Page 93 of Devoted

Nico’s entire demeanor changed, bleary eyes sharpening as he rose to his full height. My hands went clammy at the sudden shift, at how quickly the Draconi soldier locked back into place.

Nico’s full attention snapped to Valeria. “What did you say? A bruise?”

“It’s nothing,” she dismissed. “Barely the size of a mole on his neck. Could be a beauty mark of some kind.”

“What color is it?”

“Purple… or black.” She shrugged. “The healers checked the bodies over and said it was nothing. We need to…”

“Get everyone out of the villa and lock it down.” Nico sprang instantly into action, crossing to the sliders, scanning the sun-drenched trees outside. “Dante, get Emberline out of this building. Valeria, you, too.” He prowled smoothly to the hall entrance, peering down the long expanse, no sign of his injuries slowing him down. “Stay in the sun. Nobody goes alone; travel in groups of three, minimum. If someone doesn’t have magic, make sure they’re well-armed.”

For a second we stood frozen, and then…

“You heard him.” Valeria turned to Gia and her healers. “Tell everyone to get outside and stay in the sun. I’ll find you when we have this cleared up.” The three hurried off, white robes fluttering behind them. Valeria put her hands on her hips. “I’m not leaving my own godsdamned villa, Nico Draconi. Not without a good reason. Start talking.”

To her credit, she hadn’t asked any questions when we’d shown up, beaten to hell, pale-faced and sweating. She hadn’t even argued when I’d commandeered Gia to heal the burns all over Nico’s body.

I surreptitiously rechecked my knife sheath, then my boot for my extra blade, watching Nico roam along the perimeter of the room, searching behind furniture and in every corner, shadows pooling around his hands.

If we were evacuating, I needed to find Luca, but first…

“You’re freaking me out, Nico. What are you doing?” I whisper-shouted. “At least tell us what the bruise is all about.”

“The Drax feed on souls. Because of their bloodthirsty nature, they prefer to take their victims viciously, using their teeth and those mandibles to tear into flesh, devour their prey like the feral creatures they are. But sometimes…”

He paused in front of an enormous armoire, took a breath, then flung the doors open, my heart lurching up into my throat.

Nothing.

“There are times the Drax are more subtle, especially when they don’t want to be discovered. Then, when they steal your soul, they barely leave a mark behind at all. Something easily dismissed… unless you know what to look for.”

Oh gods…

“Only one small, indistinguishable bruise, about the size of a mole.”

“Fuuuuck,” Dante muttered, yanking me against him as Nico continued to move around the room, peering into every shadowed corner capable of hiding a creature.

Or a nest.

“Fuck, indeed. Somehow, my father snuck his little beasties onto this island, though I cannot for the life of me fathom how. That would take at least one Summoner, and they don’t exactly blend in.”

“What is a Drax? Or a Summoner? What are you talking about?” Valeria’s perfectly plucked eyebrows scrunched together, and she grabbed my arm, as if she needed something to hang onto. “And we’ve had no new employees in years. Everyone is vetted and loyal or at least paid well enough to stay loyal.”

“We, uhm… might have been keeping something from you,” I admitted in a hushed voice, not taking my attention off Nico. “To be fair, we never thought you’d see one.” Not exactly true, though I’d hoped none of us would see one ever again.

“They’re soul-sucking monsters hatched out by Blackwood that look like big, ugly spiders with no eyes and a whole lot of fucking teeth.”

There. Now the secret was out.

“Thanks for that visual.” Valeria shivered, skin pebbling. “So, you’re saying one of these things is inside the villa? How is that possible when the entire island is warded? If anything crossed through, we would have received an alert.”

Nico moved to the hallway, and we all followed him, bunched together like sheep.

“I’m not sure, but they’re here. And if we don’t find them, more people will die.”

“So, how do we kill them?” Valeria whispered, hanging onto my arm like I was a fucking life preserver. “I mean, we can kill them, right?”

“We can’t, but Nico can.”