by K. A. Tucker
“Maybe I have no interest in surviving without Evangeline’s forgiveness.” Maybe I was tired. Maybe this was too much. Maybe I should just give in, hand the Fates the winner of their game—whoever that was, if I hadn’t just incinerated them in New York City. And, if I had, then did that mean I had somehow won? Because I certainly didn’t feel victorious.
Seeing that look on Evangeline’s face, I was quite certain that I’d lost everything important to me.
“I don’t think I’m meant to be a leader in something so monumental, Mage. I think you need to take over making the decisions.”
There was a long pause as Mage stared out at that menacing skyline. I sensed her thoughts had wandered far into the past. When she spoke, it was with a degree of melancholy I’d never heard in her voice before. “There are only so many impossible decisions one being can make before the weight becomes too much. I carry that burden for my world. Now you must carry the burden for yours.” She looped her arm through mine. “But I will stand next to you while you bear your lot, my friend. That I can promise you.”
“I’m not sure how much more I can bear.” I inhaled deeply, hoping to somehow absorb some of Mage’s strength, hoping that I could at least appear resilient, knowing what I had to do next.
Evangeline and her friends would be focused on something other than saving this world—the impossible hope that Amelie was still alive. With the military waiting, their weapons adapted specifically for killing our kind, and with Viggo hunting, intent on Caden, Evangeline needed to be focused on her own survival and nothing more.
And that’s why I knew there was no safety in keeping her and the others here, with me.
I would have to go against what I knew they’d want—again—in order to keep them out of harm’s way.
“Now that we must wait for the dust to settle, I think it’s time we discuss something equally important.”
“Something more important than the end of the world?” I said dryly, though she had my attention. When Mage wanted to talk, it was never frivolous.
“Evangeline. About her transformation. You and I both know that it is not typical.”
“Besides her eyes?” Like shiny gold coins in their luminosity. Still beautiful, but odd, given they were once a pretty hazel brown. I sighed. “I expected as much from the Fates.” They could never honor their word with grace. That’s what you got, though, for meddling with dark magic. That’s the only way to describe dealings with causal enchantments, because any positive outcomes came twisted in darkness.
“Yes, but …” Mage’s perfectly shaped black brows pulled together. “I would have expected something disastrous. Undesirable mutations. But so far, I’ve seen nothing but strength in her. She is completely in control of her need for blood.”
“Yes, I have noticed that.” And I was thankful for it, in truth. Otherwise she would’ve been a sitting duck and Viggo would’ve slaughtered her when he discovered her in the mine.
“And she’s immune to merth.”
“Yes, I noticed that too.” I had no explanation for it.
“Her eyes followed the bubble when you were casting the last transportation spell.”
“Yes …” For the third time, I admitted, “She can see magic. I probed her before we left for the city. I found nothing strange inside. She felt exactly as she should.” The way Evangeline’s eyes had trailed the long tendrils of my magic startled me at first, enough to break my spell. “What I can’t figure out is why the Fates would give her such extraordinary capabilities?” My blood ran cold uttering their name. Those damn faeries and their trickery and their deception, their cold, callous decisions.
“Why indeed.” If Mage had any guesses, she didn’t offer them. “And then there’s the compulsion.”
I turned to regard her profile. Such delicate features for such a deadly creature. “What do you mean? We can all compel.”
Mage’s eyes were still on the horizon. “I’m quite certain that she compelled Mortimer to stay, back at the penthouse. If that’s the case, I believe she has also compelled Julian to resist human kills.”
My gaze searched the treetops below as I pondered this. Compel vampires? I supposed it would make sense. How else would Julian have had such control over himself after only a few hours? Veronique also seemed quite calm and composed in the video. And Caden’s odd comment earlier, when we reunited in Central Park … Did Caden know about this?
But compelling vampires? “That would be …”
“Impossible? Yes.”
