Sunglasses at Night (Claws Clause 3)

Rafe didn’t answer him. Instead, he lunged.

From her perch above, Tabby watched as a stunning blonde Nightwalker came strolling into the room.

“Are the wards up?” she asked.

At her question, two big Nightwalkers came rushing toward her. Tabby had to do a double-take to make sure she was seeing things correctly. With dark hair, slicked-back with grease, and the same flat features, the two Nightwalkers were the spitting image of the other. Twins? Probably.

The one on the left spoke up first. “They’re waiting for your word, my queen.”

“Engage them now. No matter who wins that battle, Rafe Silverson does not walk out of that room with his head attached. Adam Wright has a claim to his death. Either the fledgling eliminates Rafe for us, or we make it appear that they succumbed together. Do you understand?”

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“Yes, my queen.”

“I’d prefer for Wright to survive. If he eliminates Rafe, keep him here. The wards will only work against the false king, so Wright can pass through. I don’t want him to. But be gentle. Whether he agrees tonight or not, he will be my betrothed.”

The one on the right was quick to echo his brother this time. “Yes, my queen.”

With a flick of her hand, she gestured to the Nightwalkers that lingered in the room. “Clear this out. If the two of you aren’t enough to control a fledgling, then I already made a mistake trusting you to my security.”

“It’ll be done, my queen.”

“Make sure of it.”

The female—the so-called queen—continued click-clacking across the floor, disappearing out of Tabby’s sight.

As soon as she couldn’t see her any longer, she immediately put her out her thoughts.

The only one Tabby could think about was Adam.

She had to warn him.

Moving as quickly as the tight space allowed, Tabby maneuvered herself through the vent, following the lines and her memorized plans until she reached a grate that, when she peeked through it, revealed a fight to the death down below.

When Tabby felt the blood in her veins go cold, followed by the tug in her gut, she knew that Adam had strayed away from the plan.

The plan was simple enough.

See a threat. End a threat.

It was her family’s code after all, the one Tabby had been raised on. After the way Adam lost his chance to end Rafe outside of Wolfe’s house in Wolf’s Creek, she made the point clear: don’t engage Rafe, just kill him. If Adam drew the fight out, there was more of a chance that he’d get hurt, or that the other Nightwalker would escape.

And, wouldn’t you know, that’s exactly what he was doing.

Gripping the grate with her fingers, Tabby tried to push it out. It was a high jump, but she’d dropped further during her training so she wasn’t too worried about that. The damn thing seemed stuck, though. No matter how she pushed and shoved at it, it didn’t budge.

Down below, she could hear Rafe taunting Adam, getting closer and closer with each slash, almost getting close enough to Adam’s throat to bite. She could see that her Nightwalker was on the defensive. All it would take would be Rafe knocking the falchion out of Adam’s hand and no amount of regeneration would fix that injury.

She had to get down there. It wasn’t even just about the Nightwalker female any longer, or the creepy twins she had looking out for Adam.

She needed to remind him of the plan.

Giving up with her fingers, Tabby shifted her body before kicking the grate with her boot.

“Damn it, damn it!” She was small, but she refused to let that stop her. With the adrenaline coursing through her, she should have enough strength to kick through a hundred vents. Why was this one being so damn stubborn? “Let. Go. Let— ahhh!”

It took only a few seconds before Adam realized that Rafe had been holding back in Wolf’s Creek.