by L. Danvers
Once the rush of adrenaline pumping through my veins settled, I lifted my head and saw Danielle towering over me, looking panicked. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
Her eyes glistened with tears, but somehow, she kept them from spilling out. “Julian’s in trouble.”
I stiffened before standing back up and returning the siphoning tool to its proper location. “What do you mean?” I asked warily.
Danielle hardly blinked, like she was in such shock she couldn’t even let her emotions through. “We were watching the news, and... and... they found a picture of him.”
Crap. That wasn’t good. I knew it. She knew it. Still, I didn’t think pointing out the obvious would be helpful. Tilting my head, I placed my hand on her shoulder. “There are millions and millions of people in this world. No one will know it’s him.”
“You don’t believe that, Grace. Everyone’s watching the news these days. The picture was singed, but you could still make out his face. All it would take would be for one person to say something to the authorities.” She wanted to say more, but she stopped. Her eyes fell into half-moons. “Ben said there’s a way you can help him.”
My eyebrow rose quizzically. “Oh?”
She nodded.
Giving her an assuring nod, I said. “Danielle, come on. You know I’m going to say yes. Tell me what you need.”
She forced a smile. “Before I tell you, remember that you can say no. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Spill.”
“Ben knows of a spell in one of his grimoires that can change a person’s appearance.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“It’s not... if it’s a short-term spell. But to keep it going, it’s going to take a lot of energy. You could experience side effects. I mean, it’s not going to kill you. But still, the longer the spell lasts, the harder it’s going to be to keep it going.”
I chewed my lower lip, thinking. But honestly, that was for Danielle’s sake. I had already made up my mind. What was I going to do? Risk Julian getting taken in for questioning if he so much as stepped outside? Obviously not. Plus, what was the point in having magic if I couldn’t use it to help my friends? “I’ll do it. Where is he?”
Her lips parted, dumfounded. “You’re sure? Decision made? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” I said with a snap of my fingers.
She shook her head. “I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you. Thank you.”
“Friends look out for each other. And, believe it or not, Julian’s starting to grow on me.”
She smiled at that. “Really?”
I nodded. “He loves you, Danielle. I mean, really loves you. You should see the way he looks at you sometimes.” I couldn’t help but grin. “And if he makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Plus,” I added, jokingly jabbing her with an elbow, “your survival kind of depends on him.”
Danielle laughed. “You know that’s not why I—”
“I’m teasing. But, you have to admit, if you two didn’t like each other, you’d be seriously out of luck with the whole feeding thing.” Danielle flushed. I held up a finger signaling for her to wait for a second and grabbed the glass jar of artificial blood. Together, we headed downstairs.
When we reached the foot of the staircase, Danielle announced, “Grace agreed to help.”
Relief washed over Julian, and he came over to thank me. I couldn’t help but think about how far we’d all come. The first time I met him, he was telling me and Danielle that we were going to be competing for his brother’s heart—and the loser’s blood would be fed to the winner. Now, his brother was married and off starting his happily ever after. Meanwhile, Danielle had stolen Julian’s heart, and she was now feeding from him. And here I was helping him hide his identity so that he could be safe.
Life was utterly unpredictable.
“Is that for me?” Xander asked with a twinkle in his eye. He reached out and took the jar of fake blood from me. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing,” I said, hardly paying him any attention before I focused back on Julian. “So, where’s the grimoire?”
“I’ve got it,” Ben shouted from across the room. He was sitting in his La-Z-Boy, studying the spell so intensely that he didn’t bother tearing his eyes away from it while he spoke to me. “Danielle explained everything, right?”
“The longer it lasts, the more it sucks for me? Yeah, I got it.”
Julian cleared his throat. “If it ever gets to be too much, you don’t have to keep it up. This can buy us some time until we think of another way.”
I gave him a dismissive wave. “I’m sure I can handle it.”
He pressed his lips into a hard line and bowed his head in appreciation.
“Okay,” I said, taking the grimoire from Ben. “Let’s do this thing.”
MY NOSE CRINKLED. JULIAN looked different, alright. His hair had gone from a ginger-brown to sunshine yellow. He had a ridiculously huge grin plastered on his face, and he’d developed a Southern accent.
“What do y’all think?” he asked, eyes wide with bizarre excitement.
Danielle flashed a wary grin at him while keeping her eyes locked on mine as if to say What the heck did you do to him?
I shrugged before responding to him. “I think if the goal was to disguise you, we accomplished that.” And I left it at that.
“You look... great,” Charlotte said through her teeth. Meanwhile, Xander snickered. Ben just stood there with his hands stuffed in his pockets, nodding along with a grin plastered to his face.
Julian’s brows furrowed, unsettled by everyone’s reactions.
“Look, I didn’t say I could turn you into some Hollywood hunk.”
“Hunk?” Charlotte said, twisting her mouth in that obnoxious way of hers.
“Excuse me,” I said sarcastically as I whipped my head around, “if I’m not up to date on all the current slang. I haven’t been out in the real world in forever... because I was kidnapped.”
