by Rachel Jonas
That declaration was sobering because we all knew exactly who among us Sebastian was after.
“And because Ivan is under my care, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s best if he comes with me. I can continue to look after him and keep him out of harm’s way while you all find a way to bring me the witch that did this to him. Until then, this is no place for someone in his condition,” she added.
Elise gave a nod, but said nothing while keeping her eyes trained on her oldest friend, her sister by marriage.
Evangeline stepped forward, releasing my hand to go to her aunt’s side. A long gaze passed between them. These two, in both lifetimes, had been so much alike. Yes, Hilda was a bit brash and hard to read, while Evangeline was all heart, but … their strength, their loyalty … it was unmatched, only rivaled by Elise’s.
Evangeline didn’t hesitate to bring Hilda into a tight embrace, one that was swiftly returned.
“I won’t be here in the flesh, but just know I’m doing everything I can to keep you safe from a distance,” Hilda said as they clung to one another. “He will not win again,” she added.
Evangeline nodded against her shoulder as the whites of her eyes tinted red, pooling with tears. Hilda stood back, placed a kiss on the forehead of her only niece, and then quickly ascended the steps to gather her things.
***
Evie
Nick was gone without a trace.
My brothers had returned from their search and came up with nothing. It was Declan who stated he couldn’t even catch a hint of Nick’s scent. Maisy’s smell either, which seemed impossible, considering the odor she carried with her the night Elise had her captured and brought to us.
Discovering that there was no lead to point us toward where Nick had gone was just another blow. We were all bewildered, beaten down by one bad circumstance after another. Add to that list that Hilda had just dropped the mother of all bombs on us—the announcement that she’d be leaving.
The guys returned to this terrible news, finding out that our aunt would have to leave us tonight. We depended on her in ways I couldn’t even begin to express, but in short, the lack of her presence would definitely be felt.
I understood the reason she had to leave, though, and the decision was made for all the right reasons.
Because, above all else, she wanted to protect us.
“I’ve got the essentials,” Hilda announced as she descended from the second floor. With a small bag tossed over her shoulder, Dallas followed behind her with two larger ones.
The length of her teal skirt dragged the floor in the back where a short train followed. Her style, like her personality, was so bold—something I’d definitely notice was missing from our home once she was gone. Granted, she had put me in my place on more than one occasion, but she’d always only ever done so in love.
An emotion I knew she felt reciprocated from each one of us.
“Are you sure there isn’t another way?” Elise asked, stepping forward as Dallas exited with the luggage.
Hilda shook her head and it wasn’t lost on me that this was just as hard on her as it would be on the rest of us. Maybe even more so because it was such an abrupt change. The moment she realized the potential danger, she knew what needed to be done.
She always knew what needed to be done—something else to miss about her. I could only hope we would get along okay in her absence.
She stood in the doorway and it was abundantly clear she was reluctant to part ways. The feeling was mutual for all parties.
“You’ll return the moment things settle,” Elise insisted, doing all she could to mask the wetness that pooled in her eyes.
Hilda gave a nod. “As quickly as I’m able to make it here,” she assured us. “In the meantime, don’t worry about Ivan. He’ll be well taken care of. Where we’re going, we’ll be among other witches, among friends, and I assure you he’ll be my main priority.”
Ethan was the first to rush in with a hug, and the rest of us followed, swarming Hilda as we swallowed the bitter pill we’d been dealt tonight.
“Don’t make a fuss,” she insisted when we released her. Swiping a tear from beneath her eye, she corrected her posture and it wasn’t long before she appeared as poised and collected as usual.
“I need to get Ivan settled, so I’d better be on my way. And when Dallas returns from the drop point, you’d be wise not to ask questions. The fewer people with knowledge of where I am, the better our chances of Sebastian not knowing. Thus, making it nearly impossible to hunt me down for intel should he get desperate.”
Elise and Liam agreed.
“Duly noted,” Declan replied.
There was a long stint of silence and the heaviness of the moment could be sensed.
Felt.
“Well … until we meet again,” Hilda said in parting, breaking all our hearts the next instant when she stepped outside, closed the door … and left us.
It was quiet. Eerily so as we all stared at the spot she occupied only a moment ago. It was hard to imagine how we would move forward without her, but we would have to find a way.
“We have to call a meeting,” Elise announced, swiping rogue tears from beneath her eyes as she worked to hold her expression.
“With whom?” Dallas asked, following her with his gaze as she began to pace the length of the foyer.
“The entire clan,” she declared. “Losing Hilda is a tragedy. Let us not have it be in vain by not doing what we can to plug this information leak. The people need to understand why Sebastian has been on to our every move. They need to know that, while no, the Elders are not untrustworthy, they must now be left out of all our tactical planning and cannot be told they’re being left out. We have to operate in total secrecy,” she declared, our latest loss no doubt driving this sudden staunch focus.
“She’s right,” Liam interjected. “We’ll arrange it tonight.”
Elise nodded. “With the Elders and Council only acting as a false headship from this point forward, we’ll need to establish new leaders among us. That can be decided at the rally, but we need to decide who will speak, who will pass along what we know.”
