“If you can let go of your boy toy, perhaps we can get inside.” Doran’s voice was icy cold and it snapped my eyes to him. Blaz curled his head around, his voice loud enough that everyone heard what he had to say.

Doran, you are being a jealous prick. Liam’s soul resides in Faris and it is pulling on her. So suck it up and put on your big boy panties.

Doran’s jaw dropped and Berget leaned around him to look at Faris. “That explains what I’ve been feeling.”

I pointed again at the door, this time with one of my swords. Just in case anyone wanted to argue. “Inside.”

They filed in, Faris and I last. And the bastard took advantage of it.

“Just once, without him,” he said, slamming the door closed while we were still on the roof.

He spun me around and his lips were on mine, kissing me hard, ferocious and hungry for something I couldn’t give him. I jammed the handle of my sword into his sternum, knocking the wind out of him. “Shit, not today, Faris.”

He grinned at me, totally unrepentant. “You kissed me back, that’s all I wanted. You want me too, Tracker. Remember that.”

I flushed, the heat rising fast under my skin. I flung the door open and was tempted to slam it shut behind me. But not with Liam out there. Fuck, this was messed up.

We congregated in the library, the place we gravitated to when things got shaky. So pretty much every day we were here.

A silence hung as we looked at one another. I strode to the table and grabbed an empty wine decanter. “Deanna, would you rinse this out for me?”

She raised her eyebrows but took the decanter and left the room.

“Look, I don’t want anyone else getting sick. So whether you like it or not, you’re all getting some of my blood. And I mean everyone.” At least the vampires wouldn’t mind. I wasn’t worried about that.

Wrong.

“You can’t be weak right now,” Doran said.

Faris nodded his agreement. “He’s right. All of us could die, and it wouldn’t matter. As long as you make it to Orion.”

“Fucking hell it matters to me!” I slammed my hands on the table, the reverberation stinging my palms. “I will not stand by while my family dies off if I can do something about it. Something simple.”

Deanna came back and handed me the wine decanter, sparkling and clean. I put it on the table. “Anyone have any good reason for me to not do this?”

Doran held up his hands. “Just wait a minute. You’re rushing things and that’s when you get ass deep in trouble. What else are we dealing with here? Anything? You have any number of supernaturals coming for your blood. You can’t be left alone. Ever. And you are planning to leave again, aren’t you?”

“I have to find the Destroyer. She is the final key to facing Orion.”

Berget stepped forward, her eyes clear and focused. “I’m going with Rylee. I’ll watch out for her.”

Doran’s eyes flicked over Berget. “The problem is that while your parents very well may be subdued at the moment, how long will it last this time? How do you know they don’t want to kill her and are biding their time?”

Her lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears. “You don’t know. But I do. They understand finally that if I die, they are truly gone. If I walk into the sun, it won’t just be my soul that crosses the veil, but theirs too.”

I put an arm across her shoulders. “I trust her, Doran.”

“I can’t. And I can’t go with you.” Now his eyes went to Faris. “And you? What do you want from her this time?”

Faris gave a roll of his shoulders, slumping into a chair. He sprawled his legs out in front of him, so relaxed I would have thought he was completely unbothered by the fact he almost died.

“I want to keep her safe.”

Doran snorted. “And I’m the queen of England.”

Faris spread his hands in front of him. “What can I say that will convince you?”

“Tell them about Liam,” I said quietly.

His jaw twitching, he stared at me and I stared back. “It’s none of their business.”

“It will convince Doran that you have nothing but my best interest at heart and you aren’t just trying to get your fangs into me again.” I tightened my grip on Berget.

Faris flexed his jaw and finally, he spoke. “I seem to be carrying the wolf’s soul somehow. And he is . . . influencing me when it comes to Rylee.”

I kept my mouth shut. Faris’s secrets were his to share in his own time, if he wanted to.

“This has something to do with your arm, doesn’t it?” Doran leaned toward Faris who squirmed in his seat.

“Yes.”

“I told you not to attempt it. I told you something like this would happen,” Doran bit out, then scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Fine. If Liam is with Faris, then I trust him to look after you.”

I cleared my throat. “There is one other problem. When I Track now, the demons can pinpoint me. I’m hoping someone might know a way to throw the fuckers off.”

Will let out a laugh, reminding me he was there. “Nothing is going to go right with you involved, is it?”

I shrugged. “Really, no one here should be surprised that shit just keeps getting tougher. That’s the way the world rolls.”

Alex let out a jaw-cracking yawn and lay at my feet. “Blocking demons, Rylee needs to hide. Wear a costume.” After dispensing his advice, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. A slow hissing of air escaping his back-end had me and Berget putting distance between him and us.