Allegiance

by K. A. Tucker

  Wraith kept moving forward. It was as if I hadn’t spoken. He wouldn’t stop until Julian was dead. I needed to do something drastic, I realized, squeezing my fist tightly over the smooth hilt of my dagger, still in my hand. My dagger … There was one way to make Wraith listen.

  I unsheathed the blade and lifted the point to my neck. “If he dies, I die. Right here, right now.” My hand shook so badly, I was afraid I might accidently slit my jugular.

  My plan worked. Wraith’s hand dropped to his side. He took several steps back, giving Julian a wide berth. “You would kill yourself to protect this human?”

  “He almost died protecting me, so, yes, I would. He’s my friend.” Looking at Julian—his face as white as a sheet, his body on the verge of collapse—I wanted to throw my arms around him.

  Unfortunately, I had to contend with an angry vampire first.

  Caden was at my side in an instant, tearing the dagger out of my hand, a violent storm darkening his irises to threatening levels. “I didn’t give you that so you could kill yourself with it!” he yelled.

  He’d never yelled at me before.

  I forced my chin up, my hand absently rubbing my neck. “You left me no choice! I had to protect him.”

  “But you don’t know what he is!” Amelie moaned from the doorway, still huddled within her towel, agony pouring from her eyes as they touched Julian’s face.

  And here it was. The moment. There was no denying it any longer. “Yes, I do,” I heard myself say, as if someone else were speaking. A liar, admitting her guilt. As soft as the delivery, the impact of my admission was enough to cause Amelie to stumble back, flinching.

  “You … knew? You knew and I didn’t?” Her voice sharpened a notch. In that scary way. In that crazy Amelie way.

  I nodded as unease stirred in my stomach. Swallowing, I admitted in a whisper, “I accidently saw the marking.”

  “What?” Amelie exploded, now screaming. “You accidently saw the tattoo on his left ass cheek?” Her eyes bulged so hard, I thought they might pop out of her head.

  “Yes! Accidently.”

  “What …?” Next to his sister, Caden’s voice was so low I barely heard him. It scared me ten times more. My body as stiff as a poker, I turned to see the end of the dagger pointed dangerously close to Julian’s thigh, Caden’s eyes crushing me with an accusatory gaze. I knew instantly what he was thinking. Seeing that mark required seeing Julian without clothing. In what situation would I see him like that?

  My mouth opened to justify my lies, but only a wheeze escaped. We stood still, our eyes locked, as I felt my curtain drop, unveiling the real me. Not the sweet, naïve girl Amelie carried unconscious into Caden’s life, the human girl he fell in love with. No … now he could see me for what I was. What I had become. A fraud and a cheat.

  Caden’s next words, delivered with a biting cold tone, confirmed it. “Just kissed him, right?”

  Before I could utter a sound, plead with him to listen to my explanation, he stormed off, launching the dagger across the room so hard that it embedded itself into a mahogany armoire with a loud thud, splitting the wood in half.

  “Caden!” I cried, running to the doorway into the hallway to catch him. But he was gone. Gone from the room, maybe gone from my life. I turned back to the room slowly, deflated and dazed over the sudden turn of events. Two minutes ago, Caden had all but professed his eternal love. Now, he was gone, Julian’s dark secret exposed.

  And I couldn’t forget about Amelie.

  “What is Caden talking about, Evie? You kissed Julian? You told me nothing happened …” The cutting sound of Amelie’s voice set my neck hairs on edge.

  Without thought, my hands lifted in front of me in a sign of surrender. “I didn’t kiss him. That was a lie. I—”

  But Amelie was already talking over me. “You knew what he was all this time and you didn’t tell me? You let me fall in love with the enemy?” Each word came out crisp and knife-sharp, a hysterical edge creeping into them.

  “Please, let me ex—” I began, stepping forward, my hands outstretched.

  “Liar!” Amelie hissed, recoiling from my approach, her pretty face twisting into an altogether hideous sneer as she backed into a dresser. Amelie—my best friend—hated me. Amelie, the seven-hundred-year-old vampiress who just had her heart emotionally ripped out of her chest, now glared at me like I had betrayed her to the depths of her soul.

  The trouble was, I had.

