The forest around Klet was alive with the sound of animals stirring, leaves trailing across bark as they tumbled to the ground, and the footsteps of twenty or so assailants dressed completely in black winding their way up a steep incline in search of a wayward friend—and maybe their worst nightmare.Cadence knew she wasn’t herself and that Aaron was worried. The flight from Budapest had brought many questions, none of which had been answered truthfully. Yes, she was fine. No, nothing was bothering her. Sure—she was just concerned about the hunt. Whatever she’d needed to say to make him feel better, she’d said it. The idea that she was carrying another person up the mountainside along with her was a constant distraction, one she didn’t need on the cusp of probably the hardest fight of her life. But there was no pushing it out of her mind at the moment. As she tried to avoid piles of fallen, crunchy leaves, her mind wandered to what the futur

Cadence’s thought was interrupted by her sister. “Too late,” she said, her voice sounding a little more like the little girl from Poltergeist than Cadence would’ve liked. “He’s... coming.”“At least she didn’t say, ‘They’re here,’” Elliott mumbled, still staring off in front of them. “Where?”Before Cassidy could answer, the ground beneath their feet began to shake, and Cadence shifted, trying to stay between the holes that were certainly opening up to suck them down. The idea that all of them could be trapped in a matter of seconds was terrifying. “Run!” Aaron insisted, letting go of Christian, and giving his wife a good shove in the direction from which they’d come.Cadence’s instinct was to run, but not the way that Aaron had pushed her. Still, he seemed determined to make her move away from the danger this time, and she took a few hurrie

Stopping Daunator by herself was an impossible task. After Christian’s failed attempt with the grenade, Cadence didn’t even bother to throw any of the regular ones she had with her. A glance over her shoulder showed Lex was hung up, too, and even though the ground wasn’t shaking as much back where the rest of her team was pinned down, it continued to quake further up the mountain and to her left, which meant there were more minions on their way.Daunator stood in front of her, a knowing grin on his pale face, as if he’d already done the calculations, and there was no way their meager forces could overpower him. Why they hadn’t just brought everything they had with them, like they had to face Holland, was beyond her. Sure, there was a chance he would’ve heard them coming that way, but from what she could tell, he’d been prepared for this for a while now, maybe even before she’d Transformed. Her sister and Heather didn’t see

Several minutes of continuous blasts from the Vampire’s taloned hands had left Daunator weak, and Cadence was grateful when he let out a growl and took a step backward, dropping his fists to his sides. Now would be the perfect time to take advantage of his loss of energy and go in for the kill.But Christian’s hand was on her shoulder. “He’s bluffing. Don’t trust him. He doesn’t need a break. He’ll spit you up and chew you out if you go in now.”Cadence stared at him for a moment, wondering if he even realized what he’d said had been backward, before she demanded, “Let go,” pulling away from him, undeterred by his warning or his confusion.“I’m serious. Listen, Cadence. This isn’t going to work. You’re never going to be able to get past the lightning bolts he’s throwing.”“Do you have a better idea?” She glared at him, seeing Daunator rechargi

Aaron needed to get rid of this big guy now. That sentiment increased when it occurred to him that his wife was on fire. His urgency intensified, Aaron didn’t wait for the hulk to come at him again. The Vampire was trailing smoke out of his side where the gash from Van’s knife was still visible. Cutting through the sensitive flesh of his underarm was one thing. He was going to have to chop through this sucker’s neck in order for it to make any difference. Eliza seemed to understand what needed to happen, and as Aaron positioned himself to take the monster down, she was on her feet again, knife in hand, aiming for the same spot Aaron had already attacked.The Vampire’s eyes shifted from one Guardian to the other. Aaron wasn’t playing. He slammed into the brute’s chest with all of his strength, knees making contact with pecs, and the Vampire stumbled backward. Eliza’s knife hit its mark, dragging against his side, cutting through the wh