I reached out again to touch her mind, but was met with the same impenetrable wall.

“Mira!” I shouted above the pop and crackle of the chest-high flames. Their heat cut into the chill that held my frame, stopping my teeth from chattering.

The vampire’s head suddenly jerked up. Her lavender eyes glowed with their own light. The flames jumped and roared, while several of the bonsai trees exploded into flames as if they were merely kindling in the face of a rampaging forest fire. Flowing to her feet with a surge of power, she reached down and quickly snatched up a pair of knives that were resting at her sides.

“Where did he go?” she demanded in a rough voice. Her hand clenched the knives so tightly they trembled.

“Who? Who was here?” I asked. The flames kept me backed toward the entrance into the tiny room, which was growing unbearably hot. Sweat trickled down from my forehead along my jaw, while my palms grew damp.

“They’re stealing children. I can hear them crying but I can’t find them,” she said, her eyes sweeping over the entire room as she turned in a circle. The barrier she had erected between her emotions and me was beginning to crumble, and I could feel her rage and overwhelming sorrow.

I’ve failed. Oh, god, he’s got her! I’ve failed, repeated across her brain.

“Who?” I demanded again when she didn’t seem to notice me. “Who are you talking about? The naturi? They’re not here.” Mira didn’t reply to me. In fact, she stared straight ahead and yet I got the feeling that she didn’t actually see me.

Unsure of what to do to finally capture her attention, I reached out mentally, hoping to snap her from her growing inner turmoil. Has Rowe been here?

Nerian! She mentally screamed before her gaze snapped over on my face. Mira blinked twice and she slowly lowered her shaking hands to her hips. She looked more than a little lost and confused, as if she couldn’t understand how she came to be standing there encircled with crackling flames. A part of me wondered if she was even aware she had conjured up the flames. Such a skill had been with her even during her human years. I imagined it was now as much a reflex as breathing was for us.

“Danaus.” My name drifted from her lips in a thready whisper. She wiped her cheeks roughly with the heels of her palms before placing the blades back in their individual sheaths at her sides. The flames went out with an audible whoosh, plunging the room back into nearly complete darkness. For a brief moment, she seemed weak and frail, as if the weight of the world were resting on her shoulders and her will were beginning to break.

“What happened?” I demanded, forcefully shoving my thoughts back to the matter at hand. Such a line of thought would lead me nowhere safe. I returned my knife to its sheath and crossed my arms over my chest in an effort to hold in what little heat I had gained from Mira’s brief fire show.

“I—” she began, then suddenly halted as if the words had become lodged in her throat. “I heard crying. A baby crying. I followed it in here. It was so loud, but…no one was here. I don’t…” She trailed off again. I didn’t want her to finish the thought. We let the silence and the night sink back in between us.

“You said Nerian’s name just a second ago,” I said slowly, hating to even mention the creature. The mere sound of his name had the power to send a chill through Mira, as memories of her time with her tormentor rose up to eat away at the remains of her sanity.

“I couldn’t have,” she said with a sharp shake of her head. “It—it doesn’t make any sense.” Mira shoved both her hands through her hair, moving it away from her face as she looked around the room. A soft whimper escaped her as she caught sight of the decades-old bonsai trees that had been reduced to fragile cinders. She clenched her eyes closed and sucked in a steadying breath. She was still, but her emotions were bleeding back into my thoughts. There was nothing calm about Mira. She opened her eyes wide, locking them on my face, as she seemed to beg me for an answer. “The naturi?”

“There are none close by.” I hesitated, but I had to ask. “Can they…can they get in your head?” While it was relatively rare, from my understanding, there were some naturi that could create hallucinations.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. They tried years ago, when they tortured me. They were rather pissed that they couldn’t screw with my thoughts,” she admitted. Her voice suddenly sounded weary, matching her slumped shoulders. “They shouldn’t be able to now. I’m older now, stronger. Nothing’s changed.”

“Except for Aurora.”

Mira looked down at the floor. A shiver of fear ran through her thoughts before she could hide it from me. The queen of the naturi was now free in our world and no one could even begin to guess how it was going to affect how the game was played. Would the naturi grow stronger, more powerful because their queen was finally with them? Maybe. Could the conservatory have been a trap for Mira? Possibly.

Was I grasping at straws? Definitely.

“We should go,” I said at last. Nothing would be gained in sitting around here. We already had a murder to solve. The quandary of a handful of naturi hiding in a greenhouse would have to wait.

Mira nodded, and slowly crossed the distance between us. She was turning toward the door when her eyes suddenly snapped to me. Even in the shadows, I could still make out her furrowed brows and frown.

“What the hell have you been doing?” she demanded.

“I was killing wind clan naturi while you were busy searching for a nonexistent baby,” I growled. I really didn’t need her drawing attention to the fact that I was still wet and half frozen. My only thought at the moment was getting somewhere so I could change into some warm, dry clothes.

“And you found it necessary to swim in the pond?” she continued.

Biting back a snide comment, I stepped around her and left the bonsai exhibit, heading back toward the lobby. My feet squished uncomfortably in my shoes and the rubber soles squeaked across the marble floor now that I was making no effort to be quiet.

I paused in the main lobby and looked over my shoulder at Mira as she stepped through the door. “Should we do something with the naturi?”

“I thought you killed them,” she snapped. Her left hand darted into her jacket pocket and she quickly pulled out her gun.

“They’re dead. I meant the bodies,” I corrected. The nightwalker’s frame instantly relaxed, her arms falling limp at her side. Her face smoothed to placid, unreadable calm.

“I’ll leave a message with the pack leader when I get home. They can clean up the mess before the place opens,” she said, waving off my concern.

I followed her back out the same side door we had come in and to the car. Yet instead of pushing a button to unlock the doors, she popped the trunk. Mira reached in and picked up my bag. I easily caught it when she threw it at me, the steel weapons inside clanging softly.

“Go change,” she commanded.

“What?” I said dully. I thought she was going to tell me to go find a place to spend the daylight hours on my own.

“You’re wet and smell like fish,” she announced, leaning against the side of her car. She folded her arms over her chest and crossed her ankles. “You’re not getting in my car like that. Go change clothes behind a tree. Unless, of course, you want to ride naked.” An evil grin spread across her face and faintly lit her eyes. Yeah, she was bouncing back just fine.

Teeth clenched, I turned on my heel and strode back down the walk, disappearing around the corner behind a large pine tree. I didn’t know if Mira could see me and at the moment I didn’t care. Quickly digging through my duffel bag, I pulled out the first shirt I came across. In a couple quick movements, I peeled off my sodden clothes and pulled on what turned out to be a short-sleeved black shirt, boxers, and jeans. Still barefoot, I shouldered my bag. With my boots in one hand and wet clothes wadded up in the other, I walked back to the car. I was still cold, but it was no longer biting down into my bones. As I appeared, Mira pretended to look down at a nonexistent watch on her bare wrist.