by Eva Brandt
But Lucienne had said that she didn’t care. As long as that was the case, I didn’t have to care either. Principles were meaningless when faced with dark magic. Louis had proved that countless times in the past, and in some ways, so had we.
Right now, my magic was out of my reach. It was the only reason why I didn’t kill Louis and the Dames Blanches on the spot the second we entered the ritual room Declan was in.
Declan was naked and lying in a pool of his own blood. His chest was cut open, a blazing pentagram already shining on his skin. The silver cuffs around his wrists glinted menacingly in the dim light.
He wasn’t unconscious, but it was probably just willpower that kept him from succumbing to what Louis had done to him. When he caught a glimpse of me, he twitched in his chains and opened his mouth. No words came out and the only thing he could utter was a choked groan.
The Dames Blanches set me down on the cold floor, but I ignored them altogether. “I hope you know you’ll die for this,” I snarled at Louis. The words felt empty and pathetic in my mouth, but maybe that was suitable, given how empty and pathetic I felt while saying them.
Louis shrugged, unimpressed by my threat. “Probably, but I couldn’t care less about my own survival.”
“Really?” I asked. “Do you care about anything at all, Louis de Hastingues? Anything that isn’t your own selfish ambitions?”
Something about that must’ve hit a nerve, because Louis knelt by my side and leaned into my personal space, so close we were sharing a breath. “Listen closely, dear prince, because I’m just going to say this once. I owe Lucienne a debt. I should’ve never cast that spell, no matter what her parents threatened to do to me. Death is part of the natural course of things, but the death of a soul... There’s no excuse for what I did to her and to her soulmate.
“In a way, I wasn’t surprised when I realized what had happened, that my own blood had been affected by the magic I had used. Mathias wasn’t my son, but I cared for him deeply, and I understood him better than his own mother ever did.
“I always hoped that somehow, I’d be able to save him. But it wasn’t meant to be, not then and not all the other times I’ve tried in the past.
“I’ve accepted that now. I understand that sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to pay your debts. I wanted Mathias to live on, to be happy with Lucienne, like he deserved, but that was never going to work, because he’s not the original soul I shattered. Pierce is.
“I have no doubt that if I succeed, Lucienne, Pierce, or maybe one of their offspring will kill me. But I’m all right with that. By then, I’ll have finished my task and fixed my mistake. The curse will be no more. Lucienne will be happy eventually and will get over your destruction. In the big picture, your fate won’t matter. The world will be better off. This is all for the best.”
When he explained it like that, I could almost agree. Almost, but not quite. I’d disregarded my concerns over the greater good when I’d joined Mathias. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked him.
“Well, you’re an Alarian prince. I thought that you of all people would understand.” He pulled away and grinned at me knowingly. “But that’s not true, is it? Do you really have the right to accuse anyone of selfishness, Prince Darius, when you’re the most selfish person in the world?”
Was that supposed to make me feel ashamed or something? It didn’t. “As far as I’m concerned, anything I do for Lucienne’s sake is perfectly warranted.”
“Of course it is, for you. You love Lucienne.” Louis chuckled and shook his head. “Darius, in all my years, I’ve never found the answer to one important question. Why is it that humans still see love as romantic? It’s not. It’s cruel, selfish, brutal, and deadly. It’s a disease. Honestly, you Alarians were better off not feeling anything, because love is poison. As evidenced by your current state.”
My immediate instinct was to contradict him, but Declan was faster. “You’re wrong,” he croaked out. “You’re just saying that because you can never understand what it’s like to love someone so much that nothing else matters.”
His voice sounded thick and raw, as if he’d been screaming. Even so, every word held as much fierce determination as he’d always displayed in the battles he’d fought by my side. That gave me strength in turn.
“It’s a curse, yes, but it’s also a gift, the most beautiful gift anyone can ever be granted,” I told Louis. “Even if you kill us, you’ll never be able to destroy that. You’ll fail, Louis. You’ll fail because you don’t understand what we have with Lucienne.”
