The Romanov's Pursuit (21 page)

“I know that now. How is Sydney?” Giovanni’s mate happened to be Nya’s last living descendant. Even though Adonis had wiped out most of her family, he’d left a handful of people to keep Nya in line. Nya was glad that Sydney had found someone as worthy as Giovanni to take care of her for all eternity.

“She’s doing great. She’d very much like to have a sit down with you and talk about the past. She’s a bit of a history buff.”

“I’d love that actually. You know, after my son, I never
made contact with any of my descendants. I didn’t think it was fair.”

“That’s understandable.”

“I had a dream about Adonis.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. It seemed so real. He apologized for everything he did and I saw all my family again. Adonis was watching over them. He was happy and so were they.”

“I’m glad you made peace with his memory. It took me a while to do the same myself but once I did, I was able to let go of the guilt and shame.”

“I know he would have wanted you to be happy.”

Giovanni smiled. “I believe that also.” He stood up then. “Well, like Christine, I should get going. I’ve been away from Sydney long enough. You take care of yourself and be happy.”

Nya nodded. “I will.”

Chapter Twenty

While Nya had a reunion with her two closest friends, Cutter and Blade convened in Steel’s study to discuss the problem at hand. Sasha and her family had already returned to the states with the condition that they would be kept in the loop concerning their problem with Grigori.

Blade realized they hadn’t heard the last of him or his companion who managed to escape as well. He had never been more frustrated in his life. More than anything he wanted to catch this bastard and make him pay for what he’d done to Nya. They could have lost her and all because of something their ancestors had done to his family, not to mention what they’d done to his mother. She might not have been the nicest of people and she was
partly
to blame for the troubles that had befallen them, but she was still their mother. No one deserved to die in that manner.
They’d gotten rid of her body said a prayer for her. There would be no
crossing
over
ceremony because it wasn’t possible without a soul. The ritual was done for warlocks and witches to assure that the soul made it safely to the next plane. Their mother would not get that kind of peace.

“So what do you propose our next move should be?”
Cutter asked?”

Steel raked his fingers through his hair and released a heavy sigh. “That’s hard to say considering we don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with. What we do know is that Grigori is extremely powerful and he’s using a type of magic that’s hard to combat. Sasha is the only one we know who can handle light magic but she’s still not quite adept at it and it may take her a while to completely master it.
Mother would have been of some use to us because she knew a little about the old family and could probably give us some information that we could use to combat him. Besides the witch who was with him we don’t even know if there are more out there like him.”

“Fuck!” Cutter cursed in frustration. “So there’s basically nothing we can do except wait for him to attack us again. No fucking way. We need to do something about it. Surely there are records of the Kozlovs, we can find out what their powers and weaknesses were. There has to be something about blood magic out there for us to use.”

Steel raised his brow in inquiry. “I hope you’re not suggesting we find blood magic spells for ourselves to use. “

Blade shook his head. “No that’s not what he meant. We have to lea
rn all we can about our enemy. How can we defeat him if we know nothing about him?”

“Wait…there is somethi
ng…” Steel paused to stroke his chin. “I remember something from a long time ago when we all thought blood magic was just a myth. I believe it was said that if someone is possessed by a user of blood magic, even with a cleanse, some remnants of the person remains.”

Blade’s blood chilled at the thought. Grigori had somehow taken possession of Nya’s will. “Does this mean that we should be worried about Nya?”

“Not necessarily. It could mean that she now has very limited magical abilities. Her precognition might be enhanced or she’ll be able to conjure simple spells with the right training. Only time will tell.”

Blade sighed. He could tell that Cutter was relieved to hear that as well. “Well as long as she’s no longer in danger.”

“We’re all
in
danger until Grigori
is take
n
out. I’m going to do some more research and
I’ll let you two know if and when I find anything new.
In the meantime, Sasha is working on her end to find out all that she can.”

“And we’ll do our part,” Cutter stated.

“Good, but at the moment, I think you both need to see your mate. She needs you the most right now. Go to her.” Steel smiled at them.

“You don’t have to tell us
twice
.
” Blade grinned back. Nya was the one light in this current crisis. He understood they would have a rough time ahead but for now, he wanted to share as m
any happy moments as he possibly
could with his mate.

<><><><><>

Ever since they’d returned home, Sasha had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach she couldn’
t quite shake. She had already taken the time to cleanse the residence of all her family and protect them from anything that Grigori might have in store. It was how she found herself on her son’s doorstep. Camryn, Jagger’s bloodmate answered on the first knock. The younger woman smiled and opened the door wide enough to allow her entrance. “Sasha, what are you doing here today?”

Sasha leaned over and gave
Camryn a kiss on both cheeks. “I came to see my son. Is he home?”

“Yes, he’s taking a shower. He should be out shortly. Is there anything I can get for you?” Camryn gestured to a chair for Sasha.

Sasha sat down with a slight smile on her face. “No thank you. I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

“I was just doing some research. I took a heavy course load to finish my d
octorate sooner rather than later and I’m paying for it. But your visit is a nice break.”

Sasha was quite pleased with Jagger’s bloodmate. She was smart as she was beautiful. Fate couldn’t have chosen a better partner
for
her son. The only thing that worried Sasha was that the young woman had chosen not to become immortal just yet. With Jagger being a hybrid, he could do a blood exchange with Camryn thus making her a vampire, which would give her the full powers of any other vampire a
s
she grew older. But there was also a ritual performed by witches and warlocks who mated with humans that would also grant immortality although said human would have no powers. Camryn being human was a
liability,
particularly when the Romanov’s were being targeted.

