1. Flee—Evangeline
“You okay?” Caden asked, concern pouring from his beautiful jade eyes as he gazed down at me, my head nestled in his lap. His index finger lazily traced the contours of my face, his pattern gentle, repetitive. Conflicting waves of calm and excitement rippled through me.
Finally … with Caden. I smiled shyly up at him from my resting place, my body curled across three seats of Viggo’s private jet, welcoming the abrupt turn of events with open arms. Fewer than twelve hours ago, I was consumed by desperation, swarmed by a dark magic, terrified of what my life would become. Only days ago, I was exiled in the most isolated part of the world with little hope that I would see his beautiful smile outside of distant memories ever again. Now I lay, alternating between unconsciousness and splendor, quietly memorizing Caden’s perfect lips and scattered chestnut brown hair, still in shock that he was here, with me, on Earth. And he hadn’t tried to kill me.
I reached up with tentative fingers to touch the patch of gauze on my neck. My body was still weak, recuperating from the loss of blood. Every time I tried to sit upright, purple and black swirls filled my vision and vomit blossomed into my throat. Damn, that psychotic Rachel went down with a fight …
A vertical line formed between Caden’s eyes. “Hey … talk to me.”
“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” I finally whispered, grimacing as a sharp pain speared my left eardrum. “My ears are popping.”
As if in response, the jet’s engine rumbled loudly, signaling a distinct shift in speed and altitude. Caden leaned down to plant a chaste kiss on my cheek. “We’ll be landing soon,” he murmured softly in my good ear, nuzzling his nose against my lobe, sending shivers to the tips of my toes.
I curled my hand around Caden’s broad shoulder as leverage to pull myself up, hoping I could handle the vertical position for more than ten seconds without vomiting or passing out. “Has she told us where we’re going yet?” I slid my feet off the seat to touch the floor next to Max. The werebeast was stretched out on the floor, by my side.
“No, she hasn’t,” Sofie answered for him in her silky French accent, smoothly swooping in to take the now-vacant spot next to me. She stared fixedly at my neck wound, as if she could see through the bandage with x-ray vision. I wouldn’t be surprised if half my neck was missing, recalling the viciousness of Rachel’s bite. Worse, Sofie couldn’t heal me. It had something to do with the Tribe’s magic that coursed through my veins. Toxic magic—poisonous to vampires, counteractive to witch magic. Technically, my body was now a weapon. An impermeable contaminated weapon that couldn’t be healed and could not be turned into an immortal. At least the poison was contained …
Either way, I could tell by the angry glint in Sofie’s eyes that her not being able to fix me was driving her insane. For eighteen years, she had lingered quietly in the shadows—guarding over me, plotting and scheming against any potential threats to my being. My own slightly overbearing maternal vampire sorceress. Arguably, her involvement in my life had caused more harm than good. She didn’t intend for any of it, I knew that. And though she had cursed me, she had tested every limit to protect me since then. I could be angry with her for all of this. I could despise her. But then I wouldn’t have met Caden …
“Are you going to tell us soon?” I pressed, though it didn’t matter where we were going, I thought, as I gave Caden’s hand a tight squeeze. He was with me. For today, for tomorrow, for however long before the impending war and my certain death if I couldn’t rid myself of this magic … I heaved a resigned sigh. It hadn’t sunk in yet …
Sofie’s full red lips pressed together tightly as she stared off, deep in thought, as if she had reconciled herself to a decision but was not pleased with it.
“We do have somewhere safe to go … right?” I asked hesitantly. Now that it was clear the Sentinel and the witches had aligned for the destruction of the vampire species, “somewhere safe” might not exist.
Sofie sighed and nodded reluctantly. “Yes, there is one place that should be fairly safe, though … it’s not the best place to go. It’s not comfortable. I just don’t …”
“Paris!” Viggo cut in, sounding annoyed by Sofie’s waffling. “The outskirts of it.”
I looked to where the two-thousand-year-old vampire sat cross-legged in a row of seats behind me, his suit perfectly pressed, his expression unruffled. A small wooden box rested on his lap, held casually in his manicured grasp. There was nothing casual about it, though. That box held Veronique’s pendant, my noose until not long ago, and the key to her release. Viggo would take this plane and everyone down with him before parting with it again.
Viggo’s unsettling icy blue eyes analyzed me, scrutinized my face. He was likely trying to read my emotions. Vampires could do that. When used on a human, it bordered on mind-reading, made easier when the subject was a human who wears her emotions like an apron—as I tended to do. I fought against the urge to flinch under his gaze. So unfriendly, so cold. Not surprising. He was a psychopath, after all. Less than a day ago, he would gladly have killed me to get what he wanted. In fact, that was his plan. Now, though, for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t trying to kill me. He had basically ignored me since I’d woken up in his jet. I was more than fine with that.
“What’s in Paris?” I forced out the question and self-consciously smoothed out my sweater and jeans, silently thanking Amelie for switching clothes with me earlier. Even cocooned within a navy wool blanket, I was constantly fidgeting, checking to see that I wasn’t exposing myself to Viggo and Mortimer. After an hour of watching me fret, Amelie had all but dragged me back to the jet’s only bedroom to swap clothes, insisting I was a prude. Of course the risqué Tribal outfit didn’t bother her. She could strut unfazed down a catwalk in front of a million gawkers in nothing but a thin layer of mud. And upon her return to the main cabin, she certainly did strut … all the way back to Julian’s side. Other than an occasional furtive glance down at a smattering of my dried blood on the material, Amelie was too busy fawning over him to mind wearing what was hardly more than a chewed-up bikini.
Julian certainly didn’t mind the outfit switch. He didn’t mind anything about Amelie, including the fact that she was a vampire. Julian, my partner-in-exile who hated vampires, was twisted into amorous knots over Amelie. Julian, the secret Sentinel spy who would be skinned alive if anyone on board discovered his dirty little secret, was busy fumbling with Amelie’s springy blond curls and giving her googly eyes. But Julian was in rough shape, still healing from Ursula’s attack. He would be dead if not for the Tribe’s crazy body-burning voodoo magic. Unfortunately for him, that same Tribe magic that saved him from dying now kept Sofie from healing him. He was just like me.
