Текст книги "The Scribe"

Автор книги: Elizabeth Hunter

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

Chapter Fifteen

Six? Where had the other three come from?

No matter, Malachi grinned in anticipation. Playing lovers’ games for the past week had been more than satisfying, but the hunter in him craved this fight. He paced across the alleyway, letting the Grigori come closer. Let them grow more confident. It would make them more fun to kill. The one in front could have been his brother, so alike were they in height and physique. But the soldier didn’t have what Malachi had—years of experience and the strength of his reshon flowing through his body.

Malachi faked to the right, more pleased than irritated when the Grigori wasn’t fooled. Their eyes met for a brief moment before the soldier’s eyes flicked to Ava standing behind him. He heard Ava let out a small sound of panic.

Enough. He’d forgotten she would be frightened.

Crossing his arms and brushing both hands along his tattoos, Malachi felt the preternatural strength flood his body. His eyes grew stronger in the early evening gloom. His hearing more acute. He could track the soldiers’ movements almost as if the men were moving in slow motion. And he could hear the two soldiers the Grigori had stationed at the mouth of the alley to warn away any passersby. Ava’s pulse hammered behind him. The rush of blood filled his ears.

By the time Malachi pulled his knife, he’d already darted to the left, pulling one soldier by his arm, spinning him around and plunging the silver knife into the base of his skull. He shoved the body away as it began to disintegrate, only to grab another, his movements so fast he saw Grigori eyes blur.

Spinning around, he caught one with a swift kick to the jaw, sending him to the ground as he knifed the second Grigori in the neck. He could feel the gold, sand-like dust coat his hands before the wind lifted it, shielding him from the view of the fallen soldier’s compatriots. Through it all, his senses were tuned to Ava, who continued to stay directly behind him, not cowering in a corner, but shadowing him, keeping Malachi between her and the monsters.

Clever girl.

The Grigori in front came toward him, ignoring the scrambling of the other soldiers. The man’s eyes flicked to Ava again, and he moved as if to approach her, drawing Malachi’s attention from the soldier he’d been about to knife. He sliced at the man’s neck and threw him to the ground, only to have the Grigori’s foot whip toward him unexpectedly.

The kick surprised Malachi, causing him to lose the knife he’d used on three of the men. It clattered to the ground, but Malachi did not pick it up, instead shoving it behind him with his boot, toward Ava, while he grabbed for his second dagger with his left hand. In the seconds he was distracted, the Grigori had come within a few feet, attacking with far more skill than the other soldiers.

But just before he reached Malachi, he darted to the left and toward Ava. From over his shoulder, he saw a flash of silver. Then the powerful Grigori stopped in his tracks as the knife plunged into his eye.

Malachi seized the opportunity, grabbing the man as he screamed in pain, spinning him around, then smashing his dagger into the base of the his skull. He grabbed the other knife as the man’s corpse disintegrated in a river of gold sand before it was gathered by the wind and lifted toward the heavens. The three remaining soldiers stood stunned as their captain drifted away, then one ran while the other made a last attempt at his mission.

It wasn’t successful.

Malachi kicked him to the ground with a boot to his knee, then crouched on top of the soldier. Turning the Grigori facedown, he slammed the dagger home.

In the back of his mind, he heard the cries of the children left in his village, hidden by the Irina who had been slaughtered. He blinked at the memory of a little girl, her arm riddled with bites from her own teeth as she forced herself to remain quiet in the hiding space under the floorboards. Her hollow eyes and blood-stained lips haunted him as he moved to the last soldier on the ground, blood still pouring from the gash in his neck where Malachi had slashed him.

The Grigori stared up at the stars, dead eyes unseeing, bubbles of air bursting at his throat. His lips formed the words over and over.

“Please. Please. Please.”

With a swift jerk, Malachi flipped the soldier over and ended his life.

Bowing over the corpse as it dissolved, he let his head hang as he opened his senses. The last soldier had fled with the other two who’d been standing guard. He could hear them fleeing toward the main road. Then car doors slammed shut and an engine roared to life before speeding away. Whoever had sent the soldiers would know where they were and that the attempt had not been successful.

He finally turned to Ava, who was standing stunned and wide-eyed, staring at the ground.

Roused from the fight, he blinked and tried to read her expression.

“Ava?”

“I…” She swallowed. “I killed it. Him. Well, I stabbed him and you killed him. And then… he melted.”