“Oh please,” Charlotte said with a yawn. “You were brought to Crescent Cape a few years ago.”
Okay. She had me there.
“I think what my sister is trying to say,” Julian said, “is thank you.”
“Thank you,” Charlotte said, sighing in agreement.
Now that Julian’s new appearance was sorted out for the time being, he and Danielle began brainstorming a plan. I tried telling them that I felt fine and wouldn’t have a problem keeping the spell going, but Ben seemed to think otherwise. He reminded me that the spell had only been in effect for a few minutes... but keeping up for days or weeks was another thing. They needed to have another plan.
They toyed around with the idea of fleeing to another kingdom. But it was impossible to know which ones might be exposed in the coming days. Unless...
“Hey,” I said to Xander. “Can I borrow your phone?”
He didn’t have to ask. He knew who I was going to check in with. Reluctantly, he handed it over.
I slipped out of the room and leaned against the wall in the hallway where Ben had an impressive display of photographs from his travels. I pulled up the latest text from my brother, relieved to see that Xander hadn’t sent him anything. I could totally see him pretending to be me to mess with Nick.
Hey, Nick. It’s me. Can you talk?
I chewed on my thumb, anxiety bubbling in my chest, while I watched those three little dots appear on the screen, signaling that he was responding.
Yeah. I’m guessing this is about what’s been all over the news... Give me a sec.
I released a breath, relieved that he was available. After pacing for a minute or two, the phone finally rang. I immediately answered. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“So... yeah, about the whole picture thing...”
“I’ve got to make this quick. I only have a minute. But you need to get away from the Blood Heirs and t
heir werewolf brother, Grace. I’ll meet you somewhere. We’ll figure something out.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why? I’m your brother. Don’t worry about Dad. I’ll find a way to keep you safe.”
“But—”
“The longer you hang around with those vampires and werewolves, the more likely you are to draw attention to yourself.”
“They’re my friends,” I hissed. “And they need my help.”
“And that’s why you need to talk to me,” he said flatly.
“I need to know if more kingdoms are going to fall.”
He laughed. Hard. “You met our dad, right? They’re all going to be exposed if he actually pulls this off.”
“And then what?”
“Then we...” he hesitated. “We make our presence known. We stop living in the shadows. Let the world see us for what we are.”
“And if the humans don’t like what they see?” I press.
“Then the humans will be dealt with accordingly.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“No,” he spat. “Obviously not. But what am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Distance yourself from Reed. Meet me somewhere. We’ll figure something out.”
Murmuring voices hummed in the background. “Just a second!” he shouted to them. “Look,” he said, now speaking to me, “I wish it didn’t have to be like this. I know you don’t understand, but I’m doing the best I can to survive. And you’d be wise to do the same.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“If you’re asking whether your friends should seek refuge in another kingdom, I’d say it isn’t worth the risk. Tell them to find a way to blend in. Suppress their urges—or, if they can’t, at least be discreet about it.”
My cheeks puffed out and I blew out a mouthful of air.
“I know that’s not what you want to hear, but that’s all I’ve got. I have to go now. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“You, too.”
“Bye.” He hung up before I had the chance to say anything else.
Great. So basically, there was nowhere safe for Julian to hide if I couldn’t keep up the spell.
I slumped onto the floor, staring at the phone. I wasn’t trying to snoop, but an onslaught of texts started coming in.
Hey man. Was that Julian on the news?
Are you still in Crescent Cape?
Saw Julian’s picture. Hope you are alright. Where are you?
I was so focused on the messages that I hadn’t noticed Xander was towering over me. I lifted my gaze. “Uh, you missed some texts.”
He took the phone from my hands and briefly scanned the screen before stuffing it in his back pocket. “What did Nick have to say?”
“Basically, we’re screwed.”
He shrugged. “What’s new?”
“I’m serious, Xander. There’s nowhere safe to run. Which isn’t the end of the world now... but what if Ben is right? What if I can’t keep up the spell for long?”
Letting out a heavy sigh, Xander sat down on the floor beside me. “None of this is your fault, Grace.”
“No, but it is Reed’s.”
Xander shook his head. “You’re not responsible for his actions.” Deep down, I knew he was right, but still... “You don’t have to be the hero all the time. We’ll figure something out together. And hey—I thought of something.”
“Oh?”
“If the spell starts taking its toll on you, I can always give you some of my blood.”
My eyebrows raised. “You think that’ll help?”
“I don’t see why not.”
I leaned the back of my head against the wall and shut my eyes. It might be a short-term solution, but Julian was an immortal being—and I wasn’t. Plus, the idea of drinking Xander’s blood again made my skin crawl. I remembered how it had felt before... how it had both healed me and clouded my head with thoughts of him. I wasn’t sure what drinking from him regularly would do to me.
Before I could think of a response, Ben peered around the corner before stepping into view. Gesturing behind him, he said, “Hey, we’re going to head into downtown. A friend of mine said there was something going on. Riots or protests or something. We thought it would be worth checking out for ourselves.”
