Page 40 (2/2)

By the tirown cold and she'd been grinning ear to ear like she'd just medaled Since then, they always shared showers As he'd repeated, "We like to conserve water around here"

And so it ith the?" she asked

"Since telephones were invented, Munro has never no' returned e to be apart froine how itif he was safe and well "Let's give it to the end of the day If no one at the compound has seen him, then we'll return to Louisiana"

He lowered his sword "You'd miss the fair with your fa MacRieve's brows draw tight with feeling "Why don't you go try hiain? I'll chill for a bit"

He nodded "Doona leave the ied off

Alone, she strolled through the courtyard, treading upon cobblestones where countless MacRieves had walked, long before Will was born

God, this place was so beautiful Over these four days, he'd drilled into her head that this was her hos to you as much as to me You're Chloe MacRieve, lady of this keep" She could invite whomever she wanted, could decorate it however she chose

She wouldn't touch a thing, already found it perfect Finally, she lived in a home with character No McMansion here!

She and MacRieve had even talked about reviving the area, bringing inclan e of Conall

As she walked, she ran her fingertips along the cool stone wall She could feel the history here, and it grounded her No longer did she feel like her world had been upended She'd landed on her feet

Here With MacRieve

Maybe the lads could coht be seeing them directly She'd meant what she'd said earlier: she and MacRieve would be on a plane tonight if he didn't hear from his brother-

"Chlo"

She whirled around at the strange voice Standing not ten feet fro, cloaked demon that had been in her father's study

"You!" She raised her sword "What do you want from me?" She didn't expect a real answer; last time, it'd barely been able to speak

It surprised her by saying, "You don't recognize h much clearer than before It stepped closer

Recalling this creature's strength, she choked up on her sword "Should I?" Chloe was first and fore on her ally She drew a breath to scream a heads-up for MacRieve-

The creature pulled its hood past its horns

Her scream died on her lips Her sword hand went liround "Dad?" It was him, but he'd been altered

When she'd seen him before, he'd been obscured in shado every feature was sharp in glaring daylight

He had unnaturally pale and flawless skin, ageless Tapered fangs had replaced his teeth Matte-black horns rose fro His irises were so dark, they brought to , with the air all Loreans seemed to possess "Dad? Wh-what happened to you?" She rushed up to hi his face "You were the one in our house? Why didn't you talk to me?"

With a claw-tipped hand, he brushed a curl of hair fro to ask if you were still mortal, but I'd only recently been transformed I've had to relearn how to speak, how to move, how to think"

"Transformed into what? You need to explain this before I freak the hell out" And before MacRieve scents you She lowered her hand, reminded of what her dad had done to the "

A hint of Dad's old sed-even with your own transformation"

She bit out, "Talk"

He inclined his head "I was being hunted by one of the most fearsome vampires in the Lore, Lothaire the Enemy of Old I knew sooner or later he would find my hideout But I was prepared Just before he drained me to death, I popped a capsule full of blended ih he did kill me, I was resurrected"

"As what?"

"The blood contained a mix of several creatures My poill be endless, once they've all manifested"

She crossed to the courtyard's loall, sinking down on it "Why didn't you warn ht be? Why didn't you tell ht I could keep you separate from all this God, I wanted that! Your life was uncomplicated, so focused I never wanted to take that away fro into before you left You gave me zero explanation Just left me an encyclopedia-of creatures you hated"

"That night I wasdumbfounded" He sat beside her "Your blood had tested out as huain for twenty-four years Even our "

"I was so alone, and you just disappeared for weeks," she said, hating hoeak she sounded

"I forcedthat would put you in Lothaire's crosshairs-a place you never want to be Only after I'd turned did I coht"

"Yeah, the witches found me"

Irritation flickered over his uncanny face "I was betrayed by a former ally"

"Wonder what that feels like"

He reached for her, but she drew back

"Chlo, please-"

"Did you do all the things I've heard? Torturing Loreans, killing them in front of their children?"

He let his hand drop "I did what any general at ould do to his ene it so easily? Evenproudly? The fears about her dad that she'd barely allowed herself to entertain all ca down on her

"I believed those creatures were subhuman, which h she felt even more stunned, she forced herself to her feet "And nohat? You've switched teams? You're a detrus now"

"Precisely We in the Order kneould need stronger soldiers to defeat iht the monsters, ould have to beconed to blend Lorean blood for human use When my death was imminent, I decided to test it on myself" He scrubbed a pal"

She could tell this His fangs had cut his lips Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice

"With each day that I conized that ith-you ainst us"

"Who the hell is fighting against humans?"

"A war is inevitable, and I've been on the wrong side"

She sensed a growing tension inside hi