The walk to the Crest manor had become more familiar to Vail than it should ever have been. He might have been able to make the trip with his eyes closed. Despite knowing how terrible his judgment was in growing so fond of a human, he was surprised how little regret he felt. He was still concerned that his secret visits with Victoria might lead to his death, but the worry was miniscule compared with his desire to see her again. Even though he knew he couldn’t stay long—he couldn’t risk being discovered by a Saint—he hoped they would have some time to speak. He wanted to know why she hadn’t contacted him in four days.

Moving as briskly as he could manage without looking too out of place among the other people on the streets that night, he made quick work of the trip to the Crest estate. As he neared the iron gates, he slowed his step, keeping watch for movement on the other side. He could still smell the metallic stink of silver coming from somewhere within the private grounds, but it wasn’t as strong as he would have expected for a group of hunters as large as Victoria had described. Regardless, he kept his guard up and proceeded with caution as he slipped inside. He didn’t know all the traps the Saints used to kill his kind, so he wasn’t going to let them catch him unaware.

Now came the challenging part: getting inside the manor. Having only visited the Crest’s grand ballroom, he had no idea how the rest of the building was laid out nor where Victoria’s room was. It wasn’t like he could simply waltz inside and explore the manor with trial and error either. If he wanted to find her, he was going to have to be clever about it.

Trying to come up with another plan, he snuck closer to the massive house, hoping an idea would come to him if he looked it over more thoroughly. However, as he did, a passing breeze made him pause. It carried Victoria’s scent, but it certainly wasn’t coming from the inside of the building. He turned toward the woods. It seemed like her smell was coming from the summer house where they had met before. He must have gotten lucky this time.

Changing course, he skirted around the edge of the manor to head into the trees, hastening his pace as soon as he was out of sight from the windows. Though he traveled faster, he still kept alert for any unusual scents or movements just in case there were any members of the Order guarding this part of the estate. Fortunately, he didn’t notice anything strange. He wondered if that meant the Lady was alone. There didn’t seemed to be any other humans around from what he could tell.

Eventually, he could see the lodge up ahead but something seemed off about it. There were no lights on in the windows. He slowed to a stop, confused by the scene before him. He was certain that this was where Victoria’s scent was coming from, but it looked like no one was inside. His eyes darted over the grounds with new caution. Was it a trap arranged by the Saints? Perhaps they had taken an article of her clothing to lure him away from the manor, where they could kill him in secret.

Unnerved, he took a step back, ready to turn around and go back the way he’d came, but then wavered as something else caught his attention. Looking a little closer, he thought he could see someone laying in the grass. A chill shot up his spine as he realized it was Victoria. Was she injured? He couldn’t smell blood, but perhaps she’d fallen and twisted her ankle.

Without giving it another thought, he hurried over to her side and knelt down in the leaves. “Victoria, are you alright?” he asked in a quiet voice, resting his hand on her shoulders. He could feel her tremble in the cold. Her body felt cooler than usual too, and he wondered how long she had been lying there. Worried she might be hypothermic, he lifted her off the ground and carefully swept her up into his arms to carry her into the summer house, where she might be able to warm up.