“Our number one goal is to bring the dragons to the ground,” said Jared. “Then Sam can afford to drop the shield and direct her energy elsewhere. But you’ve been trained to fight without us. You’ve been trained not to rely on us as back-up or as leaders. There’ll be a hell of a lot of vampires inside that dome—pretty much the entire legion. The dragons will see that fast enough, and they’ll try to flee. We need to keep them contained, which is why Sam’s shield is vital. I’ll cover her while she keeps it in place. The rest of you will surround us.”

“You won’t be able to pair up in the same way that you usually do,” Sam told us. “Some of you have gifts that will make the dragons drop to the ground. The rest of you will be relied on to kill all those that fall. Salem, David, Max, Denny, Harvey, and Cassie will tackle those in the air. Everyone else here will need to concentrate on the fallen. That won’t be an easy task, considering the sods can kill you just by breathing in your general direction. You all need to be at your sharpest, fastest, and canniest.”

“Which is why your training sessions will focus on making sure that you will be,” added Jared. “So let’s begin.”

No one’s attitude toward me or Imani softened but, to the credit of both squads, they were totally professional throughout the session. But the moment it was over, the guys went back to scowling at me. Also, the girls went back to ignoring Imani—except for Ava, who shot her a small smile. I had the feeling that she wasn’t upset with Imani, but she was worried that Imani had put herself in a situation where I could hurt her.

Just as Imani and I were about to exit the arena, Sam called us over. She waited until the rest of the squads had left before she spoke. “You two all right?”

Imani shrugged. “Been better. Also been worse.”

“Let’s have a little chat. No need to go on the defence,” she quickly assured me when I stiffened. “I’m not about to pass judgement or give you crap.”

I raised a brow. “Even though it’s caused tension in the ranks?”

It was Jared who responded. “I don’t think their reaction would have been so bad if they weren’t worrying so much about the dragon shifter situation. There’s also our blogger, who’s still posting articles and remaining out of reach. Everyone’s feeling helpless.”

Sam nodded. “Hearing about you two was just the cherry on the icing of the messed up cake.”

“Still no luck finding the blogger?” Imani asked her.

Sam released a frustrated sigh. “No. His gift is still protecting him well. Right now, I’m more worried about your vision and whether the dragons you saw were mercenaries. If not, we’ve done something to piss off a dragon drove enough that they want The Hollow’s vampires destroyed.”

“If Marco doesn’t come through for us,” said Jared, “we might not find the answer to that question in time to prevent the attack. If that happens, all we can do is prepare for war.”

Later that night, as Imani and I lay on the sofa watching a movie, her phone beeped. I paused the movie as she grabbed her cell from the table and read the message. Disappointment flashed across her face.

I tensed. “What’s wrong?”

Sprawled over my chest, she said, “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just Fletcher, sharing a dirty joke.”

She’d hoped it would be Paige, I realised. “She’ll come round.” Imani’s smile wasn’t fooling me. She was hurting, and it pissed me off. Paige hadn’t answered any of Imani’s calls or replied to any of her texts.

It hadn’t occurred to me that the girls would be so harsh on Imani. I’d known they wouldn’t approve of the relationship, and so I’d expected them to attempt to talk Imani into ending it, but… “I would never have thought they would freeze you out like this.”

“They’ve jumped to the conclusion that you and I have been an item for a while and I kept it from them.”

I threaded my fingers through her hair. “Even if that were true, it wouldn’t excuse what they’re doing. They’re making this about them, and it’s not.”

“You don’t get it because guys don’t really confide in each other much. But women are different. We talk and share secrets and give advice. They—most especially Paige—trusted me with their shit and so they’re upset that I haven’t done the same.”

It was more than that. “They’re making a statement that they don’t like us being together.”

“That too.” She sighed. “They worry about me, that’s all.”

It didn’t mean it was cool for them to take that worry out on her. “I’m sorry you’re hurting, baby.” I kissed her softly. “Want to finish watching the movie or are you as bored by it as I am?”

“It is a little dull.” Propping her chin on my chest, she said, “Tell me about your nest. I know you don’t like questions, but you said you’d be open with me.”

And I’d meant it. Besides, a change of subject might be good for her. “My nest was pretty small.”

“Was?”

“There aren’t many left. We all lived in one apartment building. I was a sentinel for my Sire. His mate was tough like Sam, only she was sane.”

Imani snorted a laugh.

“All three of us went to a Binding event for a week. My Sire’s first-born, Tad, was left in charge. While we were gone, he got into some kind of argument with another vampire in a club. They duelled. Tad lost, but his opponent didn’t kill him; he wanted Tad to live with the shame of losing in front of the entire club.”

“Harsh on the ego.”

“Yes. Tad’s weakness was his ego.” Slipping my hand inside her shirt, I smoothed it up and down her back. “Tad couldn’t let it go. He went back to the club, and my nest all went along. Only this time, they went after the guy’s mate. By killing her, Tad killed him. The guy’s nest retaliated and wiped out everyone in our building.”

She bit her lower lip. “I know this is an insensitive thing to say, but Tad should have known he’d never get away with that. He should have been smart.”

“You’re right, but he wasn’t. We came back to a burned-down building.” My Sire had been devastated. “They deserved it. There was no arguing with that.” If anyone went after Imani to get to me, I’d make sure she was avenged somehow—even if I wasn’t strong enough to do the avenging myself. Depending on how old and powerful the vampire was, it usually took a few nights for them to die after their mate was killed.