Chapter 31

MAEVE

One week.

According to the documents we took and the USB that Jamie spent last night decrypting, Gabriella leaves London in a week.

She could be one of two possible shipments, two days apart. The planned ritual will happen on or before one of these dates.

The paperwork we stole reveals mostly cryptic information but also some things of significance. The names of those involved with Zenith Global Exports are coded apart from the company director—Callum Dufour and his secretary Emmett Roberts, who we"ve already identified as part of this dragon"s mafia circle.

The manifests" dates are readable, as are the exports" names, but mixtures of letters and numbers create a code for the precise contents of each shipment. The sums of money involved run into tens of thousands of pounds, which seems excessive for items such as AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. Two booked shipments stand out as they"re hundreds of thousands, and differ to the last year"s regular cargo. Innocuously named RAW EXOTICS, one"s headed to New York and the other to Rotterdam.

Gabriella on one and the other as a false lead?

We"re leaning towards Rotterdam—shorter trip, less chance things could go wrong. Gabriella heading to Europe makes the most sense. Andrei jokes she can revisit her ancestral home and add some realism to Dracula tours—more of his joking to hide his stress. The woman is more likely to bury herself inside Eastern Europe or further afield, where the largest supernatural network still exists after hundreds of years.

We need to divert our attention away from the dragons for now if we want to find information about the ritual Gabriella"s planning. She"s working with the top echelon of the dragon mafia, but I doubt the lower tiered members have any involvement. We"ve proved that dragons are helping—what is Gabriella promising them in return? Because I"m betting it"s more than money.

Most addresses connected to the Xenith Exports are office locations in London, New York, Paris, and Singapore. No mention of storage locations apart from the shipping containers at the docks.

Our confrontation with Gabriella will happen in this country, but there"re dozens of industrial areas in London where the building in my vision could be located. Jamie suggests that if the dragons use buildings for storing illegal items when transporting to the docks, they must keep them near the port.

Nobody mentions that the place could be the one I saw.

Hopefully that narrows down our search—but what are we searching for? Is Gabriella at one of these locations? Wherever she currently lurks, Gabriella will need trusted guards or risk an attack that could expose her to the day. Dominion witches must have her behind wards somewhere, and I can"t imagine Gabriella skulking in the grotty place that I saw.

Or is that the point—we won"t expect her to?

Following the attack on Amelia, Matt"s keen to move away from anyone who might follow—Alaric or Dominion. The pair agree to pass on all information they"ve gathered about Gabriella, but then they"re isolating themselves again. Alaric never pursues those who leave his group unless he feels they"re corrupted in some way; he"ll leave Matt and Amelia alone.

I discovered what Tobias whispered to Andrei: don"t tell Matt and Amelia about the daywalking. This remains as big a secret as the First, and I"m uncomfortable that Tobias insists we don"t tell the pair anything significant, but see his point.

If Gabriella"s people capture either Matt or Amelia, either could share information, whether they want to or not. I try not to imagine Gabriella"s interrogation techniques matching Dorian"s, and I"m doubly glad the hybrids are choosing to step away for now.

After freeing Matt from Ravenhold, and then his captivity by the Blackwoods that followed, Matt and Amelia lived off grid and alone. I understand their desire to leave behind the world threatening them because I crave the same.

Alaric and the groups" search for Gabriella, and investigations into Dominion activity, hasn"t revealed much apart from pockets of new recruits such as the ones Dorian found. The recruits revealed nothing through both physical and mental attempts to persuade them to talk.

Matt concludes most new recruits have no idea about the bigger picture, only that they"re waiting for the ritual. The vampires who attacked Amelia clearly are higher up—a warning to Alaric to back off—and it"s likely they"re ones that contain traces of the First"s blood.

If Dominion containing the blood are loose around London, we should prepare to meet harder enemies than past Dominion members. And we will meet them—those with blood are the recruiters and possess information.

In the city, supes favour night-time activities, obviously hemia vampires because they need to, but lamia and pneuma enjoy getting kicks from humans too. Some witches are attracted to places that hemia visit, such as underground clubs, which make prime hunting and therefore prime Dominion recruitment grounds.

Amelia and Matt handover a list of clubs they"ve identified as visited by the largest number of supes, and names of other key supes involved with the local colleges and universities. Of the two, visiting one of the clubs makes sense; we"re less obvious in the darkened club than strolling around a college campus.

But who and how many of us should visit the club? Not Ash, since shifters don"t visit these places, and Andrei"s still hidden. Tobias and I are the logical choice as the skilled mind magic users with strong offensive magic if required. Although, we"ve no need to threaten or question people—or make ourselves public. We can hide in the shadows and target the weakest minds until we find one with information.

