by Rye Brewer
His eyes widened with recognition… then, he smiled. “So, it’s official.”
The pride in his voice warmed my heart.
“It is,” Jonah confirmed.
“Congratulations. You’ve chosen well.” He surprised me by holding his hand out to his son—who surprised me by shaking it.
Fane smiled down at me. “I’m very proud. Thank you for letting me have this moment.”
I didn’t know what to say, I was so touched. He had me at a total loss for words.
Jonah, however, was not at a loss. “All right. As much as I hate to break this up, what’s it all about? Why are you here?”
I turned to Fane. It was his story to tell.
“I plan to go to Shadowsbane Island to find the witch and necromancer who turned Nivia and Valerius into vampires, so I can engage their assistance in getting Nivia out of your mother’s body.”
I took Jonah’s hand, instinctively knowing the announcement would rock him. It would rock me to my core.
He took it better than I would have, only flinching slightly before pointing out, “We don’t know for sure whether she’s still in there.”
“You’re right,” Fane acknowledged, “but she’s the mother of my children. I have to be sure.”
It was my turn to flinch at his choice of words. I knew what Jonah was thinking before he said it.
“What about the mother of your other child? Where does this leave Sirene?”
Fane took it well, like he’d expected as much. “Sirene is part of my current life. I’m not turning my back on her by trying to free your mother, as I’ve never turned my back on Elena. I may have moved on—I thought she was dead, after all—but she still means a tremendous lot to me. If she’s still in there, I can’t allow Nivia to hold her hostage any longer.”
Jonah nodded slowly, thoughtfully.
I watched his face for any sign of what he might be thinking. I’d expected him to jump at the chance to free Elena.
Jonah nodded. “I wish I could help you with this, but I can’t.”
My eyes went wide as he turned to me—confusion crossed his face. He was surprised by my reaction, but what he asked next clarified his stance for me. “Did you tell him about everything that’s happened lately? With the clans, with Lucian?”
Of course. Lucian. Jonah couldn’t leave right now.
“No, I didn’t. There are always so many things happening.” I shot Fane a look of apology. “It slipped my mind, as ridiculous as I know that sounds.”
“What slipped your mind?” He turned from me to Jonah, who suddenly appeared uncomfortable as he had to explain to his father the chances we had taken.
“We used spiritwalkers to control Marcus,” he admitted. “I was going to have him kill Lucian at a special meeting of the league.”
“You were what?” Fane hissed, shocked beyond belief.
“We never got that far,” Jonah continued over his father’s reaction. “Because Vance—or, rather, Valerius—did it for us. He pulled out a bone dagger and killed Lucian with it.”
The bone dagger. I had forgotten all about that, too. I could feel its presence, tucked into my boot. The murder weapon. I held my tongue, rather than confess I’d taken it, and still had it.
Fane went pale. I had never seen him so shaken.
“Lucian’s dead?”
The weight of his words wasn’t lost on me. I wondered what it would be like to spend so much of my life hating and cursing the man who’d done everything in his power to ruin me, only to find out somebody else had killed him. To know he was gone, just like that. I’d be shaken, too.
“I saw him turn to dust,” Jonah confirmed with a grim smile.
“And it’s just like Valerius to use Vance’s body to do it,” Fane observed. “The ultimate twist. I can hardly believe it.”
Jonah reached into his back pocket and pulled out another ring. I wondered how many rings he normally carried around with him. This one was very old, a gold band with a signet. He extended it toward Fane. “Philippa gave me this. She found it in Lucian’s dungeon. It’s Gage’s.”
Fane examined it. “Yes. I remember.”
“It had blood on it when she found it.”
Fane looked at Jonah. “In the dungeon.”
“Right. That’s where Gage was. That’s who beat the hell out of him. Lucian.”
Fane snarled. “I’m not sorry he’s gone. Where’s Gage now?”
Jonah stiffened. “I don’t know, exactly. He had something to take care of.” And just like Fane had done earlier, he glanced around the room. He was avoiding telling the truth.
What was Gage really up to? Whatever it was, Jonah couldn’t say. I wouldn’t press him for answers—at least, not at this very minute.
Fane shook his head with an impatient scowl. “What does all of this have to do with why you can’t come with us to help free your mother?”
“Without Lucian to lead the league, someone has to. I’m interim leader. I had Vance—or Valerius, rather—and Genevieve, and Marcus imprisoned after Lucian’s murder. If I leave now, who’s to say who will be in charge, or what side they’ll be on? They may decide to free those three before they go to trial. If Vance goes free, anything could happen. Besides, you know how Philippa feels about him. She’d be livid if I let him go, even indirectly.”
Fane nodded. “So be it. You have to stay. I understand.”
“But I’m going,” I announced.
Jonah turned to me, his eyes wide as saucers. “You’re what?”
31
Anissa
“I don’t think so.” Jonah folded his arms. “Absolutely not.”
“Yes. I am.”
“You have no business putting yourself in that level of danger! This isn’t your mother we’re talking about.”
