“You were a good girl to go after your brother. I spoke to your mother about it. She was very proud of you.”
Estelle plastered on a tight smile. “She was worried about Felix.”
“A mother’s love,” said Lady Nadia, zero warmth in her tone. “Of course, you had to leave that lithu in charge.”
“I did.”
Nadia raised her thin shoulders. “A mistake. That one is not to be trusted.”
Now Estelle was interested. She leaned forward, trying to get a better view of Nadia’s face behind the veil. “No?”
“No. I’ve watched her. She reports back to her people.”
“That’s how we’re building the relationship with the lithu.”
“What relationship?” Nadia leaned in, her breath cold and rank. “What do we get out of it? What have we gained, learned?”
“That’s for Wavena to know.”
Nadia leaned back. “Wavena does politics. This is war, girl. War.”
“I know—”
“You know nothing,” Nadia snapped. She pointed at her eyes. “This is what war does and that one has led us straight into the path of more pain before we were ready. It’s hard to make decisions that cause pain. I know.”
Despite knowing exactly what Nadia was doing, Estelle couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit of relief that someone, somewhere understood what she was going through. She stayed silent while Nadia appraised her. “You weren’t ready for a fight with the Dawning, not yet.”
Again, nothing.
“She’s a spy and you know it,” said Nadia softly. “We can discuss this later, when we are alone.”
She drifted away and a moment later, Agata appeared holding a cup. Estelle stared at Nadia’s retreating back. The old vampire’s hearing was legendary and she waited to speak, knowing Nadia would be analyzing every word she said.
“Raoul doesn’t allow drinks in the library,” she said. That was boring enough to be overheard without fear.
Agata sipped from the cup, then opened the door. “I didn’t ask.”
“I thought the lithu don’t eat.” Estelle nodded at the muffin on the plate.
“We don’t. Ingesting anything but blood or water makes us ill. This is for you.” She offered it.
“Oh. Thanks.”
“Any other misconceptions you’d like me to dispel?” Agata held the library door open and Estelle took the muffin in. Screw Raoul. She wouldn’t reject Agata’s gift. Also she wanted the comfort of sweet food.
“I was told you can only live in darkness.”
Agata pointed at the lights. “Lie.”
“You can turn invisible.”
“Lie, although we are very stealthy.”
The rest was that they were deceitful, violent, and unreliable, but Estelle felt it unpolitic to say. “What have you heard about vampires?” she asked.
“You need to eat food.”
“Nope. We like to but don’t need to.”
“You feed off humans only to torture them.”
“What? No.”
“I thought not. That’s all. Did you come from the queen?”
“I did.” Estelle tried to keep her voice neutral and firm. The queen’s questioning of the seneschal role had only come after Agata’s arrival. Was she a friend or foe? Had she set up the entire Mexico assault to discredit Estelle?
Not for the first time she wished Stephan was here to speak with.
“You acted appropriately to break your promise.”
After the harsh words from Wavena, she needed to hear something positive. “Thank you.”
“It was a pragmatic decision. To lose the chance to attack because of a promise made without foreknowledge of such an event is ridiculous.”
“Um.” Estelle wrinkled her nose, not sure where Agata was taking this.
“Ultimately, your failure was to agree in the first place. We lithu have no such promises. Either one trusts another or one does not. A special promise does not make a person more honorable.”
This was too close to Wavena’s criticism. Time to change the topic.
“What are you doing here?”
“Research.”
Estelle had learned over the last few days to take her time when talking to Agata. Her deputy was not garrulous, but when she spoke it was to the point. She waited now, idly turning over a few of the books on the table, picking out the pineapple chunks in her muffin, and wondering if she should call Stephan. Caro had called her earlier that day and told her in no uncertain terms that staying out of contact would be advisable.
“It’s bad,” Caro had said. “Stephan can barely function. He drinks too much. Eric is furious.”
Agata closed the book she was reading and sat with her hands flat on the table. Putting the conversation with Caro out of her mind, Estelle paged through one of the pamphlets about library rules that Raoul conscientiously stocked all the rooms with. The first page was a list of all the forbidden items, including food.
“Tell me about Delia,” she said. She’d let Agata take the lead in dealing with the lithu Dawning.
“Delia will be returned to our people for punishment after her recovery.”
Estelle didn’t have all the details but had heard through the grapevine that Agata had delivered an epic beating on Delia’s ass. Agata’s reputation among the troops had skyrocketed. “She was the one who met with Felix.”
“She did.”
“Her partner? The man?”
“Levi was not with her. He is at another Dawning complex.”
“Do we know where?”
Agata’s expression didn’t change. “Not now but I will.”
Delia fell under Agata’s purview and frankly, after what Estelle had seen at Sol de Playa, she fully supported any action her deputy wished to take. Agata was clearly making the better decisions. “No other information?”
