More than Truth (Arcane Crossbreeds) by Amanda Vyne Page A

the absence of his morals. Had he gotten so far from his humanity that he no longer mourned the loss of human life? How many lives had he taken in the past two days? In the past, he hadn’t given much consideration to what he’d done in the name of survival. Why was he suffering from such introspection now? Was it the promise of seeing her again that made him measure his humanity?
    Vin mentally shook himself. Now was no time to search for elusive compassion—not when he would need to operate without it to free Dr. Mahoney.
    He followed the Guardians into the room. A lab—no surprise there. He noticed the equipment was state-of-the-art as he stepped forward, not bothering to acknowledge the silent retreat of his guards or the hiss of the door shutting and locking. Moving deeper into the lab, he inspected the counters. Drawing in a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes and turned to study the lab closer.
    She had been here. Her scent was faint—old—maybe a day or two. As frail as the trace of her was, he still paced through the lab, drawing it in, savoring it. It had been years since he’d been this close to her. Years . A pulse of energy reverberated through him, expanding in his chest, burning down his arm. Inhaling another deep draught of her scent, he ran his hand down his right arm in an instinctual bid to ease his dragon. It rarely roused these days, and he preferred it that way. The spirit of his dragon was fire and instinct when what Vin needed was calculation and intelligence.
    As he slowly passed through, it didn’t appear as though any of the equipment had been used. Every surface was immaculate, the gleam of metal and glass begging for touch. His fingertips tingled with the draw. Science was his obsession; the siren’s call of the next great discovery had held him for so many years. Yet the blood that beat through his heart was Drachon. The call of his people had pulsed so much heavier in him. Until Dr. Mahoney.
    Vin stopped his advance at the back of the lab where a door lay open, and stared into the darkened room. A small living suite was attached to the lab. A large chair upholstered in deep red fabric was angled in one corner next to a tall chest of drawers. Against the opposite wall was a bed carefully draped in a thick brown-and-red comforter. Another door was ajar, and he could just make out the shine of tile on the floor. He didn’t cross the threshold because he scented the same faint thread of her essence in that room.
    Vin glanced back into the lab with a frown.
    Dr. Mahoney had been held in this unit but had never touched any of the equipment. What then had she done in here? Why was she no longer here? It was her brilliant mind, her incomparable ability to process genetics that made her so valuable to the Triumvirate, and this lab was obviously as cutting edge as it could get. Why move her?
    Vin turned and walked slowly back through the lab, inspecting it with a more precise eye. The far wall was dark but glossy with a mirrored surface. Obviously masking an observation deck. Casting a considering glance at the cameras on the ceiling, he circled the lab counter and approached that wall. A stool was turned over on the floor. He crouched down and laid his hand on a cool metal rung, glaring up at that glossy wall.
    She’d been forcefully removed from the room.
    “Where is she?” Vin demanded coolly, his gaze focused on that wall. They’d escorted him straight to this room, and he knew he was being watched. Someone was watching him.
    There was a muted click, and the wall flooded with light, offering a clear view into an adjacent lab that sat several feet higher. A man stood in that room, draped in a white lab coat, arms crossed over his chest. The eyes behind the silver rims of his glasses were dark and small as he stared down his nose at Vin. They were beady, soulless. His thin, frayed hair was pulled back and held at the nape of his neck. A pleased, oily smile curved his tiny mouth.
    Vin was