My mind flashed to the memory that was embedded in my soul like a poisoned thorn. The white blade with the beaten copper hilt. Unicorn horn. The only way to kill my mother . . . and the only way to kill me?
“Moira?”
“Still alive,” I said. “And not crazy. Well, not crazier. I think.” I glanced down and got a gander at his penis. “I really think you should get dressed.” Shamhat was ogling his backside, and while Amahté thought that was all cute and shit, I did not.
“Yes,” he agreed. “We should get back to Broken Heart.”
I realized then that he hadn’t been around for Patsy’s visitation. I explained the situation as quickly as I could, and Drake was up and out of the chamber even before the last word echoed off the walls. He returned less than a minute later fully dressed. Well, he hadn’t donned the shirt. Wow, that man had some abs. He eyed the Ancients. “How do we get out of here?”
“Wait,” I said. “Where’s the ambrosia?”
Shamhat and Amahté looked at each other. After a moment, Amahté nodded. “It is in another location,” he offered. “We’ll tell you how to get it. It will be your reward, Moira.”
I stared at them. “Wait a sec. No ambrosia?”
The vampiric couple actually looked abashed.
“Ruadan and I created this place from magic—with the help of one of your unicorn ancestors,” said Amahté. He took his wife’s hand and drew her into his embrace. “We had not intended to stay asleep for so long.”
“You’ve been lost to us,” said Drake. “The vampires have been searching for you for a while.”
Amahté nodded. “The only way to awaken us was through the blood of one such as Moira. It was necessary to create those protections with that magic so that no one else could enter.”
“So only unicorn blood would’ve worked,” I said. “That’s why my grandfather was hunting for your temple. Because he was the one who was supposed to open it.”
“Unicorns are female,” said Shamhat. “Your blood must be from your grandmother’s side.”
I wasn’t buying that I was a unicorn. Come on! I’d accepted so much about this world already, but I couldn’t wrap my brain around the idea that I was like that innocent, tragic figure from The Last Unicorn. No, I wasn’t that girl who tried to find her destiny, only to find love . . . and to know eternal regret.
“So what was the deal with the sex magic, then?” I asked.
“That’s why only two could enter the pyramid,” said Amahté. “Sex magic is very, very strong. And it was that essence, along with your blood, that we needed to revive.”
“And what was the deal with the scorpion?” I asked.
“The scorpion was meant to protect us if something went wrong in the final chamber.” Amahté offered an apologetic smile. “Oops.”
“Oops?” I said. “Really?”
“We need to go,” said Drake. “We do not know if Broken Heart has fallen to Karn.”
“What’s a Karn?” asked Shamhat.
“He’s an asshole,” I said. “A big one.”
“Sounds unpleasant,” she said, wrinkling her pert nose.
That was the understatement of the century. Drake helped me to my feet, and we looked at the Ancients.
“Do we walk?” asked Drake.
“Let us use alternative transportation,” said Amahté. He swept me into his arms, and Shamhat did the same to Drake.
“I’d rather walk,” I said. “No. Really. Don’t—”
Once again I found myself imploding—like a window shattered by a brick.
Fucking vampires.
• • •
We arrived outside the pyramid, and I was so dizzy I had to hold on to Amahté for a full minute until the world stopped spinning.
“I hate that,” I said as I stumbled out of Amahté’s arms. “Thanks.”
“You are welcome. I think.”
“Traveling that way is wonderful fun,” enthused Shamhat. “You can go anywhere in the blink of an eye!”
Drake studied me, frowning. “Are you all right? You look a little green.”
“Well, I’m still breathing, so I can’t complain.”
He nodded. He was all business, his expression serious and his body tense. Warrior vibes rolled off him.
Behind him, the pyramid gleamed white against the night sky. And then it slowly faded, like a memory, like a dream. It was as if it had never existed, and part of me regretted its disappearance.
“Can we get Dove now?” I asked.
“Drake!”