“It’s a kind of dust.” Malachi wiped phantom sand from his hands. “Irin and Grigori both—”

“I killed him,” she choked out. “He was coming toward me and I just…” Tears started to roll down her face. She clutched her arms around her body. “And you killed, like… lots of them.”

“There were four.” And he could have killed more. He’d wanted to. He still felt high from the thrill of the battle, but his mate’s reaction was starting to scare him. It was easy to forget in the heat of battle that Ava was a stranger to violence.

The shivers started in her shoulders but spread down her back.

“Ava.” He held out a hand and she just looked at it as if he was a stranger. The pain was swift and sure. “Ava, please.”

With a sob, she came to him, and Malachi wrapped his arms around her shoulders while the fist around his heart loosened. “I’m sorry. I’d forgotten. You’re not accustomed to violence.”

“Were they trying to kill me?”

“No,” he soothed her. “Just kill me. I think they were probably trying to capture you.”

She cried harder. Perhaps that wasn’t the right thing to say.

“K…kill you?”

“Shhh.” He stroked her hair, glad that Grigori didn’t leave messy corpses. “I only have a few bruises. They’ll be gone in minutes.” Then he tilted her head up with a smile. “And my fierce love has her own defenses after all. Where did you learn to throw knives?”

“C…circus camp.” She hiccupped. “Summer I was fourteen.”

The smile grew wider. “Circus camp?”

“I can walk a decent tightrope, too, but knives were my favorite. I liked throwing, so I kept practicing. Mom bought me a set and Carl’s gardener made me a big target.” Her eyes were wide and glassy. Her lip was still trembling. But Ava smiled through the tears. “It was fun.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sensing the tension in her shoulders had eased, Malachi sheathed both knives before he turned and tucked her under his arm and they started back to the house. They’d have to leave that night. He’d need to call Rhys and let him know. Call Istanbul and tell Damien to expect them back. Call—

“Your knives are much better balanced than my set, though.” Her voice was growing steadier as they walked. “Can I get some for myself? They might come in handy.”

“Are you going to use them on me?”

“Probably not.”

“We’ll see. What other camps did you go to?”

“Um… circus camp. Art camp. Surf camp. Photography. Wilderness skills. Horseback riding. More photography. Sailing.”

“You’re very well-rounded.”

“You should see me start a fire.”

The car ride back to Istanbul was quiet. Ava slept since Malachi was still jumping with energy. Even their adrenaline-fueled sex back at the house had done nothing to take the edge off. He was beginning to think the woman had more energy than any Irina he’d ever met. It might have simply been a consequence of too many years with no Irin contact, but he was starting to suspect that, with training, her powers would be formidable. It made him want to thump his chest like a Neanderthal. His woman, his reshon, would be a force to be reckoned with.

His phone rang.

“Hello?”

Damien asked, “Is anyone following you?”

He glanced in the rearview mirror, but it was still empty. The only traffic had been scattered, though he knew it would become heavier the closer they got to the city. Here, they sped through countryside populated by more tractors than immortal assassins.

“We’re fine. Nothing suspicious.”

“Maxim said he’s picked up more activity in the last couple of days than what he’d expect for this time of year. More outsiders than he’s seen before. Something is definitely happening with the Grigori in the city. And Leo says that the elusive Dr. Sadik seems to be back in his office. Says the secretary showed up this morning, even though no patients came.”

“No sightings of the doctor?”

“No, but if the secretary has come back from her holiday…”

“The doctor could be expected soon.” He paused, adding the fact to the mosaic of information he’d been building about Ava. “Has Maxim heard anything?”

The young scribe was the best information merchant they had. While Rhys could command the computer systems, sometimes nothing beat having ears to the ground. And the quietly charming Maxim had become a favorite among some of the more… legally challenged elements of Istanbul. His love of gambling probably helped.

“Maxim claims your Dr. Sadik hasn’t rung any bells with the human element, though a Grigori he captured went stubbornly silent when the name was mentioned.”

“So he is Grigori. Or connected in some way.”

“Or the soldier knew he was going to die and didn’t feel like giving Maxim the answer to his question. It’s all speculation at this point, brother.”

He thought for a moment, wishing he could just be back in Istanbul without the long drive. Ava’s breathing changed slightly and she let out a soft murmur but didn’t wake.

“You and the woman,” Damien asked. “You’re together?”

“Yes. She’s mine.”

“You’re certain?”

“Yes.”

There was a long pause, and when Damien’s voice came back, he sounded amused. “It’ll be good not to be the only one tormented by a mate. Congratulations.”