But in his few bouts of consciousness, while he stared up at Amelie as if she were an angel descending from the heavens, whose sole purpose was to rescue him, anyone could see he was fully enamored. I could see it in his eyes, in his smile, in the way his fingers cautiously grazed her hand. It was like watching longtime friends who had just discovered their love for each other, though they had only met hours ago.
But Julian had a secret and I was the only one who knew. He was the enemy. The People’s Sentinel spy, marked by them to collect information on Viggo and Mortimer. He said it meant nothing, but I didn’t know if I could believe him. I discovered it back in the Tribe’s camp, when he was left with me, his body scarcely covered with a blanket. The telltale curved cross tattoo on his butt told me immediately who he was. How could I forget? The Sentinel had already tried to kill me once. The mark was firmly emblazoned on my mind.
And now Amelie, my other best friend, the one who had waited seven hundred years in a humanless Hell to find another boyfriend after accidentally killing her own, was falling fast and hard for Julian, and there was nothing I could do. Say anything and it was a death sentence for him and heartbreak for her. I didn’t want to be the one to deliver either of those verdicts. So I averted my eyes and tried not to think about it for fear of someone reading my mood and figuring it out. How on earth they hadn’t yet was beyond me … It was only a matter of time.
“Do you have a house there?” I asked Sofie, eager for a distraction. It would make sense if she did, being Parisian.
“I used to,” she answered cryptically.
“I still don’t understand why we’re not heading back to New York to blow those miserable witches to smithereens,” Viggo said in his casually suggestive tone. “It would be such a shame for that beautiful home, but it’s replaceable. A much faster resolution, if you ask me.”
“And you’ve proven yourself to have wise judgment time and time again,” Mage answered from her corner of the plane, in her typically tranquil voice. I instinctively shrunk against Caden’s chest as I felt her cold, almond-shaped orbs shift to me. I still didn’t understand why Sofie trusted her now.
“It’s too risky to Veronique, even if she’s in a statue,” Sofie agreed with a warning tone.
Oh no … dirty little secret number two. My stomach tightened as visions of the Fifth Avenue mansion engulfed in flames swarmed my mind. Not too risky, Sofie. Deadly. A hundred and twenty years ago, Sofie magically encased her sister in a white marble statue, frozen in time until she could fix the vampire venom issue she had created with her magic. The plan was to release Veronique once it was solved so she could choose who she’d spend her eternal life with—Viggo or Mortimer. Little did they know, the protective marble walls of that statue came crumbling down when the Tribe chief used his magic to free me from the pendant’s curse. I don’t know how or why. It had something to do with our hearts being linked because of the Causal Enchantment Sofie cast.
It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Veronique had been released from her protective cocoon and was now in the clutches of our enemies. No one except Caden and I knew.
I pumped Caden’s hand once in a nervous gesture. His responding squeeze pulsed serenity through me. With every fiber of my being, I knew we had to keep that knowledge buried. If Viggo, Mortimer, or Sofie found out, blowing up a square block of Manhattan would be the least of our problems. From what Caden had told me earlier, that retaliation was exactly what could spark the end of the world.
“Well, there’s no reason we need to go to France. North America has enough cover for us,” Viggo muttered sullenly.
“You know why, and you agreed to go along without complaint, remember?” Sofie answered through clenched teeth. Viggo had that effect on her. A permanent effect.
“Yes, I recall. On penalty of death … And I warned you we’d be better off creating our own group of young followers than trusting her,” Viggo pressed.
Her? Who is he talking about? What are they conspiring over now? I looked at Caden but he shook his head. Not now, he was saying.
“We don’t have time to babysit a bunch of blood-crazed babies!” Sofie spat back. “This could spiral down in months! Weeks! Days! We have no idea what they’re planning …”
“That’s exactly how the mess in our world began,” Mage added in a low, steady voice. “One trigger, one attack, and our fate spiraled out of control. Are you trying to end this world faster, Viggo?”
Viggo sniffed but otherwise remained silent, moping. His words finally clicked in my mind. Young followers. Viggo’s strategy was to create an army of vampires to fight against the witches. Now I understood. I watched Viggo and Sofie share a silent look. Tension sat heavy in the air, as thick as smog. I didn’t know what was going on, why Viggo was here, why Sofie trusted him, why Viggo seemed compliant to Sofie. Viggo, compliant? And what was that “penalty of death” comment? Sofie was always threatening Viggo with death. What made him listen this time?
It seemed that Sofie had somehow appropriated the role of leader now, instead of ceaseless rival and combatant. I figured it had something to do with her continued control over Veronique’s situation, being the only one who could release her. But still, this was beyond bizarre … How long had I been unconscious for?
Amelie broke the pending conflict with her sweet, excited voice. “We had a city named Paris. It had the best shopping and nightlife and …” Her eyes twinkled with delight as she reminisced, her cheeks crinkling in a large smile. But then something dawned on her and her voice trailed off. “I guess they’d be the same Paris, right?”
Mage offered Amelie an apologetic smile and a slight nod. I had caught little bits of how the ancient Council leader had compelled them all to believe it was a different world by the name of Ratheus. It wasn’t, though. It was Earth in an alternate universe. Same Paris, same world, same doom.
And I would be an instrumental part of making it happen again. That fact burdened me like a concrete block on my shoulders in the bottom of a lake. All I wanted was Caden, my friends, and a life without the handcuffs of this curse. Was that too much to ask? I’d already lost so much. Part of my childhood, my mother …
A soft finger running along my bottom lip drew my attention to Caden. Beautiful, sweet, thoughtful Caden … I had him … Had I known what my choices could spark, would I have chosen differently? Would I have left him in Ratheus? Deep down in my heart, though I abhorred admitting it to myself and could never confess it to anyone else, the answer was no. And now my selfishness could lead to the demise of the world.
