by E. M. Moore
Her voice kicked up a notch. “Mind wiped?”
“Yes, I had to talk them into that. The Council wanted a stricter punishment, but I told them if they just wiped your mind and took you away from this world, you’d never bother them again. It’s the best offer you’re going to get so you might as well take it.”
“The baby,” she said, her lips trembling. She placed a hand over her small stomach.
Zeke shook his head.
Her voice was firm. “No. Not good enough.” She walked away, grabbed my arm, and pulled me forward. “Come out, Princes, or she’s dead.”
The sharp edge of the razor blade cut into my neck. I stilled, pressing my eyes tightly closed. I didn’t want to see the moment I wouldn’t exist anymore. I surely didn’t want the last memory I had of this Earth being the looks on the Ravanas’ faces as I died. That was too much burden to carry on to the next life.
Zeke’s voice rose, panicked. “You said you’d stay in the car.”
“Plans change.”
I swallowed. Christian. No, he couldn’t be here right now. “Leave, Christian. You have to. There are others. Stehan’s in the backseat. Get him and leave. Now.”
“She won’t do anything to her,” Zeke said, his voice rising.
“There are others,” I screamed back.
The edge to the razor blade pushed into my throat. I choked, more from the shock of the pain than because of any real damage. It didn’t matter. My reaction was enough to bring on the growl that ripped through the night air. Nicolai.
It was too much. Both of them? I could afford one last peek, couldn’t I? Then maybe Connor would come too and I could enjoy one last image of all of them.
I opened my eyes. Christian stood next to Zeke, his stare zeroed in on me. Relief swept over him once he saw my eyes though I had no idea why. Look where we were. We were all in danger, especially him. “Go get Stephan,” I urged. “Leave.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that, Ariana.”
“It’s not worth it.”
His jaw ticked, but Zeke took a step toward his mother, silencing us. “Mom, put the blade down. No one’s coming.” His hand reached out and touched her wrist. She tensed, digging the blade a little further into my skin. “Shh, Mom. I don’t know what they told you, but no one’s coming to help. It’s just you against the rest of them.”
“No, they said they wanted revenge against the Ravanas too. They’ll be here.”
“It’s already too late. If these guys wanted to, they would’ve already killed you by now. They don’t want to hurt you. Don’t force them.”
He pulled at her hand, making space between my throat and her razor blade. I felt like I could actually breathe now. I gulped in air a few times, loving the way it filled my lungs.
“Stephan,” I said, pleading with Christian again.
He shook his head. “He’ll be fine.”
Zeke pulled his mother away from me. Christian took a step forward to lead me out of the way, but Kay cried out. “No! It’s not fair!”
Her hand slashed through the air. My skin tore from my shoulder down to my elbow. A slicing, hot pain that pulsed every time my heart beat.
I gasped in pain, but there was nothing I could do. My hands were still tied.
Kay kicked out, stomp-kicking her own son in the gut and sending him sprawling into the road. She turned, reached under her skirts, and brought out the wooden stake.
Christian ran for me. “No,” I screamed. “Stake.”
He halted and turned toward the threat, but it was too late. She threw the stake. It sunk into him. Dark, red blood spilled from the wound, already staining his white collared shirt.
Sorrow the likes I had never known before seized me. Christian’s eyes widened and he dropped to the road. I fell to my knees and scooted my way over toward him. “No. No. No,” I kept repeating. But it was true. Everything I’d just seen had actually happened. There was a wooden stake protruding from Christian Ravana. Vomit worked its way up my throat as tears spilled out over my cheeks.
He was dead. Dead.
No.
Hands grabbed my hair and yanked back to reveal my throat. “Come out or she’s dead,” Kay screamed.
A growl ripped through the beat of silence, or maybe it had already been echoing through the night air since the stake pierced Christian. Within an instant, the grip on me loosened and Kay’s body fell to the side. Her head, which was now twisted into an unnatural angle, cracked onto the road. Her lifeless eyes stared at me.
