by Tricia Barr
Myreen gripped Kenzie’s shoulders comfortingly. “It will be okay. He won’t hurt me, I’m pretty sure of that.”
“For all our sakes, I hope you’re right,” Kenzie said shakily. They looked at each other for a moment, savoring each other’s company. “Well, I have an initiation to prep for, and you have a maniacal father to persuade.”
Myreen nodded and headed for the door. Then she turned back and said, “Kenz, if Leif and Kol do get released, I want you to leave immediately. Don’t wait for me. Okay?”
Kenzie didn’t answer, but after a brief staring contest, she nodded once. Myreen unbolted the door and left, heading for Draven’s office with even more purpose.
***
Myreen knocked on the door, the sound very staccato, very direct.
Draven had never allowed her to enter his office. She’d come knocking twice before, and both times he’d slipped out and closed the door faster than she could peek inside. She hadn’t paid much mind to it before, but after Leif warned her about “Draven’s Trophy Room,” now she was suspicious. Was this it? And what did he have in there that he didn’t want her to see?
She heard the lock click, and once again, he exited in the blink of an eye and now stood between her and the closed door.
Draven cocked a brow, ignoring the guards standing behind Myreen. “Hello, Myreen. If you’ve come to witness the daywalker spell, you’re a little early.”
Yeah, he definitely doesn’t want me to see what’s in that room.
“Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you about a delicate matter,” she began.
“Oh? And to what does this matter pertain?” He cast scrutinizing eyes down on her while wearing a playful expression on his perfect face.
She looked around the Grand Hall at all the vampires lounging about, and the guards standing behind her. “I was hoping we could speak in private.” She nodded toward his office.
“Ah, yes. We can go to the conference room.” He put a hand on her upper back and started to lead her away.
“What’s wrong with your office?” She couldn’t help but pry.
“It’s just a little too cluttered at the moment for a private conversation with my daughter,” he dismissed. “The conference room is much better.”
She let go of the issue, reminding herself that she didn’t come to interrogate him about a silly room. She came to try to save Kol, Char, and Leif.
Draven held open the door to the conference room for her and closed it behind them, leaving the guards standing outside. The room was large with a very long, rectangular table taking up the majority of the space. He took the seat at the closest end and offered her the seat catty-corner to it.
“What’s on your mind?” he invited.
For a moment, she considered using her siren voice on him to force his cooperation. He trusted her. All she had to do was the say the words and he would never know the decision wasn’t his own.
But they were in his conference room—she wouldn’t put it past him to have cameras set up in here. In fact, she expected it. And if he found out she had broken his one rule... She wanted to believe this whole father bit was sincere, but she wasn’t prepared to face the consequences if it wasn’t.
She took a deep breath, mustering all her courage and hoping her heart rate was steady enough to prove her a worthy advocate.
“The Dracul boy. I’d like for you to let him go,” she declared. “As well as his female companion.”
Draven gave her a blank look for a moment, then burst out laughing, the sound so sharp it rang in her ears. She suddenly felt very small and insignificant.
“Do you have any notion of wartime politics?” he asked, still chuckling. “They attacked us, and they lost. It’s then our right to execute or keep them prisoners, as we see fit. I feel I’ve been rather lenient on the boy. Why do you care what happens to him?”
“I’m not as comfortable with violence as everyone here seems to be.” Myreen swallowed. “I’d appeal to you for mercy regardless of who it was, but this particular dragon happens to matter to me.” She thought about bringing up Leif in that moment, but decided to wait. If she could secure Kol and Char first, then she’d bring up Draven’s own.
Draven cocked his head, studying her. “I noticed you didn’t say the dragon prince was your friend. Strange choice of words. Could it be that he’s something more? Has my daughter fallen in love?”
Anger flared in her chest before she could conceal it, and it was clear by the smirk on his face that he caught that telltale reaction.
“Ah, so that’s it,” he said with a knowing nod. “The royal pretender has broken your heart.”
