“Screamer?” Tyler asked incredulously. “You left a Screamer down there?”

“I’ve only heard of those as legend.” Danny whistled as he turned to Naomi. “Do they really exist, then? Ghost vampires who dine on your blood?”

She nodded. “I have only seen one in my lifetime. It was very long ago, but yes, it was horrible. They don’t just eat you—they devour your soul from the inside out. They do not become corporeal often, because our blood purity has been diluted. They need incredible power to regenerate. But we pacify them with … offerings. If we do not do this, they get disruptive, like angry poltergeists.”

“Unfortunately,” I added, “this thing got a taste of my blood from Naomi. If I hadn’t put a stop to it, it may have had enough to come to life.”

Danny glanced from Naomi to me and then back. “The vampires who took you prisoner drained your blood to feed this thing?” He half snarled, which was a lot of emotion for Danny. “And if you had been drained completely, this creature could’ve risen? And you would’ve died?”

His anger jumped in my blood, surprising me.

My eyebrows went up. He made a move to touch Naomi but drew his hand away as she stepped back out of his reach. I glanced at my brother, who, in turn, shrugged.

“What happened to me is of no consequence. The crisis was averted,” Naomi murmured, turning her gaze toward me. “Jessica was able to drain the altar before it could arise.”

Hearing her call me Jessica was odd, but nice. “But keep your eyes and ears open when you’re in the tunnels,” I said. “If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, get out of there as fast as you can. Once you find Ray, let me know here.” I pointed to my head. “I’m hoping one of us can find Ray before the fighting begins.” I still had no idea why Ray was key to saving my father, but I wasn’t going to begin to doubt Maggie now. We needed to find him.

“We can leave out the window,” Tyler said. “It’s the easiest way to get to the Reliquary.” He started walking and glanced over his shoulder. “Stay safe, Jess.”

“I will,” I said. “You too. I’ll see you in twenty.”

He nodded once and leapt, followed by Danny. Naomi turned right before she flew out. “Ma Reine, remember no matter what happens tonight there is a reason, even if it is difficult. I am certain we will be victorious.”

“Thank you, Naomi,” I said. “I hope you’re right and we get a chance to take down some demons.”

“Oui,” she agreed, smiling like a shrew, her eyes narrowing. “I am looking forward to it.”

Then she was gone.

Flying was so damn handy. And who said vamps couldn’t fight? Naomi had a definite lethal side.

Before I could move an inch, Rourke had me around the waist. He twisted me to him while guiding me steadily backward toward the broken door. Once my back hit the wall next to it, he growled as he pressed himself against me. Every inch of us sealed tightly together. “You’re a handful, you know that?” Before I could protest, his lips were on mine.

I opened them immediately, drinking him in. The scent of cloves ran up my nose and currents of sensations wound up my spine in a delicious tingle. My fingers flexed against his taut shoulders, itching to explore his beautiful body. After a long kiss, I pulled back. “But I’m so very worth it.”

He licked his lips. “Yes, I’m well aware.”

His eyes were so heated it was hard to gather my thoughts. We have to go, I told him internally. I eyed the Queen’s bed. I couldn’t help it. My mate was incredible and all the built-up adrenaline was pounding for a release. My wolf gave a long howl.

But it so wasn’t happening right now.

Instead, my hands slid down his chest, my nails digging in with just enough pressure to convey exactly how I felt about breaking things up. “Rourke, we have to find Ray—”

Jessica … static … can you hear me…

I jumped out of Rourke’s grasp like I’d been stuck with a cattle prod. My hands flew to my head and I turned in a circle. Dad? Is that you? Hope ran through me. I can barely hear you.

I’m coming … buzzing … I’m injured … in the lead … rogue wolves … right behind us…

Are you in New Orleans? I held my breath.

Yes … soon…

Then the signal went dead.

Dad! Dad, can you hear me? I shouted in my mind.

No response.

We’ll be ready for you!

Emotion welled in my throat. I hadn’t seen my father since before I’d left to find Rourke. He’d clearly been running in his wolf form. He was alive, but he was injured.

Rourke’s face was grim. “Your father?”