Then, there was another face in front of me pulling at my chin to face him. I blinked, trying to focus, but there were too many hot tears. “Shh,” the voice said. “Shh.”
Connor. I almost grinned from the relief, but there was nothing to be happy about here. I looked up to find Stephan shaking. He was looking down at his hands as he stood over Kay’s body. His pallor was muted, white with shock.
“Stephan,” I said, barely moving my lips, wondering if anyone could even understand what I was saying. “There’s something wrong…”
Connor’s fingers worked at the knots around my wrists as he cradled me in his arms. For the first time in a long time, my hands fell limp at my sides. They were like dead weights. He moved them around to my front and then pulled me back into his arms. “It’s okay. It’s okay. He had to do it.”
I’d understood now. Stephan shaking. Stephan standing over the body. Stephan as white as a ghost. He’d killed Kay.
Zeke stumbled forward and kneeled next to his mother. He put one hand on her shoulder, his head lowering between his shoulder blades.
So, so much pain. It reminded me of the accident. Everywhere I looked there was another sight of tragedy. Blood. Wounds. Sadness.
Nic stood over Christian now. He yanked up on the stake. More blood pooled onto his perfect shirt. “Stephan, I need you,” he called out. “Now.”
“He’s dead,” I mumbled. I shook my head, not wanting it to be true. I didn’t want any of them to die for me. How fair was this? I was the only one who wasn’t supposed to be in this world, yet here I was, alive.
“Not fair. Not fair.”
Connor cooed me like a baby, his arms going around me tighter while my chest broke wide open. Kay might as well have shoved that stake into my own heart. That’s what it felt like to lose Christian.
Connor tipped my chin up to meet his face. He smiled down at me. “You were so brave, my Princess. So, so brave.”
He looked over my head, glancing Christian and Nicolai’s way. He looked back at me, tears shimmering in his eyes. He pulled me to him, pressing his lips into my forehead. A tear slipped from his cheek and landed on my nose.
That’s when I lost it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I must have passed out. When I woke, we were in a moving vehicle. I was still pressed against Connor. I could tell by his fresh scent. There was a tang in the air, too. Something I couldn’t quite place, but I’d smelled it before. I must not have been totally with it because I swore I heard Christian’s voice mixing with all the others. What a terrible joke. If I went to sleep again, maybe his voice wouldn’t be haunting me.
No such luck. Whatever we were in stopped. “Give her to me,” a husky voice said.
Hands tightened around my middle and brought me back again. I almost suffocated in folds of fabric.
“Please,” Nic said, almost groveling now. “You’ve had her the whole time. I just want to feel her, make sure she’s really alive.”
There was a moment of open air, nothing touching me but two strong hands, then I was given over to another firm, safe grip. Nicolai’s lips pressed into my cheek. I blinked, looking into his eyes. The love I saw there was almost as bad. I wanted to close my eyes against it. I didn’t deserve it. Once everything settled, they’d never forgive me for being the reason their brother was killed. Never. I would never even be able to forgive myself for something so awful.
“You’re okay,” he murmured. “You’re okay.” He repea
ted it again and again, more for his own benefit than mine. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I tried to stop them. They caught me off guard. There was nothing I could do.”
I reached up a shaky hand and touched his cheek. Why did he even care about me right now? We had way more important things to talk about. Like, where was Christian? I wanted to see him one last time, commit his face to memory. I didn’t know what happened to vampire bodies after they were killed. Did they turn to dust? I was pretty sure I’d seen that in a movie before. What if he was already dust and I’d missed my chance?
Nic’s eyebrows rose. “Dust? I don’t understand what you’re saying, Ri.”
“Christian,” I said, my voice thick around my pain.
“He’s right here.” Nic tipped my chin to point me in the right direction. Christian, or someone who looked like him, was hanging over the front car seat, staring at me in awe. His white shirt was soaked with blood.
I shook my head. No. I’d seen him dead on the road. He had a stake through his heart.
“I told you she wanted me,” Christian said. “I’m her favorite.”
