The city of New Orleans was practically oozing with the stench of vampires, and Rayne and Jarrah had barely stepped foot in the trees on the outskirts of a gator infested river nearby. They both made sure to keep their eyes sharp on the town full of vampires and witches alike, blending with the food of their victims as they walk along unnoticed and unbothered.

Rayne eyed one vampire in particular, who was wiping the corner of his inner lip, his fang glittering in the moonlight. She frowned, hoping it wasn't a fresh kill, and moved closer to get a better look. If she saw a drained human or mystical creature, she swore she was going to—

"Rayne," Jarrah hissed, gripping her arm protectively. "Don't."

Rayne looked at her hand on her arm, ignored the tingles that shot up through her shoulder, and openly glared at him. "Why not? He could have killed someone!"

"We can't afford to be seen. We need to blend in and mask ourselves before we do anything irrational!"

That infuriated her further.

"So, what? You just want to wait up here until all of New Orleans is slaughtered?" she demanded.

"Do you want to go in blindly and get yourself slaughtered with them? What hope will you give your people then?" he asked, glaring at her. He moved his hand away from her arm. "I told your family I would look out for you by doing this. I won't let you hurt yourself just because you have no regard for your own safety."

She knew he was right.

Fuck, she knew she was being irrational. But it still didn't stop the urge to protect people she didn't know from those who lurked upon them down below. She would have to table the feelings for now and revisit them later. She had to finish what they started, and she can't very well protect her or Jarrah by just reacting.

So Rayne moved back instead, covering herself with the bushes. Jarrah breathed out a sigh of relief, which did strange things to the pit of her stomach. "What's the plan then?"

Jarrah nodded over to a location towards the middle of the square where a normal, Louisiana themed four-story building awaited. It looked beautiful with twisted vines, intricate metalwork, and crusted paint around the front of it. She thought she caught onto a slight shimmer, perhaps a glamor of some sort, around the front of it that was put there no doubt by witches who worked for Ambrosius. If the elixir were real, there was no doubt in her mind that it would be in the inconspicuous building.

"We need to get in there before nightfall tomorrow," he murmured. "It's too late for us right now. Their powers are strongest at night and we wouldn't last long in there."

"You want us to wait nine hours for the sun to come up?" Rayne hissed, incredulously.

Jarrah frowned at her. "Look, I don't like the idea any more than you do. But we don't have much of a choice right now. Besides, it'll give us time to find the translator."

"Translator?"

"Someone who can solve the riddle for us," he said, sighing under his breath.

"Won't we be seen?" she questioned, glancing down at their outfits. They would stick out like sore thumbs out there for sure.

Jarrah rubbed his hands together mischievously. Rayne almost smiled at that. "I can give us a glamour that'll blend us in, but it won't last all night. It'll last us long enough to find that witch and get us a place to sleep."

"So, five hours?" she asked, hopefully.

"Three at most," he admitted, lamely. "If anything goes wrong, I need enough energy to—"

"Save us?" she prompted.

"Save you," he corrected, offering her a crooked smile despite the circumstances they were speaking about. Her heart fluttered in her chest at the beautiful grin gracing his lips and her soul exploded within her body at the thought of him wanting to protect her.

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "I can take care of myself, King of Fae. I'm an alpha, remember?"

Soon—to—be alpha, but close enough.

Jarrah chuckled, his eyes gleaming with warmth. "I remember. Still doesn't change the fact that I'm going to protect you with everything in me."

Rayne's breath stuttered at that. She turned her head more to meet his steady eye, and there she saw something she had never seen before in all of her years of life. She saw something that she mirrored, something that anchored her and made her want to protect that king just as fiercely. Any vampire who so much as looked in his direction would be damned, and she'd see to it.

"And I'll protect you, with everything in me," she promised, holding his intense gaze.

It was true. She was going to hold true to that promise, no matter what it took.