“This isn’t about my ego, you ass,” I snapped. “It’s about her getting killed in the first five minutes of being here. It is a war zone, and she’s not equipped to handle something like this. I don’t want to worry about watching over her when I’ve got bigger problems to worry about.”

“What’s happened?” Danaus demanded, ready to put aside our argument and jump back into the business of surviving.

“Tristan and some others were attacked late last night by some naturi and lycanthropes. Two were killed and Amanda was taken hostage. She’s still alive and being held on an island out in the marshes,” I explained, then paused, looking away from him. I couldn’t look at him when I continued. “I have to go get her.”

“Mira,” Danaus murmured, but when he spoke again, his voice was hard and firm. “You can’t do this. It’s a trap.”

“I know it’s a trap!” I exploded, more frustrated with the situation than I was with the hunter. “Do you honestly think that I don’t? Of course it’s a trap, but I can’t leave Amanda to them. She belongs to me. She is a member of my family and I have sworn to protect her. I have to go after her.”

“And if you die, we’re all damned. We won’t be able to reseal the doorway between the two worlds. The naturi will escape and they will kill us all.”

“I have no choice,” I whispered.

Danaus gripped my shoulders with both hands and gave me a little shake, forcing my eyes back up to his face. “You have a choice. You can choose to walk away from this. You have to choose between saving one nightwalker and saving all nightwalkers.”

“This is more than saving just one nightwalker,” I said, stepping backward out of his grasp. “This is about eliminating all the naturi within my domain. A number of lycanthropes have been killed during the past couple of months because of the naturi. Nightwalkers have died. It has to stop. I have no doubt they’ve pulled back to the island, where they’re waiting for me. We can kill them all tonight, cleansing the area before we leave for Machu Picchu.”

“Machu Picchu?”

I nodded, a frown pulling at the corners of my mouth as I sat on the edge of the sofa while Danaus returned to his seat opposite me. “Jabari appeared last night with Nicolai. The Ancient said that the next sacrifice is to take place on the night of the equinox, and that it is to be at Machu Picchu. Naturally, we are being dispatched.”

“Naturally,” he grumbled, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Come with me, Danaus. Help me rid my home of the damned naturi. Barrett and his pack have lost enough because of them. So have my people,” I said. I knew it wasn’t my best argument. Danaus would be happy to see all of my kind wiped out, but right now we were the best defense against the naturi, who were infinitely worse than nightwalkers. The problem was that I couldn’t do this without him, and we both knew it.

Danaus gave what sounded like an unhappy but affirmative grunt. He would be happy to leave me to this suicide mission to save one nightwalker when we both knew I should just walk away. But I couldn’t. Jabari, Tabor, and Sadira saved me years ago from the naturi’s clutches. Sure, it was because they all wanted to control me and use me as their own personal weapon, but I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew was that someone came to save me. Amanda deserved that now, and I wasn’t about to abandon her. And neither would Danaus.

“I’ll help you,” came a soft voice from where Shelly stood in the doorway.

“No! Absolutely not!” I exclaimed, quickly pushing to my feet.

“She might be of some help,” Danaus suggested.

“I can be of help,” Shelly interjected before I could argue. “You’re not the only one who knows how to manipulate fire.” With a snap of her fingers a small ball of fire hovered above her hand. No magic words, no special wave of her hand or pause so she could summon up the power from the earth. She simply snapped her fingers and it was there. Maybe I had underestimated her abilities.

“There are going to be numerous naturi there with the single goal of trying to kill you,” I said. “Have you fought the naturi before?”

“No, but I have been in magical fights before with other witches who were aiming to kill me. I survived those. I can survive this one,” she commented, straightening her shoulders and standing up a little taller than before.

Frowning, I looked down at Danaus, still seated in the chair behind me. He was frowning as well, but he wasn’t denying her request to go along. This felt like a mistake, but so did rescuing Amanda, and I was determined to do that. At least with Shelly accompanying us, we had one more fighter against the numerous naturi that were waiting for us. And I was looking for anything that would even the odds.

“Go put on some jeans. We’re going to be slogging through the marshlands,” I said with a shake of my head. Shelly flashed me a brilliant smile before she jogged up the stairs. I just prayed that I didn’t live to regret this decision.

A single lamp lit the landing where Knox and Tristan were waiting for us. A motorboat on the black waters floated silently as its would-be passengers impatiently milled around the concrete landing. Tristan was far too eager to be headed out into the night in search of Amanda, while Knox leaned against a post, his face expressionless as he stared out at the waters lapping at the shore.

The car ride to the landing with Danaus and Shelly was oppressively quiet, each of us lost to our own thoughts as we prepared for the battle that loomed ahead. The introductions to Shelly were brisk and solemn as we loaded up in the boat.

Knox claimed the helm, steering us out into the dark waters while I took the point, since my night vision was the strongest of the group. Danaus hovered close at my side, his powers washing through me and out into the marshlands.

“How many?” I asked, my voice barely drifting above the sound of the motor.

“At least a dozen. Some are approaching the boat,” he replied. I looked at my companion to find him removing one of his knives from its sheath on his waist.

“Harpies?” I asked, recalling the wind clan naturi that attacked us in Venice and Crete.

“No, they’re in the water.”

I swallowed a curse and instantly returned my attention back to the seemingly calm waters before us. I had yet to face a member of the water naturi—I’d hoped to go my entire existence without encountering them, but that wasn’t going to happen.

My thoughts stumbled into one another as I struggled to come up with an appropriate warning for the threat that was approaching. But there was no time. An unexpected wave swelled off to the starboard, and Knox jerked the wheel in time to keep us from capsizing. Shelly was tossed to the floor and Danaus stood to help her back into her seat. It was what they were waiting for.

A spout of water shot across the boat, hitting Danaus square in the chest and knocking him off balance. I made a grab for him but came up with only empty air. The hunter tumbled over the side of the boat and into the dark water, which instantly swallowed him up.

“Kill the engine!” I shouted a second before I dove over the side of the boat. Despite the warm night air, the cold water bit deep, momentarily stealing away my concentration. But a second later I sensed Danaus just a few yards away from me. The water wasn’t deep, but it was enough for the hunter to drown in if the naturi were able to hold him under for an extended period of time.

I couldn’t see Danaus, but I could sense him. The only problem was that I couldn’t see or sense the naturi that were in the water as well.

Danaus? I called out mentally, hoping to reach him in on our unique telepathic link as I swam toward his location.