“Too soon for jokes,” Connor deadpanned.
I twisted my neck to look at the honey-haired boy. He was talking to Christian. Was Christian really here? “You’re alive?”
Christian, bless him, with his earnest looks and ability to always say the right thing. “Look at me, Ariana.” He pulled his shirt away from his body, showing me where the hole was. “She missed my heart. I’ll be fine. Stephan patched me up. I’m sore, but I’m alive.”
“You’re alive.” I smiled, almost disbelieving my own eyes and ears. I twisted and Nic helped me to sit. “I thought you were—”
“We all did,” Nic said. “Thankfully it’s nearly impossible to kill a vampire.”
I sat there, looking at all of them in turn. “Stephan?” I didn’t see him. “Where is he?”
Christian locked eyes with Nic, then back at me. “He went inside. He’s telling mom and dad we’re out here.”
“And he’s okay?”
“He’s not injured,” Nic said, pulling me close, forcing his face into my hair.
“Zeke?” I asked, wondering where he’d gone. What about Kay? Her body, anyway.
“The Council is dealing with them,” Connor said. He placed his hand on my thigh, his thumb passing back and forth over my skin.
Christian reached over, his fingertips just barely grazing my knee. “I don’t know how the injured one ended up being this far away from her.”
“Shut up,” Nic said. “You’re completely healed.”
They all laughed. It was like music to my ears. I joined in, almost high with the happiness filling me from the inside out. They were all okay. They were more than okay. They were here, together, all of us like we used to. “I’m sorry,” I croaked out. Then, I found Nic’s eyes. “I’m sorry I made a big deal about needing time alone. I just needed a moment.”
“Well,” Connor said. “I hope you got enough moments of being away from us because I’m pretty sure none of us are ever going to let you out of our sights again.”
I nodded. I didn’t want them to.
A knock sounded on the car door and all of us looked out. Stephan stood there. His face was drawn, somber.
Nic pushed the door open. He helped me up and I stood on shaky feet. I looked to my left, finding a long strip of white bandage around my upper arm. Stephan’s fingers reached out, inspecting it.
“Your handiwork, I take it?”
He glanced down and then back again. There was a tiny upturn of his lips, but nothing like the most genuine Stephan smiles. “I’m so happy you’re okay. I thought—” He cleared his throat. “I thought for a minute…”
I stepped forward and wound my arms around his shoulders, the palms of my hands pressing into his neck. He hesitated a second before his arms went around mine. Then, it was truly a Stephan hug. The kind that made me curl up and want to take a good nap because I was so relaxed. I kissed the spot just below his ear. His body shivered and he held me even tighter. “Thank you for coming for me,” I said.
He shrugged, pulled away, and left a chaste kiss on my forehead. He turned back toward the house and I recognized it as the Ravanas’ home. The one Stephan had taken me to before. “Mom and Dad want to see everybody.”
Connor pushed past Nic and put a hand around my shoulders. “Can you walk, Princess?”
I nodded. “Tired, and a little painful, but I’m fine. I can make it up there.”
“You’re sure?” Christian asked from the other side of him. For someone who’d ‘almost’ been staked in the heart, he was quite chipper.
“Sure,” I promised. “But I’m not sure I’m talking to you. You scared the crap out of me.”
They all chuckled except for Stephan. I was worried about him. The others just seemed as if they were happy to be alive, but not him. Of course, they hadn’t killed anyone tonight and he had. I made a mental note to spend some private time with him, maybe ask him about what he’d done. Sometimes when you were down, you just needed someone else to point out the awesome things about you. And Stephan Ravana was one of the best. Top four to be exact. At least in my heart.
He pushed the door open to their second biggest house. We walked in and Isabelle was there immediately, giving out hugs to the sons she hadn’t seen yet. Gregor stood behind her, looking properly relieved to see everyone in his family was alive and well. Isabelle hugged Christian the longest, definitely not liking the red stain all over his shirt.
I couldn’t get past looking at Gregor though. He’d voted to kill that innocent baby. He tore a family apart. Why?