Mortimer’s booming voice yanked me from my silent torment. “We’re not going there to frolic about, Amelie.” The dark, brooding vampire had remained the silent observer in the entire exchange between his rival and his redheaded nemesis. In fact, he had remained in a corner, silent, for most of the flight.
Amelie scowled at Mortimer’s brusque reminder. She turned away from him, seemingly disgusted, to peer down at a dozing Julian. The scowl instantly disappeared, replaced by a grin of unabated adoration. A grin that slid into my heart like a long, thin needle.
So glad to be back with Mr. Chuckles, Max grumbled in my head, no doubt referring to his previous master. With a sigh, I smiled and leaned down to give the giant werebeast’s thick neck a squeeze. My guardian, my sanity, my friend, all in the form of an immortal canine who could communicate telepathically and hadn’t left my side in over a month, risking his safety for me countless times, saving me from death more than once. It was because of him that I had survived for this long. Max, Sofie, Julian, Leo … all of them had played a hand.
But not everyone had been so lucky …
With reluctance, I peered over to where Bishop sat huddled in a ball. I choked back a sob for the hundredth time. His angular cheekbone rested against the window as he stared out vacantly, a million miles away. Or at least a few thousand, back in Manhattan where his true love lay, charred in a heap of ash. He had watched Fiona burn, struck down by the witches, unable to do anything to stop it, and now he was lost. He hadn’t spoken a word since. He refused all offers of blood with nothing more than a growl. My heart ached every time I looked over at him, hoping this was all a mistake, hoping that I’d see Fiona’s violet eyes twinkling back at us. But I had seen those eyes firsthand, and they were no longer twinkling. She was never coming back.
We had lost Julian’s sister, Valentina, as well as my dear grandfatherly guardian Leo, in the mountains. Fiona in Manhattan … so many and the war hadn’t even begun. Who would be next?
The plane’s lights flashed and reflected off the bed of clouds as our plane cut through. “Fifteen more minutes,” Sofie whispered. I couldn’t help but sense trepidation in her voice. Weird. Sofie was normally so good at hiding her unease. Suddenly, Mage and Sofie vanished from their seats. They reappeared in Bishop’s corner opposite each other, Bishop sandwiched in the middle. Sofie loomed in front of him, Mage behind. Bishop’s cold charcoal eyes narrowed suspiciously as they raised to meet Sofie’s. She met his look with one of intense determination and I saw recognition flitter on his face, his expression and posture changing to that of a caged animal, ready to spring. Wild eyes darted around the cabin as if searching for an escape route.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Caden, gripping his muscular forearm tightly. Too tightly probably but, then again, I couldn’t hurt him.
Caden pulled me closer until my back was pressed up against his chest, but he said nothing. Amelie mimicked the protective position with Julian, now conscious and sitting up wide-eyed and confused.
Sofie’s lips began moving subtly, inaudibly. Her hands rose, her fingertips spread apart. A deep growl of protest escaped Bishop’s sullen mouth. Mage instantly pounced on him, one delicate arm wrapped around his neck in a headlock while the other pushed down on his shoulder. Bishop fought back, his tall lean body thrashing from side to side, attempting to twist out of Mage’s grasp. Her knuckles whitened as her fingers dug into his collarbone.
And then Bishop stopped moving. Mage backed away, freeing him to run. He didn’t. He was stationary. Not a twitch of a finger, not a shift of a foot. Nothing but his pupils rolling over the cabin.
Instantly, I knew what had happened. “A spell,” Caden whispered, echoing my bewildered thoughts.
“But … why? I don’t understand. He’s not going to hurt us!” I said.
With strong, forceful hands, Caden gripped my arms and turned me around to face him. He gently caressed my cheekbone with a single finger. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he answered softly. A shiver ran down my spine. “Bishop has only one thing on his mind, Evangeline … revenge. He’s been eyeing that emergency exit since Sofie announced we weren’t going back to New York.”
I frowned, shaking my head. I hadn’t noticed. But … that didn’t make sense. “He could have done a swan dive from thirty-thousand feet and survived, so why wait?” I argued.
“You. You stopped him.”
My face pinched, my confusion deepening.
“If he broke the seal of the door up here, we would lose cabin pressure and the plane would crash. You wouldn’t survive. He knows that,” Caden explained, squeezing my shoulders. “But I’m sure he was planning on bolting the second he thought it was safe enough.”
“And we can’t have him doing that,” Sofie interrupted, taking her place beside me once again. She smiled sympathetically. “We don’t know what is waiting for us in Manhattan. There’s an army of witches there, armed with Merth. The last thing we need is Bishop starting a one-man war with them on the streets of New York. He’d get himself killed.”
Bishop, dead? No … But this? I looked over at him, our broken friend, sitting upright, his hands folded on his lap, as if his body were bound by cords of rope. Invisible magic rope. Wasn’t there another option?
“I know you don’t like it. I don’t like doing it, either,” Sofie went on as if reading my mind, which I’m sure she likely was doing. She offered a reassuring pat on my knee.
I looked over at Bishop again and sucked in a deep breath as his eyes fixed on me, raw pain screaming, begging for relief. Begging for freedom from his internal agony as we sat here, plotting … “How long does he have to stay like that?” I asked in a pained voice, feeling like a wolverine had taken up residence inside me and was tearing apart my insides.
Sofie’s brow furrowed deeply as she squeezed my knee again. “Until I figure out something better. It doesn’t hurt, I promise. The spell works like a live current. If I break it to cast another powerful spell, or because I’m injured, which happens frequently,” she gave Viggo a sidelong glare, “the binding will fall apart. It’s not ideal.” Like the spell Ursula had used on Max and his brothers, back in the mountains. Julian attacked her—his sister, possessed by a vengeful witch—with antlers in order to break the binding and save us.
With one last forlorn look at Bishop, I took a deep breath, forcing myself to be practical. Sofie was only doing what was best for Bishop and for the rest of the world. She was right. We needed to protect him from himself.
