Daizlei Academy Omnibus Collection

by Kel Carpenter

  This was going to be good. Made never came into the Council chambers. Not without the greatest of reasons.

  “We found her,” he said, getting to his feet. His eyes squinted as he looked at me, as if unsure whether I was the one he should be addressing.

  “Found who?” I asked, knowing already of whom he spoke. There was only one person that could strike fear into a Vampire’s heart.

  “Selena Fortescue.”

  A light touch skimmed by back, the only announcement that Victor gave as he came to my side. His cool fingertips gripped my hip, pulling me closer. The gold thread between us flared to life once more. My chest squeezed, though I assumed it had more to do with the precipice I was on.

  This night had been a glorious night. I’d died and come back. I’d killed Ivan the Cruel. I’d cemented my place.

  And now, it was time for the most important thing of all.

  Revenge.

  “Where is she?” I asked, my voice high and ringing with authority. Victor’s nails bit into my hip but he didn’t reprimand me.

  “Marrakesh,” the Made said. A hint of indecision ran over his features, and I narrowed my eyes. “We believe she was trying to make contact with the Witches, and we attempted to intercept . . .”

  He hesitated, and Victor stiffened against me. I kept the smirk off my face with some effort. If there was one thing my signasti despised, it was those that hesitated. It made him think they were weaving lies. His paranoia had climbed to an all-time high these past months, and while that likely wasn’t the case here, I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  “Attempted?” Victor asked, his tone hard and biting. I pressed closer, letting one hand rest on his abdomen.

  The Made opened and closed his mouth twice before finally finding the words. “She is a matter manipulator. One moment we were upon them, and the next the entire horde crumbled into dust. There was nothing of them left. I’ve never seen anything like it—”

  Victor cut off his rambling by pulling a dagger from his inner coat jacket and throwing it.

  The bit of metal landed with a thud and the Made collapsed, rambling no longer.

  “Flower,” he purred in my ear. I tilted my head and looked to him. “She’s seeking an alliance against us, and she would not answer my summons. Your sister is quickly becoming without use, and dare I say—a problem.”

  My heartbeat didn’t betray my excitement, much to my satisfaction. I nodded twice. “Yes, she is.”

  “What do you propose as a solution?” It wasn’t just a question. It was a challenge, and likely not the last one I would have placed upon me. He was giving me everything. Power. Revenge. Freedom.

  He wanted something, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was.

  He wanted to be my all. My everything.

  He wanted me to pick him against all odds.

  What he didn’t realize was that I already had. I chose myself. I chose to survive. In choosing that, I chose him.

  “If Selena truly has reached her potential, then it’s best to hit her where it will hurt most,” I said slowly.

  “Where is that?” he asked once.

  I stared into the empty elevator that still hadn’t closed. My thoughts beginning to take form. My sister never valued herself as much as her loved ones.

  I smiled, and it was one born of blood and pain.

  Vengeance was a virtue, and now it would be mine.

  I woke with a start, gasping for breath. My heart hammered in my chest, a sound that was quickly becoming a comfort on its own. Blood rushing roared in my ears and the sounds of the Witch camp winding down for the night followed it.

  I blinked once and sat up. Firelight bathed my face. Shadows danced over the two women before me. At least they’d had the decency to put a pillow under my head after what Livina did.

  “You put me to sleep.”

  “Not quite,” the Crone answered. “I let the Mother’s visions take you, hoping that you will see the truth and make the right decision.”

  “Right dec—” I cut myself off and exhaled heavily. “She’s alive.”

  Neither the old woman nor the child appeared surprised as they continued to stare into the fire like it held some kind of answers.

  “She’s neither dead nor alive,” Milla answered. “She is something other. Something that has never been.”

  “And will never be again,” the Crone added. The age lines on her face were stark in the low light. The shadows making her features harsh.

