Chapter 40

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Rhys was unable to fall asleep. He laid on his cot and watched Anna. He could barely see her sleeping figure past Huxley who slept in between the two of them. Rhys could not make out any of her features in the dark and damp basement, but he had to see her. He sat on the edge of his cot. He looked around to see that he was the only one awake.

It was hard to believe that it was only a few nights ago that they were sharing a bed in Ottawa. She had woken in a panic, and he was unaware of what had scared her so much. He assumed it was the thought of coming face-to-face with a Nightingale.

Sun slowly started to peer in through the small thin windows. He watched as Anna stirred in her sleep, clearly dreaming again. He had to fight the urge to rush over to her cot and hold her.

Huxley was the first one to wake up. He rolled onto his back and dug the heel of his palm into his eye. He raised a brow as he looked at Rhys.

"I'm flattered," he said before he yawned. "But did you really watch me sleep all night?"

Rhys rolled his eyes. "I just got up."

"If you are in love with me you can admit it," Huxley said. "There's no shame in that."

"If you keep it up I'm going to stake you," Rhys said.

"If you two don't shut up, I'm going to kill both of you," Calvin said.

Rhys turned to see that Calvin was curled up in a ball on his cot. He pulled his blanket over his head.

Rhys stood and stretched his arms over his head. He grabbed jeans and a flannel shirt out of his bag and went into the washroom to get changed. When he came out, Huxley was waiting outside the door with his own clothes in his hands.

Rhys walked back into the basement. He silently made his way in between the cots to the back of the room. Anna was thrashing and let out a soft whimper. Her brows were knit in worry and she was muttering something. He kneeled next to her cot. He reached out and brushed her hair off of her face and cupped the side of her cheek. She stopped moving for a moment before opening her eyes.

Anna sighed and pushed Rhys's hand off of her face. She dramatically rolled over onto her side to face away from Rhys. She pulled the blankets up and clutched them to her chest.

Gritting his teeth, Rhys got up and tossed his clothes on his bed before heading up the stairs.

Etienne was standing at the altar with half a dozen vampires surrounding a table. Etienne looked at Rhys and smirked as Rhys went up the three short steps.

"How nice of you to join us, Rhys," he said. "Welcome to our buffet."

Rhys stepped toward the table to see that it was littered with weapons. Crossbows, guns, machetes, and other knives were on display. Rhys picked up one of the guns and opened up the barrel to see that it was fully loaded.

"This is our second battle together," Etienne said to Rhys. "But the weaponry is much better this time around."

"What do you think the Nightingales will have?" one of the vampires asked.

"They typically carry crossbows and knives," Etienne said.

"They may bring some type of explosives," Rhys said. "They blew up one of our cars in the Yukon."

Etienne chuckled and Rhys glared.

"Each generation they keep getting smarter," Etienne said. "Jonathan will definitely be a worthy opponent."

"I call being the one to tear his head off," Rhys said. "That blond bastard will not know what hit him."

"You don't want him to suffer? That seems unlike you."

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