Another stabbing pain jetted through my eardrum, signaling further descent. “You haven’t told me where we’re going yet, Sofie.”
Her smile was both sad and contented. “Home.”
***
“This is home?” I asked as we passed through a set of swirly iron gates, anchored in a solid-looking, ten-foot brick wall. All nine of us, plus Max, were crammed into a giant black SUV limousine resembling a tank. Sofie didn’t acknowledge me, her focus fixed elsewhere, a bittersweet gleam glean in her eyes. She was miles away. Years ago, in a former life.
I peered out the window as our vehicle snaked along the winding road, taking in acres of rolling snow-blanketed hills, speckled with stately trees, illuminated by the half-moon that cast a spotlight over the silent, sleeping night. Ahead and to our right was a clearing of pristine snow, a large dip at its center. A frozen pond, perhaps. For some reason, I imagined a tiny redheaded girl splashing around in it during the summer, smiling, happy, free.
“Look up there,” Caden whispered, pulling me closer to him. I leaned over until his cheek was only inches from mine. He hadn’t let go of me since the moment we stepped off the plane, as if determined to be physically attached to me at all times, something I was more than willing to permit.
I followed his pointed finger to a mesmerizing sea of white lights lining the road. Hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, coiled like snakes around naked tree branches. “Christmas lights,” I whispered breathlessly. It was almost Christmas, an event I had completely forgotten about given the circumstances. As we got closer, the trees convened above the drive, creating a spectacular half-mile-long tunnel of glittering lights. I gazed up in awe, speechless.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Sofie murmured. “I have someone put up lights every year, even though I don’t come here anymore …”
“Pretty doesn’t cut it.”
“We should have known you’d kept this place,” Mortimer grumbled, though with a touch of admiration in his voice. “You buried your trail well. Even I couldn’t find your fingerprints when I looked into it.”
Sofie answered with a smile. “And aren’t you happy I did? It’s been so long since …” Her voice drifted off for a moment. Since what? “No one will link it with us. At least not in the immediate future.”
I inhaled another sharp breath as our vehicle crested over a small hill to reveal an enormous stone-covered castle with three stories of windows and a dozen chimneys. Spiraling turrets jutted out of the steep roofs, interspersed with evenly spaced oval dormers. The place oozed of history—hundreds of years of it—and yet was pristinely maintained as if only recently built.
“Did you grow up here, Sofie?” I asked, a mixture of awe and excitement that I may finally be sneaking a glimpse of Sofie’s human past.
She shook her head. “No, but I did spend an awful lot of time here at one point in my life.” Again, that forlorn tone that Sofie normally hid so well glinted through in her words.
The circular drive wrapped around a fountain and sleeping garden. With the wheels coming to a squeaking stop, Caden cracked open the door. Crisp winter air swirled in, enveloping me. I shivered.
Finally! Max’s massive body shoved us out of the way as he leapt out of the truck with the agility of a house cat instead of a three-hundred-pound werebeast. He stretched his long legs before prancing toward the front door.
I followed him out of the truck, my leather boots—another swap from Amelie—landing softly in the freshly fallen snow. Sofie was already out and gazing up at one of the windows, a nostalgic smile on her plump, always-red lips. “How long has it been since you’ve been back here?” I asked, my arms hugging my ill-dressed body against the cold.
“Too long,” was all she said, so softly, and then I watched her walk toward the grand carved mahogany doors.
Fingers cupped my elbow. “Come on, let’s get inside.” Caden pulled me snug against his broad chest. “Your temperature’s dropping.” As usual, Caden was ever in tune with my body. I felt my cheeks redden, even in the wintry cold.
I’m not sure what I’d expected, entering this uninhabited estate. Not comfortable, Sofie had said. She’d made it sound like no one had stepped into it in a hundred years. Perhaps cavernous, vacant rooms with dust lingering in the air and white sheets cloaking antique, scratchy armchairs. Maybe a mouse or two scurrying past, unimpressed with our invasion. But stepping into the foyer was like being transported into a glamorous old world—one of warmth and comfort and elegance. Of Sofie.
“I wouldn’t let this place fall apart,” Sofie mused without prompting, her sharp heels echoing through the entrance as she stepped across the mosaic-patterned tile of cream and white marble. “I called ahead to ensure it was ready.”
A grand staircase stretched out directly ahead of us, lined with burgundy and gold-trimmed carpet, illuminated by a gigantic chandelier, complete with tiers and crystals. Halfway up, the staircase split off in two different directions. It would easily hold my entire high school graduation class on it. I’d never seen anything so large in my life, outside of movies. I watched the stairs expectedly, waiting for a princess to make a grand entrance, complete with tiara and ball gown. Two identical hallways reached out endlessly from my left and my right, each dimly lit with wall sconces and adorned with molding and artwork as far as the eye could see.
Viggo and the others stepped in behind us, stomping snow off their boots. Mortimer carried an immobile Bishop over one shoulder. He dropped him to the ground, propping him up against a wall. Amelie stalked in barefoot, Julian’s arm hanging over her shoulder for support. “Nice,” they said in unison. Julian’s mouth stretched into a wide grin and Amelie erupted in giggles.
I feel like I’m watching a teen B-movie, Max muttered, not impressed with their adolescent love-struck silliness.
“Allo?” Sofie called out expectedly. “Allo!”
I heard shuffling from the right hall and turned to see four women and two men appear in a processional, rambling in their native French. The staff, based on their formal matching black-and-white uniforms.
“Bonjour,” Sofie greeted graciously. Hello, that much I understood. Then she rattled off a slew of sentences in that beautiful Parisian French dialect. I couldn’t understand a word, but I didn’t mind. Between the mountain yetis’ muttering and the Tribe’s guttural grunts and groans, I was used to not understanding anything. I’d take Sofie’s French any day.
