by Rye Brewer
It wasn’t the warmth of the sun on my face which took precedence of my thoughts as we walked up the long, stone-paved road which led to the castle. It wasn’t even the eerie quiet coming from the village, as though it was deserted.
It was my concern for my sister. What would I find when we got to the castle? Would she be the same screaming, begging, almost unrecognizable wraith I’d found in Marcus’s dungeon?
No one would ever understand how terrible it was to see that—much less for my sister to go through it. Only I knew how desperately important it was to confirm that she hadn’t gone back to those times.
When she greeted us in the courtyard, stepping out from the castle with a surprised smile, my fears were put to rest. I could breathe again.
“You’re here.” It was not a question, and it stopped me in my tracks. I had been ready to throw my arms around her and never let go.
She didn’t seem happy to see either of us.
“Yes,” I said, looking to Stark for a little guidance. “I was desperate to make sure you were okay. Stark agreed to bring me.”
She nodded. “I’m doing very well here. I’ve come a long way.” Yes, she had. The aura around her was stronger than ever, telling me how powerful she’d become. I didn’t know whether to be glad for her or a little concerned that she’d already come so far without the time to really adjust to her power.
But Elewyn would know more about that than I would. Wouldn’t she?
“Come in, please. You don’t have to wait in the courtyard.” She showed us inside, and I couldn’t help but remember the battle we’d waged here with the Senate. How we’d killed them all. How Fane had almost died there on the floor. Every trace of blood was gone, of course, along with every hint of damage done. Elewyn had been busy.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Stark offered, stepping aside as I continued with Sara to the room where I’d waited with Fane and Scott while the Senate decided our fate. I would have rather not relive those tense, nauseating moments, but here we were.
The room was bright and cheerful, not nearly as foreboding as it had been that fateful night. The heavy draperies were open, allowing light in through windows which stretched to the ceiling. Sara perched on a settee by the cold, unused fireplace, gesturing for me to join her. It was only then that she gave me a hug—I told myself she’d been too surprised to see me earlier, and that was why she’d behaved so strangely.
“I’m glad you came,” she whispered, smiling. “I have so much to tell you.” Then, she looked at my hand when I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You have another ring. Two rings. Does this mean…?”
I nodded, a little ashamed that I had completely forgotten she might want to know. “I’m sorry you weren’t there. I wanted you to be. But we wanted to make it official before we split off on our own again. I hope you understand.”
“Understand? Oh, Anissa.” She hugged me again. When she did, she seemed much more like her old self, as though that strange, distant person in the courtyard was just my imagination running wild. “I’m so glad. I do wish I could’ve been there, but we can celebrate some other time. All of us, together.” When she pulled back, tears sparkled in her eyes. “I’ll bet Mom was a weepy mess.”
I let out a little gasp of pain when she said it, and her smile disappeared.
“What happened? Is she all right?”
“Sara… I don’t know how to tell you this.” I took her hands, struggling to find the words. How was I supposed to tell her our mother was dead?
“Just say it,” Sara whispered, blank faced. “Just get it out. All at once.”
I took a deep breath. “She’s gone. She’s dead. Valerius killed her before Elazar could pull him from Vance’s body. I’m so, so sorry.”
She closed her eyes, bowed her head. Tears dripped onto the dark robes she wore. It occurred to me then how much they reminded me of what Elewyn wore. “Oh, gosh,” she whispered, trembling.
I touched my forehead to her shoulder and we sat there for a long time, grieving.
I couldn’t tell her about Allonic’s role in all of it. It wasn’t his fault, no matter what he believed. He hadn’t forced Valerius into anything. But Sara might not feel that way; she wasn’t as close to him as I was.
Once we were both a little calmer, she wiped her eyes on her sleeves. “Well, at least you’re happy now. That means so much to me. I can know that while I’m here, doing what I have to do.”
“It was a simple ceremony, in Avellane,” I explained. “And with everything that’s going on, it seemed like there was no better time. I don’t know when we’ll be together again.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on? Are you in trouble?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s clan business, you know how things can be. Nothing for you to worry about.”
She nodded slowly. “I see. It’s easy to forget about the clans, now that I’m here.”
Easy to forget about Scott, too, since she didn’t ask about him. But then that had clearly been over by the time of our epic battle. It was the reason we’d battled to begin with, really, since his little temper tantrum over seeing her with Stark had brought attention to our presence on the island. I still felt a shudder of disgust when I remembered how he’d conducted himself.
Wherever he was, I hoped he was getting his head screwed on straight.
It was time to change the subject. “You look so well, so strong. I was worried for you, about where you were getting blood. Do you not need it anymore, now that you’re, you know, an elemental?”
She shifted in place, which was something I’d see her do too many times to ignore. She knew I might not like what I was about to hear.
“Well, Elewyn knew I needed blood, and there were so many prisoners here…”
I gulped. “You drank from the prisoners?”