I frowned. “Well, not impossible. I watched you compel others, remember? Back when we tested your venom, you compelled all of the Ratheus vampires to stand back.” Though Mage was an original, and Evangeline certainly was not.
“They were not fledglings,” Mage argued. “I have tried compelling true fledglings. It did not take.” She turned black eyes on me. “Not at all.”
Evangeline could do something that even Mage could not? “What does this mean?” I thought I was finished burning my energy to figure out the Fates’ motives. But there we were again, the muscles in my body tensed with alarm. “It can’t be anything good. It never is.”
“No, it usually isn’t, is it.” She turned her attention back to the haze of destruction. “I have a theory, though I cannot substantiate it yet.” I waited silently. Finally, Mage elaborated. “I don’t believe that she can simply see magic. I think they’ve given her the ability to wield magic. Why, I cannot say. Perhaps it is a defense tactic.”
A defense? What on earth would Evangeline need to fight against, besides Viggo…
My stomach sank with realization.
Against me.
I was a “player” in their game and I had an opponent.
Was Evangeline my opponent? Would they do something so sick and twisted and … yes. Yes, they would.
I kept my eyes locked on the horizon for fear of letting Mage see my panic. No one knew about this “game” and my role in it. I’d kept that knowledge close to my chest, mostly because I didn’t see any use in sharing it, but also because I still didn’t know how it played into this situation. Was there an advantage to being who I was? A detriment? Would killing me benefit someone else somehow?
Would it benefit Evangeline?
In one sense, if the Fates had in fact set us against each other, they were idiots because I would gladly sacrifice myself for her safety and happiness—if I knew that would guarantee it.
So wrapped up in my thoughts, I almost missed Mage’s words. “Evangeline will likely realize that you are trying to transport her this time around.”
Would she recognize the bubble for what it was? Could I cast it quickly enough? Regardless, I’d figure it out because I had to. I had to keep them safe. I wouldn’t risk Viggo hurting her anymore. Especially not through me.
*
“Mortimer is long gone,” Lilly announced, perched on top of the old kiln, in the same place I’d found Caden and Evangeline yesterday.
“Not surprised.” I was surprised he hadn’t ripped my heart out of my chest as he passed by. I was also disappointed. Of the two ancient vampires and perpetual thorns in my side, Mortimer was always the more levelheaded. Plus, Mortimer understood Viggo better than anyone else.
He truly understood how the psychopath’s mind worked, far better than I did, obviously.
I did know that Veronique was relatively safe. Viggo wouldn’t kill her, not while he could derive such pleasure from keeping her hostage. No. He would hold on to her forever, just to torture Mortimer and me. I wouldn’t put it past him to attempt to sway her heart, to believe that he could. And the only reason he would believe that he could is because Viggo didn’t know how to truly love and therefore he didn’t understand the complexity of it, the finality of it.
“Perhaps having Mortimer after Viggo will put pressure on Viggo to hide his tracks. If that’s the case, he won’t be able to follow us so easily,” Mage said.
I nodded slowly. I wish I’d had the time and fo
rethought to put a tracking ring on him before he left, as I’d done to Bishop and Fiona. Of course, I’d waited until Evangeline took off after Julian, not wanting her to see. I even went as far as to hide the glowing purple bracelet beneath their pant legs, hoping she couldn’t somehow still sense it. “And the others?”
“They are in the mines, preparing to leave for New York City.”
I shared a knowing glance with Mage.
The only place they were going was to the farthest corner of the world—an inhabited island off the coast of New Zealand—far enough that it would take time to make their way back here.
Mage’s hard gaze shifted over my shoulder. “As I suspected, this will not be as easy as we had hoped.” Her chin jutted out behind me, just as my ears caught their soft footfalls in the snow.
Turning with wariness, I found a wall of grim masks: Evangeline and Caden, hand in hand, Bishop holding on to Fiona. Julian, arms folded over his chest, stood on the opposite side of Evangeline, focused. Yes, there was only one rational explanation for his demeanor. Evangeline must’ve compelled him. How, though, I still could not comprehend. Calm determination swirled in the air around all of them. Another oddity.