“Yes,” I said. “He’s injured and the fracture pack is close behind. If he’s hurt, there must’ve been a battle already. He also said he’s in the lead, ahead of his Pack. That means they think he’s weak. If he stops running, one of them could challenge him for status. He’s leading everyone here. If Nick was able to reach James, that could be the reason why. If either of them shifted, they may have been able to get him the message.”

“Did he say how close he was?”

“No, but he said soon. The signal was buzzing and cracking. Do you understand how internal communication works? It’s a mystery to me.”

Rourke shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I could talk to another internally,” he said, switching to my mind. But if I had to guess, your brain is connected to your Pack, or mate, as we’ve just found, and it sends out waves of some kind. It makes sense that when you’re fighting or hurt or distracted, those waves get interrupted. We’ll have to prove it sometime. He smiled. See if we can talk while we … get distracted.

He’d come close and I leaned my forehead against his chest. “He just has to be okay.”

Rourke’s hand slid around to the back of my neck and his fingers caressed me lightly. “He’s one of the strongest Alphas on the planet. He’s alive and that’s the most important thing. You did the right thing by blowing up the barrier. He’ll get here, and when he does, he will have access to finding us. Access he wouldn’t of had otherwise.”

What Rourke said was true, but it didn’t lessen my angst. “We need to move. It’s time to go find Ray,” I said. As I stepped back and turned, Rourke caught my arm.

“Wait for a second,” he said, his voice earnest. “Jessica, you have to know you’re not alone in this. I’m not going anywhere. Ever. I’ll stand by your side and we’ll take care of this threat together, just like the last one—and just like the next one. We’re stronger than the opposition.” A low growl escaped his throat. “What you did to Valdov was nothing short of spectacular. You’re incredibly strong and capable, and as a team, we can be invincible. The demons and sorcerers don’t have a real chance against us.”

I wanted to believe him, but I still had the habit of thinking like a human. Rourke sensed my trepidation and brought his arms up and flexed, his T-shirt bunching ridiculously over his well-defined muscles. The flowing lines of his tattoos wound their way up to his biceps like beautiful vines.

“Very funny,” I said, pushing at his chest. “No need to grandstand. I know you’re strong.”

“No, I’m serious. I want you to feel them.” He leaned into me and I acquiesced. The pads of my fingers prodded the muscle. They were like steel. No give. I let the palm of my hand flow over his smooth skin and I tried not to sigh.

“It feels like armor,” I contended. “Very strong.”

“Exactly. This is to show you not all supernaturals are created equal. If we were, it would be chaos all the time.” He put his arms down and wound his warm hands around my middle, pulling me toward him one last time. “Equality would mean constant status fights against every Sect. We have hierarchies in place for a reason. The most dangerous supernaturals are those who try to advance their station. Selene, who wanted ultimate immortality. Valdov, who wanted to be the Vampire King. Those are the supes who will fight to the death. But Tally, who is arguably one of the strongest witches in the world, is not a threat to us unless we attack. Why do you think that is?”

That was a good question. “I don’t know. Why?” Rourke let go of me and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the room.

“Because power respects power. For eons supernaturals have coexisted in this world together. If there was truly only one who was the strongest of them all, we would have a King or a Queen of all supernaturals. But we don’t.”

“But isn’t that exactly why everyone is so upset about me? They think I could finally be that Queen. The supernatural who is finally strong enough to rule everyone.”

“But the Prophecy states you are a reincarnate,” he pointed out. “One who walks again.”

I nodded. “That’s true.” It was weird to think of my wolf as a reincarnate, but she definitely had the knowledge and diva attitude to back it up.

“Then we would have had several Queens over the last millennia, correct?”

“But it doesn’t really matter if I wasn’t put here to rule”—which I could’ve told anyone who bothered to ask—“because unless we convince each Sect, they’ll interpret the Prophecy any way they wish. I’m a threat to their power. End of story.”

“Then we convince them all,” he growled. “If the supernatural race had a King or a Queen, we would know it by now. But make no mistake: I will bloody anyone who chooses not to listen, and we will fight to win.”

“That’s exactly what my father said. We have to fight until they fear our power, and when they stop fearing us, we fight again to prove we are the strongest.” We turned down a long hallway decorated in deep blues. It was weird no vamps were around. We must still be in the old warded part of the Queen’s wing.