Chapter 26

CHAPTER26

Ihad hoped the world would leave us be, at least for a little while. But when we step back outside the bedroom, it brings concrete questions to answer and problems to solve. Small things, like what to pack for the unseasonably cold weather in Romania when we’re limited by what the Datura Coven has to offer. Medium things, like what kind of vehicle we can rent that will comfortably fit an oversized demon jackal. Big things, like that the fuck I’m doing with my life Oh My God.

I’m not falling for him I’m not falling for him I’m not falling for him.

I have to chant this on average every three minutes and twenty-six seconds. And I’ve worked out that precise number in an effort to distract myself. Because every time Ediye gives me a knowing little grin, or Eryx gives me glitterball eyes, or Ashen finds some way to graze my fingers with his or let his touch linger on my back, I feel like I’m melting. Like all my emotions are pasted all over me. Which they probably are, and I’m betting not even limited to my super expressive face but on my arms and hands and clothes and fuck…. I’m not falling for him.

One night changes nothing. He needed it, I needed it, we’re consenting adults that both deserved to have some fun.

And we did. We had lots of fun. In various positions and across many hours. And now I feel so much better, I really do. Even despite what happened when I tried to sing, which stings my eyes with tears when I really think about it. I know I’ll have to come to terms with that, somehow. But whenever I feel like it will overwhelm me, Ashen is right there as though he knows where my thoughts have wandered off to. He checks in with me and distracts me and is just… kind. And the blame I’ve placed on him seems further in the distance of time than it really is, but that’s where it seems to belong.

Don’t get me wrong, this is still highly confusing as I thought I’d made my mind up to fuck him over as thoroughly as possible. And I still can’t say I trust him completely. Facts are facts. He might have a point about us being surrounded in the Shadow Realm, but I’m still not thrilled about how he stood by and watched it all unfold. And he technically cursed me, I’m still pissed about that too. Also, I do think there could be other motivators behind his actions, and maybe it’s easy for us both to forget about them and focus on just one thing in the Living Realm, like the rest of his responsibilities stop existing while he’s here. Just the same as I felt about pushing away the outside world when we were alone in my room.

As much as he’s been sweet and kind and he’s hot as fuck, he’s still a demon on a mission of which I am the center. Which is bad. Super bad.

Not falling. No.

These thoughts and worries and hopes and fears are still swirling within me as Ediye forms the portal that will take us to the outskirts of Câmpulung.

We stand as a group in the courtyard of the villa, some of the coven members lined behind a smiling Bianca, including Gigi, who it turns out is the Scythe who took Alberto’s body from the room when Ashen and I finally left to shower (and fuck one last time, despite Ediye’s explicit orders). Her bright green eyes stand out from her warm, tanned skin, her long chestnut hair flowing in waves down to her mid-back. She pulls away from the pack of witches to place a kiss on each of Davina’s cheeks.

“It was so lovely to meet another Scythe,” the woman says.

“Thank you, Gianna. Likewise. That was long ago for me, however,” Davina replies.

“Please. It’s Gigi. And once a Scythe, always a Scythe,” Gigi says, her smile broad and brilliant in the bright afternoon sun. “Safe travels, Davina.”

Davina waves a brief goodbye to the other coven members, who smile with warmth and a little sadness as they watch her pass through the portal. I realize for the first time that this must have been a place of familiarity and comfort for Davina, to be among her people even if they weren’t her clan, and it pangs in my heart as I watch her disappear from view.

Cassian is the next up, and gives a warm parting embrace to Bianca and those standing close to her. Eryx, Cole and Ediye follow in quick succession. Ashen goes next with Urtur trailing close to his heel, and he turns back before passing through the vortex to give me a worried glance, as though I might not follow. I give him a brief smile and he gives a nod in return, and with one last darting look to Bianca he passes into the darkness of the deepest space.

“Thank you very much for your hospitality,” I say to Bianca as I step forward. “I’m sorry again about the mess I made in your bathroom.”

Bianca smiles, amusement dancing in her eyes. “It’s no trouble, vampira. I do love a little entertainment.”

We kiss one another’s cheeks and I step away, waving to the others that I haven’t gotten to know before closing in on the portal.

“Vampira,” Bianca calls just before I step into the darkness. I stop and turn with a question in my eyes. “Don’t forget. Gasaan tiildibba me zi ab. You already knew.”

The first line of my spell. Queen that gives life to the dying. I blink and for just a moment I’m there, back in Sanford, hovering over Ashen as my blood flows into his wound. The look he’d given me just before that, one of resignation, it’s as fresh in my mind as though I’ve just seen it.