Didn’t Elewyn care about breaking the rules set forth by the League? Then I remembered who I was thinking of. No, she didn’t care one bit.
Sara shrugged. “Only until she kicked them of the island.”
I gulped again, my eyes widening. “She freed the prisoners?”
“She no longer wishes to run this island as a prison,” Sara explained, shrugging as though it meant nothing to free witches and warlocks who had committed crimes. Granted, the Senate had been bent on imprisoning me on the island for a minor infraction, but that didn’t mean everyone in a cell had been as innocent as I was.
“So that was why everything seemed so quiet out there,” I mused. “There’s no one in the village.”
“Right, because all of the families of the prisoners left when their loved ones did.”
“It’s just the two of you here now?”
“For now,” she nodded.
I was more confused than ever. “So… how are you getting the blood you need to survive?”
She pressed her lips together. “She allows me to drink from her. Her blood has helped me become more powerful than I ever could have imagined. I’m healthier than ever before, too. I’ve never felt so alive.”
I didn’t know why this troubled me so. The image of my sister drinking that witch’s blood…
Then, I remembered what Branwen had said back at Hallowthorn Landing. Elewyn never helped anyone unless there was something in it for her. With a sinking heart, I asked, “What are you giving her in return?”
She looked surprised. “How did you know there was anything to be given?”
“A hunch,” I whispered. “What is it?”
Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Her condition was that I leave Stark.”
I gaped at her, waiting for her to say something that might cushion the shock. She offered nothing further. “And you accepted her conditions?”
“What else was I supposed to do?” Her head snapped up, eyes burning into mine. “I have a goal, Anissa. And if I’m going to achieve that goal, I need to make sacrifices. It’s all for the greater good.”
This was a turn I had not expected. I spu
ttered, searching my thoughts, collecting myself enough to ask, “What is this goal of yours that it’s so important?”
“To eliminate the Order of Starkers,” she whispered.
It wasn’t her statement which chilled me, but rather the intensity of her stare. She seemed to burn from within, and her aura pulsed with fresh energy.
“I’ve had dreams,” she whispered, clutching my hands. “Dreams in which the Starkers killed vampires. Killed my family. Horrible dreams, too terrible to describe.”
“But they’re only dreams,” I murmured.
“Are they?” She glared at me. “What if you’re wrong? What if they’re prophesies of what’s going to happen?”
“Do you believe they are?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know whether they’re prophetic or not, but do you want to take the chance of waiting to find out if they are? I know I certainly don’t. I’m going to get rid of them, once and for all. They’ll never hurt any of us again. And in order to do that, I need to be as powerful as I can. If that means drinking Elewyn’s blood and absorbing her power while training to hone my skills, so be it.”
“Even if that means giving up Stark?” I asked, skeptical. Almost wishing she would admit the pain the sacrifice meant to her.
“Giving up Stark?” His footsteps rang out through the room as he entered. “I couldn’t help but overhear.”
I winced, turning to face him. His expression gave nothing away, but his tone of voice was icy. “Is this true, then?”
Sara didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. He had already heard her say it, and she didn’t offer to take it back. I was embarrassed to be there.
“I hate to tell you this,” he continued, “but I was never yours to give away. And definitely not Elewyn’s.”
“I heard my name.” Elewyn swept into the room, as regal and dangerous as ever. Her eyes narrowed when she looked at Stark. “I wish I had known you were coming. I would have prepared something in your honor.”
“There’s no need for that,” he snarled. “I knew there was something behind this. I knew you had a plan in mind. Just once, I wish you would prove me wrong.”
She only stared at him in response, lifting her chin either in pride or defiance.
His head snapped around, his eyes finding me. “I’m ready to go. Say your goodbyes.”
“Yes,” Sara was quick to agree. “I think it’s best that you go. Anissa, you should go with him.”
She may as well have punched me in the stomach. I would have lost my breath either way. “Truly?” I asked, searching her face for some sign of what she was thinking. How could she behave this way? As though I meant nothing to her.
“Yes. Truly.” She took a step back, away from me.
“Come on,” Stark growled, taking me by the hand and taking us from the room, then out of the castle entirely. I had no idea what to say or even what to think as he created a portal and led me through before I had the chance to protest.
Not that protesting would have done me any good.
Not that I even wanted to stay.
33
Stark
I should have known.
“What was that all about?” Anissa asked once we were back on the docks at Hallowthorn Landing.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, though I had my ideas. It wouldn’t have done her any good to hear them right now, however, so I left it at that.
She shook her head, her expression reminding me of a lost little girl. “My sister. She seemed… different.”
“Stronger?” I asked.
“Yes, and no. There’s something else.”
I nodded, turning to face to water. “Yes. I noticed it, too.” The fire in her eyes. A zealot’s fire. It was enough to chill my blood.
“I don’t know what to think. She’s so intense. Extreme, even,” Anissa mused, standing just behind me.