“That’s nice of you to say, dear. I’m very proud that you’ve decided to pursue your education further. You’re very young so you should fulfill all your dreams. When you’re immortal, you’ll be able to pursue many dreams.” Sasha eased into the topic that Camryn and Jagger avoided whenever she asked about it.

The smile
on Camryn’s face fell. “If you’re getting at why I haven’t chosen to be immortal yet then please stop. I know that in order to be with Jagger for as
long as forever is, I have to become like him
. But I have goals that I’d like to accomplish before I take that step. I just turned twenty-five. That’s not even half of a human life span. I just need some time to live as I am.”

“I see.” Sasha bit her tongue to hold back the lecture. She understood Camryn’s dilemma but her decision to delay the inevitable might come back to bite them all in the end. For the sake of peace, she kept her comments to herself. “Well, you know best, I’m sure.”

Camryn reached over and took Sasha’s hand. “Look, I know you’re concerned but I’ll be fine. Jagger looks out for me and I have a very powerful vampire family also guarding my safety.”

Sasha nodded. There
was
, of course,
that but vampires couldn’t combat the kind of blood magic that Grigori practiced. Again she decided to keep her thoughts to herself. There was no need to scare the young woman. “You’re right of course.”

Sasha’s agreement seemed to relax Camryn and the smile returned.

“Mother, I wasn’t expecting your visit
today.
” Jagger grinned as he entered the room. He walked over to her and placed a kiss on Sasha’s cheek.

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I would drop by.”

“Oh? You never randomly stop by. Is everything al
l right?”

Sasha didn’t want to say anything about the evil warlock while Camryn was in the room. The last thing she wanted was to worry the other woman.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t you think so?”

Jagger narrowed his gaze as he stared at her. He then turned to his mate. “Camryn, would you please excuse us for a moment? My mother and I have something to
discuss
regarding
the trip we recently took. I wouldn’t want to bore you with the tedium.”

Camryn shrugged. “If this is your way of getting rid of me, I get it. Important warlock and witch stuff.” She stood up and gave Jagger a quick peck on the lips. “I
’ll be in the other room if the two of you need me. Nice seeing you, Sasha.”

“Likewise.
” Sasha smiled at the young woman. “You should make her immortal very soon,” she said as soon as Camryn was out of earshot.”

Jagger sighed. “You’re not telling me anything new. But it’s her choice. I can’t force her to do it. She has to be ready.”

“I understand but what happened to Nya should be a cautionary tale. You saw the state we found Nya in and she is a vampire. Imagine if what was done to Nya was done to Camryn. She wouldn’t have survived the first slash of Grigori’s knife. I know you think I’m being overbearing or pushy on this matter but it’s for your own good. We haven’t seen the last of Grigori and when he comes back, he’ll be stronger than ever. Don’t leave it too long to change your mate.”

“I know. I’ll do my best to impress upo
n her the urgency of the matter but I can’t make her mind up for her. Is there something you’re not telling me, mother?”

“I’m not sure what it is but I have a premonition concerning you and I can’t shake. A storm is
coming
Jagger and I’m not sure how we’re going to stop it.”

<><><><><>

Grigori ripped paintings off the wall and threw anything that wasn’t tethered to the ground. He found it therapeutic to physically destroy the items rather than using his powers. This old abandoned house belonged to one of the
famil
ies
that had destroyed his.
He’d
since taken it as one of his bases. It would only be a temporary hideaway until he set up another residency. The R
omanovs weren’t as clueless as
he thought they’d be. He was certain they’d figure out where he was.

It pissed him off that he’d lost the upper hand. That vampire should have died, but he didn’t count on her will to live. And now because she was alive, she now
had
the ability to reach the spirit plane. It wasn’t something he’d intended. The good thing about
that
, however,
was that she was so ignorant of magic that she wouldn’t realize this was a power she now possessed. The stupid bitch would probably think her contact with spirits would simply be dreams.

Once he was finished tearing the room apart, Anya made an appearance. She’
d
been wise to stay out of his way while he’
d been on his rampage. Grigori was certain she was to blame for the Romanovs and their allies finding his lair. He still needed
her
however, now more than ever.

“Grigori, we will find a way to vanquish your enemies. They came with many but we’ll build and army. In the meantime, I believe
I
ha
ve
found
a weakness in the Romanov clan.” She sounded quite pleased with herself.

“Then tell me.”

“The hybrid. He might be quite powerful as you stated before
but
he’s vulnerable. And we’re going to exploit it. They won’t know what hit them.”

For the first time since his defeat at the hands of the Romanov family, he smiled. “Tell me more.”

<><><><><>

Nya was happy to reconnect with her friend again. Seeing Giovanni and Christine seemed to tie up the loose ends she’d had in her life. They had both come to mean a lot to her at different point
s
in her life. Giovanni had become a trusted friend and confidant who helped her through the ordeal of dealing with Adonis when he was going through his more erratic moods. Christine had been there to remind her that there was still goodness in a dark world. She was grateful to have both of them in her life and she would never take their friendships for granted again. She knew what they’d done to save her and it made her treasure
them
, even more,
to know there were people out there who were willing to lose life or limb to rescue her.

Unable to lay still anymore she climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. She intended to join her men once she was finished her toiletry.
Nya felt refreshed under the hot spray of the water. Her ordeal with Grigori was one of the most frightening ordeals she’d ever experienced, but thanks to Cutter Blade and her friends, she hoped that she wouldn’t see Grigori again
any time
soon. She
realized he would return but she would be ready for him
with her men by her side.

Nya was so deep in thought she didn’t hear when the shower curtain was pulled and too eager warlocks had joined her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt the press of soft lips on her back.

She turned around with a gasp. “Blade! Cutter!”