by Rachel Jonas
“To update you all on the re-staffing efforts where the newly-purchased harvesting camps are concerned, we’re coming along quite nicely. Already, two of the three have new headmasters in place. Headmasters we have screened and trained, of course.”
My brow tensed. The purchase agreements I came across in her bag after she returned from her travels was never far from my thoughts. Mostly, because I wondered what a woman of her stature could possibly want with them. And now, it seemed I’d gotten my answer.
She purchased them because, all along, that had been part of this faction’s plan.
I drew in a deep breath and continued to listen.
“As soon as a few other key members of the staff have been vetted and placed within the facilities, we’ll see a steep decline in reported incidents of ‘donor’ thefts. Also, the act of liberating children from these camps will become a far simpler task, resulting in fewer deaths and injuries. It has been a long-standing dream that we would gain control of operations such as these, and now, ladies and gentlemen, we are seeing this dream become reality,” she concluded.
“Thanks to your initiative and immense bravery, Your Majesty,” Aaric pointed out, arousing lively applause from the crowd.
Mother’s response was a friendly hug … shared with my enemy.
Levi leaned in to speak quietly. “What the bloody hell is going on exactly?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” was the only answer I could give.
When I settled into my seat again, I noted that I had Corina’s attention. She still seemed skeptical that I’d fall in line with all this, but I was admittedly less settled into my original stance—poised to resist whatever propaganda she planned to throw at me. The one factor I hadn’t realized would count against me was my mother being involved.
“Thank you,” Mother said again, just as graciously as the first time. The crowd quieted and she stared out on them. “Now that you’ve been brought up to speed on that matter, it’s time we focus on the real issue at hand,” she announced. “As you’re all aware, our objective has changed drastically over the last month or two, shifting from dispersing the blood sickness, to administering a cure.”
She grew quiet for a moment, staring down at the podium she stood behind, thoughtful.
“I know many of you have questioned the allegiance of the Ianites who have thrown their hats into this arena, wondering why we would fight so fiercely for an ending that could eliminate our kind completely. The answer to that is now, and has always been, because it is the right course of action,” she stated, finally peering up at the audience again. “The world we live in today is the result of one man’s decision to play God, which brought about a cruel and unfortunate existence for those who remained unchanged. While my family, in particular, has benefited from this way of life, it was instilled in me from a very young age to seek justice always.”
Her gaze shifted to my grandfather then, and I noted the look of pride he wore in that moment. I’d never seen that expression on him before then.
“Now,” Mother continued, “as fate would have it, there is a means of eradicating this plague on society. Without those of us infected with Dr. Ian Percival’s manufactured evil meeting our own demise,” she added. “The vision is a mass shift. A transition to a very close version of who nature intended for us to be. And the most important factor, is that we will no longer be subject to the consumption of blood for our survival.”
There was another round of applause, but one man off to the right stood with a less than elated expression.
“And what of the humans? We’ll still, technically, be inferior if I’m understanding this correctly,” he spoke up. “No, we won’t be blood slaves, but we’ll still be weaker and more susceptible than your kind, am I right?”
“Be happy with what’s being offered,” another human shouted from the other side of the room.
“No, it’s quite all right to have questions,” Mother interjected, quieting both men. “You raise a good point. One that has been addressed. It is our goal to not only develop a cure for the current state of vampirism. Those working to develop this serum believe it will work both ways, with a few minor tweaks to the formula once it’s produced. Those tweaks will give humans the option to receive a new strain of the Ianite compound that will offer such effects as immortality, strength, and other abilities, without any of the drawbacks. The result will be a changed society, yes, but one that is thriving, and most importantly … equal.”
This time, her words evoked a standing ovation. Corina was last to rise to her feet, but she did. There was a look of admiration set on her face that I hadn’t expected.
“Before we get too excited,” Mother added with a gracious smile, “we have yet to determine the best course of action for distributing the serum to the upper echelon of Ianite leaders.”
“I … believe we may have come up with a viable solution for that.” Aaric stepped closer to the mic after speaking. Mother stepped aside to share the space with him.
“By all means, share,” she insisted.
A look filled with warmth and inspiration passed from Aaric to Corina and I didn’t think my brothers missed it either. Levi confirmed as much when he leaned in to speak again.
“Am I the only one who wants to rip this smug bastard’s lips off his face?”
I held in a laugh, and also kept to myself that I was starting to doubt.
Starting to doubt that our concern had been warranted. That Corina had been brainwashed into believing a lie. That we weren’t already a part of this.
“Well,” Aaric continued, “After a lengthy conversation with Blackbird the other night, we devised a plan I think might just work.” He hesitated a moment, and this time he flashed a look my way. “We want to stage a coming out party.”
The volume in the room picked up a bit as questions circulated.
“As many of you have been made aware over the last couple days, Blackbird—through a series of fated events—has been brought into a blood bond. That means, in the very near future, she will be transitioning. Though her valiant effort has already given us many advantages, she, herself, devised a plan for capitalizing on this change yet again.”