All except for Max, who lingered behind, like a stray dog having lost its owner.
Even with a fleeting sweep of my eyes, I caught the mistrust in Evangeline’s gaze and it made me flinch. Disappointment, hurt, shock. It was all there, and I couldn’t deal with it right now.
I would have to transport them all at once and I would have to do it quickly. And then, when this was all done, I would beg for her forgiveness.
Reaching in to myself, I began pulling the threads together, weaving and winding them as they remained hidden within my body, my lips moving as quickly and intelligibly as possible as I cast the spell. Evangeline might see the bubble but, short of attacking me, she wouldn’t be able to stop it until it was too late.
“Are we ready to go?” Caden asked. In his pretty green eyes, the bitterness for me churned. I had once fought for his trust and respect and won it. I would never be in his good graces again.
“Yes, shortly,” Mage answered, just as I released the spell into the air, the pale pink bubble quickly swelling.
As expected, Evangeline’s eyes darted to it, narrowing. “What are you doing?”
I pushed against the recesses of my magic, compelling the bubble to grow faster, to envelop them so I could get them out of here before anyone had the good sense to fly at me.
In two seconds, it was around Fiona and Bishop; in four seconds, it had grabbed hold of Julian; in six seconds, it had—
“No!” Evangeline commanded in a voice that sounded nothing like her. An authoritative, powerful voice.
My magic burst like a soap bubble, and the spell fizzled as if it had never been formed.
My mouth dropped open.
Evangeline had just broken that spell with one simple word.
How?
By the shocked look plastered across her face, she was just as surprised as I was.
Quickly replacing the look with a nervous mask, Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not sending us away this time. Not unless we agree to it. And we don’t.” Sharing a look with Caden and Julian, she explained, “We’re going in to find Amelie.”
Exactly as I’d suspected. And now I needed to come up with a new plan to keep them out of the way. I tried reasoning. “It’s not safe for you near there right now. You’re distracted, and distraction is dangerous.”
“We’re not distracted. We know exactly what needs to be done,” Julian snapped. “And besides, we’re not safe anywhere.”
“You’re right, you’re not. Which is why I wanted to send you away!” I snapped back, unable to contain my anger. As much as I’d come to like Julian, his hotheadedness made me want to snap his neck on occasion.
A bitter smile curved Caden’s mouth. “Now you’re worried about our safety? Maybe you should just keep focusing on saving the world.”
I ground my teeth against the urge to admit that I’d made a mistake, that I shouldn’t have gone against them. Mage was right. It wouldn’t change anything and right now, it probably wouldn’t help. “Lilly, Mage, and I will go on ahead to scout the situation and the new base. It’s best that you stay here and—”
“Where is the new base?” Evangeline cut me off, her eyes drifting to Lilly.
The child vampiress’s petite body sailed through the air to land at Evangeline’s feet. “We have our pick. Most places on the outskirts have been abandoned. Except for the few idiots who don’t know when to leave.”
“When do we go in?”
Furtive blue eyes looked to me before answering. Lilly’s allegiance was to Evangeline, not me. The only reason Lilly had listened to me before was because Evangeline ordered her to. Would that order be rescinded? How long could I continue trusting Lilly?
“It will be another day or two before it’s safe to enter the denotation site, but if we can get in there before the humans, we can make sure the fledglings in the subway tunnels didn’t survive.”
“You must stay here in the meantime,” I quickly threw in, a desperate attempt.
“And when the fledglings are all gone? Then what?” Evangeline asked Lilly, ignoring me.
Lilly didn’t look at me before answering. “Then we hunt down the last of the witches. The People’s Sentinel will fall into the recesses without the witches’ power. And then we will hunt down Viggo.”
“Or we can rid ourselves of him at the same time. He’s already hunting for me, right?” Caden asked.