I blink again and I’m back, standing in front of the portal with my head turned to the smiling witch. My skull buzzes with the start of a hornet headache and I rub my temple.

Bianca smiles. The look she’s giving me is a little sympathetic. “Good luck, vampira. You’re going to need it.”

Well, that’s fucking reassuring,I think, despite giving a polite nod in reply. I face forward and step into the portal, disappearing into the image of the cosmos and the mysteries of space and time.

When I arrive with the others in the Romanian countryside, my headache is spiking as though the hornets have multiplied and decided the space in my skull is far too small. And they are pissed about it.

I knock back some of the elixir and lean in the shadow of a tree, surveying the landscape around us. There’s a thin layer of snow on the ground but the sun is bright, reflecting on the powdered surface like glittering jewels. I close my eyes and wait for the pain to subside as I take another sip.

“You okay?” Cole asks as he stops next to me, watching as the others exchange bags and run through last minute details. I look up and smile.

“Yeah. I think so.”

“Not working as well anymore, is it,” he says as he nods at the vial in my hand. I take another sip before turning my gaze across the snow-dusted hills.

“No.”

Cole sighs and leans against the tree. The warmth of his shoulder filters through my sweater and heats my skin. We fall into silence as we watch the others laugh and chat. Eryx’s wings shimmer in the bright light, as shining and beautiful as the soul that owns them. Ediye’s tall, graceful frame absorbs the ebb and flow of conversation as she sways with laughter. Cassian is still the same as I ever knew him, kind eyes that dance with mirth as he tells some animated story that makes even Davina crack a smile. Ashen bends to run a hand through Urtur’s midnight fur as the jackal noses the snow. He looks over his shoulder and shoots me a glance that quickly morphs into concern when the pain on my face registers. I smile and he moves to stand but I shake my head before leaning back to drink the final sips of smoky liquid.

“You won’t turn out like Arne,” Cole says.

I glance over at him, startled. I realize then that it wasn’t at the forefront of my thoughts, but that particular worry has been lingering behind them like an ever-present cloud that blots out the warmth of the sun. “How do you know?”

“I don’t know. I just do.”

We look at one another for a long moment before I lean my head on his shoulder and wrap my hand around his arm. For a moment he seems to tense before he lays his palm over mine. “You’re a good man, Cole. Thank you.”

Cole lets out a breath that feels like relief, like he’s been carrying it around in his lungs for too long. Maybe he just needs to be told more often. “You’re welcome, Lu,” he whispers, and his voice sounds tight as his grip tightens on my hand. He clears his throat and pushes away from the tree. “I’ll take Cassian and Ediye to get the vehicles. Will you be okay here?”

“Yeah,” I say as I squeeze his arm and then let go. “I’ll be just fine.”

Cole gives me a little smile over his shoulder as he shoves his hands into his pockets and walks toward Ediye and Cassian. They start in the direction of Câmpulung, Davina electing to walk with them. Eryx and Ashen stay with me and we find a fallen log to sit on and spend time chatting as we watch the jackal roll in the snow.

When the others return with two sedans and an Opel van, we load up our things and depart in a convoy. Cole, Eryx, and Ediye lead the way, followed by Cassian and Davina in the second car. Ashen wrangles Urtur into the back of the van with a little protest from the demon beast who’d rather explore the novelty of snow, and we take up the rear of the convoy.

We drive for a while without conversation. It’s a comfortable kind of almost-silence, with just the radio playing and the occasional yip from Urtur as he dreams about whatever demon jackals dream of. Shadowy little mice or Romanian snow or frisbee in Ravello, I guess. The quiet lets me lose myself to thoughts and memories as we pass small towns and wide fields, rolling hills and snow-dusted mountains. The terrain becomes more and more familiar as we make our way toward Bran, where Vlad’s castle is now a tourist attraction for those who are interested in the bloody history of the man I made into the world’s most infamous vampire. Something that you humans think of as legend, despite the fact it’s true. I guess we immortals are better off for your unwillingness to believe in us. Even though we believe in you.

We turn off before we make it to Bran and head northwest toward Magura. The narrow dirt road climbs toward the Piatra Craiului mountains in a winding path of sharp turns. Urtur jostles awake as we bump along the uneven surface, whining when his head smacks the roof of the van over a particularly nasty hump. We’re still making good time despite the sections of potholes and channels where water has slid down from the mountains and carved veins into the surface of the road.

“I know it’s not the same, but it still sounds beautiful, Lu,” Ashen says quietly as he steers us along after the others, snapping me out of thoughts of Vlad.

“Huh?”

“Your voice.”

I didn’t realize I’d been humming to the song on the radio, something Romanian that I’ve never heard before but with a catchy melody that’s easy to pick up. We meet eyes long enough for Ashen to see my little smile of thanks. I turn my gaze to the countryside that stretches down from the edge of the road.

