“Emperors’ blood,” the stranger said.

“Fuck!” Marcus hissed and aimed his gun back at Gabriel, ready to shoot.

Faster than her eyes could follow, Gabriel lunged at Marcus, kicking the gun from his hand as a scuffle ensued. Fists went flying in such rapid pace that it almost made her dizzy. Their movements were a blur to her eyes.

To her left she saw two men barreling toward them: Oliver and Amaury. Thomas was nowhere to be seen. Seeing them too, Dirk dove for her, his intent clear: he wanted to use her as a human shield. He slammed his body against hers, temporarily robbing her of her breath.

Shots rang out, and with horror she saw that the new guard was firing in Oliver’s and Amaury’s direction. Her heart stopped.

“No!” she screamed, praying that none of the bullets would hit Oliver.

Dirk whipped her around, dragging her toward the truck, preventing her from seeing what was happening to her rescuers. She struggled against him, kicking her foot into his shin, but it appeared that it made no difference to her attacker.

“Ursula, no!!!” she heard Oliver yell behind her just as another shot was fired.

“Fuck!” Dirk hissed under his breath, but continued dragging her toward the door of the truck. “We’re leaving, bitch!”

She turned her head as much as she could and saw Gabriel still fight with Marcus. The new guard was engaging Amaury in a fist fight, and Oliver was nowhere to be seen.

“No!” she wailed, anger and pain surging within her. Where was Oliver? She couldn’t allow her mind to continue her next thought. Instead, she acted on pure instinct.

When Dirk slammed her against the door of the truck and released her for a second to reach for the handle, she slipped her hand into her jacket pocket. She turned, glaring at him. “Of all the guards I hate you most!”

When he grinned, mocking her, she spit in this face.

Her action distracted him for a tiny moment, but it was all she needed: she rammed the stake into his chest. With satisfaction, she watched as he turned into dust before her eyes.

Behind him, Oliver emerged out of nowhere, gun drawn. He froze in his movement, jerking the gun to the side, away from her. He’d been about to shoot Dirk in the back.

He rushed to her, pulling her into his arms. By the time he released her, everything was quiet again. Her eyes searched the area where the fight had taken place. None of their enemies were left.

Gabriel and Amaury stood there, breathing a little heavier than before, but there was no scratch on them.

“And Thomas?” she asked, holding her breath.

“I’m here,” came Thomas’s voice from between two trucks. He emerged a second later. “Humans. They were approaching. I had to make sure they turned back, or they might have gotten killed.”

She nodded, relieved, then she felt Oliver shelve her chin and turn her face to make her look at him. “I’m so proud of you, Ursula.”

She tossed a glance at the spot where Dirk’s ashes had settled on the ground. “He was the one who taunted me every night.”

“Nobody will ever hurt you again,” Oliver promised and hugged her tightly. “Now let’s get the girls.”

Together with Oliver’s colleagues, they walked to the back of the truck. Amaury gripped the lever, opening the lock. Then he and Gabriel swung the double doors open.

It was dark inside, but Ursula heard silent gasps coming from the farthest end.

“Come out, you’re free,” Gabriel called into the truck, but nobody moved.

“They’re scared,” Ursula explained. Then she stepped up on a metal step to lift herself higher and addressed them in Chinese. “It’s me: Wei Ling. You’re safe, sisters. Come out, we’re going home.”

“Wei Ling,” she heard them reply. “Wei Ling came back for us.”

One-by-one, the women walked to the opening, looking first at her, then eyed the men behind her. “They’re our friends,” she assured them in Chinese.

The vampires helped the girls from the truck. When they’d all exited their temporary prison, they huddled around her. Ursula’s eyes searched for one girl in particular. “Lanfen,” she whispered. “Where are you?”

A hand touched her shoulder, and she turned.

“I’m here,” Lanfen answered.

Relief washed over her. “I thought you were gone.”

“I was sick,” Lanfen continued. “But I made it.”

They hugged, holding each other close. Tears shot to Ursula’s eyes.

“We’re going home,” she whispered again and allowed herself to cry in the bosom of her sisters.