They had yet to discuss the fae that Emery had killed in the alley, nor had they talked about what he did for a living.
Jelisette’s brows furrowed. “What, exactly, does that mean?”
Hoping he was choosing the right words, Emery paused before saying, “People are evil.”
She snorted. “Yes, and the sun is deadly to our kind. These are both things I am well aware of.”
He loved her sharp tongue. There hadn’t been a moment of dullness all week. “True,” Emery said. “In this case, I’ve been summoned to… deal with someone.”
Her black orbs searched his. Every second seemed to stretch on for a lifetime before she nodded slowly. “I see.”
Did she really?
“I’m going to kill them.” Emery threw subtlety aside for the sake of ensuring she understood what he was saying. He pulled the missive out from under his pillow and showed it to Jelisette.
While she read it, he explained that Yvan Thorn, a renowned werewolf criminal, had been spotted in the Eastern Region. Thorn’s crimes ranged from bad—money laundering—to horrific—crimes against children that would have even the most hardened of vampires or Death Elves sick to their stomachs. Emery’s contacts had been hunting Thorn for months, and they finally found him.
When he finished, he sat back and waited for Jelisette’s reaction. He studied her eyes, her lips, her entire body for a sign of what she would say. His heart thundered in his chest as he waited and waited.
Eventually, a smile crept across Jelisette’s face. “Can I help?”
He blinked.Of all the things he thought she would say,thatwasn’t one of them.
“You want to help me… kill him?” Stunned, Emery had to clarify.
“Yes.” Jelisette canted her head, and a dark glimmer entered her eyes. “I’ve always found bloodshed… invigorating.”
Gods damn it, his entire body warmed at the heat in her words. This was a wholly unexpected—and delightful—turn of events.
“Yeah?” Emery hopped off the bed and stretched. “Well then, let’s go.”
CHAPTER 5
A Warrior of Death
Jelisette crept through the shadows behind Emery, following as he led her through dark streets and twisted mazes deep within the underground city once known as Vlarone. Rumored to have been built by the gods—or giants, no one really knew—the city within the mountain was now an empty ruin.
The once-thriving cavernous metropolis with its spiral levels and glowing clusters of mushrooms lighting the walls was as empty as a graveyard. Houses were destroyed by the passage of time. Roads were cracked. Paths went nowhere. Life no longer resided within this place of old.
The deeper they went into the mountain, the colder the air became. More than once, Jelisette rubbed her arms as a sensation of death crawled over her.
It was no surprise that their prey had chosen this as his hiding place.
Neither she nor Emery spoke as they prowled through the darkness, going deeper and deeper into the mountain. As they moved, her shadows thrummed in her veins, her fangs burned, and every sense was on edge. In front of her, Emery wore black fighting leathers. His hair was slicked back, and shadows wreathed his hands.
He was a warrior of death, and she was drawn to him unlike anyoneelse. When he’d told her about this job, she got the sense he was worried this might scare her off. Nope. If anything, this was just confirmation for Jelisette that whatever was pulling her to Emery was right. Good.
Ever since her Making, Jelisette had never minded death. Maybe it was because of the brutal way she’d come into this immortal life, but it was a part of life. Normal. Good, even. And this werewolf they were hunting? He was evil incarnate. Watching the life drain from his eyes would be nothing but delightful.
Emery stalked in front of Jelisette, his movements smooth and calculated like a panther. She kept pace with him, her strides graceful and her footfalls silent.
Thorn wouldn’t know what hit him.
Time slipped by.
They’d just passed a glowing cluster of blue mushrooms when Emery abruptly halted and held up a hand.
She obeyed, and moments later, she heard it. A feminine whimper. It was little more than a whisper on the wind coming from deep within the mountain, but it was like a wooden stake to her heart.