by Eden Briar
My eyes blur with tears. I’ve gone from the child thrown away like someone’s trash to the daughter Archer’s waited twenty years for.
When I step toward him, he closes the distance between us, pausing a foot away from me and opening his arms. He waits for me to come to him and I do, letting him engulf me in a hug.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I’m so sorry. I wish…”
Whatever he wishes is lost when Peter calls from the doorway.
“Archer! We’ve got company.”
Archer pulls away, keeping a hand on my arm.
“Company?”
“There are vampires at the door.”
Well, shit. As if this day couldn’t get any longer.
27
We trek upstairs, Peter filling us in on the way.
“It’s Katya, Matthias’s second. She says she’s here to talk.”
“Did she mention Zac?” I ask, wondering if that’s who she’s here for.
“No, but she hinted that she knows the attack on you was unsuccessful.”
Archer turns to me. “Indigo, find Zac and go wait in my office.”
“You’re not going to let her in, are you?”
“She’s the foremost vampire leader in the city right now. Ignoring her is not an option. But that doesn’t mean we have to welcome her with open arms.”
I recall how she spoke to Zac when we were escaping Matthias’s lair.
“Zac knows her. The way they were with each other… it seems like they’re close.”
Archer considers that.
“I’ll come with you to talk to Zac. Maybe he can provide some insight into Katya’s arrival here.”
I have a bad feeling about this. But who wouldn’t? Every time I’ve encountered the vampires and their proxies, they’ve tried to kill me. And they very nearly succeeded.
Zac is still in the library, sprawled in an armchair, a book in his hand. He seems engrossed and entirely at home here. There’s something endearing about that.
He glances up as we walk in, taking in our expressions.
“Trouble in the homestead?”
“Katya’s here.” I can’t quite keep my voice from wavering.
His eyes widen as his face lights up—happy surprise, not the fear and dread that’s pooling in the pit of my stomach. He comes to stand by my side, watching me with concern.
“It’s okay, Blue,” he says softly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
He strokes his knuckles across the back of my cheek as I take a shuddering breath and try to calm down. Even though I can’t see myself, I know my eyes are gray right now. My fear is sky-high, my body trying its best to protect me, to hide me.
Archer adds his voice to Zac’s.
“Isaac is right, Indigo. The guild was created to protect the Seeker. We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I draw in another breath and nod, turning my attention to Zac and the matter at hand.
“You know Katya pretty well. Maybe you know why she’s here?”
“What did she say when she rocked up to the door?”
Archer answers that.
“She implied she was aware of the proxy’s attack on Indigo and its success, or lack thereof. Of course, she was likely behind the attack.”
A frown crosses Zac’s face. “That’s not really Katya’s style. Matthias has always had more of a dramatic flair. If Katya wanted Indigo dead, she’d have ensured it. Poison, most likely. Something quick and deadly. No chance of coming back from that. Even with a healer to hand.”
I shudder, and Zac puts an arm around my shoulders.
“Does she know Indigo is the Seeker?” Archer asks.
Zac wavers. “I don’t know. There’s no doubt Matthias knew. I might have staked him and knocked his body out of the game, but his mind is working just fine. There are ways for him to communicate, in a limited sense, like sending his proxies after us. It is possible he shared the truth about Indigo with Katya.”
“Then what approach do you suggest for talking with Katya? We need to hear her out, but I would like to learn as much as we can from the encounter while minimizing what information we’re passing on to her, consciously or otherwise.”
Zac considers that, his fingers tapping idly against my shoulder.
“Katya is a keen strategist, but she’s also a pretty straight shooter. She doesn’t play the kind of mind games Matthias favors. If you want her to be direct, it’s best to be direct in turn. Put everyone you feel has a stake in this in the room and see how it plays out.”
It takes me a second to get what Zac is saying.
“You want to put me in the room with her?”
“If we want to know how much she knows about you, then yeah. If she knows you’re the Seeker, she won’t beat around the bush.”
“And if she wants the Seeker dead like Matthias?”
“Won’t happen. We’ll be right there.”
“Isn’t she the second most powerful vampire in the city? Are you sure you can stop her if she tries?”
Zac tugs me around to face him. “I know her, Blue. She’s powerful, sure, but I know how she thinks. I know what makes her tick.”
He looks past me to Archer. “She’s not the most patient person, though. Let’s not keep her waiting.”
“We have a dead room. We’ll see her in there.” Archer heads for the door, and we follow.
“Dead room?” I ask, letting Zac lead me out. It sounds ominous.
“A room that’s shielded from outside interference.”
“Meaning what?”
“We can’t be overheard, physically or psychically.”
It sounds like a good precaution to take.
Archer sends us on ahead, going to meet Katya and bring her to us.
The dead room is as strange as its name makes it sound. The surfaces are almost but not quite reflective—an odd silver-gray color on the walls, floor, and ceiling. It feels uncomfortable in here, muffled.
There’s a round table surrounded by chairs but no other furniture. This isn’t a room anyone spends much time in, and I understand why.
“You’re sure it wouldn’t be better if I stayed out of sight? If I played dead like Archer planned?”
