"Maddox Ramsay Kincaid," Madeline hissed, her hand gripping his elbow like a claw.

"Hey, mom," he forced his most charming smile down at his mother, trying to placate the anger bubbling just under the surface. "God, you look beautiful tonight."

It didn't work. Maybe it would have worked if he could stand without losing his balance or could speak without a slur.

She reached into his jacket pocket and took the flask, opened it, and sniffed. Her eyes flashed dangerously, before they and the grip on his arm softened. She tilted her head to the side and guided him to a side hall. She pushed him down on a bench next to the washrooms and sat next to him. "Okay, honey," she said gently. "Maybe you should go home."

"No, no, mom," he shook his head. "This is your night! I can't leave."

Her hand squeezed his. "I am not going to pretend that things haven't been hard on you for the last little while. You have been so strong, helping Rhia with her breakup, and your accident, and now all this business with the dragonkin, and Nova-"

"Please, don't..." his voice quaked.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He couldn't listen to one more person tell him that Nova was just a dog. She was more than that... she was his partner. His fiancé. His mate. She wasn't supposed to die. And when he got the news directly from her superior's mouth... all they had been worried about was their damn non-disclosures. He hadn't even been allowed to go to her real funeral. She didn't have any other family. She had been alone at the very end.

He wanted to finish what she started. He could have done it. But Atticus... that fucking bastard... he turned his nose up at him just because he was a human. Goddamn elitist ancients.

"I know how important Nova was to you."

"Mom, please... I love you, but you have no idea how..."

"Honey, I know you two were dating."

He lifted his head off the wall and stared at her, his mouth falling open. "How?"

A knowing smile crossed her lips. "You were not as subtle as you think you were."

The pressure of emotions started to build again. "I miss her, mom."

"I know," Tears were building in her eyes too. "I wish we could have met properly. I know how happy she made you."

They sat together for a few minutes while Maddox struggled to get his emotions and his nausea under control. It made sense now, but he'd always been so jealous of Rhia's ability to drink more than seemed physically possible while he was a chronic puker anytime he picked up the bottle. "Go back to the party." He sighed. "I bet people are looking for you."

"No, you need me more right now."

"I'm okay." She rose her eyebrow at him. "Okay, I'm not, but I can get it together for tonight."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call you a cab? You don't have to be here."

"Yeah, I do." He sighed and smiled at her. "What kind of son would I be if I wasn't here to support you on the most important night of the year?"

"I'm a mom," she scolded him gently. "Nothing is more important to me than my kids."

He nodded, knowing better than to argue with her on that one. If there was an award for the world's best mom, she would have been nominated time and time again. She more than made up for Richard's lackluster attempts at being a parent.

Oh shit, Richard.

If Madeline knew that Nova was a shifter, there was no way in hell that Richard didn't know. But he never said a thing. The same man who refused to let him have friends that might have ancient blood didn't say anything about his partner being a shifter. What did that mean? It had to mean something, but his head was swimming bad enough that he couldn't focus on what it was trying to tell him.

"Sweetie?" Madeline's worried face brought him back. "I really think you should go home. You've had way too much to drink."

He shook his head, stopping almost as quickly. "I'm just going to splash some water on my face." he muttered. "I'll be out in a minute."

She frowned. "Okay. But, please, no more alcohol tonight."

"Deal."

She stood up and walked back towards the event. It took an effort for him to get off the bench and stumble into the bathroom and into a stall where he promptly threw up every drop of alcohol. Somehow, Jager always did taste better coming up the other way.

He heard the bathroom door open. Shit, shit, shit, he swore to himself. It would not look good for the host if someone caught her son completely drunk barely an hour into the event. He stood perfectly still and quiet, hoping the person would just go away. He heard someone laugh. "Don't tell me you've passed out, man."

Maddox almost ripped the door to the stall off. He would recognize that voice anywhere, but he did not believe for a second that he was here. But there he stood. Christian Churchill leaned casually against the sink, his arms crossed over his chest and a cocky smirk plastered across his face. "What the fu-" He couldn't be seeing this. This had to be a hallucination. Church was still in the hospital with a big-ass crater in his chest! "How are you..."