Jamie isn"t happy about staying behind but, like my visit to the dragons with Ash, a pair draws less attention than more of our group. We agree on a similar plan for when I catch up with Lex—only Jamie will accompany me.

Since my and Jamie"s last visit, Lex disappeared and is unreachable again, which suggests he"s watching Astrid and holed up drinking. I"ve left messages but no response yet. Is he even listening to them? I need Lex"s help and advice more than ever.

Thoughts of Astrid twist my heart, and the image of the woman in my vision at Lex"s begins to fade. If I didn"t need to stay focused on the current vision, I"d attempt to revisit that one.

Does this mean I will meet my mother one day?

* * *

The London houseis smaller than the Winterfall, and I"m stifled by the amount of energy generated by our discussions, my head aching as I keep up with rapidly forming plans. As we talk, I become aware I may not see Amelia again for some time and tell Tobias I"m taking Amelia for a coffee at the local café. He begins to protest until I promise to go to the one halfway along the street from the house, where Andrei can detect me.

I sit with Amelia at the circular metal table, in a quiet spot hidden from the street by one of the large potted ferns. The café owners placed the mismatched pots along the street front to create a natural barrier to the hustle and bustle outside, but I"ve no fear of a supernatural attack this publicly and in daylight.

Amelia"s pastry flakes as she pulls apart a piece to eat and I butter my croissant, breathing in the freshly brewed coffee aroma as I snatch moments to relax in the ordinary world. Two old friends catching up.

Apart from my old friend now startles as any chair scrapes on the pavement, or at the person who knocks the chair as they pass to a different table. Last time we met, I"d noticed Amelia"s new confidence in herself and her magic; relaxed at Ash"s birthday, and fighting back effortlessly against the shifter"s attack.

Has Amelia faced too much recently?

"I"d like to say you look well, Amelia, but you don"t," I say. "Are you alright?"

Dropping the pastry, she self-consciously pulls at her navy-blue jacket sleeves, even though none of the recent injuries are visible. "Exhausting few months."

"You"ve lost weight and look… haunted. What"s Alaric involved you in?" I say gently.

"We kind of got sucked into his crusade." She smiles weakly. "Matt had the same obsession as him about the Blackwoods and the group followed key Dominion leads too. Even without the… attack, we"d made the decision to move on until things calmed down."

"I don"t know Matt well, but I can"t see him taking orders from someone."

She smiles. "Plenty of clashing, yes."

"Where will you go?"

"Back to the place near my family. Spend some time with my sister." She twirls the coffee cup in her hands. "Is that bad? Should we stay around to help?"

"No. I"d rather you didn"t." She looks up, eyes wide. "Gabriella"s vendetta focuses on us—especially Andrei—and we don"t want you dragged in. There"s a lot happening, and the five of us have to pull tight." I wrinkle my nose. "More people involved equals more complications."

""A lot happening" that you"re still not upfront about?" She arches a brow.

I chew my lip hard. "I can"t say much, but we"re also under threat from the First, Amelia. The creature"s evil and if it suddenly had you in its sights too—and hurt you—I"d hate myself."

She sits straighter. "The First"s threatening you because Andrei has its blood inside him?" she whispers.

"That"s part of the situation." I give a tight smile. "Do you understand why I won"t explain a lot? Why you"d be unsafe?"

"Yes, but tell me—has the First threatened you directly?" She reaches across and places a hand over mine.

"Winterfall and Blackwood witches trapped her," I say flatly.

"The First is focused on you." Amelia blanches. "Will the guys keep you safe? Can they?"

"Amelia, I"m not the witch you left behind at the academy, you know that. I"m accepting and learning all my power. I don"t need "keeping safe"." She looks at me doubtfully. "Me and the guys—we keep each other safe."

With a nod that doesn"t feel like an agreement, Amelia nibbles on her pastry for a moment. "Is Jamie different?" she blurts. "He seems… not himself."

"And would you say any of us are the same as we were?"

"No. I guess. Your bond with Jamie is tighter—I can feel that, but there"s an edge to him."

I close my eyes. Do I tell her about plans for the Blackwood magic? She"d freak out after what happened to Matt when he used their spells. "We think Jamie is threatened by something in another vision, that"s all."

Amelia gasps so loudly that a couple at a nearby table stare at us. "He dies?"

"No. We don"t know." I swallow. "Nobody will die."

"Poor Jamie," she mumbles. "Is that why the darker magic hovers around him again?"

"His bonded witch is half-Blackwood," I remind her.

"I can"t get my head around that at all. How Blackwood are you?"

"Fifty percent?"

"Ha ha. I mean, the magic."

"Fifty percent."

Amelia narrows her eyes. "Are you influenced?"

