“Nice job, Kaidan,” he says. “You accomplished what over five hundred prowling Legionnaires couldn’t do last night.” Yeah, yeah, blah, blah. Why is he being so bloody chatty? I need to get Anna out of here. “They searched damn near every bar, club, and hotel on the East Coast. Where the hell’d you find her?”

In the back of my car on Lover’s Lane, you git.

My mind flips through things to say. “She had a group of mates in her old town who always partied at a lake house. I thought perhaps she’d fall back on them, and I was right.”

Okay, then. Enough chitchat. I glance at the door, itching.

Father laughs again, like we’re best mates sharing jokes. “Where are you now?”

“Our old house.” Shite . . . I should have lied.

“Excellent. I’ll call an emergency summit in Vegas and we can take care of her. It’s our most secure location, and we’re always looking for an excuse to visit Sin City, right?”

Weren’t they just there? Awkward pause. Oh, right. I’m supposed to answer.

I force out a laugh and roll my eyes. Are we done here yet?

“All right,” he says. “Meet me at the Atlanta airport in two hours.”

What? I whip my face to Anna and her eyes are like saucers.

“Er, it’s not necessary for you to fly down here, Father,” I insist. “I’ll book our flights and deliver her to the summit.”

“Oh, it’s definitely necessary. I want to be the one to escort her into the summit tonight. See you at the jet.”

I will throat-punch him.

“We’ll be there,” I lie. I press End and check the screen to be sure we’ve disconnected. Right. Done. I turn to Anna. “We’re not going.”

“Kaidan!” She pumps her bound fists against her thigh in frustration.

How can she still want to do this? It’s madness! I launch my vile phone at the bed and cram my fingers into my hair. “What have I done?”

I pace the room as Anna fumbles through her bag and starts texting people.

No, no, no. It’s not happening. We can still run. She has to see reason.

“Anna—”

“Stop!” She advances on me with the most severe, stern look I’ve ever seen from her, and she yells in a strong voice. “No more. Get it out of your head, Kai! We are not running. This is happening whether you like it or not. It’s time to get your game face on and get ready to kick some ass.”

Holy . . . I honestly didn’t think her capable of this kind of verbal badassery. Even in handcuffs she has taken control, walloped me, and forced my whiney inner child into a corner. I’m sorry I made her yell, but I think I needed to hear that. I needed to hear her say she’s not going to put up with my fears anymore. Anna is the one who was chosen, and for good reason. My only job is to be at her side and trust her judgment, though it kills me.

I look down and nod. “You’re right.”

Ready or not, it’s time.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Anna’s Vice

“Trash the hotel,

Let’s get drunk on the minibar.”

—“Fancy” by Iggy Azalea

That was the bloody worst plane ride of my life. Fucking Pharzuph. I nearly handed Anna the hilt so she could strike his arse down when he felt her up from behind, supposedly looking for the sword, then tried to get me to shag the flight attendant. I’m really regretting not getting rid of him when we had the chance, but his disappearance would’ve thrown off the summit and sent everyone scrambling.

I still have my doubts about how this prophecy will play out, but I’m getting right chipper at the idea of watching his demise.

I walk beside Anna down a lavishly carpeted hall in Vegas’s Venetian resort. I haven’t taken my extended hearing off Father, and I think for once Anna is actually listening as well. Her face is pinched and I’ve had to grab her elbow to keep her from bumping into fire hydrants and maid carts.

We stop in one of the hotel’s many shops to buy Anna an outfit for tonight¸ per Father’s orders. I’m certain he was expecting something nightclub worthy, like a cocktail dress. I can’t wait to see his face when he gets a look at what she’s chosen.

We’ve just turned onto our hall when Father knocks on a hotel room door two floors up.

I recognize Duke Astaroth’s poncey English voice straightaway. “Brother Pharzuph. Didn’t I just see you on the slopes in Switzerland?”

Father laughs. “Yes, well, this summit’s going to be much more enjoyable. Let me in.”

It’s not completely unusual for Father to seek the Duke of Adultery’s company, but usually it’s to work, not talk. I don’t like this at all.

“Do you have the sword?” Astaroth asks when they’re in the room. They lower their voices and I strain to hear.

“No. She’s hidden it. That’s not why I’m here. I need a favor. It will only take a moment. I’m curious about a possible bond between two people, though there’s probably nothing there. I’ve just got a nagging feeling and I want to rule it out.”

Bile burns its way up my throat.

“Ah,” Astaroth croons. “A possible conquest?”

Father responds to him in Russian, a language he knows I don’t speak. I stop dead in my tracks.

This is about us. He’s suspicious of a bond between me and Anna. Astaroth will see it. The love. The marriage. All of it.