“I’m not sure I fully understand,” Mother inquired.
Aaric smiled at her a bit. “A coming out party, introducing her to the world as newly-turned will bring out Ianites from far and wide. We can make it mandatory for the Black Key Society to attend, which would mean their Masters must attend. And even those who don’t have a genuine interest in ‘Mistress Corina’s’ role in the Dynasty will attend simply for the optics, a chance to be mentioned among the crème de la crème of Ianite society.” He smiled bigger now, shifting his gaze toward Corina again. “It’s quite an ingenious idea if you ask me.”
Mother was thoughtful for a moment. Meanwhile, my heart drummed inside my chest like never before. The risk we’d be taking with Corina’s life was unthinkable.
It became increasingly difficult to remain in my seat, and just as I prepared myself to stand, a light squeeze to my hand stopped me.
“Please.”
That single word left Corina’s mouth so softly, I questioned whether I had truly heard it. She glanced over, peering into my eyes and I froze.
“I have to do this,” she whispered, settling closer to say more. “Before meeting you, I was doing my part to see this very change come about. Every breath I took, every decision I made, I had the mission in mind. And now, I’ve somehow been given a golden opportunity to turn a personal tragedy into a win.” She held my gaze. “I need you to be on board with this.”
My heart hadn’t slowed, and I had a feeling it never would with her in my life. The very thing I loved about her—ruthless tenacity, unfathomable bravery and determination—were proving to be the death of me. As I stared down on her, there was no way I didn’t sympathize with her plight. She loved her work, loved the people who were a part of this movement, and I could only respect that.
; Slowly, and going against everything I believed in, I nodded. “Okay.”
Warmth seeped through my shirt to my shoulder when she rested her head there. I could only pray I didn’t one day regret giving in to this.
“Then I suppose it’s settled,” Mother announced across the podium. “Now, our next order of business must be to run interference. These past few days have been a media circus. With word spreading that Corina has disappeared, and that there’s trouble among her and the princes, we have to get out in front of this,” she shared. “We all know Roman has removed himself from the equation, but that doesn’t mean all is lost.”
There was an unmistakable gleam in her eyes.
“An interview,” she stated triumphantly. “Leave the details to me, but gentlemen, are you ready to put on a show?”
Her gaze shifted toward my brothers and I, and both Levi and Silas looked to me. They would have no clue why I was about to cave, but I’d keep my promise and explain it all to them later.
I nodded, answering my mother’s request, and would bring my brothers up to speed first chance I got.
Corina asked that I be open-minded, asked that I give her a chance to convince me this wasn’t all insane. She’d held up her end of the bargain, and now it was time to uphold mine. Because without a doubt, she’d shown me the light.
We were now—and had been for some time already—a part of this movement.
Chapter Seventeen
Corina
This was against the rules. It went completely against the code I swore to my parents I would always uphold. Only, circumstances had changed. They would have understood that if they were still here.
“You’re shaking.”
I peered over at Silas while he drove down the winding road, under the cover of night. He’d placed his hand on mine after observing how nervous I was.
Breathing deeply, I tried to relax.
“I’m not supposed to be doing this, bringing you two back to the base.”
Without saying another word, I knew he understood.
I’d already been toeing the line these days. Now, heading back to my team’s only safe-haven felt like a betrayal. It didn’t matter that Silas and Aaric had both clearly proven that we fought on the same team. It didn’t matter that I’d called ahead to bring Liv and Felix up to speed, and to get their input and permission. This was simply hard for me to wrap my thoughts around.
“You know you can trust me, don’t you?” Silas asked softly.
I nodded right away. “I do,” I admitted. “I trust you both, it’s just that … I want to make sure my team didn’t agree to this out of obligation. If it were me—”
“If it were you, you’d never have it,” Aaric chimed in, not bothering to hide the amusement in his tone. “Don’t feel bad about that. I wouldn’t either.”
That made me smile a bit, but did not relieve the guilt.
“They understand we have a lot of work to do,” he added, “and your base has the lab and equipment all set up for us to begin working on the serum. It makes perfect sense.”
And it did. All we brought with us was the blood samples from Abigail and her child so Silas and Fe could begin their analysis. Once they understood those components, the next time we met, it was possible they could create the vaccine.
This was my only comforting thought.
“You’re certain we weren’t being tailed, aren’t you?” I asked, hearing the panic in my tone as I turned to peer over my shoulder.
“I’ve been paying attention,” Aaric answered, although I’d been speaking to Silas.
I breathed a little easier, but not much.
We’d driven close enough. Following my instructions, Silas killed the engine and the three of us made our way toward the entrance on foot. Standing between them, I felt small, protected. It mattered little that I’d known Aaric—the real Aaric—for such a short time. It was strange how he’d gotten under my skin. In a good way, no less. There weren’t many hands I would put my life in, but his had somehow made that list.
