“Why do it?”

“You mean other than the fact that Danaus would have cut my heart out the moment I revealed your location?” she said, her mouth twisting into an ugly frown. “I need you. I need your protection from the rest of my kind. Particularly Rowe. He’s my sister’s mate. If she’s trying to kill me, I expect that he would happily follow her orders.”

My grin spread slowly across my face, stretching to reveal my perfect white fangs. “Then I’m going to need more from you than a simple cloaking spell.”

Cynnia sighed heavily and lowered her head so her forehead touched her knees. Her voice was muffled when she spoke, but I could easily make out what she said. “There are dozens of naturi here. More than a hundred. They’re in the city and out in the mountains. They are everywhere.”

“And you felt that when Danaus took off the manacles?”

“I can feel them with the manacles on. I sensed it the moment my feet touched the ground.” She raised her head and met my gaze, revealing glassy green eyes. She was looking at me, but I had a feeling that she didn’t actually see me. “The earth is saturated with power here. I can feel it everywhere. In the earth, in the air, in the animals that lurk in all the shadows and in the surrounding forests. Rowe has more than enough power to open the door between the two worlds. He has the power to completely tear down the walls and destroy the cage that held us. The mountain called Machu Picchu may be the pinnacle, but the entire valley area is overflowing with energy. The nightwalkers haven’t a chance if you expect to take on the naturi directly here.”

I sat back on my heels for a moment, staring at my captive. She didn’t look triumphant like I would expect when someone was prophesying the complete annihilation of my kind when we attempted to take on the naturi. Instead she looked sad, almost broken, as she sat on the floor, her shoulder slumped and her eyes nearly closed as tears shimmered there in the faint light.

“Danaus, do you still have those tree pictures that you showed me?” I asked, not looking up from Cynnia. She seemed willing to talk, and it honestly felt like she was telling me the truth.

“What?”

I twisted around to look at the hunter, who was staring down at me with a confused look on his face, his fists resting on his hips. He looked as if he was prepared to attack, but at the moment I wasn’t sure who he intended to protect—me or Cynnia.

“Months ago in the bar, you showed me a stack of pictures with symbols in trees. Do you still have them?”

“Yes, in my bag,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the room we were currently sharing.

“Go get them.”

Danaus looked at me strangely for a moment, then left the room to fetch the pictures. Behind me, I heard Shelly slide off the bed and walk over to where Cynnia and I still sat on the floor.

“Is there something that I can do? After we arrived at the hotel, Danaus said that I wasn’t to use a sleep spell on Nia.”

“Nia?” I asked, looking from Shelly back to Cynnia, who gave me a weak smile, shrugged one shoulder.

“It’s a family nickname,” she admitted, then gave a soft sigh and shook her head a little. “Actually, only Nyx ever used it. I don’t mind Shelly calling me Nia,” Cynnia continued. “She’s been nice to me.”

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes to keep from snapping irritably at both of them. Cynnia was a prisoner. I kept repeating this, but it seemed like I was the only one who was actually listening to this tale. She wasn’t a puppy or a goldfish that we were keeping. We didn’t need to be establishing a friendship with a creature that I ultimately planned to kill.

“If you didn’t use a sleep spell, what’s the magic that I can feel in the air?” I asked Shelly when I was sure I could keep my voice even and calm.

“A cloaking spell.”

“It’s not working. I had no trouble spotting her when I entered the room,” I said with a frown.

“It’s not a cloaking spell against nightwalkers. It’s only supposed to work on the naturi,” Shelly corrected. “It’s like a special kind of glamour.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Glamour doesn’t work on naturi. And when did you learn a spell that worked specifically against the naturi?”

“Nia taught it to me.”

My head snapped back to look at the naturi that was still seated in front of me, a tentative smile touching her pale lips. “She needed help,” she said, “and I can’t rely on you completely to protect me. I know a few tricks. If I can’t use them, I don’t see any harm in teaching Shelly.”

I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of Cynnia teaching Shelly magic when I wasn’t around. But then, it wouldn’t really matter if I was present or not. I didn’t know enough magic to recognize whether Cynnia was truly teaching Shelly a cloaking spell or possibly a tracking spell. Much to my chagrin, I actually had to trust Cynnia, and I didn’t like it.

Danaus chose that moment to enter the hotel room again, saving me from making a rude comment.

“Are there any naturi in or near the hotel?” I demanded as soon as he closed and locked the door again. I felt his powers rush out of his body and fill the room before pushing out to encompass the entire structure. Closing my eyes, I reached out with my own powers, connecting with his in such a way that I rode the energy out of the hotel. I couldn’t sense anything beyond the scattering of humans and the nightwalkers in the city, but for now I needed the feel of his warm energy to soothe my frazzled nerves.

You need to feed, he said in my mind while our powers mingled.

Soon, I whispered back, not needing the reminder.

It’s becoming a distraction.

I can handle it.

You’re not the only one that’s being distracted.

A part of me wanted to smile at the reminder that Danaus could sense my hunger as well. The stronger the blood lust grew, the more difficult it became for him to be around me. He never told me exactly how it affected him, but I was willing to bet that the consequences were not happy ones. For me, it fed my more predatory side, making me more violent and more willing to take unnecessary risks. And then the feeding itself frequently turned into something sexual with the right partner, though it wasn’t necessary.

Without the blood lust clawing at the inside of my brain, feeding was nothing more exciting that grabbing a hamburger at a local fast-food location. However, when the world before you was covered in a haze of blood, the act of feeding could be positively orgasmic. It definitely made me wonder about my dear Danaus.

“There are a few naturi a couple blocks away, but Cynnia is the only naturi that I can sense in the hotel,” he finally said. “And I can’t technically sense her.”

“The pictures?” I asked, reaching over my shoulder toward him.

Danaus slapped the sheaf of color pictures into my open hand. The edges were wrinkled and worn from their journey. So far, they had traveled from Savannah, Aswan, London, Venice, Heraklion, and then back to Savannah again. It was amazing they had survived.

“Danaus, I want you to take Shelly to find some food for her and Cynnia. The naturi is starting to look a little pale, and I don’t need her dying before I’m ready,” I said, my gaze never wavering from Cynnia as she watched me.

“I don’t like this, Mira,” he said, making no effort to hide his disapproval. I could feel his worry and anger beating against my back as he stood near me.

“I don’t expect you to,” I snapped. “Just do it and be quick about it. I promise not to kill her without you here.”

“Mira, please don’t talk like that. Nia has been cooperating with your every request,” Shelly argued. “Maybe we can find another way.”

“Shelly, get out of here. Take Danaus with you. If you want to be sure that ‘Nia’ remains safe, then I suggest that you don’t dawdle.”