He realized belatedly that there was no way to fight out of the room. They were outnumbered by four Guardians, plus Lilith. They had no weapons, nothing to use for them. And if they tried and failed, the rings would stay… and so would they. Either as corpses or guests of the vampire queen.

Neither of which appealed to Sebastian.

As if reading his mind, Pesaro looked at him as the two Guardians pulled him by the chains. “Take the rings. Go. Close the portal. There is no other way.”

Seventeen

In Which Sebastian Exercises Unusual Prudence

Victoria couldn’t breathe.

“Where’s Max?” she asked again. She tried to keep her voice calm. She was sure she succeeded. It was a simple question. It should have a simple answer. He’s coming. He’s just around the bend. He’ll be along in a moment.

Sebastian took her arm, turning her to face him, away from the road on which he and Michalas had just ridden in. “Victoria,” he said, his voice sharp, “he obtained the rings for us. We have the last two rings. He stayed.” He spoke clearly, slowly, and she wondered vaguely how many times she’d already asked, and how many times he’d replied.

He stayed.

Victoria closed her eyes and crossed her arms tightly across her churning belly. No. Nononononooo.

“We have the rings,” Michalas said in a gentler voice. “Lilith gave them up.”

But she kept Max .

“We-I-have to go after him,” she said, her head suddenly clearing. The cobwebs slipped off; the nausea filtered away. Confidence settled over her, and purpose.

This she could do. This was her duty, her task, her calling. She’d come face-to-face with Lilith before. Max must know she’d come after him. He’d planned it this way.

Though her fingers trembled, she drew herself up regally and looked at each of the men in turn. “Michalas, you know the way to her lair now. You can lead me there, and I’ll find a way in.” She turned to Sebastian, who’d opened his mouth to argue. “I know we have the five rings. You and Brim can go and retrieve the orb while I free Max.”

“We have guests,” Sebastian said, his thick blond hair riffled by a breeze. He’d not stopped looking at her, a mixture of pity and understanding in his gaze. “Lilith sent some of her own to assist.”

Victoria turned and saw three heavily cloaked figures standing in the shadow of the small inn where she and Brim had rested. That explained the chill at the back of her neck, the sensation she’d barely acknowledged when she realized Max was not with Michalas and Sebastian. Every other thought had fallen away when she realized he wasn’t there.

Now she accepted the presence of vampires, well covered to protect themselves from the lowering sun.

“They’re to return the rings to her when we’ve finished with them,” Sebastian told her.

A sizzle of relief tickled her. “And Lilith will release Max then? She’s holding him only as a hostage?”

He shook his head. “That wasn’t part of the arrangement.”

Her stomach pitched again. “Then it will be as I said. Michalas and I will go to free Max, and you’ll go to the enchanted pool.”

Sebastian drew in his breath to speak, but Victoria turned away and approached the vampires. They stood in a tight cluster, careful not to allow any part of their flesh to be exposed to the sun. Under their heavy black hoods, two of them looked at her with red-violet eyes, and the third with ruby-pink irises. She saw the gleam of a sword falling from the invisible hand of one of the purple-eyed ones. Two Imperials and a Guardian.

Victoria felt a little chill up her spine. “I am Victoria Gardella,” she told them.

“We know who you are,” replied the tallest of the three, who happened to be a female Imperial. The sword she held, the Imperial weapon of choice, shifted menacingly against the side of her cloak. “I am called Mercy because I show none. Lilith sends a message to you.”

Victoria inclined her head to accept the message.

“We three are to take you to the enchanted pool, and then to lead you to the Midiverse Portal. We’re to return unharmed immediately after with the rings. If we don’t return within a week’s time, Maximilian will suffer.”

“She’ll release him when you return?”

The Imperial laughed. “No… Lilith merely promises not to torture him before she turns him undead.”

“Simply being in her presence is torture,” Victoria said, forcing the words from her dry mouth. “That is no guarantee. Nothing to keep me from turning you to dust at this moment.”

The Imperial shrugged, her sword brushing against the cloak of her companion. “So be it. If we three do not return with the rings in a week’s time, you can be assured that she’ll keep her word.”

Victoria firmed her lips and turned away. She had to get to him. The others could retrieve the orb. They could go to the Midiverse Portal. They didn’t need her.