  “I watched her die. I felt it. Now she’s back and her heart beats again—maybe there’s a way to save her. Maybe I can—”

  “She cannot be saved.”

  The Crone’s words stilled me.

  “What do you mean she can’t be saved?” I asked, my brows drawing together. “If her heart beats, I can still do something. She can still come back.”

  “So long as Cirian’s soul resides within her, she is lost,” the Crone answered. “I am sorry, Selena. Truly, I am. But it’s the only way.” My lips pushed together as heat licked through my veins and the pounding in my head worsened.

  “You’ve already said she’s something that’s never been. Maybe she can beat him. Maybe she can—”

  “You know what she is,” Milla said. “You have seen what she has become. You have not told them, though”—she pointed in the direction of the tent that Ash, Alexandra, Blair, Tori, Johanna, Amber, and Oliver had been escorted to—“Why?”

  I looked away and closed my eyes, inhaling then exhaling slowly. So, she knew.

  I wanted to berate myself for that. Of course she knew. She was the Maiden. She could see the future.

  “They wouldn’t understand—” I started.

  “They wouldn’t let you pretend,” the girl spat with more venom than I expected. My eyes snapped open, and I regarded her. “You’re risking the lives of millions for the life of one that’s already gone. You know what she is. You know her heart is poisoned. It would be a mercy to end her and yet you won’t.”

  My lips parted and then my jaw clinked shut.

  “It’s not just her you’re asking for, though, is it? You want me. You want Alexandra. And what about my signasti? What about the people that we’ll leave behind?” Anger coursed through me, but I did not let it control me. Instead I funneled it into words. “The best part about this is I can’t tell them. I can’t tell anyone about the curse or the price, but you’re asking me not just to kill myself, but both my sisters—and no one will even know why. Thanks to your Goddess. But you—you could tell them. Couldn’t you?” I took a step forward, and a flash of that younger girl peeked through. Her innocence. Her uncertainty. Yes, she could tell them, but I wasn’t wasting my breath begging her to because she wouldn’t.

  “I’m the Maiden. What the Goddess tells me—”

  “That’s a bullshit excuse and you know it. Your Goddess is demanding an unfair price for a debt your own Crone racked up.” I jabbed a finger in Livina’s direction. “So don’t sit there and tell me what’s right or wrong. Don’t act like I’m the only one making selfish decisions here. Mine are just for people I love. Yours is for your bitch Goddess. At the end of the day, we aren’t all that different.”

  Mila surveyed me with caution, her face betraying what her eyes didn’t.

  “Is that your final answer?” she asked stiffly.

  “If your price for assistance in a war your people started is me killing my sisters, I’ll find another way without you,” I said curtly. “Without either of you,” I added in Livina’s direction.

  The Crone shook her head, the sadness of a thousand years in her eyes as she watched me. Regret and sorrow were the baggage she carried on her shoulders.

  I turned my back on her, on both of them, and started for the tent fold.

  “You can’t outrun a curse ordained by the gods, girl. It’s impossible.”

  I paused, fingers gripping the thick fabric of the flap.

  “We live in an impossibly possible world
. Nothing is impossible. If you two cowards won’t help me, I’ll find someone else that will.”

  I let the words hang between us like a noose as I stepped out into the night. The wind shrieked, blowing sand everywhere but with a flick of my hand it all scattered. The Witches that were still awake and about glanced my way, but I ignored them. Following my link with Ash, I came before a maroon-colored tent and flung the flap to the side.

  “Time to go,” I said without even getting in the tent. From this angle I could see a ladder that went straight down and a room with wood floors, thick rugs, and plush pillows. A chilly breeze hit me from inside the tent, confirming my suspicions about magical air conditioning.

  “What? Why?” Alexandra asked, getting to her feet. Tori scrambled up from her spot where she’d been lying next to her.

  “Because we’re done here,” I replied. Johanna and Oliver shared a look.

  It was Amber who chose to read the tone of my voice and said, “You didn’t get an alliance, did you?”

