about to betray their trust by grandstanding now. No matter how it happened, Dracul’s death was critical, and once it was done, they could all set about finally living out the rest of their lives on a planet that had become home. His husband was waiting for him, as well, expecting him to do everything he could to return to him safe. He so wished he’d planned the wedding in advance, so that he could have at least given his darling boy a ring. But his impromptu proposal—one that had been rejected before—had been accepted. He’d been stunned by the surprise and worried that Quinn had said yes just in case it was the last chance he got.
I will come back to you. He raised his gun and started to give the signal to attack.
A hiss from Petru stayed his hand. “Remember what you promised. Andri is not to be killed.”
Ah, yes. It was the reason Petru had been helpful, and Alex had to admit that the asshole had played straight with him. He nodded in reassurance, although if the changeling was foolish enough to raise a weapon at them, he would have to be taken out. Alex had already told his warriors that after Dafydd, Idris, Mateo and Merlin, their lives came first. They were to take no foolish or sentimental chances. Harry grabbed Petru by the arm and hauled him back out of the way.
Without further hesitation, he led his loyal troops into battle. He kicked the door down and they entered in the V formation that they’d rehearsed. The mercenaries were indeed waiting for them, their rapid fire greeting their arrival. But they were expecting a human fight, aiming at a level of a man running in. Alex and the others jettisoned themselves in at a height above the men’s heads. They rained bullets down on them as they arced up and over, then continued the barrage as they flipped behind the humans’ ragged line of defense.
It was over almost before it started, a dozen or so rag-tag mercenaries sprawled dead on the floor. Will and Malcolm did a quick sweep to make sure none were alive to cause more trouble. When they gave the all-clear, Alex lowered his weapon and took a closer look. The room was an odd and disgusting mix of opulence and degradation. It was obvious from the way it looked and smelled that Dracul and his human army had spent day upon day stewing in their own juices. In a complex filled with the stink of unwashed bodies and stale air, this was the worst of it.
It didn’t surprise him that Dracul hadn’t been among the greeters. “Come out. You can’t stay hiding behind your ridiculous chair forever.”
A second later the fucker emerged, his hands in the air. His appearance startled Alex. He hadn’t considered what kind of toll his journey down into the cistern might have taken on his body. It wasn’t pretty, and he bet that, as vain as the guy had always been, it must have infuriated him to be so disfigured. But it wasn’t merely the scars and mangled extremities that caused him to nearly gasp. It was the pure madness in Dracul’s eyes. This was why he’d stayed in this place, even though a wiser man would have expected to be found and suffer a counterattack. He should have been on the move already, instead of sitting here like an insane king, brutalizing Dafydd in petty revenge. Because Dracul was completely naked, Alex could see he wasn’t armed. So he put his own weapons down and stripped off his body armor, extra ammo, comm system and earbud to leave himself equally devoid of any advantage and encumbrance.
“Always the gentleman,” Dracul sneered. “Do you think to best me in hand-to-hand? If I were you, I would take the shot.”
Alex shook his head. “You were never like me, nor I you. That’s been the problem for over a thousand years.”
Dracul lowered his hands. “Well, all good things come to an end.”
A changeling with black and white hair and wearing some kind of silky robe dashed from behind the throne and past Dracul. He skidded to a halt at the doorway because Petru was coming in with Harry.
Petru’s eyes lit up. “Andri!” He held out his hands, as if to embrace his former lover. His shackles rattled. The boy gave him a look of disgust and tried to go around him. Petru blocked his way. “Stop. There’s nowhere for you