Satisfied with whatever they’d discussed, Sofie clapped her hands together. “Bon!” She turned back to us, gesturing to the portly middle-aged lady to my right. “Gabriella here is the head of the house. She will help you with anything you need. Evangeline, your room has been prepared. It’s upstairs, the seventh door on the left. Your room adjoins with mine. You’ve suffered quite an ordeal. Make sure you get lots of rest.” Her cool eyes darted to Caden and then back to me. I nodded, my cheeks flushing, knowing what she was implying. Part of me bloomed with warmth over her maternal tendencies. No one had shown concern for me since my own mother died five years earlier. The other part bristled with annoyance. Seriously? I’m eighteen, I haven’t seen Caden in a month, and the end of the world is coming!
“Sofie,” Mage called out, her focus drifting to the staff. “Perhaps it would be a good idea to check for double agents?” Double agents. The People’s Sentinel with their markings hidden instead of brazenly displayed on the inside of their thumbs …
My breath caught. Julian.
Sofie frowned. “There’s no way … they don’t know about this place.” She dismissed Mage’s insinuation.
Yes, thank you, Sofie.
But then an acknowledging look passed over Sofie’s face. “You know what? You’re right. No chances.”
A bolt of panic shot up my spine. If they decided to check everyone … They might. If they’re being that cautious over the staff, why not with the rest of us? Trying not to move my head, my eyes strained to the left to catch Julian’s face. He was still pale from his injury; however, I was sure his face had paled a shade or two more. Damn these vampires and their suspicious nature!
I took a few calming breaths as Sofie began naming off potential threats, using her fingers to count, trying to calm myself before my emotions gave Julian’s secret away. “So we should check these six … the two in the kitchen …” Not Julian. Please! “… the one groundskeeper …” Please don’t …
“How are you going to check them?” I blurted out, staring at the staff who waited silently, not a shred of wariness on their faces. I don’t think any of them spoke English. Thank goodness.
Sofie stared back at me with an amused expression and when she spoke, it was as if she were talking to a child. “There’s only one way, Evangeline …”
“But …,” I stammered, stalling, “where do they put the tattoos?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but if they’re there, we’ll find them.”
Full-on strip search. My cheeks flushed.
“Evangeline, are you all right?” Mage asked, peering at me curiously.
“Yes, I … uh … ” They know, they can smell it on me. I’m a walking calamity! I leak secrets! “It’s just embarrassing for them, that’s all,” I explained, working hard to suppress my rising panic. In truth, I had no interest in watching an eight-act strip show of the staff. More, though, I had no interest in watching Julian dismembered.
“Oh, don’t worry. We’ll compel them. None of them will remember a thing,” Sofie said reassuringly, her eyes twinkling, her lips pursed as if ready to burst out laughing.
“But … can’t you just read their mood to see if they’re lying?”
Mage shook her head. “Back on Ratheus, the witches figured out how to mask that truth in some of their spies. I don’t know how, but we must assume the same is possible here.”
“You don’t need to be here for this if it’s that uncomfortable,” Caden offered. “We could go upstairs.”
Oh, my dear sweet Caden! “Yes!” I exclaimed a little too loudly, seeing our opportunity for escape. I peeled away from Caden without a second thought, darting forward to lock onto Julian’s arm, my fingers digging into his forearm, one hand grabbing his and squeezing it reassuringly. “We’ll be upstairs if you need us.” I began tugging Julian with me before anyone could speak, rushing up the steps. Please leave him alone. Please forget about checking him.
“Wait!”
My body stiffened at the sound of Sofie’s voice, and I knew Julian’s body was as rigid as mine. We turned in unison, slowly. Sofie’s focus was on Julian. Oh God, oh no … “Your room is across from Evangeline’s, Julian.”
I fought to stifle the sigh of relief.
“Thank you,” Julian mumbled.
I glanced over at Caden to see him watching us intently, his eyes narrowing slightly as they drifted over my hand. The one in Julian’s. Did this bother him? No, I dismissed it. He had nothing to worry about. Julian was like a brother to me.
“Caden and Amelie, I could use your help.” Sofie’s request broke the attention on Julian and me. “Amelie and Mage, please take the ladies. Caden, Mortimer, please take the men. Max, Gabriella, put fresh steaks on the kitchen counter.” Max wouldn’t argue with that. He had starved over the last month, first refusing to leave me to hunt in the mountains and then not permitted to hunt by the Tribe on account of him taking food away from their precious tigers.
“What about me?” Viggo asked with mock innocence, eyeing a young, brunette maid of no more than twenty-five. My stomach twisted in knots for the girl.
Sofie snorted. “You take care of the blood supply. I don’t want anyone running short on blood with humans around.” She turned and started down the hall to the left, but stopped and threw back, “a bagged blood supply, please.” No killing, she was warning him.
Viggo responded with a sigh of exasperation. “Always the drag, you Red Heathen … And what will you be doing, pray I ask?”
“Checking on a few things,” she answered vaguely as she walked away with long, quick strides, not turning back once.
I took this as my chance to scurry up the stairs, towing Julian the entire way, hearing Mage croon behind me in French, “Mademoiselles et messieurs, avec moi, s’il vous pla?t,” Of course she speaks French. She knows everything …
Julian and I hadn’t uttered two words to each other since being rescued. I didn’t know what to say to him, given his secret identity. He was the enemy. The enemy who had saved me but the enemy who this group of vampires would tear to pieces if they found out. And Amelie … she may as well be fused to him, as smitten as she was. I recalled Caden once saying that vampire emotions were instantaneous and powerful. I was now witnessing it firsthand. I’d also have to witness the crushing after-effects when Amelie discovered what Julian was, when she’d need to detach herself from a corpse. My insides churned with the thought. This secret was better left hidden, and he needed to be reminded of that.
“Slow down!” Julian hobbled alongside me, slightly hunched.
“Here we are,” I stated, dropping his hand as we arrived in front of the seventh door. I turned, adding in a low hiss, “You’d better be careful. Do you know what will happen if they find out?”
“I know! I know! I …” Julian paused, swallowing hard, desperation on his face. “I don’t know what to do, Eve. Amelie, though …” A crooked smile crept over his mouth. “She’s amazing.”