“No, but I thought we were engaged. Doesn’t that mean I have some connection to this family? Am I not allowed to care because we aren’t related by blood?” I turned to Fane. “We’d better get going if we want to get this done.”
Fane looked unsure as to whether this was still a good idea.
I was about to ask if he had suddenly adopted Jonah’s point of view before I remembered how tenuous their relationship was and how I might be getting in the way of their patching things up. But that wasn’t my fault—Jonah was the one trying to tell me what to do, when I had been fine with taking care of myself before we met.
“Are you sure this is the best idea?” he asked, glancing at Jonah.
“Yes. I am. We ought to get moving.”
“Anissa. Don’t do this.” I ignored Jonah, following Fane out the door and up the stairs. The ring was still new to my finger, and a reminder of all we had just said to each other about love and being connected—even so, it didn’t give him the right to order me around. I made it a point to stare straight ahead as we went to the roof.
Jonah followed on my heels.
“Give this a little more thought,” he urged.
“I understand why you’re concerned,” I assured him as we stepped outside. “I really do. But this is important to me. I want to help Fane. I’ve already made up my mind.”
“You don’t know what you’re about to get into,” he protested. “Stay. This is too much—it’s too dangerous. Just stay.”
“Stay where?” That didn’t come from Jonah. Or Fane.
The three of us turned, surprised to find Scott walking toward us from the stairwell.
“I was on my way out of the elevator when I saw you three coming up here. What’s going on? What’s too dangerous? And where the hell is Sara?”
I gulped, glancing at Jonah and Fane.
Fane spoke first. “I’m going to track down a way to free your mother’s body from Nivia, in hopes of bringing her back.”
“And I’m going to help him,” I added.
Jonah merely glared my way.
“You’re going to bring Mom back? Then I’m going, too,” Scott declared.
Fane stepped forward. �
��Scott, I don’t know about this. It doesn’t seem like a wise idea.”
“Yes, I am,” he insisted. He was just as stubborn as his brother. “And while we’re at it, is there any chance we can track down Sara? I haven’t seen her in weeks, and I refuse to believe nobody knows where she is.”
The last comment was aimed at me—I know this because his eyes bore into me.
“I know where she is,” Fane replied.
A cold feeling spread through my stomach until I remembered Fane didn’t know why she was there. He couldn’t possibly give her secrets away.
My heart clenched when Scott’s face lit up. “You do? Where?”
“Hallowthorn Landing. I saw her there myself.”
“You did?” I asked, as surprised as Scott. Fane hadn’t mentioned that.
“Is that where we’re going?” Scott asked.
“We’re stopping there first—we have to before we can get to Shadowsbane Island—but we’re not staying there.”
“Scott frowned. We don’t have to stay, but I do want to see her. I absolutely have to.”
“Wait a minute. Everybody hold on.” Jonah stepped into the center of our makeshift triangle. “This is all moving much too fast. Scott, you want to just pick up and travel to another dimension? All to see Sara for a few minutes, if you get a chance to see her at all?”
“Don’t get into this with me right now, Jonah,” he warned.
I marveled at the fact I’d never seen him so determined. It was touching, the way he cared about my sister, but it was crucial he not find out why she’d gone for training. And he would inevitably ask why she was there and not at the penthouse.
Jonah only shook his head—it was clear he knew this was an unwinnable argument—and turned his attention to Fane. “There’s something important I need, now that Lucian’s gone. The enchantment he had placed on headquarters is decaying without him.”
Fane’s brows knitted together. “Right. I hadn’t considered that.”
“I’m going to need a witch to place a new enchantment… one I can trust,” he added, almost as an afterthought.
Fane nodded. “All right. I’ll get word to Sirene.”
Jonah’s frown was as deep as I had ever seen it, deep enough to make my heart sink for both him and his father.
Fane noticed, too, naturally. “It’s a good idea, maybe the best we could hope for right now. She would never betray us.”
Jonah shrugged blithely. “If you’re sure.”
“There’s one thing I would ask of you, now that we’re talking about her.” Fane took a step toward Jonah and lowered his voice—though not so much I couldn’t hear. “Please. While I’m gone. If you could only take care of Sirene, it would mean a lot to me.”
I flinched, my gaze immediately cutting to Jonah’s stony face.
“You can’t be serious,” he replied in a flat, emotionless voice.
It didn’t seem to faze Fane, who pushed on. “If she doesn’t want to be in Duskwood all by herself, could you please give her a place to stay? She shouldn’t be alone right now, not with the baby coming.”
Anger flashed in Jonah’s eyes.
Fane added, “The child is a fact, just as you were a fact before you were born. I’m asking you to do what I would’ve asked someone to do for your mother if I couldn’t be there with her. It would be better for her to be around others, and it will be easier for me to do what I have to do if I know she’s safe.”
“Doesn’t she have anybody of her own kind to hang around with?” Jonah asked.
I couldn’t believe him. How could he be so deliberately cold and unfeeling? Sometimes, it was like there were two sides to his personality. It hadn’t been more than an hour since he’d proposed and kissed me as I wept with joy.
Fane’s anger rose to the surface. I guessed he had his limits.