“Nothing new.” Delia stubbornly refused to admit how or why they targeted the kidnapped arcana they’d found chained in the west pavilion. Nor would she tell how many more there might be scattered across North America. Pearl had been another lost cause. All she did was cry in the corner of her cell.
“Good luck.”
“Luck is irrelevant. I will break her.” Agata paused. “I have been thinking about our attack on the Dawning.”
“Anything in particular?”
“Tom Minor. His memory has not improved.”
“No.” Tom was alert now and although he could return to Toronto, he had requested to remain in Orlando to connect with the vampire security team. They had a daily debrief with him, and Estelle thought he was improving every day. He was the same dour man he’d been when he’d been taken by the Dawning six months ago.
“Did they allow you access?”
“No.” This was a sticking point. It was a nonstarter even though she knew that she’d be able to find useful information in Tom’s memories. Eric had said it was up to Tom and when Tom refused, he’d backed up his security chief.
“Then we will need to go elsewhere. Your brother. Has he said anything else?”
“No.”
“That will change now.” Agata stood from the table. “He has been given more than enough time to recover.”
Her deputy was correct and Estelle tried not to see it as a criticism that she’d put her personal feelings before that of duty again. If Felix had been anyone but her brother, he would have been in an interrogation cell seconds after arriving in Orlando.
Estelle caught up to Agata in the hall. “I’ll take the lead on questioning him.” She’d never hear the end of it from Maman if the mean lithu hurt her favorite’s delicate feelings.
Chapter 32
The drive to the LaMarche house was blissfully quiet and Estelle kept her mind on driving, a mindfulness meditation practice Cressida had
taught her. Focus only on the now. It didn’t help. She could only focus on Stephan and how she was going to fix the mess she’d caused.
When they arrived, Marianne answered the door. “Your parents aren’t in.” Even she was stiff.
Estelle sighed. She was getting used to the cold shoulder, but it stung. “We’re here to see Felix.”
Marianne’s eyes flicked from Estelle to Agata. “He’s in his room. Hasn’t left since he’s come back and now he refuses to see anyone.”
“Not even my parents?”
A flicker of amusement crossed Marianne’s face. “Especially not your parents.”
Estelle didn’t bother to ask how Helene was taking that from her precious boy. First, it was too immature to voice. Second, she already knew the answer.
She led Agata up the stairs to the new wing to her brother’s bedroom, or more accurately, his suite of rooms. She knocked lightly on the robin’s-egg blue French doors.
“Go away.”
It was like dealing with a teenager again. “It’s Estelle,” she called through the door. “I’m here with Agata. Let us in.”
There was a long pause and Estelle wondered if she was going to have to kick it down. She knocked again and this time the door swung open to reveal a hunched figure. Estelle frowned. Her brother never allowed himself to be seen ungroomed. Today his eyes were bloodshot, his hair mussed, and his face so pale it was almost green. Felix’s arm was in a sling, and even the cast was a dingy grey. Looking at the sling reminded her of Stephan and she felt sick to her stomach.
“Have you eaten?” she asked. He looked scrawny. She couldn’t believe her parents had allowed him to get to this state.
Felix didn’t answer. He walked away from the door but left it open. Unclear if it was a gesture of invitation or if he was telling them he didn’t care what they did, she followed. Two chairs had been moved to a spot near the window, which looked onto the green lawn. Timed sprinklers sprayed the grass and created miniature rainbows with their droplets.
Estelle realized Felix had simply been sitting there staring at the grounds when they arrived, although there was enough entertainment capability around him to power an arcade. A wave of pity washed over her. “How are you feeling?”
He didn’t answer.
Not surprising. They’d never been much to talk about feelings. “We need your help.”
“Haven’t I done enough? I mean,” he nodded down toward his broken arm, “I have this as a reward, right?”
“I went to save you,” Estelle said, keeping her tone calm. “The last time I checked you were locked in a room.”
“No one asked you to come.”
“Enough.” Agata’s quiet voice held enough authority to silence both LaMarches. The lithu walked to Felix and leaned over so that her face hovered no more than six inches away from his.
When she spoke again, her voice was low, clear and hard. “People have suffered for you. It was your fault you were captured. It was your fault you were injured. Your own incompetence, pride and bloated ego are what got you into this situation. I would not have cared if you were among the casualties of that strike. We lost good soldiers, men and women who sacrificed for their teammates and their people. You did nothing, yet you came out alive and don’t even have the decency to appreciate it.”
Felix sat openmouthed in shock. He looked to Estelle but she turned away, silenced. Agata had said what Estelle had wished to say for so long, but now that the words were out, they lingered pointedly.
Agata seemed unbothered by the atmosphere in the room. “Now tell us what they wanted from you. You were targeted for a reason.”
“I don’t know.” His voice had lost some of the edge that permanently tinged his conversations with Estelle. Best to let Agata control the conversation. “I thought they wanted me. My help.”
“What did they say to you?”