Xander jumped to his feet and helped me up. We exchanged wary glances before following Ben and the others out the door.
Danielle
A sea of bodies flooded the streets of Quarter Square. Most were holding up their cell phones, making the harsh sunlight glint off the screens. For all the hustle and bustle, the crowd was at least converging toward the same destination: the park we’d visited before Aiden and Victoria’s wedding.
Julian held my hand, and I twitched at his touch. Though the essence of his hold on me was familiar, he was still under Grace’s spell. The way his hand fit into mine was... different. And, as weird as it sounded, it felt wrong to hold a hand that wasn’t his.
Still, this wasn’t the time to overthink something as trivial as handholding. There were bigger things at play.
Growing impatient with wanting to know what all the fuss was about, Xander plowed ahead of us, forcing his way through the crowd. Grace followed close behind him, and Julian and I picked up our pace while Ben and Charlotte strode alongside us. I pressed my fingertips to my head, trying to drown out all the noise—the crunching of the grass, the hundreds of hushed whispers, the obnoxious shouting, the whooshing of the wind... my hybrid senses felt like they were going haywire.
“You alright?” Julian asked under his breath as we blended into the crowd. The flash of familiar, protective concern in his temporarily blazing blue eyes put me at ease. Drown it out, Danielle. I let out a breath and nodded, half assuring myself.
Ahead, Grace came to an abrupt stop. And despite the onslaught of sensory overload, I could make out what she said, which was basically a string of expletives. I picked up my pace, jogging until I caught up with her.
Once I shared her same line of sight, I understood.
Reed Carlisle was standing atop the fountain, raising his hands to quiet down the crowd. I scanned the area for Grace’s brother. I hadn’t met him, but he was her twin. I figured it’d be easy enough to pick him out. But I didn’t see anyone that resembled her. It was just Reed and a handful of his followers. Still, I could feel my heart beating in my throat.
Considering the size of the crowd, I was impressed with how quickly a hush fell over the park.
Admiring the numbers that had been drawn out to witness his speech, Reed squared his shoulders, puffing out his chest. “I know many of you want answers about what you’ve seen on the news in recent days.” The crowd roared in agreement, fists pumping in the air. “I’m here to tell you the truth. What the government won’t tell you.” A wicked grin slid across his face. “The castle that was discovered mere miles away from here is situated in Crescent Cape, a kingdom that has been ruled over by vampires for centuries. A kingdom which, until recently, was kept hidden from the world thanks to a spell cast by a rival coven of mine. That photograph you saw on the news? The man’s name is Julian Dumont. He’s a werewolf.”
My stomach lurched. What was he thinking?
But instead of the residents of Quarter Square gathering up their pitchforks and calling for more answers, they met him with jeers and laughter. Some of them even started to leave.
“I can see you don’t believe me,” he continued. “And why would you? But I assure you, you will.”
With a flick of his hand, the crowd became paralyzed. Even being a supernatural being myself, an invisible force rendered me helpless as he wielded his control over the masses.
I tried jutting my shoulder forward to break free from his spell, but there was nothing I could do. The others, even Grace, were just as helpless.
My eyes were the only part of me that I could still move. I scanned the area, noticing how the whites of the eyes of the humans widened in terror as the
reality of their predicament set in.
With a maniacal chuckle, Reed raised both arms into the air, summoning the elements. Wild winds whirled around us, ripping the leaves from the trees speckled throughout the park. My hair thrashed hard against my cheek as the winds grew more violent, and in an instant, he released his hold—both over us and the elements.
Leaves plummeted to the ground, and the crowd rumbled with gasps and whispers of confusion.
“Believe me now?” he asked plainly.
A brave soul stepped forth from the gathering, lifting his chin to look Reed square in the eye. “Who are you? What are you?”
A flash of anger crossed Reed’s face before sizzling out. His features relaxed, somehow making him even more terrifying.
“My name is Reed Carlisle. I’m the leader of my coven. And I’m the one who tore down the boundaries concealing the kingdoms across this world. For too long, the witches have submitted to the whims of vampires and werewolves. But no more.” The whispers among the crowd turned to screams. I couldn’t blame the humans one bit. Witches, vampires, werewolves... These creatures were the things of fairytales. Of nightmares. They weren’t supposed to exist. And Reed was the only supernatural being they knew. If, in their minds, he represented all of us, how could they not be terrified?
He punched his fist into the air. “Today is the beginning of a new era. Never again will witches bow down to anyone. Not vampires. Not werewolves,” he seethed. “And certainly not humans.”
He had hardly gotten the word out before the authorities swarmed the fountain. With a roll of his eyes, he flicked his hand, freezing them again. Another flick, and their guns were drawn from their holsters and floated toward Reed’s followers, who promptly grabbed them. Not that they needed them.
Still, the threat was not lost on anyone.
Again, he released his hold, having made his point.