“How much elixir do you have left?” he asks, and though he tries to keep his voice measured, I can still hear the worry in it.

I fidget with the grip on my katana to stop from rubbing my temple in a futile attempt to dampen the stinging pain in my head. “Probably not enough.”

“As soon as we find Valentina, we will find a way to fix it,” Ashen says. I see him glance my way in my peripheral vision, but I keep my eyes on the road ahead.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple, Ashen.”

I say nothing for a long moment as I watch the tail lights of Cassian’s car disappear around a bend ahead, then reappear once we round the curve. “It’s not like we can just rock up to some genetics lab and order them to figure it out.”

“No. But we can find Semyon and take the serum from him.”

I don’t say anything in reply. I still don’t trust Ashen enough to tell him everything. Not about Semyon’s serum or how he would be able to control me with it through his power as the Alpha. Not about what I know I’ll need to do to beat him without that power shifting to the next werewolf in line. No, I won’t be saying anything about that. So while I might lean into Ashen’s touch as he reaches across the center console to run his fingers through my hair, my thoughts drift further away, locked far beyond his reach.

I look ahead to the two cars in front of us and shift my thoughts to the immortals inside as we weave up the mountainside. “Davina was a Scythe?”

Ashen tenses at the sudden change of topic that I hope will draw him away from other thoughts. I give him a sharp little glance to remind him that he agreed to give me his secrets, and though I can tell he doesn’t rejoice in discussing Davina, he’ll do it anyway. “Yes. She was a Scythe.”

“What happened? Why was she reaped?”

Ashen lets out a steadying breath. His grip tightens on the steering wheel, the cushioned plastic protesting under his palms. “She harvested a body she shouldn’t have.”

“A Reaper?”

Ashen shakes his head. “No. Much worse.”

“An angel? That wouldn’t go down well I guess.”

There’s a long moment of silence. “No, Lu. Not an angel.” I look at Ashen for a long moment until I grow impatient and smack his arm. He glowers at me and I can see the fight within himself to give this secret up. “A demigod.”

“A what?”

Ashen’s eyes darken. He nods.

“A demigod?.. Seriously?”

Ashen nods again and his brow furrows. “Yes.”

“And Davina harvested this demigod? Who killed it? How? What was it? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Why?”

“Only the Shadow Realm and the Realm of Light were supposed to know. It was a closely guarded secret, by decree of the gods. It has been centuries since the last demigod passed. They were more fragile than other creatures, more mortal, even though they carried some of the powers of their ancestors. Both angels and demons were duty-bound to protect knowledge of their existence from all others.”

My gaze sweeps across the landscape as I try to process Ashen’s words. “So did she just happen upon the body, or did she know what she was doing? Were you the one who told her what it was?”

“Yes. I was the one who told her about his existence. I was in love with her. I thought I could trust her. But she was more bent on revenge for the death of her parents than I thought, and she used the information to strike a deal with a vampire who wanted the bone ground to dust and the ashes of the heart. In exchange, the vampire would capture Barbossa Sarno for Davina.”

“What? Bobby Sarno? She knew Bobby?”

Ashen gives a grim nod and a heavy sigh. “You are not the only one Bobby Sarno crossed.”

I snort a laugh and watch as the two cars ahead take a snaking curve at speed, throwing gravel down the steep drop on the right. “Understatement of the millennia. I’m sure there was a long waiting list for those of us that wanted Sarno dead. Who was the vampire?”

“Davina refused to tell me. She only said that the vampire had killed the demigod and would ambush Sarno’s merchant ship in exchange for the harvest. The vampire would then hold Sarno and get a message to Davina so she could portal to the location and kill him herself.”

A sharp breath catches in my lungs.

My heart stops behind its cage of bone.

And I owe it to you, Davina had said in Ravello.

My reply echoes in memory: You didn’t do anything to me. You owe me nothing.

I remember the conviction in her voice when she spoke her next words.

You’re wrong.

And my sister’s voice as we stood on the cliff in Anthemoessa, before she pushed me into the safety of the sea.

Find Barbossa Sarno, from the ship. Get a spell. Take the weapon and get revenge.

“Aglaope,” I whisper as a cold chill spiders through my skin.

I turn to face Ashen. He looks at me. His eyes grow wide.

Ashen’s gaze is still fused to mine when it happens. He doesn’t see what I do, what’s just next to his window.

The pointed edge of an armored personnel carrier, the metal catching the light of the sun.

One last lucid thought screams in my mind until it’s crushed in the litany of twisting metal and shattering glass. Bianca was right.

I already knew.