She kept her expression blank and her breathing still, but sorrow spilled out through the cracks in her heart, spreading through her chest like a poison. The truth hurt.
“If that’s the case, then why do you want him to go free? Why do you care what happens to him?”
“Love isn’t just something you can wash away when you’re done with it,” she said, looking at the table. “No matter what he did or didn’t do to me, I still don’t want to see him suffer.”
Draven stood. “I’m sorry to deny your request, but I cannot and will not set him free. It’s become quite clear to me that he deserves much less mercy from me.”
“Wh– what? No, p– please—” she stuttered, reaching for his hand unintentionally. How had this conversation gone so horribly wrong?
“No filthy dragon is going to break my daughter’s heart and get away with it,” he said, accepting her hand and squeezing it. “You deserve so much better than the likes of him, and maybe when he’s gone, you’ll understand that.”
“Please, don’t kill him!” she begged.
He put his other hand on top of the one he was holding. “Oh, don’t worry. I can assure you he won’t be dying for a long, long time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an initiation to prepare for.”
Then he released her hand and vanished, leaving her alone in the conference room, trembling all over.
***
Myreen raced to the dungeons after she recovered from the shock of Draven’s decision. She felt as though her heart was doubly broken—once by Kol’s doing and now by her own. She had to at least warn him of what was to come, even if she had to confess it was her fault. He’d hate her. Not that he ever really cared for her to begin with, but now the fate of their relationship would truly be sealed.
Tears streamed down her face as she practically tripped down the stairs of the lower levels to where he was being held. She used her siren voice on her bodyguards, telling them to stay in the conference room until she returned. Her will was desperate enough that she hardly needed to say anything for them to let her go. And the guards below were the same she’d encountered last time, and apparently needed no further persuasion. Just as well.
She slowed as she neared the room with Kol’s cage. Her thumbs were practically glued inside her back pockets, her right one nervously fingering her keycard, as if doing so would give her courage. The heads of Kol and Char snapped in her direction as she came into view, caution plastered all over their faces. Myreen whipped her hands out of her pockets, instinctively hugging herself, and not just because of how inhumanely cold it was down here.
Kol’s face had aged in the handful of days he’d been here. A handsome, unshaven shadow darkened his jawline, and the skin under his eyes looked bruised, his eyes dry and bloodshot. The lack of sufficient food and water worked quickly with his fast metabolism, making him look even taller and more gangly. And then there was Char, who still looked gorgeous even with dirt smudged across her face and hair bunched in tangles. Myreen cast her gaze away.
“Myreen? What are you doing here?” Kol yelled at her in a whisper, if such a thing was possible—leave it to Kol to be a walking contradiction.
She crept to the bars, gripping them for support, but hissing and pulling her hands away as the metal seemed to burn her. Understanding dawned. The bars were lead. Even the floor
and back wall of the cell were lined in it. Her mind flashed back to the attack in the alley when Kol had been shot with those lead pellets, and she remembered the horrible effect they had on him. Draven knew full-well avians were allergic to lead. This wasn’t just war politics to Draven; no, he enjoyed making his enemies suffer. A lesson Myreen would not soon forget.
Myreen took a deep breath. “Kol, I messed up. I tried to talk Draven into letting you two go.”
“You did what?” he asked, looking bewildered.
“I thought that as his daughter, I could change his mind,” she went on. “I thought he’d do it just to make me happy, to further convince me he was on my side. But, then...”
Kol scooched closer, looking like he desperately wanted to touch her, to comfort her. But he eyed the bars, and kept his broken arms to himself. Myreen covered her mouth, trying to keep the bubbling emotions from spilling over.
Kol looked at her. “I take it he didn’t grant your request?”
Myreen shook her head. “Kol, I’m so sorry. He figured out that you... that you weren’t just a friend to me and... that it didn’t end well. I didn’t mean to tell him, he just—”
“And now he wants to punish me for hurting his daughter,” Kol guessed. It wasn’t an accusation. There didn’t even seem to be any anger or resentment in his tone. His expression was smooth, though somewhat defeated.