The proof was that I had also entrusted my team’s life into them.
We were silent while we walked. Likely for very different reasons. I could only speak for myself, though. It’d been days since Empress Westower’s speech, and already the interview date had been set, which meant we had to also settle on a date for the ruse that was my ‘coming out party’. It was necessary to do so if the princes were to make the announcement on the live broadcast.
The Empress’ objective was clear—give the princes a platform to turn on the charm and kill any assumptions the public had made by presenting them with their own version of truth. Was it actual truth they planned to share? Well, some of it, but definitely not all.
While things had gone somewhat in our favor thus far, we were definitely under the gun to create the cure. There was a very delicate timeline, of which we were all acutely aware.
“This is it.”
Silas and Aaric glanced around, looking for a visible entrance, which brought a laugh out of me.
“Uh … did you honestly expect there’d be a big red door with a welcome sign on it?” I teased.
They both watched as I stooped to the ground and cleared away leaves. Then, beneath all the debris … a manhole cover, outfitted with a hidden keypad. Silas stared over my shoulder intently. At the risk of offending him, I wanted my team to keep at least one of their secrets.
“I hate to ask, but—”
“Oh! Of course,” he cut in, realizing I hoped to have a little privacy. Aaric turned, too, following Silas’ lead.
1-3-6-2-3-1-9
A soft beep accompanied the tiny green light that flashed once when I properly entered the code. The next sound we heard was the creak of the hatch door opening when I lifted it.
“All set,” I announced, standing straight again.
Silas and Aaric peered down into the narrow passage, and then back toward me.
“No welcome committee?” Aaric asked with a laugh.
“We’re just lucky I called ahead and Banks deactivated all the traps.”
Aaric laughed again when I finished speaking, but when I didn’t join him, he seemed to realize that hadn’t been a joke.
“After you,” Silas offered, gesturing for me to head inside first. Naturally, he thought it would be best for mine to be the first face to greet my team.
And he was right, but there was one last thing I needed to do.
I had their undivided attention as I slid a pair of sunglasses from the pocket of my hoodie. A pair I’d been carrying despite there being only moonlight accompanying us on this journey. Having the option to hide my eyes from my family brought me a small measure of comfort. The longer I could shield them from my reality, the better.
The guys both passed a look my way, and then glanced up toward each other, but neither said a word. I descended the iron ladder and hopped down with only a few rungs left to the bottom. The soles of my shoes clanked against the metal floor, echoing a familiar noise through the space that reverberated back to me. Sound traveled differently down here in the bunker, and collectively with the other sights and smells, reminded me I was back at home.
Aaric’s feet touched down, and then Silas’ after re-sealing the hatch. Both followed as I led the way through a network of winding tunnels and passageways. Eventually, there were gentle voices wafting our way and I knew we were close to the team.
With any luck, this wouldn’t turn out to be a total mistake.
Chapter Eighteen
Corina
The moment I stepped into the doorway of our command center, the entire team rose to their feet to rush me, led by Felix and Liv—and of course, Riot, in a frenzy of barking and tail wagging. There were tight hugs from most, but Jonesy caught me with a noogie—the bastard.
“The prodigal son has returned,” O.C. announced, dropping back down in his seat wearing a satisfied grin. “What’s with the sunglasses? You do know it’s, like, ten o’clock, don’t you?”
He had no idea how sensitive a subject this was, so I didn’t fault him for not guessing as much.
“Just trying to block out your ugly mug,” I deflected with a laugh.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” he joked back, turning to my escorts before saying more. “And it looks like you brought friends, I see.”
He said that as if it was a surprise Aaric and Silas accompanied, but they’d all been brought up to speed. Which meant he just wanted to make things uncomfortable for the sake of his own entertainment.
Smiling, I rolled my eyes.
“And you still haven’t showered since I left,” I teased, pushing his feet off the seat he had them propped on. He shoved me hard when I lowered to sit there.
“And who have we here?” Shay asked, sizing up Aaric. It wasn’t a flirty look she gave, but I didn’t miss the pink tinge her cheeks took on when he offered a gracious smile.
“Well, you’ve all met Silas,” I answered, “And this is Aaric.” I gestured toward him and realized that I, too, was smitten with his rough-around-the-edges exterior. Possibly because I was starting to realize that, inside, he had a heart.
“Ah, yes,” Shay said thoughtfully. “The Benefactor, right?”
“Actually, that was somewhat of a team effort,” he clarified, “I just so happened to be put in place to oversee that effort.”
Shay nodded and leaned in to whisper in my ear as she passed. “Hot and humble,” she teased. “Some chicks have all the luck.”
Okay, so maybe I told my girls a little too much when I made that call. It seemed worth mentioning that Aaric and I were bonded like I’d been to the princes, but now I regretted it a little. I guessed Shay noticed as much when my cheeks warmed, likely burning red.