Malachi grinned, reaching over to play with a piece of hair that was tickling her nose. “My Ava adores me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ha!”

He bit his lip to hold in the laughter when she frowned in her sleep and batted at his hand. Adoration, indeed.

“I’ll let you off the phone. Drive carefully. Rhys should be back tomorrow night. He left Göreme just a little bit after you left Kuşadası.”

“It will be good to see him. Has he made any progress with Ava’s genealogy?”

“He sounded like he’d made some kind of breakthrough, but he didn’t say what. Just that he had a few more questions for her.”

Malachi frowned. “Fine.”

“And I’m going to suggest she go see the mysterious Dr. Sadik.”

“Not without me.”

Damien paused, then said, “We’ll talk about it when you get back.”

“Not without me, Damien. It’s not going to happen.”

“She saw him for weeks with no danger.”

“We don’t know that. How do you think they found us tonight?”

“It’s hardly out of their normal hunting grounds. Perhaps it was a coincidence?”

“I don’t believe in a coincidence that leads six Grigori to corner me in an alley while I happen to have Ava with me.”

“You’re newly mated, and thus you’re paranoid. It’s completely understandable.”

“And I’m completely right. She’s not going to his office without me.”

“We’ll talk more tomorrow. Until then, take care.”

“I’ll see you later.”

As he hung up the phone, the question plagued him. How had the Grigori found them? Not just in Kuşadası, but in that particular restaurant at that particular hour? It couldn’t be a coincidence. He glanced at Ava, still sleeping securely. He didn’t think she’d called Dr. Sadik again, so how had it happened?

He slowed the car and pulled over near a roadside market, then he grabbed her mobile phone from the center console. Could Sadik have tapped into the network somehow? Doing so would indicate he was far more connected than Malachi or Rhys had initially suspected. Perhaps it was simpler. A tracker of some kind. A simple GPS chip would have allowed him to track Ava anywhere she went. He flipped her phone over, looking for any indication it had been tampered with.

“What are you doing?” Her sleepy voice didn’t distract him as he looked at the edges of her mobile. No scratches or marks indicated that the case had been manipulated or modified.

“Do you have one of those location apps on your phone so you can find it online if you lose it?”

“No. I turned off all the location services except for maps. Carl put one on and it pissed me off, so I shut all of them off. Why?”

He muttered, “How did the Grigori find us?”

“What?”

“At the restaurant tonight. How did they find us?”

She sat up straight. “I don’t know.”

“You haven’t called Sadik, have you?”

Ava rolled her eyes. “I still don’t buy your suspicion of him, but no, I haven’t.”

Another thought occurred to him. “Did Dr. Sadik ever give you anything?”

“What?” She rubbed at her eyes. “No. I don’t think so.”

“Think, Ava. It might have looked innocent. Like a trinket.”

“Well… nothing he could use to—”

“What did he give you?” His interest spiked. “Something harmless. What was it, love?”

She shrugged and reached into the purse near her feet. “It’s nothing. I’d kind of forgotten about it. It’s one of those nazar-amulet key chains. To ward off the evil eye, you know? Dr. Sadik told me to keep it with me. For luck.”

From a pocket, she pulled out the vivid blue glass. Around four centimeters wide, it looked like any of the tourist trinkets hanging from every shop in Turkey, only it was backed with metal he suspected doubled as an antennae. The white and blue circles stared back at him, accusing him of paranoia. Malachi held it up to the light.

“I thought it was kind of silly, but I put it in my bag and I haven’t really thought about it since.”

“I’m sure he was counting on that.”

In the darkest blue of the glass, there was an almost translucent chip with a wire leading toward the metal frame.

“There.” He held it out so Ava could see. “Do you see? I think it’s a chip.”

She blinked. “Like they put in dog collars to find them if they’re lost?”

“A simple GPS chip. As long as you have this with you, he could track you.”

He saw the color rise on her cheeks, but her eyes were cold. “Son of a bitch…”

Malachi grabbed her hand. “You trusted him. I know. It’s not—”

“That asshole!”

“He betrayed you, and you’re—”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

Now it was Malachi cautioning patience. “We need to find out more before you do.”

“This thing—” She tried to grab the nazar, but Malachi closed his fingers over it.

“No.”

“Give it to me! I want to smash it to pieces!” She was already opening her car door. “I want it as far away from me as—”

“Do you want him to think you’re in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road?” He shook the hand she was trying to pry open. “Think.”

Ava blinked, coming out of her rage. “He’d know I found it.”

