“Crap,” Cassie breathed, forced to concede defeat as she rushed to catch up to his long strides.

She had no choice but to trust that Salvatore would do everything possible to rescue Caine from his feral madness. And if he couldn’t . . . She grimly squared her shoulders. She would make sure that Caine was protected.

She kept that thought in the forefront of her mind as they reached the mansion and the matching Pharaoh twins appeared to open the French doors.

They passed through a sitting room with a blue and silver decor and she had a brief impression of delicately carved furniture along with a large crystal chandelier that was reflected in ornately framed mirrors before they were entering a long marble hallway that held an unmistakable scent of female Weres.

“Are my sisters here?”

“Darcy is currently with Styx, but Harley and Regan are here.” Salvatore sent her a searching gaze. “They’re anxious to meet you.”

Cassie understood their desire. She truly did. There was a part of her that would never be complete until she was reunited with her twins.

But there was another part, a weak, cowardly part, that wasn’t prepared for the emotional meeting.

“Perhaps after Caine is recovered,” she hedged.

Salvatore shifted Caine on his shoulder as they passed by Grecian statues set in shallow alcoves and high, arched windows that overlooked the vast parkland.

“There’s no need to be afraid,” he assured her. “They already love you.”

She hunched a defensive shoulder. They might love her, but would they be able to accept her?

She wasn’t . . . normal. Okay, with Caine’s constant encouragement she was becoming more comfortable with the baffling rules of society. But she would never be able to easily mix with others. Not when she was plagued by her visions.

Besides, being a seer was a dangerous business. She’d been hunted from the day she was born. She would never willingly place her family in such constant danger.

“I’ve been alone a very long time,” she said, her gaze lingering on Caine’s limp body, her heart twisting with a savage fear. “Until Caine.”

Salvatore nodded, almost as if he understood. “Caine found you in the caves?”

“He did more than find me,” she corrected. “He gave his life to rescue me from the demon lord.”

A dark brow arched. “So he truly did die?”

She gave a somber nod. How many times would Caine be forced to suffer for her?

“Yes.”

As if sensing her surge of raw regret, Salvatore reached out to lightly touch her cheek, his power a soothing force as it flowed through her.

“I’m going to take good care of him, cara, I promise.”

She gave a small nod, but before she could respond there was the unmistakable sound of running footsteps and, with a dizzying speed, two female Weres pounced out of a side hallway and wrapped her in a fierce embrace.

“I’m Harley,” one of the females said, her heart-shaped face as delicately carved as Cassie’s but with large hazel eyes that were thickly lashed. Her golden blond hair was left free to tumble down her shoulders and her petite frame covered by a loose kimono that hinted at her growing baby bump.

“And I’m Regan.” The other claimed Cassie’s attention. She looked remarkably similar to Harley, except her golden blond hair was longer and pulled into a tight braid and her eyes were more green than hazel. She was casually dressed in a stretchy T-shirt and yoga pants, and there was a sheen of sweat on her delicate face, as if she’d been in the middle of exercising.

The two were laughing and crying at the same time as they bombarded a dazed Cassie with overlapping questions.

“How did you get here?”

“Are you hungry?”

“How long will you stay?”

“What about a shower? Do you need—”

“Wait.” Cassie battled her way free of the clinging arms, her focus trained on Salvatore as he attempted to slip away unnoticed. “Where are you taking him?”

Busted, Salvatore had no choice but to halt and meet her suspicious glare. “I have to get him locked in a room before he wakes up.”

“Fine.” She planted her hands on her hips. “I want to be with him.”

“No.”

Moving to his side, Harley sent her mate a chiding frown. “Salvatore.”

The king heaved a rasping sigh, his golden gaze remaining trained on Cassie. “I’ll try to use my powers as king to connect with Caine, but since he’s never truly been a part of a pack I don’t know if I can control him.”

“And if you can’t?” Cassie pressed.

“My methods will have to become . . .” He broke off with a grimace.

Cassie tilted her chin. “Tell me.”

“Messier.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. She wasn’t stupid. Messier meant bloodier. “No. Absolutely not.”

The golden eyes flared with a drowning power. “Do you want him back or not?”

“Please, Cassandra,” Harley softly pleaded. “You can trust Salvatore. I swear that Caine is in good hands.”

Cassie reached out a helpless hand, her heart breaking. “He needs me.”

Harley wrapped an arm around her shoulders while Regan wrapped another around her waist.

“And you’ll be there for him once he’s conscious,” Regan assured her.

“But . . .”

“What would Caine want you to do, Cassandra?” Salvatore overrode her in stern tones. “Watch him while he is at his weakest or go with your sisters and regain your strength?”

Her jaw clenched at his devious cunning. They all knew precisely what Caine would want and Salvatore was using that knowledge as a weapon against her. Unfortunately, his Machiavellian tactics worked.

“Fine,” she grudgingly muttered. “I will give you until dawn. Not a minute longer.”

The golden eyes narrowed, but before Salvatore could remind her that he was not only her brother-in-law, but her king as well, her sisters were herding her down the marble staircase.

“Come with us,” Harley muttered.

The Dark Lord’s prison

Gaius assumed his prayer that the merciless light and heat would put an end to his misery had been miraculously answered.

He had, after all, been burned to a crisp. Quite literally.

Not even a vampire could come back from such utter ruin.

But like a damned Phoenix rising from the ashes, his body began to regenerate, the slow process nearly as painful as the original destruction.

Merda.

Would this never end?

It seemed not, he decided, rolling onto his back and at last forcing open his newly healed eyes.

Only to see . . . what?

Baffled, he studied the sickly yellow sky spread above him. Where were the choking white mists that had surrounded him? The impenetrable fog?

Had he actually died and resurrected in a hell dimension?

The vague hope lasted only long enough for a massive power to smash into him, the scent of burning sulfur filling the air.

“Gaius, rise,” an all-too-familiar voice commanded.

He didn’t try and fight the compulsion to push himself to his feet. Why bother? If he didn’t do as he was ordered, then he’d be forced to obey.

In the most painful way possible.

Still weakened from his intimate brush with death and the effort of regenerating, it took Gaius several tries before he was able to stand upright. Once certain his knees would hold his weight, he took a brief glance around, astonished by the dramatic change to his surroundings.

With the mists seared away, presumably by the same nuclear energy that had melted him into a puddle of goo, the landscape was revealed in all its bleak glory. Drenched in the same sickly yellow as the sky, the flat ground stretched toward the distant horizon, occasionally dotted with the skeletal remains of dead trees and small pools of noxious water.

He shuddered. Not long ago he would have sworn that nothing could be worse than the nasty fog.

Yet another example of “being careful what you wish for,” he wryly accepted.

Speaking of which . . .

Unable to put off the inevitable any longer, Gaius at last turned his reluctant gaze toward the source of the pulsing power that seemed to be strengthening with every passing moment.

He wasn’t sure what he expected. A column of pure, searing light. Or a towering ten-foot monster with massive fangs. Perhaps a creature beyond his comprehension.

Instead, he discovered that the delicate female body remained, currently covered by a black satin robe, as did the long, raven hair that floated on the faint breeze and the guileless blue eyes that held hints of crimson fire.

It was only when the Dark Lord took a step forward that he realized there was a translucent outline that flickered around the human form. He frowned, studying the odd halo. The head looked vaguely like a lion, although larger and far more terrifying than the real beast. And the body was a muscular human shape that was neither male nor female.

Was that the Gemini?

And if it was, why was it still no more than a shadow?

The questions were driven from his mind as the Dark Lord lifted a hand and her blistering power wrapped around him.