  I scrubbed a hand over my face, dragging it through my sweaty roots and dirty hair. It came back streaked orange and brown. I sighed. “No. I didn’t.”

  At that they chose to climb the ladder one by one. I waited until they’d all filed out to start toward where the portal had been. I could hear Milla already there and chanting under her breath.

  “But why?” Tori asked. “You’re supposed to be this Mother person. Why wouldn’t they—”

  “The Witches are cowards,” I tossed the words callously over my shoulder with the same precision I’d throw a dagger. Tori deflated a bit. “They wouldn’t give us an alliance without the one thing I cannot give. They refused to see how asking for it was unreasonable.”

  “What did they want?” Blair asked. I noted that it wasn’t her demon as I turned to look at her.

  “I can’t say.”

  Her expression didn’t falter. “Can’t or won’t?” she asked. It wasn’t a challenge and the question was valid.

  “Both. I’d rather not talk about it.” She nodded once, but Oliver stepped forward.

  “This alliance affected more than you. If they asked for something and you wouldn’t give it—”

  “Did you not just hear me?” I cut him off, my tone eviscerating him before my words even could. “I cannot give it to them, but even if I could, I wouldn’t. I’ve done everything you lot have asked. I watched my sister get stabbed and still came to this goddamned meeting and it was all for nothing. I’m not playing games, and I’m not keeping secrets. So can you back the fuck off for a second?”

  Stunned, Oliver blinked and did just that. Johanna placed a reassuring palm on his shoulder and nodded once for me to continue on. I gladly did so, eating up the distance between us and Milla.

  Three sparks of light swirled through the air. Red. Orange. Yellow. They twisted and shot toward each other. Upon colliding, the colors exploded outwards—the portal coming to life, Xellos waiting for us on the other side.

  “Let me know if you change your mind,” Milla said stoically. Pissed and tired, I couldn’t contain my response.

  “So much for you remembering the choice I made and helping me,” I scoffed. A flash of hurt crossed her face, but she closed it away before the others got to us. With her kinky black hair tucked beneath a wrap and her body adorned in the bright colors and riches of her people—she looked like a high priestess, and I wondered why it never occurred to me or anyone that she was actually the Witch Council. While a child she may be, it was clear her people regarded her as more than that. She was their Goddesses incarnate. A vessel for great power.

  I shook my head as she hugged and said goodbye to Johanna and Oliver. They went through the portal first, followed by Alexandra and Tori. Then Amber and Ash.

  Finally, when it was just the two of us, she came to stand beside me again.

  “I know it is hard for you to understand, but soon you will. I haven’t forgotten the choice you made today, just as you must not forget a sacrifice is not payment without a choice,” she told me a third and final time.

  Dread thickened in my gut. My skin broke out in a cold sweat despite the cool temperatures of the desert. I didn’t think it was her words, but I didn’t know what else it could be.

  Exhausted but feeling at a loss for what to do, I stepped into the portal. For a brief second, I let the universe carry me and my thoughts away.

  For some reason, it was the end of my nightmare that I thought of then.

  The way Lily smiled and the silent promise of revenge.

  If I could have, I would have shuddered. In the back of my mind I knew something was wrong, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what.

  Chapter 156

  The elevator dinged. The doors slid open.

  Inside, the scent of sweat and alcohol filled the strip club with just a touch of depravity. It hit me full force as I stepped out onto the cheap carpet, the soles of my boots sticking to it. After a day in the desert, the air conditioner was a blessed relief, chilling my sweat-coated skin faster than the perspiration could evaporate.

  “Friends!” Tam came striding forward from halfway across his club. He wound in and out of people, catching a shot girl that bumped into him and balancing her tray before sending her on her way again. He beamed a thousand-watt smile at us, still just as sneaky as it was the first time. Tam was the Las Vegas pack Alpha. He also ran an execution ring in the black market that was strictly off the books. I had no idea what he was hiding in that smile today, but for once, I was too tired to care.