“Exactly. We’re not going to take it back to the house, but we don’t want him to know we’ve found it.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, so what do we do?”

“We’re going to take it back to Istanbul, and we’re going to leave it someplace very safe.” An idea sprang to his mind, and Malachi smiled. “Someplace that will confuse the hell out of him.”

It was morning when they walked into the lobby of Ava’s old hotel. The streets of the Sultanahmet were almost deserted as they made their way past the sleepy young man at the front desk and toward the courtyard near her old room. The young man raised his head in a quick smile, recognized Ava, then put his head down again, not realizing she no longer had a room there.

“This way,” she said softly. “I think this is where they keep the carts.”

Malachi spotted a maid turning the corner with one of the narrow cleaning carts, so he tugged Ava toward it, engaging the girl in a conversation about finding a razor because his luggage had been lost. Malachi trapped the young woman in conversation while he passed the nazar to Ava. She palmed it, took out the gum she’d been chewing, and stuck it to the glass-and-metal amulet. Then she pressed the blue circle into a corner, out of the line of sight, but hopefully secure enough to remain on the cart. Malachi saw her stuff a rag under the nazar to hold it in place, then she tugged on his hand.

“You know what? I totally forgot, honey. I have an extra razor in my bag.” Ava put on a big smile as she shook her head. “Can’t believe I forgot about that. I was surprised they let it on the plane.”

Malachi switched to English. “Is that so? I won’t bother her anymore then.” He turned to the confused maid with an apologetic smile and thanked her. Then he and Ava turned back toward the lobby and slipped out of the hotel.

“Hopefully, the cart will move enough that he won’t be immediately suspicious. Plus, you’ve stayed there before. So while he’ll know you’re back in the city, he won’t realize you’re at our house.”

“I can’t believe I stuck gum to the corner of her cart.” Ava shuddered. “The well-behaved schoolgirl in me is appalled by my behavior.”

“You were really a well-behaved schoolgirl?”

“Of course not. I was the crazy chick with a reputation to uphold.”

“That’s what I was hoping for.”

Chapter Sixteen

By the time they arrived at the scribe house on the other side of the bridge, morning traffic had started. Cafés and shops were stirring, and the corner market near the old wooden house in Beyoğlu was opening its doors. Ava held Malachi’s hand as they walked from the car park. She had slept in the car, but not deeply. She needed quiet, food, and warm arms surrounding her while she slept.

I love you. Of course I love you.

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. And Ava, despite a lifetime’s worth of disappointment, was starting to believe it.

“Malachi.” She tugged on his arm a few steps away from the front door. The sun was rising, painting the side of the house a warm red-brown. It touched his hair, and Ava was blinded for a moment by the planes of his face. The warmth in his eyes as he looked down on her. He was becoming the most handsome man in the world to her. Just the sight of him stole her breath.

“What?”

“What happens now?”

He smiled and touched her cheek with a finger. “Now my brothers will greet us, and we will both get some rest. We eat something. We take things one step at a time, Ava. We will find who is after you and what they want. Then, we will make you safe.”

“It sounds pretty simple when you put it like that.” She felt her head swimming and knew she’d reached the end of her rope. She was five steps from the door, but minutes away from collapse.

Malachi squeezed her hand and reached over to knock, but the green door was already opening. Damien stood in the doorway, a fierce, intimidating figure, his torso bare save for the markings across his chest, shoulders, and arms. A linen cloth hung around his waist, and Ava saw black stains on his hands. His hair hung past his shoulders, and Ava could see the ancient warrior in his eyes as he stared.

“Morning greetings, brother,” he said quietly, opening the door farther and holding out his hand. Malachi put a hand at the small of her back and grasped Damien’s forearm with his hand.

Malachi asked, “Does the fire still burn in this house?”

“It does, and you are welcome to its light.” Then the stern expression melted, and Damien looked down at her. “You and your own.”

With that, some kind of wall was breached, and she heard Malachi’s thoughts swell with pride and excitement. He held her with one arm while grabbing his friend in a fierce embrace. The two men’s quiet laughter enveloped her as they ushered Ava through the door, and she saw Leo and Maxim standing behind Damien, both wearing the same joyful expressions. They lined up to greet her. Damien was first, leaning down to put both hands on her shoulders and kissing her cheeks, right and left.

“You are welcome, sister.” Damien’s voice held a slight waver. “You honor us with your voice.”

Aware that there was some meaning she didn’t quite grasp, Ava only said, “Thank you.”

