eyes shining with interest. I can’t let them get nearer and discover Rikkon has special powers. What I’m about to do is going to come back to bite me in the ass, but I don’t see any other option. I reach inside my bag, curling my fingers around the first crystal I can find. Using the object as an amplifier, I summon the power within me. Words pour out of my lips in an unfamiliar voice.
“What the hell are you doing, Aurora?” Calvin asks.
I ignore him and finish reciting the spell. The demeanor in the crowd changes from curiosity to sheer panic. At once, they disperse, running in different directions, but far away from us.
Calvin’s beefy hand clutches around my arm. “What did you do?”
“Let go of me!” I pull myself free.
“Dude. What the hell!” Vaughn takes a menacing step forward, but Calvin doesn’t seem threatened by the young vampire.
“You used magic against those vampires without cause. What are you trying to hide?”
I’m about to hex him too when Rikkon mumbles Saxon’s name. A splinter made of ice pierces my chest. I whirl around. “What did you say?”
His eyes are closed and he’s delirious, but Vivienne’s troubled gaze tells me plenty. I turn my attention inward, searching for the mating bond’s magic. Thanks to the potion we took, I can’t sense Saxon across a great distance. However, there’s a tightness in my chest and my stomach is spiraling. He’s in trouble.
“I’m sorry, Vivi. I have to go.”
Her eyes are torn when she replies, “Please make sure they’re okay.”
I nod before running toward the exit.
“Where are you going?” Calvin calls after me.
“I’m going to see my mother,” I lie, hoping that will deter Calvin. No such luck. He follows me outside the building.
“Something is going on that you’re not telling me. We’re getting married, we can’t keep secrets from each other. I’m coming with you.”
That’s it. The straw that breaks my back. I stop in my tracks, pivoting on my heels in the next second.
“Sorry, darling. You’re not.”
I blast him with the strongest knock-out spell I know. The bright energy sphere hits him square in the chest, making him stagger backward, and then finally, he drops to the ground, out cold.
Mr. Goodwin, the familiar security guard, comes running with mouth agape and eyes round.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine in an hour or so,” I tell him.
“What should I do with him until then?” he asks.
“He hasn’t moved in yet. Stuff him in his car.”
He blows a frustrated breath out as he stares at Calvin. “That’s what I get for complaining about boredom.”
Another sharp pang hits my chest, making me forget the guard and Calvin. I find my car in a hurry, praying to all the gods that I’m not too late.
Damn it, Saxon. You’d better not die on me.
30
Saxon
Ronan moves toward Karl, aggression clear in his stance, but one glance at Cheryl makes him halt suddenly. She narrows her fiery eyes at him, and for a couple of beats, it seems no one dares to breathe.
“Where have you been? Why weren’t you with Manu?” Ronan snarls.
“Because she doesn’t want me by her side,” Karl barks back.
“The king gave you an order.”
“Back off, Ronan,” Cheryl butts in. “You have no right to accuse my brother of anything. Your obsession with the vampire princess is pathetic.”
Whoa. That escalated fast. Why am I even surprised? Cheryl matches Manu in intensity beat by beat. No wonder Ronan couldn’t fucking say no to her all those centuries ago.
“Don’t you two start now,” Lucca interrupts. “Let’s find my sister first and then maybe, Ronan, you can finally resolve your issues with Cheryl.”
She peels her ruby lips back, showing off her impressive fangs. “There’s nothing to resolve here.”
“I don’t want to point out the obvious, but you’re drawing quite a lot of attention,” Derek chimes in, glancing pointedly at the line of humans and regulars waiting to get into his club.
“I’d like to see the security camera footage. Maybe one of us will recognize the human Manu left with,” Lucca says.
“No offense, Lucca, but you’re not likely to recognize anyone. You’ve been up for how long? Three months?” Cheryl pipes up.
Karl breaks from the group and walks toward the front of the club. He begins to sniff the air like a damn dog, not caring that he has an audience. After a moment of acting like Rin Tin Tin, his back becomes rigid as he jerks his head to the left.