“More your type?” I spat back, crossing my arms over my chest. Why did I just say that? Why? I sounded like a jealous freak and I wasn’t even interested in Julian. In fact, if he weren’t a Sentinel spy, I’d be ecstatic for my two best friends hooking up! I took a deep calming breath and adjusted my tone. “Well, she’s amazing at killing boyfriends too. You wouldn’t be the first. You’re as good as dead if she finds out. It will break her heart … Plus, what if Caden finds out?” My head was already shaking back and forth. “If she doesn’t kill you, he will!”
Julian pushed a dark lock of hair off his forehead, his mouth twisted in frustration. “Maybe I should just tell her,” he grumbled with resignation. “Wouldn’t it be better if I told her? You know, a fresh start. It doesn’t mean anything … not anymore.”
“No! Don’t you say a word!” I grabbed hold of his wrist. He winced and I realized my nails were digging into his flesh. I don’t care, I told myself. Some nail marks would be the least of his worries if his principles won out. I couldn’t deal with another death over his sudden onset of conscience. “Not yet. Don’t tell her. I’m not telling Caden. Don’t say anything until I have time to think.” I sighed, a heavy wave of fatigue making my legs wobbly. “Just try and keep your pants on, will you?” I threw out sarcastically as I turned toward my door. A glimpse of brown hair caught my eye. For a moment, I was sure I saw Caden. But when I turned back, the hall was empty.
***
Half my neck wasn’t missing but I’d definitely have a scar. I studied my reflection in the mirror of the en suite bathroom. Someone had closed up the puncture wounds with a few stitches while I was unconscious. All that was left were tidy lines of black thread and a disturbing memory. I wondered which vampire managed the torturous task. Probably Mage. Taking a damp, white face cloth to the area, I gently dabbed away the dried blood, careful not to snag the threads and reopen the gashes.
A part of me couldn’t help but feel bitter. I had been so close … so close to no longer being human, to Rachel giving me an eternal life with Caden. But then another wrench was thrown in, another spell. A new curse. Now it wasn’t jewelry around my neck, but a poison coursing through my veins. I had no one to blame but myself. No one forced me onto that plank of wood. I did that all on my own … for my own needs. Look where it got me! Gritting my teeth, I examined my hands, my limbs, my torso, looking for signs that this poison existed. But I saw nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing that suggested I couldn’t be turned. Maybe it would wear off? If not … No. I couldn’t think like that. Sofie would figure it out. Sofie had to figure it out …
I sighed. At least Rachel was dead. I had watched her burn. And Ursula was dead too. My two greatest enemies, gone. Aside from Viggo, of course. Now that he had Veronique’s pendant, I was nothing more than a bothersome gnat. Not even that. I was a waste of effort. That brought me some small comfort. And Mortimer? I had all but forgotten about the threat from him. No, Mortimer wouldn’t be a danger to me anymore. Not after he had killed Rachel to save me.
Now all I had to worry about was a war that would obliterate mankind.
“How are you feeling?” I yelped when Sofie’s sudden voice, though soft, startled the daylights out of me. “Sorry,” she crooned, placing her hands on my shoulders as she peered into the mirror. Dainty, gentle, motherly hands …
A killer’s hands.
“Did you discover any secret Sentinel spies?” I cleared my throat. Don’t think about Julian. Don’t think about Julian.
Sofie smiled, shaking her head. “No, as I suspected, they checked out. We’ll just have to search all humans that we involve from now on. It’s not pleasant for anyone, believe me.” She yanked my shoulders, spinning me around to steer me back into the main bedroom. “How do you like it here?” she asked, her gaze drifting over the walls and the bed.
“It’s beautiful. And surprisingly homey.” Dark eggplant walls and dove-gray moldings created a lovely backdrop for the modern cream-colored furniture and rich satin mauve bedding. The room wasn’t overly large but its ceilings sprawled to double-story heights, making it feel cavernous.
“My sister used to stay here sometimes, when she visited me. She stayed in this room. Of course, I’ve fully renovated it, put in plumbing, modernized it …” Sofie went on but my thoughts drifted off as she spoke, thoughts of that sister who now sat in the clutches of the enemy, unknown to Sofie, hidden by me. Or worse, they may have killed her already. What would happen when Sofie found out? Stupid question. I knew exactly what would happen. She’d launch an assault on Fifth Avenue to rival a nuclear bomb and start a war. We couldn’t risk that. But how angry would she be that I hadn’t warned her, that I could have stopped Veronique’s death by telling her right away?
“Evangeline?” A sharp edge to Sofie’s voice brought me back. I looked into her green eyes to see them narrowed suspiciously. “What’s wrong?”
Swallowing a lump of guilt, I shook my head fervently. “Nothing.” How much longer can I hide all this? Stop thinking about it, stupid! Stop! Think about something else! Kittens and clowns … kittens and clowns … Caden … anything …
Sofie cut into my mental mantra. “It’s strange … Ever since the Tribe’s magic touched you, I can’t read you in the same way.”
What? My heart stopped for just a second. “What … what do you mean? I’m not an open book to you anymore? Why didn’t you tell me?” A glimmer of hope sparked. Maybe I could keep these secrets hidden after all! I bit my bottom lip hard, trying not to look too excited by this news.
Sofie’s head cocked to the side as she studied me. “I can still sense your emotions, but they’re not translatable anymore. They’re all a jumbled, muted mess of constant nervousness, fear, guilt … I don’t know what’s going on inside you anymore except whatever it is, it feels like it’s tearing you apart.”
My shoulders dropped with relief. The rod of rigidity in my back eased free, leaving my body limber. Before I could stop myself, a relieved sigh escaped my lips. Sofie’s shrewd eyes remained glued on me, narrowing more.
“You’re hiding something,” she stated, stepping forward until she stood a foot away. “And you’re afraid I’ll dig it out of you.” Another statement.
