“Please.” Chloe snorted. “It’s because they’re just plain mean.”

“Sarita’s not so bad,” Hunter said. “She’s just … organized.”

“Anal,” Chloe corrected. She shot me a pitying look. “And I’m pretty sure she’ll tattle. For your own good, of course.”

Hunter wrinkled her nose. “You’re probably right about that.”

“But hanging out with Hunter will give you a buffer,” Chloe assured me. “Sarita has a serious case of hero worship for her.”

“She does not.” Hunter rolled her eyes.

“She does so.”

“Even though you have a vampire boyfriend?” I raised my eyebrows. “She seemed pretty strict about that. And I’ve only known her for about five minutes.”

“She thinks they’re just ugly rumors,” Chloe said. “The saintly Hunter would never defile herself that way.” She smiled slowly. “Then again, Sarita’s never seen Quinn.”

Hunter poked her.

“What? He’s pretty.”

The hallway seemed deserted, the dorm more quiet than it had been when I arrived. Even the lawns were empty. “Where’s everyone?”

“At dinner.” Hunter waited for Chloe and me to step into the room before shutting the door and pressing her ear against it. Chloe was already at one of her laptops, entering in a password.

“Okay, so what’s up?” I asked when Hunter crossed the carpet, satisfied that no one had followed us. She flipped on their stereo anyway to muffle our voices. Solange and I used that trick all the time after Logan and Nicholas turned and we wanted to make sure they weren’t eavesdropping on us.

“Chloe intercepted messages between some of the hunters who hide out in the mountains,” Hunter told me in undertones. “One of them was flying his bush plane and found the burned remains of a maze near an abandoned ghost town.”

I exhaled suddenly. “That’s where they kept Christabel.”

“I know,” Hunter said grimly. “There’s at least six of them going in pretty much now. They want to take out all the Hel-Blar and anything that moves.”

“Shit, they don’t know about Saga and the council treaty thing,” I exclaimed. “If they go in looking for a fight, they could start a civil war between the tribes. No one would believe the Drakes weren’t involved!”

“What do you want to do?”

“We have to tell Christabel.” I fumbled for my phone. “When she was sick, she muttered about Aidan. He saved her life, ironically. We can’t just let him get ambushed!”

“I already texted Quinn and Kieran,” Hunter said while I copied my message to Christabel to Nicholas and Connor. I didn’t copy Solange. Usually she’d be a lethal sword in the fight, but right now she was a live grenade. She might blow us all up.

Plus, I was holding a grudge.

I could admit it to myself, if to no one else.

“Can you get ahold of Hart? Have him call it off?”

“He can’t be officially involved in vampire politics, treaty or no, any more than Liam could be involved in League business,” Hunter said. “Besides, it’s a hunter’s right and duty to take out Hel-Blar. Not to mention, Aidan essentially killed your cousin.”

“Turned her. There’s a difference.”

“She wouldn’t have been in danger if he hadn’t kidnapped her. Anyway, they’re out of range by now,” Chloe said.

“It’s a different world,” Hunter said apologetically. “We’re not trained to save vampires from themselves.”

“If there’s a civil war, everyone will be involved,” I argued.

“I know,” she agreed calmly.

“And the Drakes won’t be up and out for another hour at least,” I said, frustrated.

“It’ll take us that long to drive to the maze,” Hunter said, reaching for her knapsack. I knew it was full of weapons and hiking supplies. She was prepared like that. “They can meet us there.”

Chloe unplugged her laptop. “Ready.”

I blinked. “You’re going? Both of you?”

“Of course. We’re all going,” Hunter said. “Don’t be stupid.”

Chapter 26

Christabel

Connor grabbed me in the hall and pressed his mouth to mine.

“Shhh,” he murmured against my lips.

“I didn’t say anything,” I murmured back, baffled. But as usual, the feel of his lips on mine was distracting.

He jerked his head toward the window. “Come on,” he mouthed. I followed him, peering down into the gardens. The tops of thorny rosebushes waved at me. Light from the conservatory spilled out onto the lawn in perfect yellow squares.

“That’s a two-story drop,” I whispered when Connor flung his leg over the sill and waited for me to do the same. “Last I checked, vampires didn’t sprout wings.” I stared at him. “We don’t, do we?”

He chuckled despite the solemn cast to his eyes. “No.”

“What the hell, then?”

“Keep your voice down,” he said. “We need to go. Now.”

“There are these new things called stairs,” I whispered back.

He shook his head. “You really are Lucy’s cousin. All of a sudden I can see the family resemblance. Will you please just come on?”