“I’m losing feeling in my fingers,” I complained. He relaxed his hold, infinitesimally.

His eyes caught the glow from the torchlight, reflected it like a wolf ’s eyes might. He wasn’t just the Nicholas I’d argued with since I was little, he wasn’t even the Nicholas that had kissed me senseless yesterday; he was another Nicholas altogether. The hunter had risen to the surface.

I should probably be worrying about the fact that I was about to walk into the vampire courts instead of staring at his butt. Staring at his butt made me feel less like hyperventilating.

“Breathe,” Nicholas murmured, sounding half-strained, half-comforting. “Your heart’s not meant to skip beats like that.”

I wiped my free hand on my pants, hoping the palm he was holding wasn’t as sweaty. I’d changed into a pair of Solange’s cargos, assuming they looked more like something a secret agent would wear than my velvet skirts and beaded scarves.

There was clay all over the left leg. It made me feel like crying for some reason. I was trying so hard not to imagine the hundreds of horrible things that might have happened to my best friend. She had to be safe. Absolutely nothing else was acceptable. Nicholas’s thumb made small soft circles over my knuckles. I released my pent- up breath. My eyes stopped burning. We could do this. We had to, it was that simple.

“I’m okay,” I whispered.

“I—” He cut himself off , squeezed my hand once, hard. My heart stopped, then leaped into overdrive. I couldn’t hear anything except the blood rushing in my ears and the drip of water, even though I was listening as hard as I possibly could. He sniff ed once. I tensed all over; even my eyelids felt tight. He held up three fingers. Since he wasn’t speaking, not even a whisper, I assumed it was vampires.

Footsteps were suddenly audible and they were incredibly close. I reached for one of my stakes, wondering suddenly if I was really going to be able to stick it into someone’s chest. As a theory it worked fine; as an actual attempt to shove a hunk of white thorn wood through bone and flesh and heart, I wasn’t so sure. In any case, I didn’t have the time to consider my options. Nicholas pushed me against the damp wall. His hand fisted in my hair and tugged my head until my neck was exposed. He ripped off the Drake cameo I’d forgotten to take off. His eyes met mine, his lips lifting slowly off his teeth. His canines were sharp, long, and gleaming like pearls. I wasn’t quite as immune to his pheromones as I’d assumed. I was mesmerized, and he pressed even closer to me.

And then we weren’t alone anymore.

I could tell he knew the moment the hall disgorged the three vampires, but he didn’t turn or freeze or give himself away. He only dragged his mouth over the arch of my bare neck until I shivered. My crossbow was slung back, hanging behind me.

“Hey.” One of them snickered.

Nicholas kept his back to them—risky, but not as risky as giving himself away as one of the Drake brothers. His teeth scraped my throat. I shivered again.

“Busy,” he drawled at them. “Get your own.”

“No time to have a drink,” they replied. “Hunting the Drakes. Seen any?” Nicholas shrugged one shoulder.

“At the farmhouse, usually. Second door around the corner will get you out into the woods.” And straight into the eager, waiting arms of Hope’s agents.

“Thanks.”

He only grunted, nibbling my ear. My hair fell over his face, veiling his features.

We stayed as we were until even he couldn’t hear the receding footsteps anymore.

He pushed away from me as if it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. His jaw was clenched so tightly, the muscles in his cheek jumped.

“That was close,” he ground out.

I nodded, trying to catch my breath. “Thank God they were in such a hurry.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he whispered.

“Oh.” I stayed where I was, even as he leaned against the opposite wall, jerking his hand viciously through his hair. “Are you okay?”

“Let’s just get this over with,” he growled.

“How are we going to find your parents?” I asked as we started jogging down the corridor.

“If they’re not already at the courts, they should be in the woods just outside. This way.” He pushed open a grate in the ceiling and made a stirrup out of his linked hands for me to step up into. I leaped, he threw, and I landed half in the dirt with my legs dangling. I scrambled out of the way. He shot up out of the earth, landing in a graceful crouch. He tossed his hair off his face.

“Let’s go.”

The wind was warm, pushing its way between the leaves, but there were no other sounds—not a single cricket chirping or a rabbit dashing for safety. I walked as carefully as I could, trying not to break any twigs to give away our location. The mountain crouched over us, solid and filled with secrets. I used to worry about bears this far into the wild, not vampire queens.

We ran for a while, until I had to stop, panting, and rest against an elm tree. My lungs burned and sweat soaked my hair. I pressed a hand to my chest.

“Just a minute,” I gasped. “Just a minute.”

Nicholas looked around, nostrils flaring.

“Nothing,” he said, his fists clenching. “I can’t smell them anywhere— it’s all Lady Natasha and her damned Araksaka.” He slapped at a low-hanging branch. “Solange doesn’t have any time left.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “But she’s stronger than you think.”