“What the hell is this?” Daniel cried out. “You there! Guards! Secure that table.”

Guards surrounded Adrien, hands on the table, forcing it back to the stone floor.

“Let the executions commence,” Daniel shouted. “And begin with Adrien, the one who betrayed me repeatedly, his own flesh and blood.”

Adrien smiled because now he understood that his father feared him, feared what he could do to him, what he was becoming. He would never have ordered Adrien’s death first, not when he could have inflicted more suffering by killing Lily or even Josh first.

Father, he telepathed, pushing into Daniel’s head. Shall we find out what you’ve really created in me?

Did he hear shrieking in Daniel’s mind?

“Use the blade and take his head! Now!”

Adrien opened his eyes and embraced all that his life was, including all that Daniel had given him as his father.

Adrien saw the sharp edges of the blade rise high above his head, the executioner’s hand steady, the man ready to obey Daniel.

But as the blade fell, Adrien lifted his fingers, focused his power, then released. A stream of energy flowed down his shoulder, through his arm, and outward in a powerful thrust from his hand. The blade flew from the executioner’s grasp, sweeping in a high arc that took it out of the Pit and beyond the surrounding seats.

Cries from the spectators flooded the arena.

He focused the same power within his body: his chest, arms, and legs. He flexed his muscles and one by one the wrought-iron links snapped and the manacles on his wrists and legs fell away. He heard the whirring of a long battle chain ready to strike. A guard came at him swiftly, the chain spinning. He reached in and plucked the chain away from the guard. At almost the same second, he flipped the chain toward two other guards. The chain wrapped around both necks and bound them.

The remaining guards backed up.

Adrien moved in Daniel’s direction, but he called out, “Kill the woman and child! On pain of death, do as I say!” He threw Josh in the direction of the guards. His words carried enthrallment power, and once more the guards, now glassy-eyed, moved to obey.

Adrien had a decision to make. He could go after Daniel right now and slay him, removing the scourge of his life from his world for all time. But if he did both Lily and Josh would die.

Or he could save Lily and her son.

But he couldn’t do both.

There was no real choice to make. In the same way Lily had refused to turn the weapon over to Daniel, Adrien refused to follow Daniel and take his vengeance.

As Daniel switched to altered flight and vanished, Quill and Lev following in his wake, the blades descended on Lily and Josh.

Adrien split into his two selves and with the greater power and speed of his Ancestral status, he destroyed the guards in quick succession, flinging the killing blades away, breaking bones, snapping necks until he was alone in the Pit with the woman he loved and her son. He re-formed quickly.

The assembly of Ancestrals broke into an uproar of shouting, at least those who either believed Adrien and Lily guilty or served Daniel. But Adrien also heard a lot of cheering as he broke Lily’s manacles.

He knew that even as he released Lily’s chains, some of the guards would return to do their duty. He had to get out of the Pit and get away now.

He took Josh in one arm and Lily in the next.

With the barest thought, he set them flying with his greatest speed ever, to his most secure residence in South Africa.

Within seconds, he stood in the living room, his astonished housekeeper staring at him as he held Josh and Lily in a tight embrace, mother and son weeping, the son finally enfolded within his mother’s arms.

CHAPTER 16

Lily led her son to the couch in the living room, then sat down and took him into her arms once more. Adrien moved into the hallway and she heard him on the phone talking to Gabriel and making arrangements to add to the security of the South African system.

She could be at ease now, at least where their safety was concerned, so she turned all her attention to her son.

She tried not to weep, but her tears escaped anyway, and she felt Josh’s emotions give way at the same time. For the next hour she let herself grieve and let Josh do the same, until finally they were both spent.

She reminded herself that this would be a long road, especially for Josh, so she reined in her emotions and focused on him, on what she felt coming from him, on what he was feeling.

There was a kind of blankness, almost an emptiness, as though the years of separation had robbed him of part of his personality, of who he was. And why wouldn’t they have?

At last he drew back and looked at her, his large hazel eyes a mirror of her own, but his nose and strong jawline like his father’s. “You were gone so long, Mom. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“Two years, sweetheart. But during most of that time, I didn’t know what happened to you. I didn’t even know you were alive.”