"Here? Alive?" Church chuckled. "Dude, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. I have seen some crazy shit in the last two days."

Maddox leaned against the wall heavily, blocking Church from seeing his hand creeping to his waistband for his gun. Something was wrong. Really wrong. "Okay," he said slowly. "Like what? And what are you doing here?"

Church's eyes danced with excitement. "I'll show you." he looked like he could barely hold back. "You just need to come with me."

"Where?"

"I can't tell you. You have to trust me on this."

Maddox would have laughed if every hair on the back of his neck wasn't standing on end. Trust Church? He barely trusted Church before what he did to Rhia. He was rash. Impulsive. He treated the job like it was his own personal power trip. The number of times internal affairs had come to Maddox about Church was enough to make anyone think he was a rat.

Church sensed his hesitation and laughed again. "Your dad said you'd be suspicious."

Maddox's eyes narrowed further. "My father?"

"Dude, would you relax? He's not here, he's not going to show his face when the Counsel's dogs are here." He snickered at his own bad shifter joke. He glanced at his watch and straightened up sharply. "Shit, we're running out of time. Look, long-story-short; Richard and Captain Landon are a part of a government operation to study the Ancients. They want to bring us in, but we have to go... like... now."

Holy shit. He was right. He was fucking right!

"Landon's alive?"

"No, he's dead as a goddamn doornail, thanks to those bastards. Richard and I vouched for you, Maddox, don't make us look like idiots. Are you in or not?"

"I'm in."

As he said it, the entire building trembled and the lights above them flickered. "Then we've got to go. Keep up."

Church pulled open the bathroom door, leading him out to the hall. "What about my mom?" Maddox hesitated.

"It's been taken care of, let's go!"

Maddox chased after Church, praying to every and any god out there that Rhia would be safe with Nolan and Atticus.

~

Run!

RUN!!!

A voice in Rhia's head screamed at her to run. She wasn't sure if it was through the link or her last shred of rational thought. But her body wouldn't move. She stared up at the dark elf. She recognized him. Not just from the dark realm at the mall. Memories that haunted her dreams since she was a child. Memories from before... memories from when she belonged.

Before he took it from her.

It was him.

All of this was his fault!

Anger flared inside her so suddenly, she didn't have the chance to try and stop the fire from blasting out from her palms. Bright red flames and a heat so intense it distorted the air around her. It felt like a warm breeze to her, comforting and encouraging her as she got to her feet and met the elf's eyes. She suddenly knew exactly why half his face was covered in burn scars. She would not stop at his face this time.

A wide, cruel smile spread across his face. "Ah, ah, ah," he scolded. "You don't want to hurt your friend here, do you?"

He tilted his head to Juniper's unconscious form.

Rhia did not look away from him. This was her magic. Her power. She had control. No, she did not want to hurt Juniper. And she wouldn't. She would burn down the entire forest, the whole fucking city, and she wouldn't hurt a soul except for him.

The elf sighed, pulled a pistol from his belt, and aimed the muzzle at Juniper's head. "Let's try this again." He sighed dramatically. "Put out the flames, or I empty the clip in her skull. Do you really think even a dragonkin can survive that?"

The need to protect Juniper gnawed at her anger. Oh, how she wanted to destroy this fucker... but... damnit he was right!

The flames retreated and started to flicker out. "What do you want?" she snarled, barely recognizing her own voice.

"So many things," The elf cackled. "War, destruction, the heads of the dragons mounted on my wall. You know, it really is the simple things in life that make a man happy, Rhiannon. But, for now, I want to introduce myself." He dipped in a dramatic bow, keeping the gun trained on Juniper. "Zenith Shadowblade, at your service."

Gun fire suddenly rang out behind Rhia. They were too close. Screams followed the shots. She whirled around, her stomach clenching painfully. Her mom... her brother... Nolan, Atticus, Zesstra... fuck, she was even worried for Constantine.