  “Where’s Cade?” I asked him, speaking just loud enough his paranormal hearing would catch the words over the techno music blasting through his club.

  “He’s around,” Tam answered vaguely, his smile freezing in place. “What, by chance, do you need my second for?” His electric blue gaze wandered between Xellos and I, searching his partner for the reasoning behind my mood.

  I lifted both eyebrows and gave him the look.

  The look that said I’m at the fucking end of my rope so stop playing with me.

  “The Witches fell through.”

  Those four words made him freeze and the glint in his eyes died. His smile dropped a fraction. Passersby wouldn’t notice, but the air of personality left him as the creeping chill of what was upon us washed over him.

  “That’s unfortunate,” he said softly, looking away.

  “You’re telling me. So where is Cade?” I asked.

  He sighed. “He’s finishing up a transport for me at the moment. I’m assuming you want him for a stepping point to his mother?”

  “You would be correct.”

  He nodded twice and then motioned for us to come forward. “I’ll give him a call and tell him to wrap it up. In the meantime, feel free to take a seat and—”

  “Tam,” Ash said in a harsh tone. The lesser alpha paused and took note, unable to ignore the command in Ash’s voice. “The Witches aren’t coming and the situation with the Vampires . . .” He trailed off, trying, but failing to not look at me. I knew what was on his mind. My teeth clenched, and I looked away, both of us keeping that truth to ourselves.

  Milla was right that I hadn’t told them what Lily had become, but Ash wasn’t an idiot. He saw glimpses of the nightmares I lived. He felt the emotions—her emotions—roll through me like a tidal wave in my sleep. While we didn’t speak on it, the truth of my sister was a heavy one that sat between us.

  “I understand it’s dire.” Tam stepped forward, trying to assure him.

  “It’s quickly progressing, and I’m not sure we have much time. Please make sure Cade knows this is more than business for us.” His hand clasped mine. Warm and safe and right.

  It only barely stopped my stomach from roiling as I thought of the way Victor’s hand clasped Lily’s. They were so far removed from what Ash and I had . . . but he was her signasti.

  My head dipped, and I blew out a breath, running a hand through my greasy locks. My fingers got stuck in the tangles, a
nd I let it fall back to my side, too tired to care about how it looked.

  “Of course,” Tam said. He turned, pulling out a cellphone and dialing before his back was even to us. I tilted my head back, but the bright flash of lights made my demon and I wince. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, attempting to shake the steady throb building in my temple. All it did was make things worse.

  “How are you holding up?” Blair asked, coming to stand beside me.

  “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” I replied without opening my eyes.

  She chuckled low. “I’ve had better days.”

  I snorted. “You and me both.”

  “Can I ask you something?” I opened my eyes and looked at her sideways. Her light blonde hair was braided harshly, pulling the skin around her face and giving her gray eyes a slight slant. Like the rest of us, brownish-red dirt smudged her skin. The Vampire’s blood on her black clothes had already dried, but a cloying scent still stuck to all of us. Despite her haggard appearance, it was the expression on her face that struck me most. So sharp. So lethal. I nodded, raising a hand to my temple once more as the buzzing grew. “Do you think it’s worth it?”

  I blinked. “Do I think what’s worth it?”

  “This.” She motioned to Tam on the other side of the club, his cellphone practically glued to his ear as he spoke in rapid-fire Spanish.

  “Tam?” I asked. Tension verging on pain radiated through my head like an electric current but I tried to block it out.

  “Allies. Do you think the time we’re spending doing this is really worth it? I mean, if we couldn’t even convince the Witches, what reason does the Fae queen have to side with us?” she asked, shaking her head. “She doesn’t, and frankly if I were in her position, I’d probably try to sit it all out and hope the Supes and bloodsuckers would just kill each other off so we’re no longer her problem.”