He was already sitting by the fire. My mind was in an internal struggle as I approached. What did he become an archaic? How could he have let the Saints trap him in Genesis City? It couldn't all be because of the plan. There must be a better reason.

He could have escaped with Brie. He could be free somewhere without the stupid halo on his nape.

If I asked now, he might give me an answer. But did I want to hear it?

He looked up, the fire reflected in his eyes.

"Are you somewhere safe?"

I nodded, looking at his face. If I'd be given the chance to read his mind, I would. But I could only rely on what I knew and what he was willing to share.

"Good." He leaned back and crossed his leg and clasped his hands together. "We need to plan your next move carefully. You can't stay here any longer, Aster. You have to get through a border as soon as possible."

"Not without Katz," I said, blinking away, taking the seat opposite him. "And not without Bella."

He sighed and shook his head, leaving his thoughts unspoken. "Have you been to Mertha's realms?"

"Once, in her dream. They're in this realm she calls the Fog."

"What do you know about it?"

"There's nothing there. Total darkness. The souls she keeps there..." I shivered. "They hunger for anything that breathes."

He slowly nodded, brows fused in a line. "I'm assuming you already know what you want to do?"

"I have Corey. He's quite important, isn't he?"

The scarred corner of his mouth twitched into a small smile. "He is." His eyes searched my face. "You'll exchange him for Katz and your familiar."

I shrugged.

"It's risky, Aster."

"It's time to take risks. Why don't you join us here?" His jaw tightened. As he thought of another lie to tell me, I sighed. "But I understand you're a man who doesn't enjoy taking risks. Do whatever you need to do in Genesis City. We'll do our best here in Exodus."

He nodded sharply and stood. "I have men watching the members of the Council. By now, everyone knows that Corey is missing. More Bishops should be on their way to Exodus to find him. If you think this is the best way to get Katz, I won't stop you." He walked toward me, holding my gaze. "But if anything happens, leave everything behind. Do you understand?"

"What does that mean?"

"Save yourself. Do whatever you need to survive. Don't bring any weight."

"Even an Omen?"

His eyes scoured my face. "Even an Omen."

"But you said we need her."

He turned away and walked to the white door. "She's not the only star out there."

***

Although he wasn't quite happy about the plan, Alistair agreed we needed Katz. I wasn't willing to risk my life crossing a border. Not that I was afraid, of course. I just wasn't completely convinced that I had to cross to the other side. No one could even tell me what awaited me in Old London. I only had the hope that Brie would be there. But what if it was worse? What if it was a trap?

To be honest, I was just going with the flow. Riding the waves, as they'd say. Surviving.

I barely knew who I was at that moment. Or what I was. Half the time, I was only thinking about blood. How I desperately needed more.

While Nalani ate her dinner, I looked away and swallowed hard. Her neck looked tempting. Every movement gave me a picture of blood rushing through her veins. Alistair caught my eye with a knowing smile.

"You have to master your urges before they control you," he told me, breaking the quiet that had fallen inside the small, shabby apartment unit. We had just finished discussing the plan to rescue Katz and Bellatrix and now were just waiting for the sun to set.

There were other vampires in the building, but they kept their distance. When we first arrived, I knew they knew who we were. Or who Alistair was. They disappeared inside their units or stepped away whenever he passed.

"Are you sure this belongs to a friend?" I had asked him when we arrived.

He didn't answer, which was enough for me to deduce that Klyne Alistair was feared wherever he went.

"How old is he?" I had asked Nalani while her brother went out to check the premises around the building.

Nalani smiled at me. "He's my brother. Just a few years older than me."

"You're lying."

She broke into a laugh. "Oh, well." She shrugged. "Much older. But I really consider him my brother. He's been around ever since I could remember."

"How long?"

One shoulder lifted in a shrug. "Give or take three-hundred?"

My eyes rounded. "He is practically your ancestor."

She laughed. "Men in our family do not marry. He is technically not an ancestor of anyone. He has no offspring."

"Are you okay?" Alistair's voice snapped me back to the present moment.

"Yes," I replied, looking away. "What time is it?"

He checked his watch. "Almost time."

Nodding, I raised my feet off the ground and lay on the beaten sofa I had been sitting on. I clasped my hands over my chest.

"Don't mess up," he said as I closed my eyes.

I heard his footsteps and the door closing.

"Everything's going to be fine," Nalani's cheerful voice said. "I'll be here when you wake up."

I took a deep breath and summoned Mertha Krall.

***

Mertha was sitting on the same bench, reading the same book, waiting for the same man. I waited out of sight, watched when the dream version of Felix Katz ran toward her the same way he did the last time. When they crossed the street to the cafe, I didn't interfere.

I waited, patiently hiding a couple of seats away.

They didn't talk much at first. They kept looking at each other. His eyes filled with love, hers longing.

"I missed you," Mertha said, reaching for his hand. "More than you know."

A small smile curved the corner of my mouth. I willed Katz to ask, "Then why are we the way we are now?"

The smile on her face was filled with something I had never seen before. Pain. Regret. Pride. "You wanted me to reach my dream."

The Katz in her dream shook his head. It wasn't me. His reaction was from Mertha's own inner thoughts. "You wanted to prove yourself."

"And I did. Look where I am now."

He looked at her and as he did, her clothes changed back into her flowy dress. "At what price?"

Her smile completely disappeared.

