Nadaline didn’t look away from Rune—not even to give Rune some privacy as she dressed—and on her face was a look Rune was not comfortable with. It was strangely close to a look of hero worship. Rune had the feeling word had already spread from the city people beside whom she’d fought.
Z leaned over to grab his shirt off the ground. “Sounds like trouble.” He grinned at Rune. “I had to create my own version of Shiv Crew. There are a lot of people in need of help here. Blue and Nadaline are my crew.”
“Z,” Blue said. “There’s always trouble. But what I meant was—”
“Want to fight together?” He interrupted the blue-haired woman as though he wasn’t even aware she’d been speaking. He pulled on his boots, his gaze on Rune. “Like old times?”
But the memory was too much for him. He bent over, clutching his stomach, and groaned.
“Z,” Rune cried. “What?”
“It hurts too much, sweet thing.” Sweat slid down his face, and lines of pain radiated from the corners of his eyes. “Too fucking much.”
Her being there was killing him. Again.
Blue’s face was blank but her voice was full of emotion. “Help him. You came, you fucking help him.”
Mad Nadaline said nothing, but she gasped and darted a wide-eyed look at the outspoken Blue.
Z closed his eyes and when he opened them again, his gaze was clearer. “Hush, Blue.”
Blue’s lingering glance at Rune was not especially unfriendly, but Rune recognized the look of protection.
Because whether she meant to or not, Rune was hurting Z.
And his people didn’t like it.
His people.
Z belonged to them. To Skyll.
He cupped Rune’s face and leaned forward to kiss her, a kiss that, for a brief moment, held all the longing he’d felt before.
Before, when she’d rejected him.
“Mine,” he whispered. “At last.”
“In another world you’re meant for me.”
She shivered as Owen’s voice slithered through her mind.
And even with Z standing there, back from the dead, she still missed her crew. All of them.
“I missed you so fucking much,” she told him. “Every second.”
He pulled her against his chest.
She could have stood like that forever.
“Let’s go kick ass, sweet thing.”
She stepped back and entwined her fingers with his. “We’re Shiv Crew.”
“Yes,” he breathed. “We’re Shiv Crew.”
“And that,” they said together, “is what we do.”
Then they stared at each other, smiling, until Blue cleared her throat impatiently.
Z pulled away, his sharp glance raking her body. “You need weapons.”
She started to laugh until she realized he was serious, and then her heart broke just a little more.
She shook it off. “I have weapons, baby.”
Pain flared in his eyes. “Yes. You do.” Then he grinned. “Break those mothers out. You’re going to need them.”
So she shot out her long, silver claws and dropped her fangs, hoping the anguish in her heart wasn’t visible in her eyes.
Chapter Three
Blue strode to Z and stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. “Z. Get your mind off her and listen to me.”
He focused on her, his gaze sharpening. “I’m listening.”
She ran her hands through her blue hair and glanced at Rune. “I need to tell you something. In private.”
“Don’t mind me,” Rune said, withdrawing her claws.
“What is it?” Z asked Blue. “You can speak freely in front of Rune.”
Nadaline stepped forward, her stare still planted firmly on Rune. “She’s…” But she couldn’t finish.
“I’m happy to help if you need someone killed. But first I have to find Damascus.” She took Z’s hand when he held it out to her. “For Lex.”
“Lex…” he said.
“You remember her, Z. You remember her.”
He nodded. “I remember. The sweet little blind Other.” He looked relieved. “I remember. And the twins.”
“Lex is dying. Damascus infected the Others with a rotting disease and it’s wiping them out. She also has the antidote. I have to get it back to Lex—to all the Others—before it’s too late.”
“Damascus.” Nadaline glared at nothing, and her voice shook. She spat into the dirt. Then she gave a nervous glance around.
“Z,” Blue insisted, and she reached out to turn his face toward her. “Rune is the princess.”
He paled and turned his head slowly to stare at Rune. “The princess?”
Rune frowned. “Somebody needs to tell me what the hell that means.”
Z closed his eyes. “I should have known it was you.” Then he looked at Blue. “How do you know for sure?”
“She drank from the kelpers.”
Rune felt a return of her old shame as revulsion flashed through Z’s eyes. It was there and gone in a second, and really, she