Aden stood, lunged. Sensing him, Dmitri swung out his arm, claws moving beneath the armor and into his side. Sinking past skin, into that blistered muscle and bone. Hissing, Aden fell. Spotted the discarded dagger and grabbed it. On his feet a moment later, he dodged to the left and plowed it into Dmitri’s ear. There was another unholy screech, this one nearly causing his head to explode.

Dmitri jerked, flailed, clawing at Aden’s grip. Soon there was no skin left on Aden’s hand, but Dmitri never stilled; he kept fighting, kept flailing. Aden had to end this. Soon. How did one kill a vampire? As Victoria had once told him, the well-known stake through the heart thing wouldn’t work because a stake couldn’t penetrate their skin. Only the je la nune was able—the je la nune! he thought. Yes.

“Victoria!” he shouted.

She knew what he wanted, jerked her arm free and tossed him her ring. There was only a little bit of the liquid left inside, but he managed to slide the blade from Dmitri.

“This all you got?” Aden taunted. “I thought you were strong. I thought you were—”

As he’d wanted, Dmitri backhanded him and he went flying. Even though he’d expected it, though, it still hurt, nearly dislocating his jaw. He didn’t get up, just waited, allowing the liquid from Victoria’s ring to drip onto the metal. He didn’t have to wait long. The enraged vampire flew at him, close, so close…Aden merely raised the knife and allowed Dmitri’s weight and momentum to do the rest.

The vampire’s skin instantly melted, the silver piercing his heart.

There were more screams as Dmitri bucked against him, screams so pain-filled, so agonizing, Aden cringed deep in his soul. Then the screams faded and the body stopped flopping.

As the surrounding vampires gasped in horror, Aden removed the head before the body could rise and fell back, panting, sweating, bleeding. The gasps changed to groans, then to murmurs of disbelief and anger. Then there was only stunned silence.

“Aden,” Victoria called, struggling for freedom.

“Let her go,” he told the guards, not even having the strength to glance over at them. Wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. He was so dizzy he was losing vision with every second that passed.

A moment later, he was the one who was stunned. They obeyed without protest, and Victoria rushed to his side, her face hovering above his. She used one of her still-wet nails to cut her wrist and held it to his mouth. This time, he didn’t even think about refusing. Without her healing blood, he would fall, crash, vulnerable to those around him, leaving his friends equally vulnerable.

Her blood was hotter than before as it joined Dmitri’s, burning through him, consuming him, killing him, helping him rise from the ashes of his former self, new and strong. In a few hours, he would see the world from Victoria’s eyes. What about Dmitri’s? Now that the vampire was dead, there would likely be nothing to see.

Guess he would have to wait and find out. There were more important things to worry about right now.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” he told Victoria, reaching up and thumbing her soft cheek. The dizziness was fading and he could see how pale she was. Paler than normal.

“Thank you.” She was trembling, though not as much as before the battle. “But it’s you I was most concerned about. Dmitri is—was—a vampire warrior and you, well, are not. I’m just glad you’re okay. I thought I had lost you.”

A movement behind her caught his eye. The vampires were now bowing in his direction.

He frowned and whispered, “Uh, Victoria. What are they doing?”

She glanced over at them and grimaced. “With the death of my father, Dmitri was indeed king. But you just killed Dmitri, which means…”

“No way.” Strong now, he pulled himself into a crouch and shook his head. “Absolutely no way.”

“Yes way. My king.” Riley knelt and bowed his head, just like the others. Only Mary Ann remained standing. She was clutching her middle and eyeing the vampires with distaste. “We now live to serve you.”

Ridiculous. “Get up, Riley, and stop acting that way. Go free Tucker.”

“Yes, my king,” Riley said, rushing off to do as he’d been told. This was too weird. Riley was obeying even though he hated Tucker. Aden should have been pleased. Anyone else would have been, he was sure. Instead, he found himself shouting.

“Stop that!” He didn’t want his friends treating him any differently, and he certainly didn’t want to control the fate of these people. People he didn’t know, a race he knew little about.

“Aden,” Victoria said.

His attention returned to her and he cupped her face in his hands. “Be honest with me. Are you okay? I never would have wished a parent’s death on you, even if it meant losing you.”

“I know you wouldn’t have,” she said softly. “I wasn’t close with my father, but I did respect him and I will mourn his passing. But throughout my long years, I have seen death after death. Lost loved one after loved one. I know my sadness will pass.” She brushed a strand of hair from his temples. “The only thing I could not live without is you. And now, you can free my mother from her confinement. You can summon her, bring her here.” Each new word brought a wider smile.

The only thing I could not live without is you. Words he would cherish. As for her mother, absolutely. He wasn’t a king, for God’s sake, but he would do whatever was necessary to reunite mother and daughter. Guess that was a new hobby of his.

He stood, dragging Victoria up with him, then winced and grabbed his side. Clearly, not all of his injuries had healed.

She frowned, instantly concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I was cut and didn’t know it.”

Frown deepening, she helped him out of his armor. Meanwhile, the vampires remained on their knees. Waiting for his command to rise? He wasn’t about to issue one, not that he believed they would listen to him. Him, king? Please. Until he learned more about them, and how they would treat Victoria—she’d brought him, Dmitri’s killer, to the party, after all—he was keeping his distance.

When he was free of the armor, Victoria raised the hem of his shirt. Her horrified gaze lifted to him. “Oh, Aden. I’m so sorry.”

“What is it?” He looked down, not knowing what to expect—and that’s when he saw them. Three gashes on his right side. Deep, red and raw.

Eyes wide, she covered her mouth with her hands. “Dmitri must have had the liquid on his nails when he slashed you.”

“What does that mean for me, a human?”

She gulped. “Aden, you’re going to scar.”

That was all? He grinned. “That doesn’t upset me, I swear. I have plenty of…scars.” The last emerged as a whisper. Understanding had dawned. Three scars on his right side. Just like in the vision Elijah had given him of his own death.

“Oh, Aden!” She threw her arms around him and held tight. He couldn’t see her face, it was buried in his neck, but he knew she was crying, the warm droplets landing on his shoulder.

His death was that much closer.

“How much time do we have left?” he asked.

I wish I knew, Elijah said.

A year, perhaps? Maybe months. It would be soon, though. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

“It’ll be okay,” he told Victoria, and he wished he believed it. For the moment, though, he would do whatever was necessary to make it true. “We have plenty to do before I die. We have a fairy to kick out of the ranch. Maybe Shannon can help with that. We have a witches meeting to attend—” because there was no way he would allow his friends to die for missing it “—a town to save from flesh-hungry creatures, and souls to free.”

His vampire princess smiled slowly. “You’re right. This will be okay. I wouldn’t have believed it before today, but now I see that anything is possible.”

They stood as Mary Ann and Riley joined them, Tucker propped up by one of Riley’s muscular arms.