  “How could you? How could you hurt us like that? Lie to us like that?” Each accusation was delivered like a swing of a sword.

  “I never lied! I mean, I did lie, but …” I sighed, my hands flying to cover my face. “I did lie. Totally. Completely. I lied about anything happening with Julian. But I swear to you, nothing happened!” I was talking to myself, though, as her emerald eyes drew along my frame, as if deciding how best to quarter me.

  I wanted to explain, I did, but fear choked the words. I had never seen Amelie—sweet, bubbly Amelie—like this before. Even with Rachel, even with Jethro, there had been a small semblance of the Amelie I knew. Now, though, it was as if someone reached in and switched around her spark plugs, making her go haywire. Unpredictable. Dangerous.

  In my peripheral stood a pale Julian, in only a towel, and Wraith behind him. I hadn’t noticed them there before. I could use Wraith right now, as a barrier.

  “Evangeline, is this person a threat to you?” Wraith’s even tone was a welcome change to Amelie’s trills and ice.

  “No.” My hand shot out to stay him. He was too close to her. He wouldn’t form a barrier for me. He’d simply kill her.

  Julian spoke then. “Amelie … I wanted to tell you, I did. Eve thought it best …”

  Great, Julian … throw gas onto an open flame in a parched forest. Another flash of anger, searing hot, shot through Amelie’s eyes as they bored deeper into me.

  “Oh, did she now …”

  I almost missed her next movement. With the slightest flick of her hand, the solid wood dresser beside her soared in my direction. I don’t know if she was intending to hit me or just scare me with it. Either way, I managed to dive out of the way. It crashed into the wall behind me, taking chunks of plaster and molding with it.

  I struggled back to my feet to face her again. She took a step forward. “Were you looking for a way to win him back after your little thing in the mountains?”

  I felt my eyes widen. What?

  Accusations spewed hastily from her as she edged forward, as if cornering prey. “You had to have them all, didn’t you … you weren’t satisfied with Caden. You had to have all of them. First my brother, then Julian … and now Bishop.” Her voice trailed off as a distant look glazed over her face—a far-off, wild stare. I recognized it immediately. I’d seen it reflected in mirrors countless times. The dark chasm of loss, of losing everything that mattered. There was no logical thought in this gloomy place.

  “Is this friend a threat now, Evangeline?” Wraith asked calmly for a second time.

  She just threw a dresser at me! What do you think? I wanted to scream. My eyes flickered to Julian and I saw the pleading in them. It was a death sentence if I said yes. It could be my death sentence if I said no. Soon enough, Wraith wouldn’t ask me. He would just kill.

  Amelie didn’t even acknowledge Wraith, didn’t care that she had an unstoppable grim reaper ten feet away from her. “Were you laughing at me? Stupid, silly Amelie who had no clue?” Another step closer.

  I sucked in a breath of air. “Amelie! It’s me. Evie! The one who pulled you out of the river! The silly, naïve human!”

  Another step. Her eyebrow arched. “Oh, but you’re not so naïve, are you, Evangeline …”

  And then she pounced.

  She threw me back against the wall, her hands landing on either side of my shoulders, her fingers digging painfully into my joints, her teeth bared and glistening. I heard Julian’s shouts in the background but I couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. I shrunk back,
trying to gain some distance.

  I can’t die yet. I’m not ready to die yet.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wraith closing in quickly. He wouldn’t simply stall her this time. He would kill her … I needed to make her understand! “Amelie, don’t do this. Please, listen to me.”

  Her fingers dug in further and I cried out in pain. Crazy Amelie wouldn’t listen. She was too far gone. I needed normal Amelie back for five minutes so we could explain everything. I just …

  Suddenly, Amelie’s face froze in horror. Her skin began withering, the veins along her cheeks and forehead protruding. Much worse than what Wraith had done to Sofie.

  “No!” I screamed, my hands rushing to her wrists to hold her up. “Stop!”

  Wraith was killing her.

  She crumbled to the ground, her towel puddled around her decrepit body. My hands flew to my mouth in horror. “How could you … You …” Rage burned inside me as I lifted my gaze, about to scream obscenities at my guardian. I faltered. Wraith was six feet away from us.

  He hadn’t reached us yet.

  Wraith didn’t cause that. There was only one person who could have. Me.