“Elewyn will bring no harm to her. You can rest assured of that,” I assured her, still facing the water. Unwilling to reveal the uncertainty which more than likely was written on my face. Though it wasn’t Sara’s safety which concerned me—Elewyn had to know that I would never forgive her if she allowed harm to come to Sara.
It was uncertainty over so many other things.
“I think I’ll go up to the fortress and see where I’m staying,” Anissa whispered. “I can’t make sense of her.”
“Do that. Get some rest. You’ll feel better when you do.” I waited until she was gone, and I was alone to turn my gaze toward the fortress. I’d wait until she was inside before returning. I needed time to think, fresh air in which to do it.
The real problem was one I never would have imagined: Branwen, and the feelings she had reminded me of. Feelings which had never died. They’d merely lived in a quiet, dark corner of my heart, waiting to be brought back to the forefront at the first sight of her.
I couldn’t forget the anguish on her face when I’d told her it was over. When she had guessed it was all because of Elewyn and I hadn’t dared correct her.
Her anguish had crushed me then and it crushed me still. It was all so pointless, the result of bitterness and vile prejudice. And one extremely ruthless warlock who was better off dead.
I walked across the wooden planks of the docks, my sights set on the fortress. Branwen was in there, undoubtedly, but I couldn’t avoid my home just because she was there. As much as I wished I could. I couldn’t avoid her forever, either.
Just as I could not avoid the comparison of the feelings I had for her with what I felt for Sara. What I’d thought I felt. She no longer seemed like the same person.
I kept going back to the fire in her eyes. Had I looked that way at the height of my mania? I must have—I’d certainly behaved with the intensity, the single-minded determination she exhibited. And Elewyn was taking advantage of that.
Just when I thought she could sink no further.
I’d climbed the wide staircase and was on my way to my chambers when Sirene emerged from hers. She held Elena in her arms, and both of them looked as though they’d been bathed and changed from the attire they’d arrived in.
I wondered how much longer the baby would fit into her cute little outfits if she kept growing at such a rate.
“You look unwell,” my sister observed with a frown. “Or unhappy.”
“I’m fine,” I lied, whispering so as not to disturb the sleeping child, then gestured for her to join me in my chambers for the sake of privacy. She sat at the foot of the bed, an expectant expression on her face.
“What are your plans?” I asked, sitting across from her. “Now that we’re alone, I feel we can speak more freely on this. I’ve already voiced my concerns.”
“You did indeed,” she agreed with a wry smile.
“And? What do you plan to do about the baby? About her growth? How will you sustain her?”
“I must admit, I have not been allowed the luxury of thinking past today, perhaps tomorrow,” she murmured, stroking Elena’s soft, plump cheek. “Everything has happened so quickly. The child was born, we both survived. I foolishly allowed myself to believe for a moment that we’d overcome the most difficult hurdle. I could not have foreseen this. And now, Fane is off, saving the world once again.”
“I know. I’m the one who sent him out to save the world. I told him Gage was in danger from the Starkers.”
She sighed. “Do you ever regret starting the Order?”
“Of course, I do. I only hope Fane will be all right, getting himself tangled with them.”
“I have faith that he will be,” she smiled. “And he will help Gage, and then he’ll return to me. And our baby.” It was all so simple for her. She could rely on her faith, on the strength of their love. I wished I had her confidence.
“What about you?” she asked, suddenly changing topics. “What will you do now? Will you leave?”
“Why would I do that? I want to be here for you, for Elena.” I snorted derisively at myself. “After all, I’m the reason Fane had to
leave you. I started the Order. How could I leave you now?”
She tilted her head to the side. “Branwen doesn’t think I know, but we both know I do. About the two of you. We’ve never discussed it, but I knew all along, and I can see from the way you behave around her that you haven’t stopped caring for her. I had assumed that since this was the case, you wouldn’t wish to be here and make things worse for yourself.”
I stood, going to her, taking the baby from her arms. “It doesn’t matter,” I whispered, staring down into the face of my sleeping niece.
34
Philippa
“I can’t believe how beautiful this is. I could cry, honestly.”
Vance slid his arms around my waist from behind, leaning down to whisper in my ear. “You’re not disappointed we didn’t go to Paris?”
“After seeing this? Not a chance.” It was enough to make my heart ache, the sheer beauty of night time in Monaco. Monte Carlo, to be precise. He hadn’t told me the apartment was actually in Monte Carlo, overlooking Port Hercule and the breathtaking waters beyond.
The sun had only just set, turning the sky lavender at the horizon which darkened to a deeper purple further in. Tall, puffy clouds of indigo drifted through the sky over Mont Agel, off in the distance.
The marina was full of white boats which gleamed even whiter against the sapphire water, and the lights from the beachside hotels and restaurants, from the harbor and the boats themselves reflected off the water and dazzled me. The whole city seemed to shine and sparkle.
Just my style.
“See?” He pointed, still leaning over my shoulder. His finger traced a path through the bright streets below. “That’s where the Grand Prix is held.”