Willow stared at the abandoned warehouse where Saber, Logan, and Asher stashed the Savages they caught. Years ago, Ronan bought and remodeled a prison to hold Savages. After she, Lucien, and the others disappeared, Ronan killed the Savages there and abandoned the facility. He said he couldn’t risk the prison being under surveillance; they were already taking that chance with the compound.
Willow hadn’t expected to have possession of the sword still, but so far, no one had taken it from her. Unfortunately, that was changing today. Her hand tightened on the hilt as she strode toward the warehouse with Declan, Ronan, Kadence, Saxon, Nathan, and Vicky.
They were still ten feet away from the sagging front door, with its broken windows, when Saber opened it and stepped aside to let them enter. Declan studied Saber standing stone-faced inside the warehouse. The man was as unreadable as always, but his cobalt eyes flickered with unease when they settled on the sword in Willow’s hand.
Despite its incredible power and usefulness to them, Declan had grown to dislike the thing too. But he suspected that was because Willow touched it whenever she got the chance.
It was a vital weapon to have, but it was a demon weapon, and he didn’t want it in her hands anymore. He was glad Ronan would most likely claim it as soon as he saw what it could do.
They’d decided to keep the knowledge of the sword’s ability to a minimum. It would be impossible to hide its power once it was used in a fight, but for now, very few knew it was anything more than a sword.
When they entered the warehouse, Willow took in the brick walls and busted out windows set up high in the walls. From years of neglect, the roof sagged, and chunks of brick had fallen from the walls. Overhead, the second floor was missing large pieces of wood flooring, and the rickety stairs across the way looked like the weight of a ghost would collapse them.
“This way,” Saber said and led them toward the back of the building.
Other than the cobwebs hanging from every nook and cranny, the building was empty of equipment or furniture. Beneath the musky scent of mildew, she detected the aroma of oil and wondered if this was once a garage or if it housed machinery.
They entered another room, which was a cavernous space with four, twenty-foot-tall garage doors. Willow rested the blade against her shoulder as the scent of oil and gas grew stronger, but the building remained empty.
They left the garage behind for a side office where Logan and Asher sat on a forgotten, dusty desk. Asher stopped drumming his fingers against the desk when they entered, and Logan stood.
Willow studied Logan as he walked over to another doorway. She was aware Declan was the one who turned him into a vampire, but this was the first time she was seeing him for more than a minute since becoming Declan’s mate. It was a little weird to know her mate’s blood changed another.
“We’ve got them chained up in there,” Saber said and waved at the doorway Logan stood beside.
Ronan held his hand out for the sword. “Let’s see what this thing can do.”
Willow hesitated before lifting it from her shoulder and placing the hilt on his palms. Feeling a little like Gollum with the ring, she almost snatched the sword back before Ronan’s fingers curled around it. She restrained herself by fisting her hands, but her teeth ground together as Ronan walked away with the sword.
It’s not mine, she reminded herself. Ronan would keep the sword safe, she didn’t doubt it, but she still wanted it back.
Sensing her frustration, Declan wrapped his arm around Willow’s waist and kissed her temple. He was glad to see the sword go, but he understood her emotions. He wouldn’t have been happy to hand over something he wanted either, but Ronan was their king, and he was stronger than Willow. The sword belonged in his hands.
They followed Ronan into the side room to discover two Savages chained to a brick wall. Willow wrinkled her nose against the stench of rot emanating from the prisoners. Dim light filtered through the windows, but unlike the rest of the windows she’d seen, these remained intact. However, the thick layer of grime coating them barely allowed any light to penetrate the room.
They spread out to watch as Ronan inspected the sword before looking at the Savages. Ronan pointed the blade at the tall Savage on the right. “Let him go.”
Kadence sucked in a breath as Saber strode over and released the chains. When the Savage spun on him, Saber punched it in the face. The blow staggered the creature back a few feet before it recovered and whirled on them. The Savage raced at them, and Ronan stepped forward to plunge the blade into its belly.
The creature’s eyes widened as it clawed at the blade, but it didn’t burst into ash. Willow’s shock vibrated against Declan, and she pulled away from him as Ronan placed his foot on the Savage’s belly and, shoving the creature back, ripped the blade from its gut. The sword whistled as it arced through the air and Ronan severed the Savage’s head from its body.
“I don’t understand,” Willow muttered as the head rolled across the floor to settle against the wall.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the blood dripping from the blade as it landed in soft patters on the ground. Beneath the blood, the blade shone, but that shine was duller.