  Julian’s screams snapped me out of my trance. He was already on his knees beside her, collecting her withered head in his lap, pulling her towel over her body to cover its frail nakedness, tears streaming down his cheeks. In shock, I started down at my hands. What just happened?

  “But, I touched Caden just minutes ago …” I mumbled, stunned.

  I had killed Amelie.

  I dropped to my knees beside Julian, sitting on my hands to avoid touching anyone. “I’m so sorry, Julian. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t …” My voice cracked. I expected violent sobs to follow, but they didn’t. I was hollow. He didn’t acknowledge my apology, hunched over and cradling Amelie’s head.

  And then a small groan changed everything.

  Julian unfurled his body and I saw that life was returning to Amelie. I hadn’t killed her!

  “Help me, Eve …” he pleaded, begging me with his glassy eyes. “Make her understand, please. I can’t lose her.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’ll try.” We sat in silence as Julian gently stroked Amelie’s forehead, waiting for life to flow back into her limbs, for her face to round out again, for her lips to plump up, for her vibrant emerald jewels to shine. Most importantly, we waited to see which side of Amelie would greet us—Dr. Jekyll or Mrs. Hyde.

  “Oh, Julian,” she suddenly murmured, blinking. “What just happened …”

  I recognized the gentle lilt of her voice. Whether temporary or not, whatever had snapped inside her had reset itself and the old Amelie was back. I needed to take advantage of the moment.

  “Amelie,” I struggled to keep my voice calm. “Just hear me out. It’s not at all what you think, I promise! Amelie.”

  Her head rolled to the side, peering up at me with beautiful catlike eyes. In that split second, I knew exactly what she looked like when she was five years old. Innocent and confused. The words tumbled out of me.

  “There has never been anything more than friendship between Julian and me. Caden sensed my tension around Julian and he guessed it was because something happened between us. I didn’t correct him. I let him believe it because it was safer for Julian that way. And I didn’t tell you guys he was the Sentinel because it wasn’t his fault. He was forced into it. He isn’t helping them, Amelie. I promise!”

  “It’s true, Amelie,” Julian jumped in. “My parents forced me into it. I didn’t think anything of it back then. I was a stupid kid. I didn’t care. I only knew Viggo and I wanted him dead, so what did it matter?” He leaned in to lay a gentle, lingering kiss on her forehead. “I would never let anything happen to you. I’d kill them all before that happened.”

  I could see she was listening, processing our words, and so I continued. “I found out what Julian was when we were at the Tribe and they were healing him. He was undressed and he moved and the blanket moved and then … that’s when I saw it. I swear to you. A complete accident.”

  Amelie’s gaze shifted from Julian’s face to mine and back to Julian’s again. I couldn’t read anything from her look—was she weighing our words for the truth or plotting our deaths? And then a tiny quirk of her mouth changed everything. “He does have a cute butt, doesn’t he?”

  The air rushed out of my lungs as I exhaled in relief.

  “I’m so sorry, Amelie. I didn’t know how to tell you. I was so scared you wouldn’t forgive me,” Julian finally whispered, his fingers running along the length of her cheek. “I don’t want to keep any secrets from you.”

  She offered him a small, weak smile. “Maybe you should start talking then …?”

  “Talking about what?” Bishop’s deep voice boomed suddenly from the entrance. He appeared in Julian’s room so quickly, I yelped.

  Julian, Amelie, and I shared a knowing glance. A silent agreement passed between us. The fewer people who knew about Julian’s marking, the better. There was no need to divulge everything to everyone. While Amelie was willing to listen, not everyone else would. Thank God Max was busy hunting …

  Amelie gave the slightest shake of her head. “I just went a little crazy about Julian’s friendship with Evangeline for a moment, that’s all.” I raised an eyebrow and looked at the pile of kindling that, just moments prior, had been a beautiful antique.

  She let out nervous giggle and an apologetic shrug. “You know me.”

  “I can see that,” Bishop said, eyeing the mess. His attention shifted warily to Wraith. “And what … did he put you in your place?”

  She frowned. “No … Evie did.”

  A flash of worry pierced Bishop’s beautiful charcoal irises and I shrugged. “I might have, though I don’t know how.” Inside my head, the voice screamed at me. It’s happening! It’s real!