He snickered. “Do you really think they were going to lay out their evil world domination plan for the guy in the cell? They put me there after they figured out I didn’t have anything to tell them.”
“That may be. They also might have discussed it while you were unconscious.”
It took a moment for Estelle to realize what Agata was saying. When she did, her mind goggled. “You can withdraw memories from the unconscious mind?” she interrupted.
“Yes.”
“Is this a lithu thing?”
“No.”
Estelle and Felix glanced at each other and shared a rare moment of connection as they both digested this.
“You want to tell us more?” asked Felix finally.
Agata interlaced her fingers in front of her. “This is not common for lithu. I personally have the ability to draw memories from those who are asleep or unconscious. The brain takes in the information but it is rarely processed in a way we would understand. I don’t do it often as it is difficult to interpret.”
“Like a dream?” asked Estelle.
“Exactly. Felix.”
“What?”
“You will give me access to your mind so we can understand what the Dawning wanted with you and what they are planning.”
Estelle blinked. That was direct enough.
Felix laughed out loud, a creaky noise. “Are you out of your motherfucking mind? I wouldn’t give you the key to my car, let alone my head.”
Estelle clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t say something that she would regret, and her fists to prevent herself from giving his cast a good knock. Anything to bring him to his senses.
Agata was unfazed. “It was not a request.” She sat in the chair across from Felix.
To Estelle’s astonishment, the spirit went out of her brother. He sagged and the misery in his face…maybe she was a little sympathetic. “Fine.”
All Agata did was lay her hands on his. At first he flinched back but when she didn’t move he relaxed. “Close your eyes,” Agata said.
Then…nothing. Behind their eyelids she could make out small darting glances but that was it. Their breathing became slightly heavier, with long pauses between inhales, almost as if they slept. She kept very still, worried about breaking the bond Agata had created with Felix.
What else was she accessing in Felix’s mind? Could she find out what led her brother to the Dawning in the first place? Had he told her the truth about his motivation? This was one of the things that bothered her most. Had her brother truly been a traitor? He had been on the path when he met with the Dawning at the bar, but had he taken that last irrevocable step to help Wavena? Or was that a lie?
Agata’s eyes were the first to open. “I have what we need.”
She moved her hands away but Felix quickly inverted his hands to cover hers. “How did you do that?” There was a new tone in his voice, almost pleading. Very much not like Felix.
Agata removed her hands and stood to go. “You should get some sleep.”
“Can you do it again?”
The lithu shook her head. “The rest is up to you.”
Agata led the way out of the house as though she was the one who belonged there, and straight out to the car.
“Did you give him a healing?” Estelle asked. It was obvious she had taken action and equally obvious that Felix had not requested any assistance. Agata might have seriously overstepped her boundaries and more drama was the last thing they needed right now.
“Not in the way you would understand it.”
“Try me.” Estelle peeled out of the driveway, leaving a spray of gravel behind her. She hit the brakes. She wasn’t usually an aggressive driver but the experience had spooked her.
“Your brother spends too much time behind a wall. The Dawning blew a hole in it that he didn’t know how to fix. I helped him remove the first brick on his own, to clean the edges. He can remove it or rebuild it as he wishes.”
“That mak
es no sense.”
Agata looked unconcerned. “It is as I told you.”
“What did you see? Anything? Do you have some answers?”
“Yes. I need to think for a moment.”
Agata thought in frustrating silence for the rest of the drive. When she stopped for gas, Estelle caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass. Her lips were clamped so tightly she was almost pinning them with her fangs. Agata was the most irritating woman imaginable. Estelle was the seneschal. She was in charge.
Is that why you ran away to get your brother? To demonstrate your leadership abilities?
“You don’t know anything about it,” she muttered out loud. Agata glanced over but said nothing.
When they arrived back at the vampire compound, Agata took out the book she’d been reading before they left and handed it to Estelle.
Estelle glanced down. “Transference?” Transference was what had happened with Paulina and the hijacked seneschal. “Are you saying Felix helped to release an Ancient?” This was much worse than she’d anticipated. She’d need to check on Lucia and Vincenzo immediately.
“No, no,” said Agata. “This is what Yangzei wants.”
“His soul in a new body?”
“According to what I saw in your brother’s head. It is like that but also not.” She stared at the ceiling. “It wasn’t clear. As I said, it’s like a dream.”
Estelle decided not to press her. Perhaps it was like when a word trembled on the tip of one’s tongue, and distraction was the only way it would come out. “What else did you see?”
“The arcana they were taking,” said Agata. “I know why they were chosen. I know why your brother was chosen.”
“Tell me.”
“They seduced him.”
Estelle made a face. Did she really need to hear this?
“Not physically. He is in your shadow,” Agata said, her hands on the book. “The Dawning gave him opportunity to feel important. He has a special talent but with the focus always on you it’s never been recognized, let alone used to its full potential. He wasn’t lying about wanting to bring information to Wavena, but they were too strong for him.”
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