Maxim was next. His vivid blue eyes held a devious glint, but his smile was warm. “Welcome, sister.” He leaned down and also kissed her cheeks in greeting.

“Thank you.”

Leo was the last to say hello, but Ava was grateful to see his familiar, playful expression. “Welcome home, Ava. I’m so happy you’re back.”

She was almost ready to burst into tears when his lips touched her cheek. She felt Malachi’s hand at her back a moment before he pulled her back and into his chest.

“Rhys?” he asked as she tried to recover her composure. She had never felt so welcomed in her life. A small, abandoned corner of her heart sighed and whispered, Home.

“He arrived a few hours ago. Still sleeping.”

“Is our room ready? We both need sleep.”

“Of course,” Damien said. “Leo?”

The smiling man stepped forward. “We moved you to the second floor. The east room has the most space, and it’s coolest in the afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Malachi said.

“Wait.” She put a hand on his arm. “They moved your room?”

“Our room,” he said softly, leading her toward the stairs. “Thank you, Leo. We’ll see you later.”

“Rest well.” Without a whisper, he disappeared, along with every other man who’d been there a minute ago. Ava blinked back the blurriness in her eyes and followed Malachi.

“Wait… so, what? They moved me in?”

“I believe Maxim collected your things from your hotel after we left Istanbul. They simply moved them to a new room along with my things.”

“Isn’t that—” She couldn’t stop the yawn. “—a little premature? I mean, we’ve been… whatever-we-are for—”

“They don’t think like that,” he said with a smile. “They see the truth.”

“Oh?” She yawned again, walking through the door he held open for her. She entered a dim room surrounded by bookcases on three walls. There was a window shielded by wooden blinds and a beautiful mural painted around it. But all Ava saw was the bed. Low, covered with pillows, with the bedspread turned down. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She collapsed face-first onto the pillows, barely registering Malachi’s quiet chuckle.

“A little tired?”

“You haven’t let me get much sleep the past week, you insatiable man.”

“I think you’ve worn me out, too,” he said as he tugged off her shoes and jeans. Then he rolled her over and eased off the button-down shirt she’d worn, leaving her in a lightweight tank and her panties. The cotton sheets were a cool kiss against her skin, and Ava burrowed into the pillows as he pulled the bedspread up to her chin. “Sleep, my love.”

“You, too. Come to bed.” She pulled at his hand, rolling toward him with her eyes closed when she felt the other side of the bed dip. Then his arm was around her, and his skin pressed against her own. Leg to leg. Chest to back. His arms encircled her as oblivion descended.

“Malachi?”

“Hmm?”

“Your brothers… what do you mean, ‘they see the truth’?”

“About you and me.”

“And?”

“We belong to each other,” he murmured, his voice growing dim. “The Irin know how precious love is. How quickly it can be taken from us.”

“Still, so fast…”

“Perhaps… we have learned not to wait.”

Reshon, reshon, reshon.

She didn’t know whether the whispers were coming from his mind or her own. And for the first time, Ava didn’t care.

She woke slowly, the knowledge of who reaching her before the where. Malachi was with her, arm still wrapped securely around her waist. As her eyes blinked open, she realized they were back in Istanbul, in the wooden house with the green door, where she’d been greeted like family before falling asleep with the man she loved.

Loved to distraction.

She turned carefully, wanting to watch him as he slept. His face was covered with dark stubble, and his hair fell across his forehead, a frown on his face as he dreamed. His full lips pursed in disapproval at whatever visions he saw, and long lashes curled on his cheeks. He really did have the most beautiful eyes; his lashes would be the envy of women everywhere.

“Angels would weep,” she whispered, only realizing after she’d said it how truly ironic it was. Angels probably had wept.

The Forgiven. The angelic ancestors of the Irin. In the story Rhys told her, the Forgiven had been the ones who left. Leaving behind their women and children to return to heaven when they were called. And in return, their descendants had been blessed with knowledge and magic in exchange for their sacrifice. Ava traced the stern line of Malachi’s lip.

“I think I’d pull down heaven,” she said, “if that’s what it took to keep you here with me.”

A slow smile curved his lips. “And I’d abandon it if you weren’t there.” His eyes flickered open. “Good morning.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s afternoon.”

“Oh well.” He rolled over, dragging her with him so she lay over his chest. “Let’s go back to sleep and forget them all.”

Ava giggled and squirmed as he held her. “We should get up.”

“I’m well on the way. Can’t you tell?”

“Clearly.” She managed to wiggle to his side. “But I have some questions.”