A prick in her neck brought her back to Zenith. Pain washed through her veins, followed by a cold, numbing feeling. He withdrew the needle, chuckling as she stumbled against a tree. "You really should be more worried about yourself." The matter-of-fact way he spoke was somehow even more terrifying than everything else she had seen thus far.

Rhia sucked in a gasp and clawed at her neck. Her legs finally started working, and she stumbled through the trees back towards the event hall. She was fucked. She was so fucked. She needed her fire, but it didn't come. For fuck's sake, she'd been burning things left and right for the last few days, it had been there five seconds ago, why wouldn't it come to her now?

"Where are you going, little dragon?" she heard Zenith sang after her. "You can't escape from me. Not this time."

Fear doused her like a bucket of ice water. She needed to get away. She needed... She needed Nolan... he would protect her.

She broke through the trees in time for her legs to go numb. It was getting hard to breathe. Her eyes widened at the scene before her. Soldiers dressed head to toe in black armour. They stood at the doors to the event hall, preventing anyone from getting in or out. Helicopters buzzed overhead and a bright spotlight landed on her. "Nolan," she tried to scream, but her voice was reduced to a barely audible squeak. "Help..."

Juniper landed in a heap beside her. Zenith must have dragged her out of the woods. He knelt down to brush the hair out of her eyes. The look of cruel excitement was more terrifying than anything she ever seen before. "I have waited so long for this."

"Please..." she fought against the fear in her voice. "I don't want to die."

"No, no, of course you don't, Rhiannon." He whispered almost tenderly, stroking her cheek softly. "But you will."

A handful of the soldiers suddenly appeared, and Zenith backed up to speak to them. His words were muted by the unmistakable sound of a dragonkin roar. Rhia knew that sound. A second later, the all-too familiar form of Dáithí in his full serpent glory exploded from the darkness and landed among the army of soldiers, crushing some, scattering the rest. With a flick of his tail, the entrance to the hall was cleared, and he turned his furious attention to Rhia.

Zenith barked out a laugh and raised his hand to the sky. "Not this time."

Instead of any magic, a harpoon was fired from one of the helicopters. It struck Dáithí in the side near his back leg and exploded. He stumbled, his sandy eyes widening in shock and pain before flaring in rage. Another shot, hitting the same spot as before. Instead of detonating it, the helicopter rose suddenly. The chain connecting them to the serpent went taught and jerked him sideways. Several soldiers ran forward, dropping to their knees in well-practiced motions, and aimed what looked like small cannons at Dáithí. Three earth-shaking shots later, and he was tangled in the net of chains. He let out a roar, and spikes of earth shot up. The attack was wild, and most of them missed their targets.

More gunfire, rapid bursts of automatic weapons, followed by slower, singular shots from the other side. A chorus of violent snarling rang out across the yard. A line of glowing red eyes mixed with a pack of various animals joined the fray. The vampires and the shifters had arrived.

A tiny spark of hope came to life when she saw him. Nolan. His eyes were such a bright, angry red, he stood out over the others. His face was contorted so his fangs were fully descended and visible. Next to him was Constantine, who'd dropped the glamour and mirrored his second-in-command's rage. Using the spires of rock from Dáithí's magic for cover, they were coming for her. Both vampires had their eyes on Zenith.

The elf's cackling laugh rang out over everything. "Nolan Wes!" he shouted. "What a pleasant surprise! How long has it been, old friend?!" His arm wrapped around her waist and dragged her to her feet. His other hand wrapped around her throat and forced her to look towards Nolan and Constantine. "Look at him." Zenith hissed gleefully in her ear. "I want you to see the look on his face when I take everything from him again."

Again? What did he mean?

She found Nolan's eyes. She could already see the fear building in his eyes. A fresh new wave of anger rose inside her. She would not be some damsel in distress. She would not be another problem on his plate! She survived this elf, not once but twice. She survived the heritage tests. She punched Constantine in the face and lived to tell the tale. She came out the other side of Church's relentless abuse. She was going to fight to the fucking end because that's what she did! Fight!

