Crimson Highlander (Onyx Assassins 2)

Ransom offered her a thankful smile. "Right. So you were saying their tactics were different?" he asked me.

I was too busy staring at Valor to answer. Fuck, had she gotten more beautiful in the four days I'd been gone?

Taste. Touch. Claim. My instincts roared.

She was my mate.

Mine.

"Lachlan?" Benedict prompted.

I ripped my eyes away from Valor. "Right. The warfare up there is more obvious...and I think they might have the witches on their side."

"What?" Alek's arms tightened around Lyric.

There was a murmur of disbelief in the room.

"That's what Elias thinks. It's the only way they'd be able to detect the glamours we use to keep the lairs hidden." The Duke of the Northland wasn't prone to overreaction, or wild speculation, which meant we were in trouble.

"Can..." Valor cleared her throat. "Does that mean they can find us?"

"No," Avianna assured her, linking their elbows. "Alek is the most powerful vampire on Earth—"

Benedict coughed.

"Fine, the most powerful vampire currently breathing on Earth. Is that better?" she asked Benedict.

"Better. Quick, someone lie. I'm not walking around with this shit on my arm. It's enough to give a guy an inferiority complex." He lifted his arm, where a scroll of fresh black ink read, "Alek is the most powerful vampire on Earth."

"Fine. My eyes are brown." Avianna rolled her ice-blue eyes. "Point is, you'd need a witch just as powerful as Alek's magic in order to detect the glamour on the estate, and there hasn't been one in a hundred years. We're safe here because the glamours weren't just built by Alek, but by our father and our mother. It's generational magic."

Valor nodded slowly. "Okay. So witches can't see you when you're glamoured off the estate?" she asked Alek.

His jaw ticked once, a sign I knew meant he was debating answering. Valor was both the strongest and weakest link in our armor, and we both knew it. "Witches can't see through my glamour, but they can see that something is there," he answered.

He trusted her.

His gaze shifted to meet mine, and he nodded subtly, no doubt having read my thoughts.

Your shirt is stupid. No one listens to that shit anymore, I thought at him.

He snorted. "You bought me this shirt, asshole."

"Woodstock. I remember." The thought curved my lips. How could something like that seem like just yesterday when it had been over fifty years? And yet, my life now felt like it had just been decisively divided into two eras—before Valor and...now.

"It's not a Moorehouse tactic," Valor said, her brow crinkling. "We would never ally ourselves with the witches..." Her eyes widened as her gaze jumped to the map. "But the Deveraux family would. They were the ones who brought in the demons who went after Avianna last year."

My spine stiffened. "And you’re just now telling us this?"

"My trust is earned," she shot back. "Once the threat had been neutralized, there was no reason to tell you. My father was livid at the Deveraux family not just for interfering, but for joining forces with..." Her voice trailed off.

"With what?" I prodded, pushing off the wall. "Lowly supernaturals?"

Her chin rose an inch. "I don't think like that. Not anymore."

"Are you sure, lass? Because you just said 'we' and 'ourselves.'" Just when I thought we might be making headway and showing her that we weren't just some insects to be squashed, she spit out that shit.

"There have been a few changes for me this last year, Lachlan. I'm doing my best." She yanked her gaze away from mine so abruptly it felt like a slap.

"Okay." Alek's voice was calm. "Valor, can you tell us what you know about the Deveraux family?"

"Not much." She crossed her arms and shook her head. "Each family in the Sons of Honor is responsible for their own district, but only the heads of the family know the details."

"Fuck," Ransom muttered.

"Guess it's a good thing we're on excellent terms with Genevieve," Benedict added.

No one asked the obvious question. If the witches were helping the Sons in Ottawa, did their queen know?

"What else do you have?" Alek asked, weariness seeping into his tone.

"The soldiers are fit and strong. Elias has done well training them, but they're stretched thin, just like us. They're forcing trainees into the field before they're ready, and they've lost three in the last month."

Every male hissed.

There is something else, I thought toward Alek as I glanced in Valor's direction quickly.

"And on that note, I'm sure you could do with a hot shower. You've been traveling." Alek gently moved Lyric off his lap. "Walk with me for a moment."

That wasn't a request.

I followed Alek into the hallway, and we headed for the stairs and away from human ears.

"Elias wants us to wake the Hunters," I said under my breath, knowing he'd be able to hear me.

Alek's footsteps hesitated on the steps, but he quickly caught up. "Was he joking?"