“I love you,” she said on impulse, speaking quietly, for his ears alone. They hadn’t really done that, despite all the kisses, the shared moments, the desperate late-night cuddles when Ash had nightmares. Hadn’t said the words out loud, not yet.
Ash’s smile spread, until his whole face glowed. He cupped her cheek carefully with one hand and kissed her chastely on the lips. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment, and then turned to answer something Andrew had said. He didn’t say it back, but he didn’t have to, not really. She could feel the pulse in his wrist where it brushed her skin, and it thrummed with their heart bond, the Blade a shining link between them.
When the speeches started, Alex got up to make his way to the podium to wait for his turn, and Jordan slid across the gap to sit beside her. She couldn’t help tensing up. Last time she’d seen Jordan, he’d been yelling at her from across a square in Hartford.
“So, Del. Seems like Ash was right about you, after all.” His tone of voice was light and teasing, but there was something under that, something black and bitter. Del tapped into the Blade’s power and saw the jealousy inside Jordan, consuming him. There was ambition, too, and it was eating him up.
Much as she disliked Jordan, she had the urge to drain it all away. Return him to the boy he must have been when he and Ash were young. Using the Heart Blade tended to have that effect. But she’d learned the hard way with Theo Raven that forcing people to confront their issues only brought pain. They had to want to heal. You couldn’t just fix someone’s emotions the way you could set a broken bone.
Instead, Del tried to ignore all the twisted darkness she could sense inside the sentinel, pushing past her distaste to smile politely. “Yes, well, it looks like a lot of people underestimated me. But no hard feelings, right? We can be friends?”
Jordan leaned in, his handsome face so close she could see the darker flecks in his green eyes. Ash’s grip on her hand tightened. “Friends sounds good. I’d like to be friends. A lot of people in our Chapter blame you for taking Ash away. But he’s always been a stubborn idiot. Can’t blame you for that.”
Del blinked. “Well, you’re certainly blunt.”
Jordan’s mouth curved into a smile, pretty but with a hint of cruelty to it. “I like blunt. And speaking of blunt, you’re attracting a fair amount of shameless staring. It’s quite disconcerting.”
“I know,” she answered, following the direction of his gaze.
He nodded at Reis’ table. “I see you’re getting lots of witchy love.” The Baroness had gone up front, waiting with Alex and the other Court dignitaries for her turn to speak. But her coven still watched Del surreptitiously.
Ash leaned over Del and spoke to his cousin in a low voice. “How much has Deacon told you?”
“What do you think?” Jordan answered arrogantly. “Tomorrow I’ll be confirmed as Scion-in-waiting. He tells me everything.”
“So you know about the…” Ash hesitated.
“The attack on Del after the hearing? Yes. Of course.” Jordan didn’t mention Elana, or even the nix’s murder attempt after the ball. Interesting, thought Del. Perhaps Deacon wasn’t as sure of his future successor as he ought to be.
“But that’s classic Reis,” Jordan continued. “Fuc— uh, freaking Brazilian mafia. Has as many fingers in criminal pies as Shade, and just as slippery. Did you know that the Reis coven pretty much owns the underground gambling scene in a good chunk of the tri-state area? Reis and Shade have been bickering over business and backstabbing each other at Court for longer than Ash and I have been alive.”
Del narrowed her eyes. “Is that what the attack on me was? A way to get at Shade?” She knew it wasn’t as simple as a petty scramble for power. Shade had to be playing for higher stakes than Court positioning. Someone with the patience to stalk Rowan over the centuries knew how to play the long game. And Livia Reis couldn’t be as straightforward as Jordan made out. Either she knew Shade’s endgame, and wanted to stop it, or she had one of her own.
“Well, obviously,” Jordan answered with a smirk. “Reis plays all the power ploys. I heard rumors of this coven she obliterated. Some Irish name, I think? Killed everyone but the coven Elders, a husband and wife, and set them up to take the fall. I heard the only one left standing after the dust cleared was their teenage son.”
“That’s awful,” Del exclaimed. “Couldn’t the Court or the Guild do anything?”