I clenched my teeth to keep from talking so I had time to think. There was no point denying it. That would only make it worse, make her more suspicious. But what reasoning could I give for this tornado of emotion inside me? I focused on the rich dark hardwood flooring, nodding slowly, scrambling for an answer. Anything. A lie. A small truth. Anything but what I was truly hiding. Not one but two colossal secrets.
“You’re allowed to have secrets, Evangeline,” Sofie whispered softly, her hands landing once again on my shoulders. “Even from me. Just be wise about them. Ask yourself if you’re better off telling me, so I can protect you. If me knowing doesn’t matter, then you can keep them to yourself until you’re ready to talk.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded again. That was an easy answer. No, you’re definitely not better off knowing, Sofie. Far from it. The world is better off with you not knowing.
“Of course, with this much turmoil, it’d be better to get things off your chest,” she added casually.
I nodded but said nothing.
After an awkward moment, when Sofie realized I wouldn’t be spilling my guts, she gestured to the dresser. “I brought some things for you. Pajamas, a change of clothes, toiletries.” I looked over to see a tidy pile of newly purchased supplies. Or stolen, given it was eleven thirty and none of the stores Sofie dared enter would be open at this hour. Next to the clothes sat a silver tray with various dishes and cutlery. “A warm broth,” Sofie explained and I frowned, wondering how she had brought them in without my notice. “You should work your appetite back up to something heavier.” With that, she wrapped her arms around me, enveloping me in a nurturing, warm embrace. Without thought, I hugged her in return. I rested my chin on her shoulder, my face falling into her mane of red hair, silky against my skin. I inhaled, swirls of sugar and musk and a warm summer day tickling my senses. So comforting.
“I missed you so,” Sofie whispered, squeezing tighter.
I heard the doorknob click, setting loose wild butterflies in my stomach. Caden … I turned, unable to keep the grin from my face. When a giant snout greeted me instead, the grin wandered off. Max, with his giant maw on the lever doorknob, let himself in.
Sofie chuckled warmly, her arms sliding off me. “There’s my favorite beast.” Strolling over, she clasped her hands around his head and leaned down to give him a kiss. What a change from the early days when Sofie gave him nothing but poisonous glares.
At least someone appreciates me, Max grumbled, misreading my dismayed expression. I instantly felt guilty. I was happy to see my guardian. But I was dying to see Caden …
“Get some rest. You’re safe here,” Sofie said.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “People have been living here for years now, so it’s not like the old abandoned chateau on the hill has suspiciously come to life,” Sofie explained, walking over to the wall near one of the windows. “I have security on the perimeter and magical tripwires set. Everything we need for fair warning. And then, if someone does put two and two together and gets through …” Sofie’s hand coasted up to the wall beside her to touch a piece of molding. She pushed and I heard a click. A piece of wall swung into darkness. “If you ever need to escape, do what I just did. No one knows about it but you and me. And Max, now. Not even the staff knows.” Sofie pulled the door shut. “Mind you, you probably won’t want to venture in there unless you need to. It’s probably home to an army of eight-legged critters.”
I shuddered at the thought, earning a soft chuckle from Sofie.
“The duke who owned this home, before Nathan appropriated it, was a suspicious old bird. He had all these secret passages and tunnels built.” A giggle escaped her perfect lips. A sardonic little giggle. “Funny—that’s exactly where Nathan found him. Not much of a secret.” A far-off look skittered across her face and then she was back.
Realization slapped me hard across the face. This had been Nathan’s home! Of course! I’m such an idiot! I can’t believe I hadn’t realized it before. No wonder Sofie was reluctant to come here. Stepping through these halls must tear open too many old wounds for her, namely the never-healed one she acquired when she accidently killed him.
“Why did we come here, Sofie?” I asked softly. “I mean, I’m sure there was somewhere else we could’ve gone.”
Sofie smiled sadly. “It’s as good a home base as any. We need to get help, Eve, and our help is in Europe, so it made sense.”
Help? That elusive her they were discussing on the jet, no doubt. Who was she? And why did I sense this connection was volatile at best? So deep in thought, I didn’t hear anyone else enter.
“Can I come in?” A familiar deep voice called out, sending a thrill through my entire body like an electric shock. I turned around, that same giant grin instantly on my face again.
Caden’s hands were in his pockets, something akin to a shy look on his face.
“Come, Max,” Sofie said, smacking the giant dog on the rump.
I just got here, he grumbled in my head, not budging.
“I hear deer live in the woods behind us,” she added, figuring he would be reluctant to leave. Like a homeless dog after a soup bone, Max bolted. A tiny smile touched her lips as she continued walking out. When she passed Caden, she reminded him, “Don’t forget … my angel needs her rest.”
He responded with a slight nod and a tight smile. I surely burned like a bonfire in the night, the heat in my cheeks so intense. With that, Sofie abruptly disappeared, closing the door softly behind her.
Finally … alone with Caden.
Completely alone, on solid ground, on my home planet. In a bedroom. I felt heat creep up my neck as I recalled memories of the last night we spent together on Ratheus. With my fingertips trembling, I pushed a strand of hair back behind my ear. Why am I so nervous? I had suctioned myself to him on the plane ride here. And now we stood facing each other like two strangers. I opened my mouth to speak, and realized I had no idea what to say. Thankfully, Caden broke into the silence.
“How’s your neck?”
“Fine,” I croaked, instinctively turning to look into the mirror on the wall, my hand reaching for the wounds again. “A little sore but—” Before my fingers could graze the stitches again, Caden appeared behind me, his strong hand folding over mine and pulling it against my chest. His other hand swept the locks of hair away from my neck, pulling them back until they rested over my opposite shoulder. Without a word, he leaned in until his mouth was an inch from the wound. I watched in the mirror as his lips parted slightly. A cool breeze tickled my skin.
“Does it hurt?” he whispered.
“Not right now,” I forced out, my voice caught in a gasp.