"Me, Mertha," Katz said, leaning away from the table, sliding his hand from under hers. "Us."

Mertha's eyes filled with tears. "You knew this was the only way."

Katz slowly nodded. "Yes. You wanted justice."

"And I got it. He's gone now."

"So am I." Katz smiled at her. "Worse, you trapped me in darkness."

"You gave me no choice. You're working against the society. How much are they paying you? What do you get from this?"

Katz's laughter echoed around the cafe, offering no answer because Mertha didn't have the answer. Her dream Katz was as clueless as her.

"What do you plan to do now?" I made Katz ask.

There was a long pause. "I don't know."

That might be the truest statement I heard from Mertha. She sounded helpless, that for a moment I wondered if she was staying with the society because of loyalty or her own selfish reasons.

"I don't know if I can trust you." She looked around the cafe, frowning. "I don't know if I can trust this dream."

Finally, her eyes landed on me. I smiled and sighed. "Took you long enough."

Her eyes shook with fury. "Where have you gone, Aster? What have you done? Where's Cedric?"

"I was taken," I told her.

"You expect me to believe that?" Her eyes flashed with panic when I flicked my finger and Katz disappeared. When they returned to me, they were sharp as knives. "You've been working with Felix behind our backs."

I sighed. "I had no choice."

"The society has been nothing but good to you, Aster. They made you an Astral. Do you know what it takes to be one? The sacrifices we had to make to get what the Council has carelessly given you?"

I stared at the seat Katz was sitting in earlier. "I can only imagine." My eyes searched hers. "Because I would never sacrifice those I love for anything."

Mertha jumped to her feet. "You think you know me after what you saw in this dream? You know nothing."

I shrugged and looked around. "Maybe. But I can feel dreams. I know every emotion that creates it. Yours is filled with anger. A desire for vengeance. You thought becoming an Astral will give you that, but you realized too late it's not what you're looking for. You found no justice in it. And now you feel trapped. You've given your life to the society, yet you cannot feel the love that you should feel from those you serve." I looked into her eyes and smiled as her face drained of color. "You have let it go a long time ago. Love. It wasn't enough, was it? At that time when your heart was filled with anger? You thought it made you weak." I took a lungful of air. "Your dream stinks of bitterness and regret. You're trapping Katz in your realm, not because he betrayed the society. You're trapping him there because it's your last attempt to take back what you lost. But you don't know how because you're slowly losing him again to the hungry souls that live in the darkness of the Fog. You're bound to the society. To your pride as an Astral. You've lost him and you can't accept it."

She walked toward me, lips curled in a wintry smile. She looked around the café. "I wonder how much of this dream is also yours. The quaint feeling of nostalgia in this place must feel like home to you. Brings back memories, too? Your mother, your father...your sister. Those you've lost and still desperately want to get back?" The smile disappeared, replaced by cold fury. "I live with my loss every day, but I also relish in what I have gained. It's you who cannot live with what you've lost."

I stiffened. "They were taken from me. Unlike you, I did nothing."

"Or maybe you didn't do enough."

"Stop provoking me, woman," I told her, taking a step back. "I've dealt with the likes of you before."

"Oh, yes. I know. I've heard enough about you from Brenna. She knows her family history more than anything. And from what I gathered, you were nothing but a spoiled rich witch. You've always thought you were great simply because you could create dreams and nightmares. But in reality, you had no one. You were living in a fantasy of your own making, ignorant of what people around you actually thought of you—young, naïve, and selfish."

"You know nothing about my life."

"You were the two-hundred-year-old artifact inside a research facility. What do you think had we been doing while you slept? Watch? We tried to learn everything about you. The life you led, trust me, was nothing fascinating."

I forced out a laugh. "You truly think so?"

"You were a failure like your sister. She did nothing but wait for you to wake up. She achieved nothing."

I could kill her now. I could put a hole under her feet and drop her in ice cold water until her eyes turned red and her lungs exploded. But killing Mertha would mean closing the doors to her realms.

So what else could I do? Step back and smile. Let her waste time.

I took Katz's seat and sipped his coffee while Mertha stared at me with blazing eyes. "Get me out of here now," she ordered. "Aster!"

"I like this dream of yours," I said, ignoring her outburst. "I agree. It's quite nostalgic. But it's not my memories that I feel here. It's all yours."

"Tell me where Cedric Corey is or I swear to God you'll never see your familiar again."

"My familiar will find her way back to me. She always has. I just want Katz, really." I tilted my head to the side. "Surely, you cannot let those souls suck the life out of him." Her eyes faltered. "Unlike me, you can't control your realms." I flicked a finger and snow started falling outside the window. "You can only tame and soothe the souls to an extent. But not their hungry for him." When she didn't say a word, I grinned. "So here's a proposal: hand over Katz and my familiar and I'll give you back Cedric Corey."

She contemplated my offer for a while.

"Take your time. I can wait," I taunted. "We can also summon his mother here, if you wish. I'm sure she'll agree that having her son back is more important than your former lover and a fox."

To my surprise, she asked, "Where should we make the exchange?"

A smile slowly curled my lips. "You'll wake up to it."

She froze. "What do you mean?"

"My feral friends are traveling to your destination as we speak. And as the clock strikes twelve and we all fall in deep slumber, your body will be moved somewhere." My smile grew as fear flashed in her eyes. "Fret not, they handle Astrals with great care."