Jordan looked shifty. “It’s just a rumor,” he mumbled. “I don’t know if there’s any truth to it. Better not repeat what I said. All I mean is, you don’t want to cross the bitch.”
“Jordan.” The low rumble of warning came from Andrew, who had apparently decided to listen in to their conversation.
“Witch. I said witch,” Jordan said, eyes wide in innocence.
Andrew looked disappointed at the blatant lie. “Jordan.” He shook his head. “You need to exercise more restraint. In a place like this, you never know who’s listening. You’ll be representing the Chapter one day, you know. Anyway, hush. The closing ceremony is beginning.”
Del zoned out once the speeches began, only really looking up when Alex stood up to talk of inter-species cooperation and the need to establish a good footing with select human leaderships. The rest of the time she watched faces in the crowd, or stared at the curve of Ash’s cheek as he sat in profile, dutifully paying attention. The anxiety was back; she felt twitchy, on high alert. Inside, the Heart Blade was no longer a reassuring presence. Instead, it beat an alarming pulse of dangerdangerdanger. Inexplicably, she thought of Rose. Danger, the Blade insisted.
Finally the whole thing was over, and Deacon leaned across the table. “Ash, I think we should go now, before everyone stampedes for the exit. Let’s get Del to her room.”
They only made it halfway to the door before the rest of the guests seemed to have the same idea. Suddenly there was a press of bodies around them, chattering and laughing. Del panicked for a moment, but Ash was a long, hard line against her right side, his dad protecting her left. Dan and Camille were just ahead, opening space for Del to walk, and three of Deacon’s sentinels closed in behind her.
The only moment she was at all exposed was when a burly werewolf pulled Deacon aside to talk. Andrew took his place, but in that brief instant when Del had no one beside her, there was a tug on her arm and something was pressed into her hand. She looked up, but Andrew was already there, blocking her view. She closed her fingers around the scrap of paper and gave the sentinel a tense smile as he shortened his step to fall in beside her.
“So, the Moot is almost over,” Andrew said, smiling back. “What did you think of it?”
Del laughed ruefully. “A little overwhelming, to be honest,” she said, parroting Camille’s earlier words to Livia Reis and the High Baron. “I’ll be glad to get back to the Chapterhouse. Even homework will look good after this.”
“Are you doing your high school degree?” he asked, eyes crinkled at the corners with smile lines.
“Alex insisted. He said that being Gifted a demon’s blood and having my memories wiped was no excuse for a faulty education. My tutor says I should be ready for GED testing by summer. I’m a quick study, apparently.”
Andrew was easy to talk to, and he kept her company until they reached her floor and parted ways. She turned to Ash at her door, the Heart Blade still murmuring danger.
“Are you okay?” Ash asked, eying her warily. When Del hesitated, he moved closer. “Hey, no more secrets, right? We said no more secrets, after what happened at the pool. What’s going on?”
She looked around, but no one was near them. “I keep getting a feeling that something is happening,” she said, keeping her voice hushed. “Something dangerous.”
“Something is happening. You’ve had two attempts on your life, Del! First you almost get mermaid roofied and drowned. Then we get attacked in a hallway. Someone’s already dead. Elana’s dead. What if you’re next?”
“No. I mean, I know all that, Ash.
I’m not trying to play it down. I know this is serious. But this is something else. I think it involves Rose. Or at least, the Heart Blade thinks it does. I don’t really know how to explain it. Did Alex or Dan say where she is? I mean, where she really is?”
“Rose? No, I don’t know where she is. Why would Rose be in danger?”
“I don’t know. But the Heart Blade has been going nuts, and I keep thinking about her. Look, forget it. I’m probably just tired. It’s been a long and crazy day. I’m going to crash.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, face creased in worry. “Do you need me to stay? I can sleep in the armchair, if you want.”
Del stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “That’s sweet, but Camille will take care of me. You should get some rest. I promise to phone or text if I need anything.”
Once they were in their room and the door was securely locked, Del left Camille checking her email and closed the bathroom door. She pulled the scrap of paper out of her pocket, wishing she’d seen who had pressed it into her hand. The paper had a string of letters and numbers. A cipher of some sort, perhaps? Like a code? Under that, the word Maidensfall was neatly printed out in bland, anonymous handwriting.