She couldn’t leave Max here.

She had to go after him.

Without another word, Victoria turned and went inside the inn. Once in the small chamber she’d used to sleep in, she dug through the long leather bag in which she stored her weapons. She’d go in well armed and fight her way to Max.

She could have Michalas show her the entrance to the lair, and then he could go with the others. They would need the three of them, certainly, to fight the demons escaping from the portal, but they could do it.

She knew they could. They were Venators.

Max.

Victoria brushed angry, sharp tears from her eyes. How could he have done this? He had to have known what would happen.

How could he have left me?

They should have gone together.

A noise behind her drew her upright, and she dashed her hand across her eyes again before turning. Sebastian stood there, blocking the doorway.

“Victoria.”

“You can’t stop me,” she said flatly. “Don’t try. I have to go after him. He’d go after me.”

Sebastian nodded. “Of course he would want to. But you know Max, and how damn insufferable he is about doing the right thing. He’d rather suffer than be happy.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you’re not going to change my mind.”

He shook his head. “I’m not here to change your mind. He knew you’d go after him. And of course you should, Victoria. I’d come after you. Always.”

Another blasted tear stung her eyes. Why now, why after two years of angst and fear and anger did she have to act like a watering pot every time something happened? Aunt Eustacia had never shed a tear.

“But I wanted to tell you what it was like in there,” Sebastian continued, walking into the room. “He was brilliant. I bloody well thought I’d never admit it aloud, but the man was brilliant. And strong. So damn strong. He was ahead of her every step of the way; he knew what she was going to say-and do-before she did it. He’d planned it all.”

“Why in God’s name didn’t you just kill her and get the rings and go?” Victoria burst out. “Why did he have to trade himself? Didn’t he know what that would do to me?” She clamped her mouth shut, but her voice had already risen in a high-pitched wail.

“I wondered the same thing, but then I understood,” Sebastian said, almost gently. His amber eyes focused on her, a depth of seriousness she hadn’t often seen within them. “There was no way to get the rings after she was dead. They were hidden in a little chamber. She touched the wall with her hand, and the door appeared as if from nowhere-some kind of magic, I think. We would never have found the chamber or the rings, and it would have all been for naught.”

“But after you got them,” she said desperately, “you could have attacked her and left with the rings. You didn’t have to leave him there !” Now the tears exploded, to her great chagrin and shame, and she knuckled them furiously away.

He opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it and instead drew her into his arms. She allowed him to embrace her, to settle her head on his shoulder and to feel the familiar comfort of his body, the faint scent of cloves and tobacco. How many times had he done this for her? And this time… this time she knew he had no ulterior motive.

He meant only to give comfort. Dear Sebastian.

“Victoria,” he said, his voice rumbling in his chest against her ear, “he knew the risk. He was fully aware of the sacrifice he made.”

Sacrifice.

Damn Max. Why did he have to be so bloody noble?

“We had no weapons. There was no way to leave unless she allowed it. He knew that. He’s been there before. He knew what he was doing, the risk. The sacrifice. There was no other way.”

Sacrifice.

Aunt Eustacia had sacrificed herself, too. She’d made Max do the unthinkable because she knew he would. One life given for the safety of many.

Victoria pushed the thought away. This was different. This was Max. Her Max.

She’d free him, or she’d die trying. She didn’t want to live without him.

Coward.

Dying is easier than going on without.

I’m a coward when it comes to you.

She pulled away from Sebastian. “Go and get the orb. I’ll…” Her voice broke. She felt as though her insides were twisting like a rag being wrung out. Harder, tighter, until every bit of feeling leeched away… leaving her empty.

She swallowed, stood upright, and looked straight at him. “I order you to go, as your Illa Gardella. Get the orb. Close the Midiverse Portal. God willing, I’ll see you after.”

Sebastian looked at her. “Illa Gardella,” he said, reaching to touch her cheek, brushing away a tear. “You are a magnificent woman, Victoria. A brave, intelligent leader. Beautiful and strong.” His expression grew intense, and he took her chin to keep her eyes fastened on him. “You are Illa Gardella. Never forget that.”

He turned her face up and kissed her… not on the lips, but on the cheeks-one side and then the other. Then he left the room, closing the door behind him.