air a few feet from me.