She stared at the message. She’d seen something like that, she was sure. The letters were N, and W.
Del typed them into her browser and clicked on search. The very first hit was for an area on the edge of something called the Peak District National Park, in the UK.
“It’s a map coordinate,” she whispered to herself. Now she knew why what she’d taken for a cipher looked familiar. She’d seen stuff like that on the huge trail map of Ontario parks that hung in the largest schoolroom of the Chapterhouse.
A Maiden for Maidensfall. Those were the words she’d heard running through her head all Friday morning. Except now, she thought she knew what it meant. The blood curse: Rowan’s life in exchange for all those she’d betrayed, until her debt was paid. Maidensfall was the ruined town that Rowan’s coven had come from, she was sure of it. And now she knew where to find it. It was a clear message. Come to us. Del shivered. She was nowhere near getting to the bottom of Rowan’s tale. Once she was safely back at the Chapterhouse, once she had time to think again, she was going to have to talk to Alex about this.
She brushed her teeth and went to lie down, trying to ignore the call of the Heart Blade urging her to gonowleavedangerroseroseroserose.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Raze
Raze ran through the black of the woods, warm in her wolf form. Her paws crunched on dead leaves and the thin layer of snow under the trees. The icy air was full of the sharp scent of frost, and distant wood smoke.
She should have felt joy. After all, she’d done exactly what she’d set out to do: steal the Night Blade not once, but twice. Instead, there was nothing but a weary sorrow. By running, she’d sealed her double betrayal. Of the Guild, obviously — the people who had taken her in as a baby, made sure she was cared for, given her a home of sorts. But she also felt guilty about betraying Ben, which made no sense at all. She barely knew Ben, and she had been planted in Lix’s crew to betray them all along.
Except, somewhere along the line, Ben had become a friend. Someone she could trust, someone who had her back, and who made her smile. Her wolf-self whined, unhappy. Family, her instincts screamed. Ben was family, somehow, along with Dan and Alex, and even Del and Ash.
She was so wrapped up in her confused feelings that it took a moment to register the wing beats, holding steady above the treetops. She slowed, and then skidded to a stop as something massive landed in a small clearing ahead of her. She scented the air. Whatever the large thing was, Ben’s magical signature was all over it. She could smell Ben, too, but no one else. How the heck had he tracked her?
“Raze!” Ben called out. “I know you’re there. I know you can hear me. I’m not going to do anything. I just want to talk.” She stilled, one paw frozen in the air mid-movement. “I know exactly where you are,” he said. “I can see your shifted form through the alexandrite. If I was going to do something, don’t you think I would already have done it?”
Cautiously, Raze shifted out of her wolf form, shivering in the freezing air. Her fingers tightened around the Night Blade. It was dark in the woods, and seemed darker still where she stood, shadows lashing and twining around her like a living thing. She blinked, but the impression was gone, and the shadows were just ordinary pools of black and gray. “Do I trust him?” she breathed out, not sure who or what she was asking the question of.
The mind-voice returned, the voice with that ever-present tone of amusement. Trust, don’t trust. It’s up to you. Trust yourself, though. Look inside, Thief, and Know. Suddenly, it was simple. She did know. She knew Ben, knew he’d keep his word.
He called out once more. “Look, talk to me. I just want to understand. You don’t even need to come out here.”
“Damn it, Ben. Stop being so nice. Fine, I’ll talk. But keep your distance. And what the hell is that thing?”
She answered her own question by stepping forward and into the clearing. Although her vision had dimmed back to human sight, she could still make out the shapes against the bright snow. Ben, and—
“Is that the griffin?” No wonder it didn’t smell of anything except Ben’s magic. It wasn’t alive, not properly, though you wouldn’t have thought it, to see it standing there, stamping one leg impatiently. Ben didn’t answer. He climbed down from his perch on the creature’s back and held up a hand in a gesture of peace.
