Prologue
Talon
“Azara doesn’t want to be found, brother. I know it’s hard for you to hear, but she’s gone.” Hayden’s fingers closed around my shoulder, but I jerked free from his grasp. It wasn’t the first time in the last three months that he’d tried to force his angel healing—or pity, on me.
“You’re wrong,” I gritted out and continued to pace the length of the training room annex.
Hayden and Dallas exchanged a quick glance before returning their focused gazes to the blue glow of the computer monitors. “Come see for yourself,” said Dallas. “Video footage doesn’t lie. Her eyes, man… they’re two bottomless pools of black. She’s gone.”
“I don’t need to see it,” I growled. “Thax is manipulating her somehow, just like he did that night at the Fae club. Azara would never do something like that.”
Vander peeled himself off the wall and cleared his throat. He’d been so quiet I’d forgotten he was there at all. “You’re probably right, T. The Azara we knew would never have behaved with such little regard for lives—supernatural or otherwise, but it’s been months. This isn’t the first report we’ve gotten.” He took a step toward me, and I took one back. I didn’t need his coddling right now, what I needed was Azara. Steel bands wrapped around my lungs as her screams echoed in my mind. I rasped out a haggard breath, forcing air inside.
I’d failed her.
The pungent odor of smoke and burnt demon hides filled my nostrils. I squeezed my eyes shut, chasing away the vivid memories, but like every night, I was sucked into visions of the past.
“Azara!” I barreled through a frusta demon as flames licked up its webbed feet. Shoving the creature to the side, the slam of a door in the foyer caught my attention. “Azara!” I sniffed the air, but the scent of charred flesh blotted out her delicate scent; the honey and gardenias were too faint to discern.
I searched my gut for her presence, but only a gaping hole remained. Would I ever get used to the emptiness the broken blood bond had left? Tossing the useless thoughts aside, I darted toward the entryway. Azara had to be there. I couldn’t lose her now, not after everything we’d been through. I loved her, and I’d been stupid not to tell her sooner. When we got out of here, I’d spend every day telling—and every night showing her how much she meant to me.
“Talon!”
My heart lurched at the panic in Azara’s voice. “I’m coming!”
Two demons jumped in front of me, blocking my path. My talons lengthened, and I swiped my claw across the first bastard’s neck. Dark blood spewed out as his eyes widened for a second before they glassed over. His friend let out a shriek, and lowering its horned head, charged.
My wings snapped out and I leapt up, soaring right over the demon’s hairy head. Sucker. I landed in a crouch and took off toward the sound of Azara’s voice. Straining to hear, a faint rustle caught my attention again. I crept closer. It was definitely coming from the entrance closet.
“Talon!” Azara’s muffled cry sent rage coursing through my veins. I was going to rip Thax’s heart out and make his female warrior harem eat it for breakfast.
I rammed the closet door, and splintered wood and rusty hinges scattered across the floor. My eyes met Azara’s frightened ones, and my raging dragon clawed its way to the surface. He would make Thax suffer, and I’d let him. No one took what was ours. And Azara was ours.
Her hand reached out for me. She was inches from my grasp. I could feel her skin against my fingertips, her scent enveloping me as I lurched forward. And grabbed hold of nothing.
A black cloud wrapped around Azara and her bastard cousin, and they vanished.
Thax stole her right out of my fingertips. I failed her. Again.
The dark memories faded, and I was back in our mini SIA headquarters. Vander stood no more than a foot away from me, his concerned gaze boring into me.
“I’m fine,” I grunted and spun toward the door.
“No, you’re not.” His hand closed around my arm as he tried to stop me.
I shook free of him with ease. Vander may have been strong for a wolf, but he was nothing compared to my dragon. Things hadn’t been that great between us since Azara’s kidnapping and now wasn’t the time to test our tenuous relationship.
“T, wait.” Hayden’s chair scraped the floor with an irritating squeal as he jumped up after me. “You know what today is, right?”
A boulder-sized pit of dread sank to the bottom of my gut. Of course I knew. I’d been counting down the days since Azara reappeared on our radar. For nearly three months, there’d been no sight of her. We’d scoured the Underworld, but both she and Thax had vanished. Then a little over a week ago, one of Logan’s gargoyles stumbled upon a pile of demon carcasses—all devoid of souls. Up until that day, I was certain Thax had locked her up in a dungeon somewhere. With the warden’s help, I managed to convince Maxim, the director of the SIA, to give me a week to find Azara and bring her in on my terms.
Today was D-day. I hadn’t managed to find her, and the body count was only rising. Worse, the corpses weren’t only demons anymore. A variety of supernaturals had been found soulless, bearing Azara’s signature.
Gods, Azara, where are you? Please, answer me. I don’t care what you did. We’ll figure it out. Please, come home. For the thousandth time, I searched for her, but she never responded. For a time, the guys wanted me to consider the grim possibility that she was dead, but I’d never given up hope. Regardless of the broken bond, somehow, I knew she was alive.
“Talon?” Hayden waved his hand a few inches from my face.
“Of course I know.” Our mission was about to change from a search and rescue to a capture and kill.
“Maxim already contacted Logan this morning with a friendly reminder. He expects the three of us in the Underworld by mid-day. Our instructions are not to return until we have Azara in our possession—” He cut himself off.
“Dead or alive,” I snapped. “I know the drill, man.”
“How did you even convince Maxim to keep you on the assignment?” Vander asked.
“He owes me.” There was no way in hell I was sitting this one out. Azara was my responsibility. And I didn’t care what the director said, when I found her I’d deal with her in my own way. I didn’t care what it would cost me.
Dallas pressed the power button on his computer screen, and the video of Azara that I refused to watch disappeared. He stood, his expression somber. Seeing him without the typical smirk stretched across his face spoke volumes. My brothers had spent almost as many hours as I had scouring the supernatural and human realm for Azara these past months.
“T, speaking as a fellow drainer of sorts, and your brother, Hayden’s right. Whatever is going on with Azara right now is more powerful than she is. The demon’s taken over and her humanity has been buried deep beneath the surface. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like, and how it changes you. She may not be gone forever, but she’s gone for now. You have to accept the fact that when we find her—which we will, she may not be the same.”
A part of me knew what he was saying was true, but I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t. Now that we knew for certain Azara was alive, I’d tear the Underworld apart until I found her and dragged her soul-sucking ass back home.