Ronan turned toward them. “I thought you said this thing turned Savages to ash.”
“It does, or… it did,” Declan said in confusion.
He strode over to Ronan and held his hand out for the sword. Ronan gave it to him, and Declan turned the weapon over to inspect the jewel. He’d only held it a couple of times, but it looked and felt no different to him.
“Set the other one free,” he said to Saber.
Saber released the chains. Unlike his friend, this Savage decided that making a run for it was his best course of action. The vamp was halfway to the door when Declan swung the sword and severed its leg at midthigh.
The Savage howled as it fell to the ground, but the creature didn’t turn into ash. Instead, it crawled across the floor. The blade was the sharpest he’d ever seen, but a sharp blade wasn’t much of an advantage against the Savages and demons.
“How is that possible?” Willow asked. “I know what we saw the other night. I know what happened, and what I felt when I killed those Savages with it.”
Ice crept down Declan’s spine. He hadn’t felt anything when he held the sword, and Willow was the one who wielded the sword that night. He contemplated handing the sword back to Ronan and declaring it a fluke, but they couldn’t walk out of here without knowing the truth.
With a growing sense of dread, Declan turned to Willow and held the sword out to her. “You do it.”
Her eyes lit with joy, and she practically snatched the hilt from his hands. His dread was turning into a knot in his stomach. As she turned the blade in front of her, he swore the thing shone a little brighter.
A feeling of rightness stole through Willow as she gripped the sword once again. Ignoring her twinge of sympathy for the mutilated Savage, she walked over to it. Grasping the hilt in both hands, she drove it into the creature’s back. The jewel sparked, and its light flashed around the room before the vamp erupted into ash.
Silence followed before Asher breathed, “Holy shit.”
“That’s pretty much the consensus,” Declan muttered.
He did not like this one bit, but he couldn’t deny the sword had chosen her. She was a warrior who never quit fighting, so he could understand why, but what did it mean for her?
It meant she would have a bigger bullseye on her back. The demons and Savages would not tolerate them having this powerful of a weapon against them. If they discovered she was the only one who could wield it, they would come after her with everything they had.
But then, they already knew she was the only one who could harvest its true power. Derrick and the other Savages who survived their fight that night in the town had seen her use it, and they would have reported it to Kirkau.
“Fuck,” he hissed. “They know.”
“Who knows?” Willow asked.
“They know. The Savages and demons know you have the sword, and if the demons are aware of its power, they probably know only you can use it. They’re going to come after you with everything they have.”
“Oh shit,” Vicky whispered. “Willow, you have to get rid of that sword.”
“No!” she blurted.
“Fuck!” Declan bellowed as he spun and hit the wall with enough force that he dented the bricks and dust rained down on him.
His shoulders heaved as his eyes turned a fiery red, and color flooded his skin again. Willow lowered the sword to her side and hurried over to stand beside him while Ronan nudged Kadence out of the room and Nathan moved to stand protectively in front of Vicky.
“It’s okay,” Willow assured Declan as she rested her hand on his arm. “If they come for it, I’ll turn all their asses to ash too. We have something we can use against them, something they’ll be frightened of, and it will make them think twice before coming after me.”
“This puts a bullseye on your back,” he growled.
“I put a bullseye on my back when I joined the Alliance. It’s my choice to be here, and I’m going to do everything I can to stop these monsters from hurting more people and vampires. This sword belongs to me; I can feel it. I have no idea why it chose me, but it did, and I am going to protect it and use it to kill them.”
Declan tugged at his hair as he tried to get the volatile sway of his emotions under control. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his gaze to meet hers before crushing her against him. He would give anything to lock her securely away where no one could ever harm her again, but that was impossible. He could only do everything he could to keep her safe, and he would.
The color eased away from Declan as his body relaxed against hers and some of his hostility ebbed. When he finally released his death grip on her, Willow turned to find Ronan eyeing the sword before his gaze shifted to her and Declan.
“We’ll have to find a sheath to fit it so you can keep it strapped to you,” Ronan said.
“I… I can keep it?” she asked, still a little afraid someone might try to take it from her.
“It’s a lot more lethal in your hands than ours. Just don’t stab one of us with it.”
“I’m a little scared of nicking myself with it.” She regretted her words when Declan’s lips curled into a sneer that revealed his fangs.
“What exactly is that thing?” Logan asked.
“I don’t know,” Ronan said. “But I have a feeling we’ll find out.”