“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said. “Unicorns aren’t real.”
Karn laughed. “Just like vampires and werewolves aren’t real?” He offered me a smarmy grin. “Mr. Keyter knew your secret. I had to steal the memories from his mind because he was, unfortunately, terribly uncooperative. A tragedy, since good help is so hard to find.”
“Bastard.” The word caught in my throat, snagged on the edges of my grief. I might as well have killed Mr. Keyter. He’d been my great and wonderful friend.
“Unicorn tears are so shimmery. Like little diamonds. But not, I bet, as potent as your blood.” He tucked the blade back into his jacket.
“Give me Dove.”
“I’m afraid that’s as close to her as you’ll get.” He glanced at Gabriel. “We all know the real prize is your wife. She’s precious to us all, isn’t she? If she dies, we all do.” He turned his gaze to me. “The ambrosia, Dr. Jameson.”
“Sure.” I took the golden fruit from the pocket of my cargo pants and tossed it at him.
He caught it . . . for a second. Then it disappeared.
It reappeared in my hand. I looked down at the ambrosia. “Sorry. I guess it doesn’t like you.”
“I am not stupid, Moira. I know you must gift it to me.” He stood up, and seemed to disappear himself. But he’d actually used his preternatural speed to get to Dove. He flashed his fangs at us, then leaned down and pierced her throat.
“No!” I moved toward him, but the vampire behind me grabbed my arm and yanked me backward. “Stop, goddamn you!”
Karn reared up, giving us a bloody smile. “She tastes so sweet.”
“Give her to me,” I said. “And I’ll gift you the ambrosia.”
“No,” hissed Larsa. “The ambrosia will make Karn invincible! It is better to sacrifice one human so that the world does not burn.”
“Fuck that,” I said.
Karn laughed. “Delightful.” He took a handkerchief from his pants pocket and wiped his mouth. “Fine. Come get her.”
I didn’t hesitate. I rushed to the table and gathered Dove into my arms. She was so small, so slight. I picked her up and took her to Larsa. She looked surprised as I handed over my friend, but I mouthed, “Go.”
She understood instantly. And disappeared in a shower of sparkles.
“You think anyone else matters now?” asked Karn. “I’m getting bored. The ambrosia, Moira.”
He couldn’t take it from me, but he could hurt my loved ones until I relinquished it. He knew it, and I knew it. What he didn’t know what that I’d had a private conversation with Gabriel. And I knew, thanks to Theodora’s books, that vampire mates had telepathy. Karn had to know the same thing, but despite his brilliant psychopathic nature, he was too fucking arrogant to believe he wouldn’t win the day. The problem with people who knew they were smart is that they constantly underestimated everyone else.
I plucked the ambrosia from my pocket and held it up on my palm. Karn’s greedy gaze took on a razor-sharp focus.
“I gift the ambrosia to . . . Gabriel Marchand.”
“What! No!” Karn’s cry of outrage echoed in the basement. Karn disappeared in a shower of red sparkles. Coward.
The fruit disappeared from my hand and reappeared in Gabriel’s. He took a huge bite, half the fruit, and swallowed it. Gold light encompassed him, so suddenly and so brightly, I had to look away. The vampires behind us screamed, and exploded into dust.
When the light dissipated, Gabriel had already moved to Patsy and ripped off her manacles. She removed the tape from her mouth. Drake and I hurried forward, going into a protection stance in front of the couple.
“I gift the ambrosia to Patsy Marchand.”
The half-eaten fruit appeared in her hand, and she ate the rest in two bites.
The golden light surrounded her, too, blinding us all for a few seconds.
I had just made two werewolf-vampires unkillable immortals.
And I hoped I hadn’t traded Dove’s life to do it.
When the bright light dissipated again, Karn flickered into being before me. His eyes were crazed with rage. The thin veneer of civilization had been stripped away. “You take from me, you bitch, and I’ll take from you.”
I shoved Drake out of the way, and he was so startled by my sudden move, he actually stumbled out of the path of the blade.
Karn embedded the dagger to the hilt into my side.
Shock waves of pain ricocheted through me, and I fell to my knees, gasping. I felt the blood rise in my throat, and I choked on it.
“Noooo!” Drake’s cry of outrage vibrated within me, filled with pain and grief.