PIPER’S HEAD BOUNCED against the hard floor of the vehicle. She moaned as she came awake with another thud. Even after blinking her eyes open, she couldn’t see anything. Some sort of bag covered her head.

“Whatever you do, keep your aura tight,” whispered a familiar deep bass. Her body relaxed a fraction.

“Cain?”

“Yes, milady. Keep yourself under control. Do not expose what you are.”

Bang. Bang. Bang. “Hey, shut the hell up back there,” screamed another man from further off, possibly the driver. He banged his fist against the sidewall.

Piper thought of the steel box and she captured her aura mentally, locking it tight behind her mental shields.

“Good girl,” Cain whispered beside her. “I can’t sense you at all.”

Thunk. “Ugh.” Cain coughed and wheezed.

“I said, shut the hell up, you monster.” This time, the other male sounded closer. Not the driver, the passenger. So there were at least two other people in the vehicle—a van, if she had to guess by the way she was able to stretch out. Her hands and feet were bound. Luckily, nothing was over her mouth. Wherever they were headed, her captors didn’t care if she screamed, which meant there would be no one around to hear her cries for help.

Her heart pounded in her ears and she tried to control her panic the way her mother had taught her. No one lives if they lose control.

Her body ached, but being tackled by men will do that. None of them had hit her or tried to kill her the way they had done to Nicholas. She would never be able to get that image out of her head. The sword of the enemy emerging from the center of his chest, the way his blood trickled out, then spurted when the sword retracted. She could still feel his weight, as he fell over on her for support, and see the life leave his eyes.

Such a good man, such an asset to the Olympian world, forever gone. It broke her heart.

Piper was a healer. Her sole purpose in this world was to make people better, take away their pain, and make them right again. To watch someone she cared about die in front of her went against everything she believed in.

It was her gut instinct to reach over and heal him. For a split second, she gave it everything she had.

Then she stopped.

Nicholas died because of her. It wouldn’t have taken long to heal the knife wound, but she stopped herself. He wasn’t dead when she crawled to his body and put her hands on his chest.

She knew better than to reveal herself to the enemy. To use her powers to heal, she had to open her aura. Even the slightest crack would’ve tipped off her attackers. Keona warned her. Her sister had told her to keep her aura on lockdown and she had.

Nicholas died in her arms, knowing full well that she could’ve saved him. His blood was on her hands forever.

“I wonder if they’ll bring in the Prophet to see this one?” one of the men asked, his voice high and nasally.

“I hope not. That dude freaks me out,” answered his counterpart, a man who bore the effects of too much smoking. His voice was raspy and he stank of the habit.

“You’ve seen him?”

“Yeah, I caught a glance, you know. They keep him locked up tight.”

“So, if you’ve seen him, then answer me this: What is he?”

The van took a corner, pushing her body up against someone else. Cain. “Listen close, Princess.” His voice was barely a sound, but she heard him.

“They say he’s an experiment gone wrong. He used to be an Olympian, a shape shifter of sorts. He could transform into one of those big lizard things. He didn’t like his powers, thought they were useless, and when the chance came to sign up for this experimental program, he was first in line. They injected him with demon blood all over his body, like a weird transfusion thing.”

“Doesn’t Prince Ashton use demon blood?”

“Yeah, but not like this, though. They nearly replaced all this dude’s blood with a demon’s. The first time a demon materialized in this realm, everyone was shocked as shit. He didn’t last long, though. The second time they called one from Hades, they were smart enough to cut off one of its limbs and keep it.”

“You mean to tell me, they pump this guy up with all this demon blood and it turned him into a monster?”

“Oh, he’s a certified freak. Part Olympian, part demon, and scary as hell. He bows to Ashton, but that sonofabitch didn’t want to take orders from anyone so they locked him up. He got to that girl in Texas, the one that’s mated to the Master Thracian. They say he has a taste for flesh.”

“Gross.”

“Go tell him that.”

A cell phone went off, a horrible 80s song for the ring tone. “Yes, sir?”

Piper couldn’t hear the whole conversation, but she picked up on one word: teleporter.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Piper whispered so softly that sound barely escaped her mouth. If the men were distracted by a phone call, maybe she could get some answers.

Cain would hear; his Thracian senses picked up on everything. “No.”

“How did they catch you?”

“I let them.”

“Why?” She almost screamed at him. If her legs weren’t bound, she would’ve kicked him for being foolish.

“I knew they’d caught you.”

Her heart nearly shattered. “They’ll kill you, Cain, or worse.”

“Then I shall die doing my damnedest to protect you.”

Piper cried again. He’d doomed himself for her, Nicholas had died because of her; who else would pay the price of her existence? What about her sister? Where was Keona? What had Ashton done to her that she couldn’t telepathically connect to her sister? They’d always had a bond as twins, no matter the distance or circumstances.

The thought of Keona being dead had her entire body shaking with fear. No, I would feel it. I would know. Had she gone to the Haven? Had Ashton found her too? Had she and Evander escaped somehow?

The van sailed over a bump and sent Piper crashing into Cain, their heads colliding.

“Ugh,” Cain groaned, and the warm copper scent of blood hit her nose.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay, you’re closer now.” He leaned forward until she could feel his head right next to hers through the bags. “No matter what happens to me, you keep that aura of yours closed. Don’t heal, don’t let down your guard, and no matter what they do to me, you keep your mouth shut. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“You’re a Divine Grace. Once Ashton knows that, he will want you for himself. You do what it takes to get out in public, then make a scene, use your powers, something the Castilles’ tracker will notice.”

“Why? They hate my family.”

“Hayden Castille is your Prince, the man who visits you in your dreams. Keona confirmed my suspicions. You do what it takes to make sure Ashton gets you in public and you draw attention. They will come for you.”

The van came to a stop and Piper held her breath. Would they separate her from Cain? Would they kill him? They started driving again.

“I’m scared.”

“I know, Princess. Fear not. The gods will protect you if I cannot. We may be traveling a distance. Rest while you can.”

Rest? Rest? Was he insane? They were being kidnapped and he wanted her to take a nap?

Unfortunately, Cain was right. Piper’s body ached as they drove and drove. She needed to use the bathroom, but she controlled her body’s response and made her bladder calm down.

“He said we have to cross here at this time,” said the guy with the high-pitched voice after hours of silence.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. He texted me the location and which way to go through.”

Cross? Go through? Where were they going? Were they crossing the border into Canada? Mexico? She didn’t know which direction they were heading. Who was guiding them? It had to be Ashton Avondale.

“Are you sure about this, man?”

“Look, stop being a baby. They said it would be taken care of.”

Piper snuggled closer to Cain. “Should I scream?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It won’t matter.”

For the first time in her life, she was without her sister, without her guardian. Cain might have been right beside her, but she was truly alone. To keep her aura under control meant no mental communication with her twin.

She hung on to the only ray of hope she had in this situation.

Hayden.

Hayden.

Hayden.