For a few seconds, Louis said nothing. He watched me with unfathomable dark eyes that reminded me of Lucienne too much for comfort. “I suppose we’ll just have to see about that.” He threw a glance toward the Dames Blanches. “Bring the others. I believe it’s time for the vampire and the incubus to join us.”
Twelve
Fire Starters
Pierce
“This is wrong, Diane. This is wrong. This isn’t what Lucienne would’ve wanted.”
“I know, but we have no choice but to go along with it. She’ll come around once everything is in order.”
I stood in the cell, keeping an eye on the unconscious Malachai Braun. His pale skin still bore the light traces of pink where he’d been burnt by Lucienne’s magic. Despite his natural affinity to her and Declan’s attempt to protect him, he’d still taken a bad blow from the blast.
I wondered if he’d ever wake up again. If something drastic didn’t happen soon, he probably wouldn’t get the chance.
“Don’t you hate them?” my sister asked me. “They took Lucienne from you. They touched her in your stead. They deserve to die.”
Maybe, but that wasn’t my decision to make. The fact that I was Lucienne’s original soulmate meant nothing when I’d been the one to hurt her most.
Telling Diane that would be pointless, though. We were going around in circles, since I couldn’t let go of my doubts and she couldn’t abandon her quest to convince me to embrace Louis’s approach.
Come to think of it, I should probably stop talking about this in public, where anyone could overhear. It wouldn’t earn me any favors with Louis and if I pushed harder, if I said or did too much, I might not outlive the ritual.
Then again, I’d already made my peace with that. Impossibly, Louis had yet to figure out my self-appointed task, which I suspected had to be some kind of sign. I just hoped my mother and sister wouldn’t suffer because of my decision.
I realized I’d fallen silent when Diane grabbed my shoulder and shot me a concerned look. “Pierce? What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t help but let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Is that supposed to be a trick question, Di? Everything is wrong.”
“Not everything,” she replied. “Lucienne is with us, remember? That’s what we need to focus on.”
But was she? I was afraid for her, afraid of what would happen to her if Louis went through with his plan. Louis realized how mentally unstable Lucienne was. He’d used that against the others, as a weapon. What did he expect would happen if he killed them, if he betrayed her like he planned?
Even if I’d intended to tell my sister that, I wouldn’t have had the time. The cell door opened and several Dames Blanches walked in. “The vampire is still unconscious,” Diane reported as soon as she saw them. “There’s been no sign of movement from him.”
Augustine hummed and eyed Malachai with clear skepticism. “He’s a vampire. He doesn’t need to move or breathe to be aware and annoying.”
“I know that,” I replied, “but I think I’d have been able to tell if he’d been pretending.”
“Yes, but would you have mentioned it?” Augustine asked, arching a brow.
Diane looked between me and the Dame Blanche, obviously confused by our exchange. Right, she still didn’t know about my gaffe with Bjorn. I didn’t have time to address all the questions on her mind. “It’s a little too late to keep secrets. He took a blast of powerful fire magic. He�
�s unconscious and that’s all there is to it.”
Augustine touched Malachai’s knee and her hand started to glow. “Looks like you’re right about this one, Pierce,” she declared, mere seconds later. “It’s just as well. At least he won’t put up a fight and try to stop the inevitable.”
Her disgruntled tone said more than her words ever could. “I take it the others haven’t been cooperative,” I commented, not bothering with an ‘I told you so’. It would’ve been petty, if satisfying.
“Not at all, no,” she answered, “although in the end, it didn’t make a difference. We’re making the final preparations now.”
She shot me a smile I didn’t trust at all. “What about you? Are you ready?”
I suppressed the urge to snort. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“It’s all right, Pierce,” Diane said, taking my hand and squeezing it. “You can contain their power. This was what you were born to do, remember?”