“You weren’t there, the night they came.”

“I was visiting my sister, your aunt, in Oregon when it happened. Do you remember? Can you tell me?” She wasn’t sure if the questions and timing were even appropriate, but she had to ask, had to know what he remembered so that she could help him.

He nodded. “The vampires came. I heard screaming.”

“From inside the house?”

“And from other houses. The next thing I knew, the vampires were in my room. One of them said, ‘Is this the one?’ The other nodded. They took me away. When I asked about Dad and Jessie, Mr. Kiernan said they were dead. He said you were alive, though, and that one day, if I was very good, I’d get to see you again. I tried to be good. I did. I guess I was good enough because here you are.”

“Oh, Josh.” She drew in another deep and much-needed breath. “Did you cry?”

“Yes,” he said slowly. “A lot at first. I don’t cry much anymore, except tonight, with you.”

He seemed so serious and maybe a thousand years old as he looked at her. “Did you cry, Mom?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Yes. Often. Every night for months and months. Oh, Josh, I can’t believe you’re here and I’m trying not to cry all over again.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m here, Mom. And I’m not going away. I’m here.”

Oh, God, her son was comforting her when she should be comforting him. She turned more fully toward him, so that she could pull her boy back into her arms. She held him for a long, long time, his thin arms holding her as well.

When Adrien appeared in the doorway, his expression solemn, she shifted to telepathy. Will Daniel come for us? Are we safe here? She had her son back and didn’t want to lose him again.

Daniel doesn’t matter now. He may come after us and if we have to, we’ll go into hiding as several of the Ancestrals have done. But Lily, I promise you, I’ll do whatever I need to do to protect you both.

Josh’s gaze shifted to look at Adrien as well. “Is this your home?”

Adrien nodded. “And yours and your mother’s as long as you need.”

Josh looked back at Lily. “I had someone with me, Mom, someone who took care of me. I think she might be in trouble, too.”

Lily smiled and squeezed his shoulder. “Tell us.”

“Her name is Claire. Mr. Kiernan called her my caregiver and she helped me a lot. We lived in a small house at the back of Mr. Kiernan’s property. I just hope she got away okay.”

“What do you mean?”

“She said she was going after a vampire named Lucian. She told me to be brave, then she left the house. I heard the dogs go after her, but I think she got away. She said she was going all the way to India to find this vampire.”

Lily stared at Adrien once more. Adrien opened his hands and shook his head. I have no idea what this means.

Josh put his finger on Lily’s single-chain beneath the double one. “Claire had a chain like this. She was wearing it when she left.”

“You mean it looked just like this one?” Lily held it up and Josh peered closely, examining it.

“Just like it. She said she got it from Mr. Kiernan’s safe.”

Lily’s brows rose. “Then she must be one clever young woman.”

“She is,” Josh said, smiling. “She’s a lot like you, Mom. You’d like her.”

“Oh, I have no doubt of that. She took care of you. For that, I owe her everything.”

He glanced at Adrien. “Do you think you could help her? I saw what you did when they tried to kill you. Claire told me a lot of things about vampires because she said she’s been around them for years. You have a lot of power. Could you help her?”

Adrien nodded. “I think I know where’s she’s headed. You see, Lucian, the one she’s after, is my brother.”

Josh’s eyes brightened. “He is? Then you can help her.”

“I’ll do what I can. I have powerful friends who can go to India and watch for her.”

Josh released a deep breath. “That would be great. I’m really worried.”

“I can see that.”

Lily understood then that her son had formed a critical bond with Claire, another mother–son relationship. She gave his shoulder another squeeze. “We’ll both do what we can to see that she’s watched over, to find out what happened to her.”

Tears filled his eyes. “Good.” He pressed his fingers to his eyelids. “She took care of me.”

“I know.”

Lily had to work all over again not to become enraged by all these circumstances that had brought so much pain into her son’s life. But once more, she took her emotions in hand. She could give vent to her feelings about the situation later. Right now, however, Josh needed her just to be his mother, to be there for him, to make him her priority for as long as needed.

She remained quiet, therefore, and let him deal with what he was feeling, in whatever way was necessary. That he wept again, this time probably for having lost Claire, didn’t surprise her.