“Oh…” He groaned and buried his face in her neck, nipping at the soft skin with gentle teeth. “Do I get a prize if I answer correctly?”

“Not those kind of questions.”

“What kind then?”

“Last night…” She shook her head. “This morning. When we got here. The things they said… That meant something, didn’t it?”

“Yes.” His voice held an abundance of caution.

“What did it mean?” When he didn’t answer, she rolled over. “Well?”

She started to sit up, but he grabbed her and pulled her down, curling around her as he spoke.

“When we went to Cappadocia, the scribes there greeted us as guests. You might not have noticed, as they’re not as formal there.”

“You were speaking in the Old Language, too.”

“Yes. But here… When we arrived this morning, Damien greeted us as family. In the old way, the way the head of a household would greet a mated couple returning to a retreat. He called you sister. He called you my own.”

A quiet suspicion began to take shape. “They moved us into this room. Which is quite obviously intended for two people.”

“Yes.”

“And all your stuff is here. And my stuff.”

“Ava, I—”

“Are you telling me they think we’re married or something?” Her heart started pounding.

“Irin don’t marry,” he said, just a little too quickly. “So, no.”

“But they think something.”

“They know we’re together. That’s all. I told them we were together. Aren’t we?”

“I guess…” Ava felt like she was trying to find her way in a dark room that everyone could see but her. “Yes, we’re together. I just want to know what’s going on. This is all happening really fast. Do they think I’m going to live here forever or something?”

She felt him stiffen, and his face went blank. “Are you planning to leave?”

“Not right now. But… I don’t know.” She knew her words caused him pain, but they had to be said. “I have a life, Malachi.”

He drew back, and Ava hated the distance immediately. “Yes, you have a life.”

“And I can’t just—”

“A life where you travel from place to place every few months, never putting down roots.” His voice was brittle. “You don’t speak of any close friends. You have a mother who loves you but doesn’t understand you. A stepfather who protects you but doesn’t love you.”

His words stung, even though Ava knew they were true. “You have no right—”

“You were alone,” he said, grabbing her hand and stopping her from leaving the bed. “Like I was. Even more than I was. We were alone, but now we’re not.”

The urgency in his voice, the raw honesty of it, cooled her anger. “Malachi—”

“Why do you want to leave that? I need you, as you need me.” He drew her back down and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. “We can stay here. We can go another place. We can seek out the Irina who have hidden themselves and ask them to train you in magic. We can hide from the world if we must. I don’t know what we’ll do for money, but we’ll find—”

“I have plenty of money,” Ava said. “Money for a lifetime. I’m not worried about that.”

“Then why?” He kissed her again. “Why leave? I don’t care where we go, as long as we’re together.”

Her heart swelled, and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “Is this real?”

He smiled a glorious smile and kissed her again. “Of course it is. We can live forever. The two of us. Forever. Have a family. A life.”

“I love you.” Ava kissed him back, her heart pounding out of her chest with a mad hope. She believed him, and it scared her. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

He held her on the bed, rocking back and forth as Ava bit her lip and tentatively allowed the dreams he shared to take root in her heart. She could see it. For the first time in her life, she caught a glimpse of a life that didn’t end in loneliness and pain. She wanted to be cautious, but her reckless heart ran toward him.

“To be completely honest, however…” He glanced down. “Some might consider us… mated.”

Ava sat up. “That’s the Irin version of married, isn’t it?”

“It’s not exactly…” He was fiddling with the fingers on her right hand in what had become his own nervous gesture. “Yes.”

“I knew it!”

Ava and Rhys were looking through old record books, trying to identify the Grigori she and Malachi had seen in Kuşadası. Unlike police lineup books, which Ava had been acquainted with due to her kidnapping as a child, the Irin records were a mix of pictures and sketches. The profiles she paged through were only for the longest-lived and most dangerous soldiers, which meant it read more like an encyclopedia of evil than a suspect book.

Ulrich, son of Grimold. 1734. Took part in Rending near Stockholm.

Finn, son of Volund. 1856. Known kills in Barcelona, Madrid, and Rabat.

Michael, son of Svarog. 1699. Took part in attack of Prague prior to Rending.

Kemal, son of Jaron. 1955. Known kills, multiple victims in Istanbul, Athens, and throughout Romania.

Joseph, son of Volund. 1902. Known kills in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Brittany, Lyon, and Milan.

Some of the names had been crossed out, usually with a notation about who had killed them. There were also notes about how each Grigori fought or who their associates were. Certain names kept popping up over and over.