"Everything"s complicated."

Huffing, Amelia drops back in her chair and crosses her arms. "I"m annoyed that you keep saying that."

"I"m safe. We"re safe."

"I don"t see how, but okay." She takes her cup and sips.

"How are things with you and Matt, apart from everything with Alaric?" I ask.

Amelia"s eyes spark with more life than I"ve seen since she arrived. "He"s an amazing guy. I know we"re bonded and that affects how we are, but everything feels perfect. Matt taught me to believe in myself." She chuckles. "And I taught him to not believe in himself quite as much—Matt makes mistakes because he thinks he"s unstoppable and doesn"t think straight."

"So I heard. And he"s okay after Ravenhold?"

"That place needs tearing down," she mutters.

And I know a certain hybrid who intends to do that. "I think a lot will be torn down soon. And I will say one thing, Amelia. Keep away from everything Confederacy."

She scoffs. "Already do. Matt"s seen first-hand there"s corruption in the Confederacy."

I bite back telling her that Dorian plans to deal with that, and silence takes over again.

Amelia lowers her voice. "In a way, I"m glad we"re not involving ourselves with you and walking away instead. Is that bad?"

"No. As soon as I find the chance, I"ll do the same as you—disappear with the guys and just live. Not hide, but get away from the constant threat. I want peace, not power, when the world changes."

"Quite the collection of guys now." She smirks at me. "That"ll keep you busy."

I chuckle. "Yeah, complicated guys. All of them."

"Ash told me about his issues with the dragons."

"Does Ash look different to you?" I ask. "As someone who hasn"t seen him for a while."

"For sure. Don"t you worry he might squash you?" Her mouth tips into a smile.

"He"s a gentle guy." Mostly. "But he"s good to talk to when I don"t want to talk, if that makes sense."

"Ash was never clued up on witches and vamps. I bet he is now."

"Yes, but no. I can escape some of that with him. Ash sees things from a different perspective."

"And he"ll protect you from Andrei and Tobias," she says, looking the other way as she drinks.

"Amelia. I don"t need protecting from them." Her lips press together and she doesn"t respond. "I am not the Maeve who came to the academy."

"Yeah, neither is Andrei nor the professor." She looks back. "You and Tobias. Curse broken. Can you really accept what he did? Truthfully?"

Now I avert my eyes, taking a bite of croissant rather than replying straightaway. "I accept Tobias"s past. Sometimes it"s difficult, but I"m removed from what happened to the Winterfalls."

"All his past?" I look up. "Maeve, he didn"t only kill the Winterfalls. He could never take down a whole family as quickly and efficiently unless he"d killed before."

"Can we not talk about the past?" I say quietly. "Tobias saved me the day under the academy. He"s committed to me and our future."

"Tobias saved you that day because the curse made him. What if?—"

"Amelia," I interrupt. "I have to focus on the future. On having a future. He"s part of us now. I love Tobias and forgive him."

"And trust him? I don"t. He was the Dominion"s tool. Then the Confederacy"s. I bet Tobias hasn"t told you everything."

My chest goes tight. "Probably not, but he"s told me the worst."

Her eyes fix on mine. "I hope so."

"Amelia. Stop."

"And Andrei?" she continues. "What"s that blood done to him? He looks different… his energy feels different."

"I don"t know, but Andrei isn"t dangerous."

"To be honest, Maeve, I think you are like that girl who arrived at the academy," she says stiffly.

"Why?"

"Na?ve."

I suck in a breath, shocked and annoyed in one hit. "And this is another reason you and Matt could never get involved. The guys and I have the utmost trust in each other. Granted, that took some time, but we"re powerful as a group."

Amelia silently finishes her coffee. I"m a breath away from saying she doesn"t know how powerful I am—could be—but I"d sound like Dorian. Hell, I hope that topic doesn"t come up too.

"Amelia," I say softly and touch her hand. "I love that you"re protective of the people you care about, but I promise you that my guys are the same."

A flicker of a smile. "Your guys. You definitely embraced the witch and consorts thing. Did nobody tell you strictly speaking the guys you choose should all be witches?"

"If I followed society"s rules since I entered this world, I"d be dead."

Amelia"s amusement drops, and she doesn"t speak again for a few moments. "I hope you"ll be happy someday, Maeve. With your guys."

"I"m certain I will be."

"I like that you"re optimistic."

"I"m not optimistic, I"m determined." I drink. "And I believe in those around me. In my magic."

"Your light to fight against the darkness?"

I answer with a fake smile. The official line the academy taught Amelia—Confederacy good, Dominion bad. Surely she can see that there"s no light triumphing over darkness. Not anymore.

And I don"t think there ever was.