“Since you mention it, you may as well know she isn’t as easily accepted by her own kind now that they know she’s carrying the child of a vampire.”
My heart ached for him, and for her. I couldn’t help thinking of my mother along with them—she’d had a hard time with me, too, and our clan had been unforgiving of my half-breed status right up to the day I left for good.
It was with this in mind I took Jonah by the arm and pulled him aside, behind one of the walls of the roof entrance. “I know you’re still angry with Fane over Sirene and the baby. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” he agreed.
“Just keep this in mind: I’m a half-breed, too, and I know what it’s like to grow up being shunned for who I am when, really, it wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t choose my parentage any more than this baby can.” I pulled him close, staring up into his eyes like I could will him into understanding. “And this baby is still your sibling.”
“Half-sibling,” he corrected.
“Just like Sara is my half-sibling, but I don’t love her any less. And that never stopped me from trying to do the right thing by her, because she’s my blood and I love her. You have to do the right thing. I know you have it in you.” I placed a hand over his chest. “You have it in here. Please, don’t let your feelings about what Fane did color the way you think about the baby. It’s not his or her fault. And it’ll need a big brother like you to protect them.”
I searched for some spark of understanding in his eyes, but they were guarded. He insisted on holding back his feelings. I wished I could convince him to make it easier on himself—but I couldn’t make him do anything any more than he could make me.
“I love you,” I whispered.
It was the only complete truth I knew. He was impossible and still unpredictable, but I loved him.
He sighed as he took my face in his hands. “I love you, too.”
When we kissed, I could almost pretend it was just the two of us up here on the roof, without his father and brother waiting on me so we could begin the next journey.
32
Allonic
I withdrew into the shadows, careful to keep my eyes on the four of them. None of them had seen me or sensed me hovering nearby, listening in as they made their plans. I had only hoped to find Anissa there. I hadn’t expected additional company. I should’ve known better, on second thought. She was rarely alone.
No matter. I had work to do, and fast. If Jonah wanted a new enchantment placed on the building serving as league headquarters, there was no time to waste. I needed to get there and get my work done while I still could, before there was any way to track what I planned to do—or, worse, stop me.
Another portal, and, within moments, I went from standing on the rooftop overlooking Manhattan to standing in front of the cathedral. There was a definitely change to the energy surrounding the place, and it had to do with Lucian’s absence and the disintegration of the enchantment. Jonah was right to be concerned, and I hoped for his sake a fresh enchantment could be placed, and soon. There was too much at stake to be left to chance.
Even so, I hoped it took just a little more time before that happened. I couldn’t afford to leave anything to chance, either, and I had already made arrangements. It was merely a matter of seeing my hastily constructed plan through to fruition.
Another helpful aspect of the turmoil left in the wake of Lucian’s death was the lack of security. Was everyone that shaken up? I supposed so. Lucian had been in power for decades and had probably ruled with an iron fist. Without his orders, the guards had no idea who was supposed to be on duty—and they were too stupid to take responsibility for themselves. Jonah, meanwhile, had too many pressing concerns to be as involved as he could’ve been. This all worked in my favor as I walked in through the main entrance with no problem.
The air was still, the place silent. Even my soft footfalls against the stone floor echoed slightly, rising up through the air and bouncing off the columns which supported the arched ceiling, many feet above my head. I took another look around to be sure I was alone. And I was.
Finding the dungeon wasn’t a challenge. I followed the sounds o
f pacing feet far below the cathedral’s main level, where services once took place. Those people, settlers in the area when it had been nothing but unclaimed woodland, were long since gone. I wondered what they would think about what had become of their magnificent monument.
Who was pacing in the cells? Genevieve, most likely. Or Marcus. Both of them wondering what had gone wrong, how they had found themselves locked away. If they possessed even a shred of self-awareness, they had to know this sort of situation was nothing less than what they deserved. If anything, they deserved much worse for the many crimes they’d committed.
I wasn’t interested in them. I wanted the third member of their party. He sat cross-legged on the floor, staring straight ahead at the bars when I approached. His blank expression didn’t change when I came into view and stood before him. If his eyes had been closed, I would’ve guessed he was sleeping.
He had done it—or, rather, the being inside him had done it. Valerius. I didn’t know whether to condemn or congratulate him for it. No one could argue the fact Lucian had needed to die before he caused any further irreparable damage. But that wasn’t enough to make me forget the business between Valerius and myself, business he was unaware of. At least, I believed he was unaware of what I intended to do.
Before he had the chance to say a word, to raise the attention of anyone else, I sent a spiritwalker into him. His already blank expression went slack as he lost control of his body. At my command, he stood and walked across the cell until he stood in front of me.
I looked around—it took no time for me to find what I’d hoped would be out in the open. The keys to the cells, strung on a rusted ring, hanging from the wall. Yes, security had suffered in Lucian’s absence. I took the ring from the wall and tested each key in turn until I found the one which opened the door.
“Help!” A sharp desperate whisper from another cell. A female voice. Genevieve.
I couldn’t help but remember the way she’d freed me—but her intentions had been far from pure. She’d only wanted to use me. I owed her nothing.