Her body was completely numb, but she could see her fingers flexing and contorting into black claws. She swung her hand up and behind her at his face. A cry of pain and anguish told her she found her target, and he released her.

She managed to take a few wobbly steps forward before a new soldier appeared in front of her to grab her. She went for his throat. Her teeth had turned into fangs and sliced through the armour easily. Warm blood flooded her mouth, and a scream rang in her ears. The soldier shoved her off and she collapsed again. She met Zenith's eyes once again. Three deep scratches raked over the unmarred side of his face and bright red blood streamed down his face.

A sound she could only describe as a screaming roar ripped from her throat. It sent a ripple of her power across the yard. The soldier she had bitten shrieked as her saliva turned to acid and began to eat away at his flesh. She heard an echo of other dragonkin answering her call and a jumble of voices washed through her mind. One voice stood out from the rest. She knew that voice, though not who it belonged to. "Fight, Rhiannon!" It shouted. The voice was full of so much pride and encouragement she couldn't help but smile.

Zenith did not share her smile. In fact, every drop of amusement had drained from his eyes and the cruel smirk had left his face. He stared down at her and she let go of the last shred of control of her glamour. He was going to know exactly who he was up against.

The soldiers were retreating back to form a thick wall of weapons aimed on Nolan and the other advancing Ancients. Another soldier gripped her wrists and pulled them roughly behind her back, binding them with cuffs made from some heavy material. Her body was too numb to respond to her commands.

She kept her eyes entirely focused on Zenith as he took hold of one of the lines. Out of her rage and overwhelming power, she made her first link. "I'm going to kill you." She promised.

"Get in line." he snarled back.

Once again, she was dragged to her feet, and once again she was shoved into the arms of the elf. With a jerk of movement and her stomach bottoming out, they were lifted into the air. The pilots were wasting no time and were already turning away from the fight and lifting higher before they were anywhere near the cabin.

She caught sight of Nolan again. He was surrounded by dead or unconscious soldiers. He'd relieved one of them of their gun and had it aimed directly up at them. His eyes were no longer red. They glowed blue in response to her power. Arches of blue lightning danced off his body and lashed out at any enemy that came near him.

She hoped he would shoot. She didn't even care if she died, as long as this bastard died too!

But he didn't.

A moment later, he turned the weapon on the remaining soldiers and fired into them. A column of fire erupted too close to him. The remaining transport aircrafts took off. Heavy missiles were released from their cradles and propelled towards the warzone.

No... He wouldn't survive that...

"A damn pity I couldn't kill him myself." Zenith muttered more to himself than to her. "But I suppose this will do."

She screamed and desperately wished her body would respond. She was handed off to someone in the cabin. Juniper and Dáithí, back in his human skin, were unconscious on the floor, bound in the same heavy cuffs she was.

The night was suddenly illuminated by an impossibly white stream of magic lifting high above the event hall. As she watched, it spread out to wrap around the whole area, blocking her view of the carnage. Missiles detonated against the magic, sending ripples of pink and red through it.

It was the last thing she saw before the doors were slammed shut and she was tossed to the floor with the others.

~

Shots rang out in carefully trained spurts as the line of heavily armored humanoids advanced. The smell of gunpowder, confusion, and fear drenched the air while a high-pitched buzz pierced through each and every dragonkin on the compound. Keoni dove for the cover of the building and flattened his back against the bricks. Once again, he tested the link, but he was met only by the buzz, a sharp pain to his temples, and an uncomfortable lack of responses.

They, whoever they were, had found a way to block the link. And not just the link. He hadn't been able to shift. None of them could.

He didn't have time to contemplate how or when this technology had been designed. He had to focus on the evacuation. An evacuation not a single kin had ever thought of preparing for. Why would they have needed to? Who in their right minds would ever assault the compounds?

The answer was simple. The same people who attacked Nekros and Phoenix and Rhiannon all those years ago. Something else they should have learned from that terrible night.