Chapter 7

MAEVE

I"d usually embrace cloudless skies and daylong sunshine, but now the bright world mocks us all. I prefer to shut myself away from the reminder of why Andrei chose such a huge risk, and instead spend time in his room, sometimes in quiet, other times talking to him in one-sided conversations. I always kiss him when I leave but walk away with the hollow in my soul unfilled because my Andrei isn"t here.

The first night, I refused to leave Andrei"s room in case he regained consciousness and needed me, and because I needed to be there. I tried to find a way into his mind, but that"s beyond any magic skill I have. Instead, I hold on to the belief my touch and words do reach him somehow.

Now, we take turns in sitting with Andrei, never leaving him alone for a second.

The way Tobias and Ash should"ve stayed with him to stop this happening.

But there"s no blame, even if that selfish thought sneaks in sometimes. If the First wanted this to happen, nothing we did could stop the creature's plan.

Four days—nothing has changed with Andrei, and the First hasn"t returned. Were the creature's words a parting shot? The middle finger to us as representatives of the world who trapped her? Tobias thinks the First will return; I"m unsure. Ash agrees with Jamie that even if the First does kill Gabriella, the creature will return to continue its games.

The seven days the First gave us to perform our task are up, but that"s irrelevant, since killing Gabriella no longer threatens Andrei's life too. But if the First already killed Gabriella, I"ll be fucking furious because I"ve nurtured all the magic prompted by the creature, honing it, ready to end Gabriella.

This afternoon, Jamie goes to Andrei, and Tobias returns to me and Ash where they"ve persuaded me to sit on the patio by the gardens, away from the stale house and amongst the soothing scents of lavender and rose. I"m not sleeping, and Tobias hasn"t volunteered to help by touching my mind again. He"s slipping back into his old, protective habits while pretending he isn"t. On sleepless nights, Jamie and Ash sit up with me if neither are with Andrei.

"Anything from Dorian?" asks Ash as he leans back in the chair beside me, long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles.

Tobias did something I objected to today—he went to Dorian and told him what"s happened to Andrei. I would"ve argued harder, but I"m worried I"ll push Tobias away, and could lose someone else I love without warning. Who knows with Tobias? But his argument that Dorian"s offer to help with locating Gabriella could make a difference is understandable—as long as he doesn"t steal our kill either.

"Nothing from Dorian yet. He"s looked for Gabriella since the day after he took the ring but found nothing," Tobias says, as if he"s still in my mind.

"Dorian"s little stunt pissed off Eloise," says Ash. "The other two guys weren"t impressed, either. Ethan told me Eloise threatened to leave Dorian and take Mia. She really lost her shit, like completely destroyed a room when they argued."

"As if anybody could leave Dorian if he didn"t want them to," I say.

"Eloise is the one with the real power, Maeve." Tobias stands at the edge of the patio, hands in his jeans pockets. Vampires never look tired, but even his eyes are duller. "Just like you and us."

Like that helps Andrei right now.

"So, however much Dorian wants the big kill, he won"t do anything without Eloise," says Ash.

"Without her permission?" I ask and splutter.

"No. Her help, and Eloise promised to wait until..." Ash pauses and looks away. "The time"s right."

"We"re not killing Gabriella," I say firmly. "Andrei is. He"s going to walk out of that room and destroy her and everything she"s created. I"ll help him burn the whole fucking lot of them."

"Sometimes, you sound very like Dorian," Ash says and rubs a thumb across my eyebrow before kissing my nose.

"Then if I ever become a self-absorbed, narcissistic prick, please kick me up the backside." I half-smile. I didn"t think we"d laugh again, and the sound seems wrong when Andrei"s suffering.

Is he suffering? I look to the attic window. Andrei never moves, as if already in the stasis the First threatened, but I always hold his hand and tell him to fight in the way I fought from the void in my mind control-induced dream.