My stomach rolled with fear, but I imagined it would always be that way. I would always feel like I was inadequate to fill the role I was destined to fill. However, that was no longer a sufficient excuse. Fear was not a good enough reason to hide when our people needed hope, needed direction.
“I’ll do it,” I volunteered.
Every single eye turned my way, but I didn’t let that intimidate me. Instead, I stepped forward, coming from behind Liam where I’d chosen to stand when this conversation began. Now, front and center, I fought the urge to shrink into the shadows again, but instead of giving in, I clasped my hands together.
You’re queen.
You’re queen.
I repeated this to myself like a mantra and, surprisingly enough, each time the words left my mouth, I believed it a little more.
“Most of them don’t even know my face,” I began. “If I passed them on the street, I could blend in and no one would even think twice. But … maybe it’s time I step up. Time I stop fighting who and what I really am.” I glanced around at my family and said more. “I want to be the queen they deserve. I can’t do that if I’m afraid to even acknowledge it.”
Whereas, I had started out hoping for input as to whether the others thought this was a good idea or not, I had decided all on my own.
“I’ll address them tomorrow night. I’m ready. They’re ready.”
The expressions around the room were a mashup, but I didn’t focus on them. My ability to lead could not be contingent on who did or didn’t believe in me—family or not. It had to come from within. And while, on the outside, I hadn’t quite found the confidence required to do the job, I had certainly found it on the inside.
My time to lead was here and now … and no one could take that away from me.
Chapter Eleven
Nick
Chipped paint and bar
red windows—my new surroundings.
The smell of standing water and filth nearly overpowered every other scent I detected. All except the mix of lycans and witches. I felt them all around, like a million eyes set on me from every direction despite not being able to focus on any of the looming figures I caught glimpses of.
I blinked, but things weren’t any clearer. I had no choice but to lie there, waiting for my senses to align.
“I implore you, Your Highness. Please consider this beautiful creature before you a peace offering.”
I still didn’t have a visual, but I knew that voice well. It was the witch from the cell beside mine. The one who’d taken a stone to my head and dragged me God-knows-where for a purpose I hadn’t completely figured out yet. All I knew was she seemed to hope someone considered me valuable enough to use as a bargaining chip.
Hard-soled shoes echoed against the cement floor, coming closer. I made out a dark frame—tall and wiry. The figure stooped beside me, crouching only a foot or so away, and it was then that the fog cleared.
The Sovereign, with Blaise following close behind.
Both knew the moment I became aware, prompting two wide grins to part their thin lips.
“Pleasure to see you again, friend,” Sebastian groaned.
I hurried to sit upright, thinking I’d get to my feet the next instant, but … no, that didn’t happen.
I yelled out in pain, feeling the burn of what could only be described as a searing-hot knife burrowing deep inside my skull. I fell to my knees again, clinging to the floor.
“There, there,” Sebastian said, his calm tone contrasting my own pain. “We can’t have you running wild now, can we? Just to be on the safe side, I’ve had my witches make certain you mind your manners during your stay.”
He paused a moment, staring down on me like some sort of science exhibit, and then addressed his son. “Do you think he enjoyed our gift?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I realized what gift he spoke of—the bodies, hundreds he’d murdered just to taunt me.
“I’d say it did the trick,” Blaise agreed, nonchalantly polishing a long, curved blade from where he leaned against a wall. “Looks like it brought the beast right out of him. Just like you said it would,” he concluded.
Maniacal bastard …
I had Sebastian’s attention again. “Now we only need to send out a team to confirm he’s done what he was born to do. If we’re lucky, he took care of our little problem and Elise is mourning her daughter as we speak … all one-thousand pieces of her,” he added with a twisted laugh.
His description filled my thoughts with vivid imagery and I fought to suppress it.
I needed to get my bearings so, first chance I got, I could run. Glancing around, I took in my surroundings, hoping to see something familiar, some indicator that I was still in Seaton Falls and only needed to find my way to an exit.
“Pardon me, Your Highness,” Maisy spoke up.
Before she could finish, Sebastian turned his head slowly as the corners of his mouth curved downward, giving way to a look of disgust when his eyes landed on her. In response, the witch lowered her gaze to the floor.
“What … is it, Maisy?” Sebastian spat, doing nothing to hide that her interruption was an unwelcomed one.
“I just wanted to point out that, while death and carnage certainly helped his process along, what tipped the boy over the edge was something far more interesting. Something I’m certain you’ll be eager to hear, especially seeing as how the other royals hoped to keep it secret,” she groveled.
My heart raced knowing what the witch, Maisy, intended to do. The secret she spoke of, the one she discovered by eavesdropping my conversation with Roz, could not be shared. Especially not with this tyrant.
“Stop,” I choked out, barely able to speak with the hold Sebastian’s coven had on me. My plea was so weak, it went ignored.
Sebastian took slow steps in the opposite direction as the click of his soles and metal-tipped walking stick created an offbeat rhythm. He stopped with no more than a foot of space between him and Maisy. He was calm, his posture stiff, which made the sudden movement that came next even more jarring.
