Ava felt the bass downstairs push against her ribcage, solid where her blood flowed faster. Crouched in the corner, they sat beneath a flickering light that splashed soft red onto one side of his face. The seat was sticky, the wood creaking under them. The light buzzed low and unstable, ready to die any moment.
"You can't stay in Khavar," Liam said without preamble, "not after the king sends hunters personally."
Ava made her shoulders uncoil, fingers drumming impatiently on the picture. "If I run again, I'll be running forever. That's what they want. Keep us scattered. Afraid. Easy to pick off."
Sunlit eyes that glimmer when caught in the light of metal shifted toward the door as loud feet thundered past. A wild bunch of characters stumbled inside, roaring over some private joke. His gaze came back, calculating how many they were and how they acted then darted back to her face. Staying means you won't see another night sky. In that building over there, the one he nodded at, people always talk about peaceful days and quiet streets. Slogans on paper walls, soft words at meetings. Sacrifice? Actual wounds? Those words never stick around.
A flicker of teeth under her skin again. "They won't have to suffer. Not for now."
"Yeah, right." Liam snorted. "You will. Bridges don't stand without anchors, Ava. Someone's got to drown."
This made her blink hard, lowering her gaze to the picture. The grins on their faces had been getting stretched, molded by times she cannot touch. We never made that connection now you do the letter said. Those words from her mom felt like they were branded under her skin.
"I need names," she said softly. "Vampire elders who aren't all in for the king. Pack alphas who are sick of bowing down. Smugglers, fence runners, whoever moves in the dark and hates the crown more than they hate each other."
Liam slumped in the cracked seat with an arm draped over the edge like nothing was wrong but his scent told a different story. Wet trees after rain mingled with burnt paper still lingered on him, shadowed by something older, traces of wounds made in another life.
"Funny," he said lowly. "You asking me for faith when I was the one dragging you out of that shit-show behind the tombstones."
Out came her answer before he could finish - you hit the holy man right off.
"Blasphemy builds character."
Laughter held her up even when everything else tried to take her under. For a few moments, it felt like they were just two people waiting out a storm in a dive somewhere. Then came the glimmer of silver rounds—so real—and it was no longer a joke.
"Liam." She pressed a palm flat over the wrinkled letter. "They died for this. Hunters knocking at the door, my mother barely done writing...I can't pretend like I can just disappear."
His jaw clenched. "I was there, remember?" His voice roughened, quieter. "I followed the smoke. Your house… The whole street smelled like burning hair and holy oil. I found you half-buried under the rubble with their bodies on top of you like - " He cut himself off, shoulders knotting.
Her breath caught, mouth parched. For one second, walls wavered - fire leaping, wood cracking, her dad pushing her toward the hidden door below. Move fast, Ava. Never turn around. Still, she turned.
Liam cleared his throat. "You want names? I've got a few. But there's someone you need to see first. Neutral ground. No packs, no covens. Just deals."
"Who?"
"Orin," he said, like a word he didn't like the taste of. "Human. Information broker. Runs the Last Ember down by the old rail line."
Ava's brows lifted. "You trust a human?"
"I don't trust anyone," he said. "But Orin's allergic to ideology. Only believes in leverage and coin. That makes him predictable. Mostly."
A sudden snap cut through the air - broken glass rang out, then growls piled on top of shrieks. Her gaze jerked up at the noise. Past the stringed beads hanging between rooms, movement stirred inside the club, pressure building fast.
Out the booth he slid, already in motion. "Wait right here," Liam said
No way. Her hand closed around the strap of her bag before she stepped after him.
Light flashed wild across The Full Moon's packed floor. In the middle, two figures faced off, pulled into shapes that weren't quite human. One growled through bared teeth, fur bristling along his arms. The other hissed, skin pale under red-tinged irises. Glass shards lay scattered where something had broken moments before.
The wolf bared its teeth, voice low. You made me stumble, it accused, fingers twitching open and then shut.
A sharp reply came - "You reek of a soaked mutt dipped in bargain booze" - as crimson seeped from a gash on the vampire's face.
Fingers clutched at sleeves, mouths open with noise. A few voices rose, begging for stillness. Behind them, deeper throats roared for violence.
Every hair stood up when Ava sensed trouble coming. Just like before, someone would snap, shout louder, throw a punch - soon enough, blood pooled where people once walked. After that, armed patrols moved in, calling it peacekeeping. Inside her head played memories of what Dad used to tell - fires burning through narrow alleys, streets emptied by force, men hanged while officials called it order.
Liam stepped between them, broad shoulders blocking the view. "Enough. You want to shred each other, do it outside my bar and away from my liquor."
Fangs showed as he spoke. "Alpha, that one didn't honor me."
"And I'll disrespect you both if you don't back off," Liam replied, calm but edged with steel. "You're guests under truce. You break that, you answer to me."
Ava felt the weight of his stare before Liam did. A slow grin spread across the vampire's face when he saw her. "Look what we have here," he said, voice sharp. The air between them tightened. His eyes narrowed slightly. Not fear - but something colder - passed through his expression. "Back from hiding?" That old nickname slipped out like it had never been gone
A hush ran across people as if pushed by breeze. Heads swiveled, smells changed in air. Some felt fear. Others wondered what might come next. A sour note rose - dislike. Still, here and there, respect flickered quietly.
Ava held the vampire's gaze, spine stiff. "Good to see my reputation arrived before I did."
He laughed, sharp and cold. "There's a bounty on your head that could buy this whole block. If I were less civilized, I'd drag you to the palace myself."
A sharp breath came first - then the wolf leaned forward. Bounty? That caught his ear
A shiver ran through the room as Liam's strength surged forward, loud like a warning. If anyone dares lay a hand on her at my place, they won't walk out whole - he spoke so quietly the words shook deep. Understood?
Stillness first. After a pause, some nodded - reluctant agreement in low voices. The air eased. People broke apart, returning to corners and seats while the beat rose above whispers that didn't quite fade.
The vampire gave Ava a mocking half-bow. "Careful, Bridge. The higher you stand, the more pieces you make when you fall." He melted into the crowd.
A gasp slipped out - Ava hadn't noticed how tightly she was breathing. "Kind," she whispered under her tongue.
"Ulric," Liam said, watching the vampire disappear. "One of the king's leashed dogs. If he knows you're here…"
"Then the king will, soon enough." Ava's pulse steadied into something like resolve. "Which means we move tonight."
Liam cursed under his breath. "Orin's not going to like unexpected company at midnight."
"Orin can get over it," she said. "Because if a bounty that big is public knowledge, then the hunters aren't just coming for me. They're baiting everyone who might help me. That's not a manhunt, Liam. It's a purge in slow motion."
That night, for once, Liam stayed quiet. His gaze held hers - tight, steady - a flicker of hard-won regard tucked beneath the surface.
"Fine," he said. "We go to Orin. We get information. We find out who signed that bounty and how many knives are already pointed at your back."
A sliver of moon dipped low, hidden by thick clouds pressing against the dirty glass. The room felt heavier as shadows stretched across the sill.
"And then, Ava," he added quietly, "we decide who we're willing to burn to keep that bridge of yours standing."