“Yes, he will be. Which is why you should stay away,” I hissed. “You’ve already seen what he’s capable of!”
“That’s because you didn’t warn us,” Caden spat back. “But now we know. So we’ll see this through and then I’m taking Evangeline away from you. For good.”
Unable to control my reaction, my wide eyes rushed to Evangeline, her jaw set tight and those odd golden eyes locked on me. To weigh my reaction, perhaps? Ready to battle my argument? “You can’t!” I blurted.
Why hadn’t I expected this?
“The curse is over. There’s no need for you to protect me anymore.” Distress flickered across her features but she stood firm, shoulders back.
As if that were the only reason I was there, always within the shadows, manipulating those around her.
Loving her, like a mother would her daughter.
Eighteen years watching over Evangeline, keeping her hidden, and now she was telling me that I would be relegated to her past.
An intense panic rose inside me. I remembered feeling this as a human. It always coincided with my lungs closing up and me struggling to breathe. I may not need my lungs anymore but I felt my emotional heart breaking. I was losing her. The only thing that had motivated me, the one thing that truly kept me going these last eighteen years, had not been Veronique.
It was Evangeline.
“I can’t just let you go,” I said hoarsely.
“It’s not up to you anymore, Sofie,” Caden responded.
“It’s not up to you, either,” I snapped.
“You’re right. It’s not. It’s up to me,” Evangeline said.
Bishop and Fiona shifted on their feet. They had likely anticipated my reaction.
I grasped at straws. “Even without Viggo and the witches, the humans will not simply forget this. The Sentinel will reform. There will be more wars that we need to—”
“If vaporizing an entire city didn’t change this world’s fate, then nothing will. We won’t risk losing any more of us trying,” Evangeline offered softly, reaching out to grab on to Caden again.
Despite myself, a sad smile curled over my lips. Evangeline had changed. Yes, she was no longer human, but beyond that transformation, she had matured. She was no longer the naïve eighteen-year-old, accepting a waitressing job from a complete stranger out of desperation, having nothing left to lose.
She now had someth
ing to lose.
It wasn’t me, though.
I watched her beautiful, youthful face—changed and yet not changed, still her but no longer her.
“We just need … peace. We need to be away from this,” she said, voice drifting. The real words need not be spoken; I knew what they were. Away from me. I had pushed her away. Now that no one needed me to solve a problem or cast a spell, I was nothing but a hazard.
And it clicked. This is what Viggo wanted. This was the true catalyst behind his plan. It wasn’t enough to take Veronique or hurt Evangeline. He wanted me abandoned. Unloved. Alone.
Like him.
And I had lost them all—their trust, their support.
Their love.
And after what I’d done to them, I probably deserved it.
Chapter Eighteen – Evangeline
“Devastation brings out the best humans, does it not?” Mage murmured, her voice thick with sarcasm, as we stood in a Wal-Mart parking lot and watched a few dozen darkly dressed people—men and women both—climb in and out of the gaping windows, arms loaded.
“Do they need these supplies?” Fiona asked.
A moment later, as a man struggled with a flat-screen television, we had our answer.
“The police will be here relatively soon,” Lilly said. “Relative” was the operative word. I imagined they had their hands full. This wasn’t the first department store we’d seen looted and we hadn’t reached the real devastation yet. Here, people could still walk outside without fear of their skin and lungs burning.
“Come on, then. Let’s go,” Sofie said.
We slipped through the opening like eight shadows. Max stayed outside. After all, what did the werebeast need? Some of us, on the other hand, could use a change of clothes and a shower.
The place had already been pillaged, a free-for-all to grab what one could. Based on the sparse canned goods and battery shelves, at least some were concerned more about survival than high-ticket items.
“Five minutes,” Sofie said, “and let’s stick together, please.” Since our confrontation, she’d leveled no more orders, though I knew she had to bite her tongue countless times. With that, she took off. I doubted she’d ever shopped at a Wal-Mart before in her life.