Raze sighed. He wanted to talk. So she’d talk. “I’m not going back with you. You’re wasting your time.” She raised the sword, snake-like shadows slithering down from it to wind around her arms. “I need this.” She lowered her arm, one foot dragging through the snow as she avoided his gaze. “I’m sorry, Ben.”
“Raze, you can’t do this.” He spoke softly, as though trying his best not to scare her, as if she really was a wild animal that could startle and run. “For a start, you’ll die. You drank the contract spell, remember?”
“I won’t die.” Her voice was as quiet as his. “The spell has been voided. I’m free.”
“But why? Why risk it? Are you doing this for the Guild?”
“Jude Raven has my grandparents,” she blurted out. “I promised him the sword in exchange for their lives.”
“Shit. Really?” He took a step forward, and Raze took a step back, as though they were partners in some strange ballroom two-step. Ben raised his hand again in surrender and returned to the griffin’s side. “Let’s talk this over,” he said. “It’s not like I particularly want to hand the Night Blade over to Livia Reis. I gave you my word that I wouldn’t try anything, remember?”
“Promise?” There was a waver in her voice, and she swallowed, reminding herself she was Raze now, not stupid Rose.
“I promise. Now, go on. Please. Tell me.”
“I’m an orphan,” she said. “That part is true. And I never knew I even had living grandparents. My mom and dad, they weren’t close to their families. And then Jude found out somehow about this job. That you were going after the Night Blade, and that I was in on it. He took my grandparents, and gave me a choice.” Her voice turned bitter. “Not much of a choice.”
“Are you sure they’re your grandparents? I thought werewolf families kept close.”
“I checked carefully. Birth certificates, everything. It’s them. And they’re not werewolves. They’re witches. My dad was a witch.”
“Huh. A witch,” he said. “That explains a lot. If your father married a werewolf, I mean. Witch families, they’re not…” His voice trailed off, and Raze guessed he was thinking of himself, maybe of Gareth. Outcasts.
“Forgiving,” she said. “Accepting. I know. But they’re my blood, Ben. I can’t leave them.”
Ben crossed his arms. “Okay. Say I let you leave, let you take it to Jude. He’s a Raven, you can’t trust him. He’s Shade’s. How do you know he won’t betray you?”
&nb
sp; “I don’t,” she said simply. “But I have to try.” She hesitated, and then said all in a rush, “Will you help me?”
“I can’t. I’m sorry. The contract spell would kill me.”
“What if I have an antidote?” She reached for her backpack and felt inside for the spare vial of potion that Jude had given her. She held it out, offering it to him. “Ben,” she said, “this is the same stuff I took. It’ll wipe out the effect of the contract spell.”
Ben took a step toward her, and then another. Finally he was so close that she could read the longing on his face. His hand hovered over hers. She knew he’d been forced into this job, blackmailed by Lix.
“She used him, didn’t she? Lix?” Raze guessed. “She used your boyfriend, somehow, to get you to do this.”
Ben took the potion, his fingers barely touching her skin. He lifted it, examining the vial. “I promised myself, and I promised Gabi, that I wouldn’t do this anymore. Wouldn’t steal, again. That I’d make a decent life for myself. But Lix has photos of us. It was meant to be a secret. That we were still together. We were supposed to have broken up. I… I’m not making any sense, am I?”
“No, you are. I get it. Blackmail. Lix threatened to tell her aunt you were seeing him. So you had no choice, not really.”
“There’s always a choice,” Ben answered, “though it didn’t feel like I had one at the time. So I broke my vow for Gabi’s sake, to keep our secret safe. But he’s going to be goddamn married. I’ve lost him forever. There are no more secrets to keep. Livia won.”
“Maybe she won that round,” said Raze. “But she doesn’t have to win everything. She doesn’t have to win the sword.”
Ben smiled. “No, she really doesn’t.” He uncorked the vial and drank the potion. He handed her back the bottle, the scent of cinnamon lingering in the air. “How do I know it worked?”
“Because I drank it, too. And I took the sword, and I’m still alive.” She looked at the griffin, waiting docilely. “Will you help me get my grandparents back? I could really use a ride.”
Night Blade: Blade Hunt Chronicles Book Two Page 24