As I look back from the attic window, Ash"s smile disappears as quickly as it came. In the daytime, if I"m not with Andrei, I can tell myself he"s up there as with any other day, the guy pissed off that he can"t walk out. But after our conversation in the woods, even that thought doesn"t comfort me. We can"t be sure how much he"s suffering in his silence, but Andrei told me he already suffered up there in the day.

"He"ll be with us soon, Maeve," says Tobias.

"Yeah, or he"ll miss all the fun," says Ash wryly, "And you know how pissed off Andrei gets if we make plans without him."

"In this case, we need to." I rub my cheek. "Is Dorian coming here?"

"He wants to."

"That"s foolish for a Blackwood," I say. "Even him. What if the First comes back and squishes us all like bugs?"

"Dorian wants to see Andrei," says Tobias cautiously.

"He"s not a freak show exhibit," I snap, then swallow. "Sorry. I know—stay calm."

"We"ll find Gabriella," says Ash. "Someone will slip up and might exchange information for their life."

"Or a less painful death," puts in Tobias.

My gaze travels back to the attic. Again. "Has anything changed in Andrei today?"

"He hasn"t moved," says Tobias quietly.

I moisten my lips. "No—has he slipped further from us? I still can"t feel him."

Tobias crouches and takes both my hands. "Look at me. Andrei hasn"t changed—his heartbeat hasn"t changed."

"I know that. I hear him."

In the dark hours where I lie awake after the others manage to sleep, I count Andrei"s heartbeats until I fall asleep too, reassured. And when I open my eyes, I instantly hear that he"s still with me—Andrei"s lost, not gone.

But nobody has discussed what Andrei will be when he returns.

And nobody dares say "if".

Ash groans and points behind me. "When you said Dorian wanted to come here, I presumed he"d wait for the okay from all of us."

We both look at Ash with the same expression—as if.

I turn. The imposing blonde guy walks with the slender and deceptively gentle Eloise, along with Zeke, flanking her. Despite the ordinariness of their clothes and the vastness of the world around them, their potent energy shoves away everything. Not a barrier, but a defence pushing outwards to engulf their surroundings. Ash watches Mia warily as the long-haired toddler breaks away from her parents to sprint across the garden into the woods, closely pursued by Zeke.

"Hello, Dorian," says Tobias wearily. "You could"ve waited for an invite."

The hybrid slants his head and looks at me. "Oh, dear. You look like you need cheering up, Maeve."

"Dorian..." warns Eloise in soft tones.

"What? I"m about to tell Maeve that I"ve brought her a gift." He smiles, turning up the charm that never works on me.

"Technically Ethan did," says Eloise and gestures towards the house. "In there."

"Gift? A magic antidote for Andrei?" I ask semi-sarcastically. "The First in tiny pieces?"

"Ha. No. Ethan took him to the study. They won"t let me play anymore." Dorian pouts.

Him?

"Dragging a vampire through the sun when he knows where Gabriella is? That is not "playing" if the guy dies before he tells us!" Eloise shakes her head, but Dorian brushes hair behind Eloise"s ear and whispers something. She rolls her eyes as he saunters off.

"You have one of Gabriella"s people in the house?" asks Tobias in disbelief.

"Yes."

"This person knows where she is?" I ask, already crossing the pavers towards the doors.

"Yes, but Dorian"s persuasive tactics aren"t working," she calls after me. "Don"t go into the study."

I"m unimpressed that the group basically broke into our home while we were distracted, even more so when I catch sight of Dorian heading upstairs, the guy too at home as usual. "Where are you going, Dorian?" I ask curtly.

"To visit Andrei."

"He isn"t very welcoming right now," I step after him, irritation flaring. "Please stay away."

Dorian pauses halfway up the stairs and rests against the wall. "I won"t touch him."

"I"ll take Dorian up. Jamie"s with Andrei," says Tobias from behind me, as Dorian resumes his walk upstairs before I can respond. "Why don"t you talk to our gift, Maeve?"

"Maybe not a great idea," says Eloise cautiously. "The guy"s a bit of a mess."

A bit of a mess. Tortured?