“We would be free,” he said in a low voice full of wistful longing.

My smile withered. “And I would be dead. Countless humans and nightwalkers and lycans would be dead. The bori would be free. The old war would start again,” I said, my voice gaining strength for the first time since I had seen Rowe.

“You think the bori would be free if the naturi returned?” he countered, leaning against the tree again. He seemed to have gotten over his moment of frustration, but then, he’d been dealing with that little bit of truth for more than five hundred years.

“Of course. It’s the only option any non-naturi would have left.” I took a couple steps closer to him, shoving my fingers into the front pockets of my leather pants. “When the nightwalkers discover that we have no way of defeating you, we would find a way to set the bori free, your one and only equal in power.”

“It’s a sad future you paint,” Rowe said with a shake of his head.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I said, a wide grin returning to my face. “You could walk away now. Give up these plans to break the seal forever and let the naturi return to obscurity.”

To my surprise, Rowe snorted again and folded his arms over his chest. “You would protect me from my kind?”

I smiled. It was the same offer he had made to me nights ago. Change sides. Betray your own people. “Of course.”

“I was serious, Mira. You don’t belong with them.”

“I am nightwalker, Rowe. It’s the only place I belong.”

He sighed, then frowned at me as if disappointed. “Regardless, getting rid of me won’t solve your problems.” I noticed that as he spoke, his eyes darted back toward the wall over my shoulder. Toward the Coven and the female naturi within the Great Hall.

“Probably not, but it would be a great starting point,” I conceded. “Of course, I’m getting the feeling that I should start with the female on that island you keep looking at. A friend of yours? Or maybe she keeps you warm at night, considering the little woman is stuck on the other side.”

There was no mistaking the snarl that jumped from the back of Rowe’s throat. The light banter we had enjoyed early was over and it was now time to get down to business. I just hoped I survived the next few minutes. While I could comfortably contend that killing him would halt the naturi’s attempts to break the seal, my death would also ensure that nightwalkers had no way of reforming the seal or closing the door again if the naturi actually succeeded.

“You know of her?” he demanded, to which my grin only grew. Rowe took a couple steps toward me, and I matched him by stepping backward. The air seemed to swell with energy. The wind picked up, causing the trees to violently sway. I chanced a glance up at the night sky to see the clouds churning and bubbling like witch’s brew. The stars had been blotted out and a low roll of thunder growled in the distance.

“I can sense her on the island, yet I cannot reach her,” he admitted, and it was more than a little reassuring to discover that at least the naturi couldn’t break through our protective barriers. “Nightwalkers control that island.”

“Venice belongs to us,” I said. “It has belonged to us for centuries and it will remain ours. Are you surprised there are places in this world that you cannot go?” I was playing with fire when it came to taunting Rowe, but playing with fire was what I did best.

“Who do you hold on that island?” he demanded, ignoring my remarks. “She’s a captive.”

Something in his voice gave me pause. A slight hesitation or a breathless pause that could be easily overlooked. He had intended it to sound like a statement, but it didn’t. Not only was he unsure of who was on the island, but he was also unsure whether she was actually a hostage.

“Now that is an interesting question,” I slowly said. “Unfortunately, you’re the only living naturi I know. The rest tend to die quickly upon meeting me.”

Thunder rumbled again, louder this time, the storm drawing closer. Rowe growled as his arm shot up into the air. Less than a second later a bolt of lightning plummeted to the ground, striking no more than three feet from where I stood. I jumped away, landing in a heap before rolling back to my feet. The air still tingled with the electricity hanging in the atmosphere along with the scent of burnt ozone.

Rowe’s hand shook slightly as he lowered it back to his side. There was no missing the intent look on his face as he watched me. I was getting a firsthand look at the powers of the wind naturi. Not only could they fly, but apparently they could also control the weather. I would never survive a lightning strike, and I knew he could kill me before I could incinerate him.

“Hmmm,” I mocked, desperately trying to hide my mounting fear behind sarcasm. “Killing me may solve some of your problems, but it won’t help you discover the identity of the little naturi hiding on the island.”

“Hiding? What do you mean ‘hiding’?”

I laughed at him, but swallowed the sound when Rowe started to raise his arm again. Lightning darted among the rolling clouds, illuminating each black giant for a blink of an eye before plunging all back into darkness again. Gritting my teeth, I took a desperate chance. I ran straight at Rowe. The air tingled and the ground shook as another lightning bolt struck the ground directly behind me.

Slamming his back into the tree, I wrapped my fists in his red shirt and leaned in so my nose nearly touched his. “You may be able to control the lightning, but I am willing to bet you can’t survive a lightning strike. So the question becomes, how badly do you want to see me dead?”

“That’s an interesting wager,” he replied. His green eyes narrowed on mine and a smirk twisted his lips.

There was no mistaking the surge of energy that crackled and snapped around us. He was pulling the energy from the earth and I could sense it; something that should not be happening. Nightwalkers lost all connection with the earth when we were reborn.

The sensation from the building power was both amazing and painful, biting at my flesh and gnawing on my bones. The energy was trying to find a way into my body, but it was at odds with what I was. Nightwalkers were creatures of blood magic. We couldn’t do earth magic. Or at least that’s what I had always been led to believe.

“Of course, we both know that killing me won’t get you any closer to finding out about your missing female,” I said, just trying to buy a few seconds. “And we’ve both seen what a joke kidnapping me is.”

“I’m sure I can come up with some other options.”

“While you’re at it, why not try thinking of a reason as to why a naturi may be ensconced on an island filled with nightwalkers and not be threatened?” I pulled my face away from his so I could clearly look into his eyes without going cross-eyed myself. Some of the anger had slipped from his features as he thoughtfully stared at me. Standing so close, I could see the scars that snaked across the right side of his face and disappeared behind his eye patch. I remembered that when we met years ago, there were only a couple faint scars along his neck but nothing else. Once, he was pale and blond and nearly perfect, but now he stood before me dark and scarred. What had he been through that could possibly scar a naturi like this?

“I think you’ve got bigger problems than just me,” I said, slowly releasing my grip on his shirt. I knew that the naturi on San Clemente was not a hostage, but part of some bargain the Coven was working out. Meanwhile, Rowe knew there was a naturi on the island but had no idea who it was or why she was there, which indicated that he had not sent her. He was not a part of whatever this other naturi and the Coven were cooking up. I wasn’t the only one who was being betrayed in Venice.

I winked at him one last time as I backed away, hoping I had finally given him enough to think about so I could escape to a more populated location. “Just a word of advice,” I said. “I’d get all your ducks in a row before trying again in four nights.”