Zac’s green eyes regard me. “I’m sure.”
The door swings open, and Archer waves Katya inside. Her eyes light on me. There’s no surprise, no shock. Her lips curve into a knowing smile. There’s no doubt in my mind that she knew I’d survived the proxy’s attack.
Her gaze doesn’t linger long, moving to Zac, her expression softening.
“Katya, it’s good to see you.” Zac takes a step forward before hesitating.
“No hug?” she asks, her voice teasing.
Huffing out a breath, he closes the gap between them and wraps his arms around her. His next words are mumbled.
“I missed you.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.” She hugs him back before letting go. “I thought you would have been far from here by now. But I hadn’t fully grasped your situation.”
Her eyes stray to me again, her perceptive gaze unnerving. Zac moves back by my side, lacing our fingers together, making it very clear where his allegiance lies. Katya’s eyes follow the movement, looking like the cat that got the cream.
“And now I have.”
She spins around to regard Archer. “I’ve personally seen to it that Matthias’s proxies have been taken care of.”
There’s no elaboration on what ‘taken care of’ means, but it’s not hard to read between the lines.
“You killed them?” Clearly, Archer isn’t a fan of subtext.
“They could not be made safe. Matthias would always have control of them, like a deranged puppet master. Those protecting his physical body remain in place but are heavily guarded. Matthias won’t risk himself on a fool’s errand now, not with so few remaining under his influence.”
She moves to the table and slips into a seat, tossing her hair over one shoulder and regar
ding us all in challenge. This is a chess game, and she’s just made the first move.
“You know what Indigo is,” Archer surmises, taking the chair opposite her.
At Zac’s urging, we join them at the table, the sound of chairs dragging across the floor loud in the quiet.
“It took me some time to piece it all together. The vampires at the casino were convinced she was merely an unusual clairvoyant. It was Zac’s reaction that made no sense. But when Matthias sent his proxy after her, in such a high-profile, risky, theatrical manner… I knew I had missed a trick.”
“You’re not here to finish the job?” If the vampires are coming for me again, I want to know.
Her eyes snap to me, and I flinch. Zac’s hand covers mine, squeezing gently in reassurance.
“Vampires, by virtue of our natures, are the most vulnerable to the lure and call of Balor. But before I was turned, I was a clairvoyant. No vampire, even Matthias, has ever penetrated my mind. And Balor’s influence does not touch me the way it has Matthias and many others.”
“Oh, so you’re a good vampire? You’ve seen the light?”
She looks mildly amused, like I’m a child showing off.
“Balor is a threat to us, not our savior. I’ve been under the yoke of one master for far too long. I won’t willingly be under the control of another.”
“Meaning what?” Archer asks.
“Indigo’s true nature will not be revealed by me, not to anyone. The vampires of this city are under orders not to touch her. If they do, their lives, and the lives of those who sired them, are forfeit.”
That was one way to make a punishment really be felt.
“There won’t be a repeat of the attempt on your life, Indigo, not by the vampires of this city.”
Zac breaks his silence.
“They don’t already know what she is?”
“They know what I’ve told them—that Indigo is your girlfriend. You’ve been hiding her from Matthias. He discovered your relationship, had her brought to his lair, and planned to turn her. You found out and staked him. Typical father-son dispute.”
I blink at that. If that counts as typical in the vampire world, I don’t want to know what they’d consider unusual.
“I’ve convinced Matthias’s supporters that, once he’s recovered, this will all be put behind us. Given the lengths he has gone to in the past to keep you alive, it wasn’t hard to persuade them that he’d kill anyone who attempted to harm you or the woman you love.”
“Why would you do all that?”
Archer seems suspicious, and I don’t blame him. She’s going out of her way, taking risks, and for what?
She sits back and folds her arms.
“The future Balor has planned for us doesn’t interest me. Now that Matthias is out of the picture, Balor himself is our biggest threat. The Seeker captured or killed wouldn’t be to my advantage. The longer the survival of the Seeker remains concealed, the better the chances of Balor’s eventual defeat.”
She’s making it very clear that she’s acting for her own benefit. Is it really just luck that the guild’s aims align with hers?
“Matthias believes the Seeker is a threat to him. Why don’t you feel the same?” I’m careful not to claim the title of Seeker. It’s still hard just to get the S-word past my lips.
“I wasn’t there when the first Seeker failed in her mission. Matthias was, and it almost cost him his life. Even now, I’m not the one putting my life on the line. Isaac is. The master races believe the Seeker threat is contained. If they discover the truth, it will spark much bloodshed, and you will be hunted down and killed. All indications are, Balor will arise again in the next decade. His return will not be to anyone’s benefit, except the devout and the demented. The time for the Seeker to rise is now.”
She glances at Zac. “Isaac, perhaps we could speak in private for a moment before I leave.”
Archer meets my gaze and angles his head toward the door.
I look to Zac, waiting for him to meet my eyes. He nods. “It’s fine, Indy.”
I follow Archer outside, and we hang around a few feet from the door.
“The devout and the demented?”
He breaks into a wry smile. “An apt description of Balor’s followers.”