“Kol, I really am so sorry,” Myreen pleaded, tears beginning to spill. “I know you must think I did this on purpose to get back at you, but I would never—"
“It’s okay, Myreen,” he interrupted. “I know you wouldn’t do that. Getting information out of people is what vampires do, and Draven is a master at it. The truth is, he wouldn’t have let me go no matter what. He has a particular hatred for my bloodline. But I’m touched that you tried.” He offered her a weak smile.
She wiped at her cheeks and under her eyes until she could see clearly again. Then she reached through the bars as far as she could and put her hand on his knee, ignoring the slow burn. “I will get you both out of here, I promise.”
Kol huffed a defeated laugh and smiled wider. “No, you won’t,” he said, shaking his head. “The best you can do is get yourself out. Draven’s daughter or not, this isn’t where you belong.”
Her brows creased as she stared at him. She saw no point in arguing. She had no intention of leaving the citadel, but certainly not without him and Char.
Char. Myreen had nearly forgotten about the other girl, but she’d been so quiet. Myreen stole a glance at the girl, who looked at the floor, her face red.
Myreen began to withdraw her hand, but Kol’s fingers brushed hers, and she held her hand in place a moment longer. “For what it’s worth, I truly am sorry that I hurt you.”
As always, his hand felt so warm and comforting on hers. She tried to draw out that moment, wishing it could last forever.
If Draven was true to his word, he wasn’t going to just kill Kol, which meant this wouldn’t be the last time she saw him.
She still had time.
This wasn’t goodbye.
So she gave him no words of farewell, but slipped her hand out of his and padded silently and quickly down the dungeon hallway.
Chapter 26: Kenzie
Kenzie made her way to the trophy room, dread building with every step. The moonflower had arrived, and Kenzie was out of time. She hadn’t figured out how to get Leif or Kol out. She hadn’t convinced Myreen to leave. She was failing in every way possible.
Not that she hadn’t been failing before this moment. She’d stopped taking those online classes Gram had signed her up for, the stress eating away her concentration. Besides, she had vampire classes to attend. Those were... strange. Listening to the teachers, she could almost believe that the vampires were the good guys and the shifters were evil. Almost. But the shifters she knew were good, the only person they wanted dead being Draven. And Kenzie couldn’t fault them for that.
She’d also taken to contacting Gram first thing in the mornings. Which meant she was waking Gram in the middle of the night. She hoped the befuddled state of both her and Gram would dampen the despair Kenzie was beginning to sink into. But she didn’t want Gram to worry and pull Kenzie too soon.
Not even confessing everything to Myreen had helped. Kenzie really was becoming a monster, and she hated herself for it. This was worse than when she lost her dad. This was rock bottom. She didn’t think it was possible to fall any further, to feel any worse than she already did.
Except now she was giving the most evil, most powerful vampire in the world a ticket to freedom. Now, thanks to her, Draven would be a daywalker.
Kenzie wanted to meddle with the spell, try to make it temporary like she’d tried to make Leif’s reversal temporary—and she hoped against hope that it really was temporary. But she didn’t want to risk making things worse. There were notes with the daywalker spell, notes about the dire consequences of not following it precisely. What Leif must have gone through to earn his right to walk in the sun... Kenzie didn’t want to even think about it.
But she couldn’t risk botching the spell with Draven. She’d never make it out alive if she did. Draven would see to that. And if she wasn’t killing the vampire, and her friends weren’t out of harm’s way, then there was no sense trying to make the spell temporary.
And so she found herself aiding the enemy once more.
And now, Adam was a vampire. If that wasn’t frightening enough, knowing that she was his main source of food for the foreseeable future was enough to give her night terrors. She’d stayed away during the transformation process—thankfully, she’d been ordered to, though she wasn’t sure she’d have gone even if she was supposed to. Draven didn’t want to risk Adam losing control and turning Kenzie or draining her dry. But after today’s ceremony, she’d be Adam’s, and it made her skin crawl.
Kenzie knocked on the trophy room door and shouldered her bag as she waited.