I nodded, although I wasn’t as convinced as Diane. This ritual wasn’t just about power. My part wasn’t that complicated. But Louis’s part... I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t fuck it up like he had once before.
Was fighting fire with fire the best solution? Could this curse of dark magic only break by using an even more powerful enchantment that was just as dark? What guarantee did we have that we wouldn’t make things worse?
Despite all my doubts, I said nothing. Instead, I just followed my sister and the Dames Blanches to the ritual room where Louis was waiting for us.
As soon as I stepped inside, I recoiled, the sight we were forced to face more nauseating than I had expected. Diane covered her mouth, her complexion turning almost as pale as that of the vampire. “What in the name of the gods?” she whispered.
I couldn’t blame my sister for her reaction. My original understanding had been that Louis would use the actual elements in the ritual, but it looked like he’d decided scrounging through the dirt was beneath him. Instead, skinning a werewolf was a far better solution.
To be fair, Declan still seemed alive and Louis had yet to start cutting off pieces. I wasn’t sure Declan’s luck would hold for long, though. We had a large pentagram to make, and most likely, the material would come from him and possibly Malachai.
It was the scent of the blood that stirred the vampire from his slumber. His eyes shot open and his body jerked so suddenly he took Lucienne’s aunts off guard. Before they could neutralize him, he swiped at them with clawed fingers. Dames Blanches tended to be resilient to physical damage, but the whole thing happened so quickly that they couldn’t use their magic to their defense. Impossibly, Malachai managed to slit Augustine’s throat.
He couldn’t do much more since he was chained and shackled. I still pulled Diane out of his reach. Malachai had hurt her once before. I probably wouldn’t be able to protect my sister later, but until the moment came for me to make my choice, I’d try to keep her safe.
“What have you done?” Malachai roared. “Where are they?”
His crimson eyes glowed with blood lust and his magic flared angrily around him, so intense I half-expected him to change shapes. Malachai had been a guardian so he’d lost some of his innate Accursed skills, but the same could be said about Declan, who’d already proven to be talented at earth magic.
Maybe Louis realized this as well, because he intervened before Malachai could do further damage to the Dames Blanches. Moving faster than I’d deemed him capable of, he grabbed the flailing vampire and in one simple move, snapped his throat. “You should be more worried about yourself, blood-sucker,” he said, even if Malachai couldn’t hear him anymore. “What a fuck up. Now we’ll have to wait until he wakes up.”
He crouched on the floor and swept his fingers through the small pool of blood already gathering beneath Augustine’s motionless body. “On top of that, she’s polluted the ritual room,” he said, curling his lip. “Can you people do nothing right?”
The remaining Dames Blanches flinched at his question. His behavior was very offensive toward Augustine and yet, no one dared to question it, to argue against him. Not for the first time, I wondered just what kind of power Louis wielded over them. In the past, they’d claimed they were his willing allies, but even if that was true, they still feared him far more than they’d admitted.
I tried very hard to look at the bright side. This incident had distracted Louis and bought us a little time. He didn’t seem to be blaming me and Diane. I knew better than to rely on his temporary goodwill, but maybe, just maybe, I could use it.
“I can clean this up,” I offered. “I can remove all traces of her magic without issue and without corrupting the ritual further.”
Louis arched a brow at me, as if surprised by my sudden compliance. “Very well,” he drawled. “But do be careful. I wouldn’t want you to encounter a fate as unfortunate as poor Augustine’s.”
As he spoke, the Dames Blanches were already moving and retrieving the body of their fallen sister. As soon as they were gone, I knelt next to the spot where she’d been. I couldn’t blame Louis for his frustration, since the magic in her blood would make it more difficult for the ritual to focus on us, the people strictly involved in the curse. But fire was more than a weapon. It was a tool of purification, and I could use it to cleanse the ritual room of Augustine’s magic.
I could, but I didn’t actually intend to.