“Do you think we can trust Katya?”
His expression turns serious, and I miss his smile.
“As long as it’s to her benefit, she’ll keep the status quo.”
“But as soon as outing me is to her advantage, she’ll turn on us?”
He hesitates. “If she were any other vampire, I would give an unreserved yes in answer to that question.”
“But?”
“Isaac is a wild card in this equation. He divides her loyalties.”
I’m not sure what he’s getting at. “In English?”
“She cares about him. It’s likely she’s been there for him since he was a child. She’s gone out of her way to protect him, to ensure his safety, risking her own position in return. If Isaac’s safety is tied with yours… She’ll do what she can to keep both of you safe.”
The door to the dead room opens, and Katya walks out, Zac on her heels. She pauses opposite me, reaching out to take my hand. Our gazes meet, and I feel the briefest touch of her mind against mine. It’s nothing like Matthias’s cold, slimy fingers digging into my brain. More like the brush of a cat winding its way around my legs.
She glances from me to Zac and back again. “You have a long road ahead of you. A day will come when choices have to be made. Be strong enough to make them. We’ll talk again, but not for some time.” Her eyes lighten, and she breaks into a smile. “See you around, Indy.”
She turns to Archer. “Shall we?”
Archer gestures along the corridor. “After you.”
We watch them walk away. Zac doesn’t speak until they’re out of sight.
“That went well.”
He’s smiling.
“Yeah?” I hardly know what to make of all I’d just witnessed.
“Yeah.” He slings an arm around my shoulders. “Is there a kitchen around here? I’m starving.”
28
We find Ben and Jazz in the kitchen. Ben still looks pale, his eyes haunted, but that fades into a smile when he catches sight of me.
“What did the vampires want?” Jazz asks.
“Katya was giving Indy and me her blessing,” Zac says offhandedly.
I’m sure he’s joking, but Ben’s smile disappears and Jazz tenses, pushing to his feet.
“Is that so?”
I’m way too tired for this territorial crap, so I ignore it and go in search of food. There’s a dish warming in the oven.
“Pasta bake, anyone?”
“Yes, please,” Zac says.
Dishing up two portions, I keep my back to the room. The guys have gone quiet but the tension persists.
When I turn around, Zac is right behind me. I push a plate into his hands and step around him, plunking myself down at the table beside Ben. Zac grabs a chair and drags it next to mine. Ben stiffens, and Jazz all but growls.
I drop my fork, letting it clatter onto my plate. What would Lynea do if these were her three boyfriends? She wouldn’t let things fester.
“So, you three know each other.”
There’s an awkward pause. Suddenly Zac doesn’t seem so cocksure. Crap, what box of horrors did I just open?
“We grew up together,” Jazz supplies. “We lived in the same safe houses for almost four years.”
The guys are so normal that I sometimes forget the horrors of their childhood.
“But you two ended up here, and Zac wound up with Matthias?”
Zac’s words are halting. “They were closing in on us, the vampires and shifters leading the Cull. My mom made contact with Matthias. He promised us shelter.”
“In exchange for selling out our safe house. Only four of us made it out alive.” My heart thuds at Jazz’s cutting reply. “Ben’s mom died in that attack.�
�
Zac goes a shade paler and drops his gaze, a tremor running through his hands.
“My mom had a history of making bad choices. The fact that I exist is proof enough of that. Her making a deal with Matthias was no exception.”
“I don’t know. She made a pretty good bargain. You and she got to live in luxury while we scraped out an existence hiding in basements and attics, afraid that if we laughed too loud, we’d bring death down on our heads,” Jazz comments offhandedly.
Zac’s hands clench into fists, his gaze still trained on the table.
“Matthias snapped her neck the moment we got there, drank her dry right in front of me.”
The pain in his voice makes my heart ache, even as horror fills me.
“How old were you?”
“Seven.”
He lifts his eyes then, his gaze steely as he looks over at Ben and Jazz. “Make no mistake, Matthias was no loving father.”
“Fair enough,” Jazz says evenly. “I guess you don’t become that powerful a vampire by being a nice guy and a good father. I’d say at least you had a father, but no father might trump having an egotistical, psychopathic, ancient vampire for a father.”
Zac bites back a laugh, but his gaze darts to Ben. At this moment, I think I love the troubled clary.
“You were seven. It wasn’t your fault.”
Zac nods his thanks, and I turn my attention to my food. It’s pretty good, but it’s no lasagna.
“So, what did happen with the vampires?” Jazz presses.
Finally, a question I want to answer. “A truce.”
“She knows what Indy is, but she’ll keep it to herself,” Zac adds.
“What we think I am.”
I’m still not convinced. All we’ve proved so far is that I’m Archer’s daughter, assuming glowing crystals in stones don’t lie.
“How are we buying her silence? What does she want?”
I get Jazz’s skepticism. As certain as Zac seems, I don’t know if we can trust Katya.
“She wants to get out from under Matthias’s shadow, but she doesn’t want the future Balor will bring, so it suits her to keep the existence of the Seeker hidden. For now, at least.” I wait a beat before adding, “Also, she likes Zac.”