Isabelle ushered us into the living room. Christian excused himself to run upstairs quickly while the rest of us sat. Connor and Nic pulled me down between them on the couch. Stephan sat in an armchair, and Gregor and Isabelle sat in the couch facing us.
“Tell me everything that happened,” Gregor said, his voice taking on the position of authority and forgoing any fatherly kindness.
“Do we have to do this right now?” Nic asked. “Christian nearly died and if Stephan hadn’t stopped Ri from bleeding, she would be in worse shape than she is right now.”
His father raised one dark eyebrow at him. “Ri?”
“Yes, Ariana. Our guard.”
I certainly didn’t fit that description. They’d had to save me from all this mess. Then again, I wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for their father. I held Gregor’s gaze. “Kay is one…” I cleared my throat and started again. The back of my mouth burned and I had to push back the tears. I shouldn’t feel bad for the woman who tried to kill me and damn near almost succeeded in killing Christian, but it was obvious she wasn’t thinking straight. She’d been driven mad by the vampire rules that didn’t make any sense. “She was clearly out of it with grief,” I stated simply. Being as diplomatic as possible, I continued, “She did not agree with your decision to kill her child, and then when she found Royce dead, she couldn’t cope. She kept saying it was your fault.”
“I am the reason Royce Michaelson killed himself?”
Bitterness was swallowing me, but I tried not to let it.
“If he’d just listened to you,” Nic said.
Christian finally returned from upstairs with a fresh shirt on. He sat on the carpet in front of me and leaned back against my legs. “What did I miss?”
“Kay blamed Dad for Royce’s death.”
“Well, we knew that,” Christian said, his thumb tracing over my feet. I’d lost my shoes, and I had no idea when or where.
“You asked,” Nic said. “I was just filling you in.”
Gregor almost rolled his eyes.
Before it could turn into an epic argument, I started again, “She also said that others were supposed to be at the bridge with her. Others that also wanted revenge on you and your family.”
The Ravanas all exchanged glances, but none of them said anything.
I sighed. My arm was killing
me, my cheek where it had laid against that hard cement for God knew how many hours was also pulsing, and no one was giving me any answers. “So, what’s going on?” I demanded. “From where I sit, it sounds as if Kay had a legitimate gripe.” Gregor turned a hard gaze on me. I held up my hand. “Not about Royce killing himself, but about the baby. I can see why she was upset about that. No, not enough to kidnap me to try to get your sons hurt, but I can understand her pain.”
“It’s not like that,” Nic said. “He—”
“Don’t,” Gregor said, steeling his son with a look.
Nicolai shook his head. “I told Ri I wouldn’t lie to her anymore. If she’s going to be our guard, she needs to be told everything so she can see where the threats are.” He turned to me on the couch. “Yes, our dad was the deciding vote on whether or not the baby should be killed, but he also told Royce privately that he would help them.”
“Royce has always been too hasty in his decisions,” Gregor explained.
“What were you going to do?”
“I told him I would take Kay away so she could have the baby. If she wanted to continue as his guard, there could be no more relationship. They also couldn’t keep the child, but she could still stay on with him. If she wanted to keep the baby, she’d have to leave. It was the best alternative to their situation.”
“An alternative that didn’t break any laws,” Nic chimed in.
“And he knew this before he killed himself?”
“We’d set up a meeting for today, actually. Then the Rajyvik’s announced they were bringing home their new son. Another vampire being introduced into our world takes precedence over everything else. I told him we would meet tomorrow. He, evidently, couldn’t wait.”
Sorrow cut deep into my bones. If he’d just waited, if he’d just listened to Gregor when he said he would help him, none of this would’ve happened. No, it wasn’t the happy family I was sure they were dreaming about, but it didn’t all have to end like it did. I shook my head and sat back on the couch. Both Connor and Nic instinctively moved closer to me.
“Is there anything else you can think of that would be of help to us, Ariana?” Isabelle asked. “You mentioned there were supposed to be others there.”