  “Evie,” Amelie’s airy voice grabbed me and I focused on her remorseful expression. “I don’t know what came over me. I wasn’t myself … I’m so sorry.”

  I smiled and winked, though it did nothing to dislodge the stiff rod of tension rammed along my spine. “I deserved it. Well … maybe not the whole dresser-launching part.” Amelie’s lip curved into a pout. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. But in her defense, if she’d kept something like that from me, I’d be angry enough to launch furniture too.

  “And you decided to play darts with fancy daggers as well?” Bishop added, pointing at the protruding ivory-and-diamond handle of my Christmas present. In an instant, he was across the room and yanking it out. “What’s this from?”

  “It’s mine!” Suddenly desperate to reclaim my gift from Caden, I stalked over, my palm out in front of me. “Hand it over.”

  He gave me that wide grin of his as he tossed the dagger into the air, letting it spin before catching it in his fingertips by the blade. “You sure you should have a weapon? You’re bound to hurt yourself with it.”

  I snorted. You have no idea how right you are. “Yes, I’m sure. I need it.”

  With newfound caution, he carefully gave it to me handle first, his fingertips grazing mine. I sucked in a gasp, my eyes widening as I peered up at him, watching, waiting. Nothing happened. No shriveling, no collapsing, nothing. My breaths started to pass a little easier.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, averting my gaze to Amelie and Julian. They were a thousand miles away, communicating through glimpses and caresses and whispers. If only I could get Caden to listen long enough for me to explain. “Come on.” My feet slid backward, heading out. I need to find Caden. I need to explain.

  “See you two … much later?” Bishop grinned at Julian, oblivious to the near tragedy—how close I had come to being a dresser pancake, Amelie a shriveled corpse, Julian dismembered—now only something the three of us would know. And Wraith.

  I followed Bishop and Wraith down the stairs to the foyer, my movements sluggish, my spirit hollow. I barely registered the delicate sound of holiday harps or the scent of cinnamon
wafting through the air. Neither did anything to fill the void in my heart. Caden thought I’d betrayed him. I did betray him. I lied to him, allowed his imagination to torment him over something that wasn’t true.

  We trailed along the empty, cold halls. A feeling of … absence lingered in the air. Mortimer and Viggo had to be in New York by now, along with Lilly and her crowd. Caden was … I don’t know where. I prayed he was by the tree, cooling off. I don’t know what I expected for Christmas morning in Nathan’s chateau with a bunch of vampires, werewolves, and a wraith, but I’d had higher hopes than this.

  Bishop and I walked side by side in silence to the glass room, our arms briefly nudging but otherwise without contact, much to my relief. When we stepped in, when I saw that Caden wasn’t here, my heart plummeted further. Mage was there, though, looking out over a blizzard. “Have you seen Caden?” I blurted. With a furtive glance at Bishop and a check of my tone, I added, “He was worried about Amelie. I wanted to tell him that everything’s fine.”

  Mage whipped around to face me, surprise touching her brow. Studying me with arms crossed over her chest, her black eyes narrowed. “Evangeline … do you feel different today?”

  That infamous question. It meant something monumental had changed. “No, I don’t,” I answered truthfully. “Well, I feel crappy after all that port last night. Why?”

  She shook her head, her gaze traveling down the lengths of my limbs. “I can see magic on you. It’s weak but it’s there.”

  I help up my arms in front of me. Still long, still skinny, one still stitched up. No magic. “Is that bad?”

  She sighed. “I don’t know yet. We need to ask Sofie.”

  I nodded. Another surprise. Maybe this so-called magic was what I had inadvertently used on Amelie earlier. Brushing that problem aside, I focused on the bigger one at hand. I forced a smile and told myself to act indifferent for Bishop’s sake. Inside, my organs were roiling.

  “Come! Enjoy the festivities!” Mage exclaimed, striding toward me with her arms held out. Her feet faltered suddenly, her black eyes landing somewhere over my left shoulder. On Wraith. She must’ve weighed her options and chose not to test him because she stopped where she was, instead gesturing to a side table laden with silver trays of pastries, deviled eggs, a well-stocked shrimp tree. In the center sat a small roasted pig surrounded by baked figs and assorted cheeses.