Draven opened it with a smile. “Excellent. Time for the fun to begin.”
Kenzie smiled as she entered and hoped that Draven wouldn’t notice that it didn’t meet her eyes.
“Nervous?” Draven asked as he closed the door.
They took their seats at the desk, the moonflower sitting in a cup of water, its roots looking like pale worms, magnified by the curve of the glass.
Kenzie shrugged. “Yeah. I’m nervous. I’m doing a big spell for a big guy.”
Draven laughed. “You are. Honesty. I like that. Are you anxious to see Adam?”
Kenzie gave him a demure smile. “I’m curious, but I’ve been too busy with school and thinking about this”—she waved a hand at the moonflower, as if presenting a prize—“to really have time to think about Adam.”
Draven nodded. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. He turned quite nicely.”
Kenzie nodded, her curiosity officially piqued.
“Shall we begin?”
Kenzie stood and removed the bag from her back, muttering the reveal spell before pulling the book out. She was so afraid she’d lose the ancient tome that she barely took it out, and keeping it hidden by magic was the easiest way to ensure it didn’t get stolen. Although if someone ever took her bag, she’d be screwed.
She murmured her name next, then opened the book to the daywalker spell. Just seeing the delicate handwriting—strong but undeniably feminine—always made Kenzie want to be more like the woman who had written the spell. She still hadn’t found a way to bring Gemma back from the dead, but her words to Draven were true—she had been incredibly preoccupied as of late.
Kenzie cleared her throat and grabbed the flower, tearing off the petals and roots and placing them in one pile. They smelled a bit like lemons, and Kenzie wondered if they’d taste that way, too. Draven handed her a bag of sunflower seeds, and she made a new pile with them. She sat back and eyed the parts, then nodded. They looked about equal to her. Hopefully.
She pushed both piles toward Draven. “You’ll need
to eat all of this first.”
Draven lifted a brow, then shrugged and began consuming everything she’d measured out. The moonflower was poisonous to humans, but Kenzie knew it wouldn’t affect Draven. Though apparently the flavor was less than appealing, because he grimaced as he swallowed, not even bothering to chew. When he was done, he sat back.
Kenzie took a deep breath and turned the grimoire to face Draven, then came around the desk. She didn’t know if she needed to be in contact with the man for the spell to work, but she figured it couldn’t hurt.
Kenzie swallowed as she placed her hand lightly on his shoulder. Draven eyed her. “It’s okay. I won’t bite you.” He smiled, and Kenzie gave a nervous chuckle.
“Sorry. I’m just trying to make sure I don’t screw anything up.”
“Take your time and do it right. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
Kenzie nodded, glancing at the book. She didn’t have to read the spell, since she’d memorized it, but the wizened pages provided a sort of comfort that she needed right now.
Kenzie closed her eyes and found that tingle of magic in her chest, then refocused on the book. “Vampír, créatúrnal ghealaís, glachadha leissana noíche, nábíodha eaglortír ansalágh.” A gentle breeze lifted Kenzie’s hair as she sank deeper into the magic, letting it wash over her. The office and its atrocities fell away, leaving Kenzie in a warm void that glittered with possibilities. “Bhithina chúpúla, deú solaras noíche. Choinanonn echlipsée andúlray tú chábháliteh. B'fhélidira i mbeah séi gcónascí.” The words left her lips with a strength she didn’t know she possessed, her vision snapping back to the present, the wind ceasing.
A silver glow settled on Draven’s skin, sinking in until it faded completely. Draven smiled, looking at his hands, then up to Kenzie. “I feel good. Shall we test your handiwork?”
Kenzie swallowed, the peace that had accompanied the spell tearing away from her like a cockroach in the light. “Sure. Just... be careful.”
Draven’s smile cocked to the side. “I always take every precaution.”
He pulled up his wrist, tapping on the watch face. A few moments later, a beanpole of a man came in, his pale skin making his sunken cheeks look somewhat sickly. He held a small device in his hand. “Are you ready, sir?”