That made sense, but . . . “You could get hurt.”

He laughed. “You’re a sweet drunk, aren’t you?”

“Not sweet,” I said, glaring. “Unkillable.”

“Indeed?” he drawled. “Should’ve plied you with liquor instead of wasting two commands on you, but to your point, these brands make me almost unkillable, too.”

I poked him where I could feel the hard lines of the weapon in his coat. “That demon bone in your eyes can kill you.”

He gave me a jaunty smile. “Yes, but when people see a vampire, they reach for silver, not demon bone . . .”

“What?” I demanded when his voice trailed off. His smile faded, too, and when he crouched down—when had he lowered me onto the ground? I didn’t remember that—he looked serious.

“What?” I repeated, but from the jolt thrumming through my veins, I knew. I’d let slip too many clues and he’d figured it out. If not all of it, enough of it. Maybe I’d always known he would piece it together. That’s why I didn’t stop him when he lifted my hand and brought it to his lips. A courtly gesture, but there was nothing chivalrous in his gaze. It burned with the intensity of a predator making a kill.

His warm lips touched my skin. Then his fangs slowly pierced my flesh. The bite was shallow. Just enough to draw twin pearls of blood that stood out like rubies against the golden topaz of my skin. Then his long, slow lick erased them and I felt him shudder as he swallowed.

I closed my eyes. Now you know I’m not only a vampire. Oh, it’s been so long since I shared this secret with anyone . . .

My eyes snapped open when that internal ping went off again. Shayla must be crossing beneath me once more. Since she was going in the opposite direction, she must have completed her task. We needed to move.

“Whatever you want to say, it can wait,” I said, suddenly feeling a lot more sober. “Have to storm the castle.”

He glanced where the bridge was despite it still being hidden from our view. “Best wait until later, where there are fewer people to stop us.”

“Not that castle.” I pointed over his shoulder. “Belvedere.”

“You should’ve stayed back,” Ian muttered for the second time. “I’ve done this before, and let me assure you, Red Dragon sources are guarded more securely than Fort Knox. Besides, you’re so drunk, you can barely walk.”

“Can still fight,” I told him. It would’ve sounded more badass if I hadn’t ended my boast with a loud burp, but oh well. “Quit complaining and let’s do this.”

Then I jumped up and kicked the boulder in front of me with both feet. The tunnel was behind it; I could feel it. But while the boulder smashed as if hit by a wrecking ball, it didn’t break through the magic-infused shell around the tunnel.

An alarm began to blare, and it wasn’t just the painful ringing in my head after that exertion. Ian pushed me back before I could react. Then he swiftly executed a series of hand movements. The shell in front of us shattered beneath his spell, revealing the tunnel behind it.

“Niiiice.” He really was superb with tactile magic.

He threw a grin at me as he ran inside the tunnel. “You should see what else I can do with my hands.”

I left that alone and stumbled after him, cursing when my legs wouldn’t move in smooth, coordinated strides like his.

“Don’t bother,” he said, whirling around to stop me in mid-stagger. “We need someone to stay here and stop anyone who comes down the other end of that tunnel. You can still do magic?”

“’Course,” I said, affronted.

“Then you stay.”

I wanted to argue, but we did need to prevent getting boxed in. Plus, my body might not be cooperating, but my magic would still work. Hopefully. I nodded and sat down right where I’d been standing. “Go on. Yell if you need help.”

“I won’t,” he said and disappeared down the next bend.

Almost at once, I heard what sounded like explosions, then the sharp sound of screams. The tunnel shuddered as the screams abruptly cut off and a rolling cloud of dust filled the air. Another quickly silenced round of screams rang out, then another blast that made the walls tremble. Finally, a shockwave of magic rolled down the tunnel. It diminished with distance, but when it reached me, it was still strong enough to sting.

What kind of supernatural firepower had Ian walked into? “Ian!” I yelled, staggering to my feet. “I’m coming!”

“Stay there!” I heard him shout, and was shocked at how maniacally cheerful he sounded. “I’ve got this!”

Ian had done all that? I had to admit, I wanted to see the specifics for myself. But then I heard running footsteps coming from the other end of the tunnel and remembered what I was supposed to be doing. Right, the blocking spell.

I started formulating it, frustrated when something that should have come easily now felt as if it took all of my concentration. Damn that Red Dragon! It was kicking my ass worse than any opponent had in recent memory. When the group of guards came into view, the blocking spell still wasn’t ready.

If I were acting in my official capacity, I would identify myself as a Law Guardian, arrest them, then take them before the council for holding someone hostage in order to produce an illegal substance. But Ian’s spell-sealed command meant I could do none of that. In my intoxicated state, I wasn’t even sorry.

“You,” I said, pointing at the first two vampires while quickly working up a much simpler spell. “Meld.”

They shot toward each other as if pulled by a magnetic superconductor. Then their bodies melded together until they were one double-sized torso, two heads and eight limbs.

“Meld, meld, meld,” I said, pointing at the next three.

They smashed into the flesh mass with the same force. Soon, all the limbs going in different directions made the flesh mass continually fall over, right itself, and fall over again.

“What do you remind me of?” I wondered, cocking my head. “Vampire centipede? No, wait, vampire slinky!”

The last two vampire guards were now backing away. I wagged my finger at them. “Ah-ah-ah. Meld, meld.”

They screamed as they joined the pile. Their cries and the other guards’ howling made me wince. “Oh, stop. This’ll wear off in a few hours. You should hear what’s going on at the other end of the tunnel. That sounded permanent.”

The hulking, howling mass of vampires might be making my head pound, but it served to scare off the next group of guards who ran down the tunnel. I gave an approving nod as they ran the other way after seeing what had become of their friends. But one more guard came down the tunnel and didn’t stop when he saw the writhing, rolling vampire mass. Instead, he threaded his way around it to stand opposite me.

I didn’t have time for this. I still had to finish my blocking spell, which was taking forever. “Your friends who ran were smart,” I told him. “Be like them and leave.”

He bared his fangs at me. “You don’t scare me, witch. I know spells, too.” And he began to recite the beginning of a lethal curse.

Couldn’t have him do that while in the vampire slinky, or was it centipede? Whatever. “My killing spell’s faster,” I said, flicking my hand in an old, tactile spell. “Splat.”

He blew apart, but only in sections instead of goo like he should have. I frowned. My strength must be waning. Hopefully, it was because I was channeling enough of it to fuel the blocking spell. That was the far more important one . . . and when had I fallen? Last I’d checked, I’d been sitting, but now I was lying on the tunnel floor and my skull hurt as if a team of miners were drilling for gold. Worse, I could feel more people coming from the opposite end of the tunnel. From the swell of magic preceding them, they were trueborn witches.