“How about now?” He leaned in that last inch to skim my neck with his bottom lip, hardly touching and yet sending shock waves through me, deep into my belly. My knees buckled. I fell back against his chest. Pressing his body against my back, he buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply. “I missed you so much.”
I quarter turned and looked up, my nose grazing his jawline as I found a comfortable hollow in his neck to kiss. “I sort of missed you too,” I teased.
“Did you now,” he answered and folded his arms around me. A crooked smirk curled across his mouth before vanishing with the briefest flash of unease.
“What’s wrong …?” I began to say, trying to turn the rest of the way so I could face him. His powerful arm held fast, keeping my back against his chest. Desperate to touch his face, I struggled to pull my arms free but he held me with a viselike grip. A faint smile touched his lips. He was enjoying this. Determined, I rose on my tiptoes and arched my back as best I could, enough to playfully nip at his earlobe with my teeth. He released a low growl, his arms flexing, his jade eyes blazing as they stared at me through the mirror. That look … my legs turned to jelly. Could he read my emotions right now? I flushed, wondering if even the Tribe’s poisonous magic could hide such raw desires.
I caressed his arm as we stood in silence, not speaking, not moving. Warmth flooded my body, desperate for him to let me turn around …
“You should get ready for bed,” he suddenly said. His grip of my body loosened.
“But,” I stammered, thoroughly confused, beginning to turn on my heels.
“Go,” he ushered me forward, nudging me toward the bathroom. With a furrowed brow, I numbly gathered the supplies Sofie brought and headed toward the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
What the hell was that? My tortured conscience screamed out in frustration. Instant paranoia set in. Maybe he’s not as attracted to me anymore! Studying my face rather than my wound in the mirror, I realized that could be entirely possible. The lighting in here was harsh but … wow! I was a mere shadow of my regular self—my sallow, blood-drained complexion contrasted hideously with black circles around flat brown eyes. With my matted, scraggly hair, I could pass for a vagrant. I hadn’t bathed in a few days … I lifted my arm and sniffed. No wonder Caden shoved me in here. Suddenly horrified, I knew I had to rectify this immediately.
“I’ll be out in twenty!” I yelled as I turned on the taps of the deep claw-foot soaker tub.
I shaved and sloughed off days of sweat, tears, and travel in borderline scalding water until my skin was as fresh and pink as a newborn’s bottom. Scrambling out, I quickly toweled off and then proceeded to slather on a myriad of luxurious creams found on the counter, meant to make my body silky smooth and deliciously scented—a different one for my elbows, my heels, my chest … There! Better. Maybe Caden would be more interested now that I didn’t smell like Sasquatch. What did “interested” mean, though? A ball of anxiety exploded in me. What would happen if … What was I about to walk in to? I knew he was way more experienced than I was. I had been unfortunate enough to witness Rachel molest him back on Ratheus. But if he expected more? All of it …
I stood frozen, staring at the back of the door, wondering what he was doing on the other side. Maybe he was already stretched out in my bed, cradling his head under linked hands, waiting for me. My palms began to sweat, my mouth went dry, and the walls shifted slightly. I didn’t know what I was doing. Was I ready for this?
I let out a deep sigh of exasperation. Get it together, Evie! I couldn’t forget about that night back on Ratheus. I hadn’t planned for any of that, and I survived. Better, he didn’t run the other way. This was Caden, after all! I’d risk my life for him, time and time again. Just get dressed and get out there.
Wringing my hands, I reached for the large plastic bag that I assumed contained pajamas. You’ve gotta be kidding me … Arrogant French Poodles on oversized, baby blue flannel pajamas stared back at me. Laughing at me, I was sure. I groaned. Leave it to Sofie, who had more style than a swanky designer, to choose pajamas that would make me look like an oversized five-year-old. Caden would take one look at these and howl. I let out another groan as I yanked them on. That was probably the point … to minimize Caden’s attraction so I got my rest. Why didn’t she just give me a potato sack …?
I reached for the door handle. Holding in a deep breath, I took one last long scan of myself in the mirror. Definitely better. Cleaner, fresher, less feral … Here we go …
I slowly turned the doorknob.
Caden must have dimmed the lights because it was much darker now. I squinted as I searched for him, expecting to find him stretched out on the bed. He wasn’t there. The only body there was a three-hundred-pound black beast stretched out on the rug, tending to a paw.
Caden was gone.
A pang of disappointment pulled at my heart. I surveyed the rest of the room, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me, that maybe he was hiding somewhere. But he wasn’t. The nervous excitement of only a second ago deflated, replaced with hollow disappointment.
Wow. What does a werebeast need to do to get some love around here? Max grumbled.
“Sorry,” I grumbled, trying to wipe the mopey look off my face. “Where’d Caden go?”
Dunno. He ran out of here a while ago and sent me in. Said he had to do something.
I frowned. What could he possibly have to do? Oh, maybe feed. I didn’t see him with a blood bag once on the plane. Then a new thought slammed into me. A terrifying one. What if all this had nothing to do with my lack of hygiene and attractiveness? Maybe I was too attractive! Or, at least, my blood … What if … what if Caden couldn’t control himself around me after all? A lump of worry instantly formed in my throat. If Sofie found out, she’d exile me again. Or worse, Caden could bite me … I swallowed my panic. “Did he say when he’d be back?”
Nope, Max answered, disinterested in Caden’s whereabouts.
Well, at least Caden was enough in control to walk away if needed, I told myself. That made me feel marginally better. I dragged myself over to the bed. Crawling in, I snuggled under the covers, weariness tugging at my eyelids. “What’s going on out there, Max?” I asked into the darkness.
Oh, nothing much. A bound-up vampire, the odd bickering between Frick and Frack. Strip searches of the wait staff … You know, the usual for this crowd. Max hopped onto my bed and stretched out with a loud groan. Oh, yeah … That’s right … Finally. No more dirt or reed mats.
I snorted. “You’re such a prima donna, Max. Don’t get too comfortable. When Caden comes back, you’d better flee. Don’t need you breathing down my neck …” I curled up, wondering how long that would be.