Twice-blessed had a lot of abilities, secrets and skills we’d never turned to because we feared what would happen if we did. Now that I’d been pushed into a corner, I had no choice but to resort to them.
Louis left me to it, apparently trusting me to not make any further mistakes while under his supervision. He placed Malachai’s body to Declan’s right and busied himself with tying him down to the floor. Once Malachai was secured, Louis retrieved a dagger and started carving a pentagram on his chest.
It didn’t matter that the vampire was temporarily dead. Louis could still cut him up even if he wasn’t breathing, and it wouldn’t affect the ritual. Great.
I tried very hard to not dwell on what he was doing. I’d never been squeamish, so ironically, it wasn’t the acts themselves that bothered me. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the end result of all this, about how Lucienne would react once she saw what her father had done to the men she cared about, if not loved.
Shaking off my thoughts, I focused on finishing the task I’d been given, with the modifications I’d decided on. By the time I was done, the Dames Blanches had returned, this time led by a pale Delphine. They had Bjorn with them and judging by how tightly he was tied up, they weren’t taking any further chances.
Bjorn’s eyes met mine and in his gaze, I saw the same fierce determination that burned in my heart. It was only for a moment, and then he glanced away, directing his attention at his captors. “You’re not going to get away with this. We’ll make you pay for everything you’ve done.”
The empty threat almost made me cringe. Louis laughed, not even bothering to look up at Bjorn. “How childish, Inquisitor Lindberg. I confess I’m disappointed. Did you brief stint in my cells damage your IQ or were you always this idiotic?”
“You’re hardly the right person to criticize someone’s intelligence,” Bjorn replied with a sneer. “You might have caught us, but if you think Lucienne will just play along with this, you’ll find you’ve made a big mistake.”
“Not at all.” Louis snorted and lifted his bloody dagger. “As I was telling the young prince earlier, I’m perfectly aware my daughter won’t be pleased. Her reaction doesn’t matter to me as long as I achieve my goals. Now be silent and wait for your turn. I’m almost done with your vampire friend, so this won’t take much longer.”
Before Bjorn could say anything else, Malachai stirred, his vampire abilities helping him heal from the lethal injury Louis had inflicted on him. “Welcome back among the living, Guardian Braun,” Louis said pleasantly. “I hope you don’t mind me using your blood to complete my ritual.”
&nb
sp; “Would it matter if I minded?” Malachai croaked out.
“Not really, no,” Louis said, already slicing Malachai’s wrists. The shackles started siphoning his blood, making the symbol on his chest glow an ominous red. The crimson liquid flowed onto the floor, and I watched in dread as it created an even larger pentagram, one that engulfed all of us.
Each of the corners of the symbol was a representation of one of the elements. Lucienne’s would-be soulmates were all positioned according to their respective affinities. As a werewolf, Declan represented earth. Malachai symbolized water, and Bjorn spirit. Mathias would be air, and normally, I would’ve been fire. Louis was using Darius as my replacement, since I’d have a different role. And of course, there would be Lucienne, who would stand in the center with me, as the ritual’s main focus.
By now, the only people who were not here were Mathias and Lucienne. It made sense that Louis would bring them in last, since he had a personal relationship with them. Not to mention that, at least up to a point, he feared them. But he could no longer avoid bringing them here. He was running out of time too.
Louis didn’t bother drawing the smaller pentagram on Bjorn, choosing instead to leave the task up to Delphine. While she worked, he turned toward me and shot me an inquiring look. “Done with your part?” When I nodded silently, he pocketed his dagger and smiled. “Excellent. Come with me.”
I didn’t know what was eerier, his friendly demeanor or the fact that he was completely ignoring that he was covered in blood. In any case, my opinion didn’t matter. When he exited the ritual room, I brushed my hand over my sister’s cheek, and then obediently followed.
I didn’t ask him any questions, since at this point, nothing he could say would make a difference. Besides, if he’d requested my presence, he must’ve had his reasons, and he’d undoubtedly explain them.