“Has he always been such an asshole?” Danaus inquired.

I was about to reply when another bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, sizzling directly toward Stefan. The nightwalker instantly disappeared from the open air, but reappeared lying on the ground just a few feet away. I darted over to him, sliding on my knees as I reached him. “Were you hit? Are you okay?” I demanded, helping him to slowly sit up.

“Fine. Wasn’t hit,” he said, but his voice sounded wobbly and broken. He may not have been hit, but it was a close thing.

“Looks like you’re walking in with us,” I said as he slowly regained his feet.

“Walking into a trap,” he groused, but he walked beside me as I approached the entrance to the theater. There was no doubt this was a trap of Rowe’s design, but our odds were pretty good. Of course, I was hoping to leave with all my companions alive and in one piece. Rowe didn’t care if we slaughtered the four naturi that were still at his side.

“Get to Valerio,” I told Stefan. “We’ll provide cover and a distraction.”

I led the way into the outdoor theater with its massive seating. There was no missing the four naturi that stood on the stage next to Valerio, who was strung up on a massive wooden cross with a stake protruding from his chest. They must not have driven it into his heart because I could still sense him, but it was close enough that he was gushing blood and he was close to death.

“No!” I screamed mindlessly. I ran up to the stage, leaving Danaus and Stefan struggling to keep up with me. Lightning rained down from the gathering clouds, slamming into the seats so that they exploded in a shower of sparks and debris.

“Mira!” Danaus cried after me, but I ignored him. I wouldn’t allow these nature-loving bastards to destroy Valerio, the one creature that didn’t make me doubt myself. Valerio might have intended to use me to his best advantage, but I also believed that he loved and trusted me in his own unique way. I would not allow the naturi to kill him.

More lightning fell between the stairs of the stage and me, causing me to halt. The naturi on the stage jumped down and instantly surrounded me, while Rowe finally appeared, placing one hand on the stake in Valerio’s chest.

“Surrender!” he shouted in a laughing voice. “Surrender and I’ll consider not plunging the stake deeper into his chest. Surrender and they won’t kill you now.”

“You’re not going to win,” I snarled, looking up at Rowe as one naturi pressed the tip of his short sword into my throat. The blade punctured my flesh, sending a trickle of blood down my neck. “We’ve destroyed your numbers tonight. You’re not leaving here alive.”

“I think it’s the other way around. It’s your friends who are not leaving here alive. You, on the other hand, are coming with me to Aurora.”

Despite the swords now digging into my neck, stomach, and chest, I laughed. My head fell back and a deep, dark chuckle rose from my throat. “Do you still believe that?” I looked around at the naturi standing directly in front of me. “Did he promise you absolution if you helped him hand me over to your queen?” I asked them. “Do you seriously believe that Aurora will forgive you for just me?”

The confidence and determination on the faces of my captors wavered ever so slightly, their eyes darting from me to look at their nearest companion. They were all asking the same thing: was I worth such a high price to Aurora? Sure, I was the Fire Starter, but to them I was still just a useless, dirty vampire. They began to doubt Rowe’s promises, and that gave me my opening.

Get Valerio! I directed Stefan. The nightwalker disappeared and instantly reappeared behind Valerio. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him lay one hand on Valerio’s shoulder as Rowe raised his hand to pound the stake deeper into Valerio’s chest. It all happened in a split second. Not even enough time for me to scream. Valerio and Stefan disappeared from sight just as Rowe’s hand passed through empty space and slammed into the wooden cross.

“Witch!” Rowe snarled, turning narrowed eyes on my face. “Just kill her. Aurora will be just as happy with her dead body.”

With Valerio safe, I didn’t hesitate to tap into my powers. I managed to dodge one sword at my throat, but wasn’t lucky enough to miss the one that plunged into my stomach. I groaned as I set the naturi surrounding me on fire. Unfortunately, Rowe remained at my back, so I couldn’t bathe him in flickering flames as well. I couldn’t sense the naturi, so I needed to physically see him in order to set him on fire.

“Boil him, Danaus!” I screamed, keeping my focus on the naturi fighting the flames and still slashing at me.

“I can’t,” he said softly.

“What?”

“He’s right.” Rowe laughed manically. I turned to find him standing on the edge of the stage with one hand reaching up toward the heavens. “He might be able to boil my blood and kill me, but I guarantee that I’ll be able to get off a couple lightning bolts before I go, and they’ll all be aimed at you.”

“Kill him, Danaus!” I screamed. The last of the naturi surrounding me had finally died, and I twisted around with a sword still in my stomach, ready to hurl a fireball at Rowe when I discovered that he had already taken to the skies on a pair of massive black wings. I threw the fireball at him, but he managed to easily dodge it on the heavy winds whipping through the park. In response, a bolt of lighting sizzled through the air. I jerked backward, only to slam my back into the wall of the theater near the stairs. I was trapped. The world exploded in bright white light, and for a moment I understood what it felt like to be burned. The lightning missed me by a few feet, but it was enough to singe.

When my vision finally cleared enough so I could see again, Rowe was gone. Danaus stood before me, one hand pressed to my stomach while the other pulled the sword free of my body. I clenched my teeth against the searing pain as the blade cut through muscle and tissue. A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed back a frustrated sob. Rowe was still alive.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Danaus grumbled. He kept his hand pressed to the wound in an effort to slow the bleeding.

I leaned my head back against the wall behind me and closed my eyes. “I just want him dead,” I whispered.

“Soon,” Danaus promised.

But not soon enough.

Danaus stood close before me, his breathing heavy from the fight. His warm energy danced around us, beating back the cold wind, which seemed to be growing quieter now that Rowe had vacated the immediate area. I stood still, fighting the swell of emotions that threatened to swamp me. Doubt ate at me. I should never have sent Valerio alone to look into the naturi problem. I assumed that with his ability to disappear and reappear, he would be able to easily escape any situation. I hadn’t considered that he would be more vulnerable to a sneak attack since he couldn’t sense his enemy. Of course, I’d thought it was impossible to sneak up on Valerio. He was old and powerful. No one could surprise him.

“It’s not your fault,” Danaus said when I remained silent for too long.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I shouldn’t have sent him alone. I should have ordered Stefan to go along with him.”

“Possibly, but there’s a chance that they both could have been taken,” Danaus conceded. “It’s not as if Stefan’s mind would have been completely focused on the naturi. They would have both been vulnerable.”

“It doesn’t matter any longer,” I muttered, shoving both my hands through my hair to push it out of my face. I grunted as the movement stretched and pulled the still mending wound in my stomach. I glanced up at the sky one last time, gauging the night. “We’re leaving here first thing tomorrow night.”