His thin fingers seized Maisy’s throat. If I hadn’t known his strength already, I would have now with how easily he lifted her from the ground. He held her there, dangling in the air expressionless as he spoke, unmoved by her nails tearing at the flesh of his hand as she fought to get free.
“Let me be abundantly clear on a few points,” he seethed, speaking the words through clenched teeth. “There are no other royals. There is but one Sovereign,” he declared as Maisy sputtered. “And secondly, there are no secrets among the Seaton Falls clan. I’ve made certain of that,” he added. “So spare me your lies.”
When he finished speaking, he dropped Maisy to the floor in a heap. She gasped, sputtering for air. Meanwhile, Sebastian pulled a black handkerchief from his lapel pocket to wipe his hands clean of her filth. Giving Maisy his back, he addressed Blaise.
“She’s of no use to me. Have her taken out back and executed.”
“Please, Your Highness!” Maisy begged. “After what I’ve done here today, bringing you such a special creature … please, have mercy.”
Silence filled the room and my stare was trained on Sebastian. For a moment, he ignored Maisy’s plea, but with a look of amusement set on his face, he turned and asked a question.
“Now, why … on Earth … would I do a silly thing like that?”
Maisy’s expression went blank and she had no response.
Sebastian paced while speaking. “From the moment I realized what Nicholas was, he was destined to end up right where he is now—in my possession, soon to be mine to control at will. With his help, Seaton Falls will be all but wiped off the map. And with that single act, the rest of the clans will fall in line once again and order will be restored.”
He laid eyes on Maisy again, adding more.
“You did nothing here today but save my men a trip to Seaton Falls. The Liberator would have been retrieved without your … help,” he concluded, reminding the witch of her place in this world. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s work to be done.”
“You’re mistaken,” Maisy called out when Sebastian had just begun to walk away.
From the sound of his heavy sigh, it was apparent he was over Maisy speaking out of turn. However, when she stood again, I guessed she didn’t care. I imagined staring death in the eye could have that effect, make someone bold when they otherwise ought not to be.
Without waiting for his father’s command, Blaise stepped forward, seizing Maisy by the arm. It took him and three other soldiers to move her even the few feet they managed, but when she spoke again, it was Sebastian who halted them.
“She’s not dead!” Maisy yelled out. “You mentioned Elise mourning her daughter’s death, but that’s not so,” she shared. “One might even guess Elise has cause to celebrate.”
I fought harder now, hoping I could stop Maisy from saying another word. If I couldn’t, if I failed …
“Evangeline is with child,” Maisy blurted, causing my heart to sink. “She and the dragon known as Reaper.”
My eyes slammed shut and I acknowledged the strange mix of emotions within me. The dark side that wished Evie dead, the real me who wanted nothing more than to protect her. As hard as it was to explain, it was ten times harder to understand.
“What did you just say?”
With Sebastian’s question, and the clear return of an inkling of leverage, Maisy shrugged away from Blaise and the soldiers.
“You heard correctly, Your Highness,” she reiterated. “And it was this event that awakened the Liberator. It appears he thirsts not for the blood of the hybrid, but … for the one that grows within her.”
My stomach turned when she finished that statement, suggesting that … the one I was after was … the child?
That couldn’t have been.
Not even a m
onster would want that.
Maisy had clearly piqued Sebastian’s interest this time, and his anger. I couldn’t tell what fueled it exactly, but I guessed it was either that I’d left the job undone, or that whatever intel he thought he had wasn’t as accurate as he believed it to be.
“A child,” Sebastian said to himself, his thoughts drifting as he paced, nearing a window that had been blacked out with dark paint. “Hm.”
“It would be a glorious feat for the kingdom if the child were to be seized and sired, Your Highness. Once the family has been done away with, nothing would stand in your way from yielding the little one to serve only you—a powerful hybrid to obey and do your bidding, to revere you as his or her father.”
“Silence, Maisy,” Sebastian hissed, shutting her up immediately. He turned to Blaise to speak. “This changes everything.”
Blaise nodded, agreeing, but next his gaze was set on me. “If she’s right about this thing thirsting for the kid’s blood, that could present a slight conflict of interest. It might be impossible to keep both in our possession without this one trying to take bites out of our hybrid.”
I was disgusted hearing them speak of two lives so callously, as if they wagered a business deal.
“You bring up a good point,” Sebastian replied, distracted as he thought.
“Unless, Maisy being the one who created him, can somehow fix him? Make it so he and the child could co-exist?” Blaise suggested.
The idea made Sebastian turn toward Maisy. “Can it be done?”
My eyes flitted to her, too, wondering if … maybe …
However, her expression turned dim right before answering. “His existence is bound by my magic. What’s done is done,” she concluded, admitting she had no more control over me than I had over myself.
Sebastian was clearly disheartened by this information when he sighed. “Very well then.” With a quick look exchanged between him and Blaise, he gave clear instructions. “I suppose we have ourselves a hybrid to capture,” he sighed. “But first, begin the siring process. The quicker we get the Liberator started on my blood, the sooner we can put him to work.”