41. Adrianna

41

ADRIANNA

I hurry down the hallway, my cell phone clutched in my hand for once. The text message still lights up the screen.

Brody: I don’t care where you are, what you’re doing, get your ass to the royal council meeting room ASAP. The Master of Mages is about to deliver!

Only Brody could be so… Brody, but if I know anything about that man, it’s the fact that his ego is almost always well warranted. I have no idea what he’s about to deliver, but if it’s enough to call a meeting, it’s enough to get me sweeping through the halls like a crazy woman.

Slamming to a stop, I reach the open doorway of the pinpointed destination to find the man in question standing in his usual spot at the long wooden table with stacks of books before him. His eyes snap from the open book in front of him to me, a smile instantly spreading across his face.

“Hey,” I breathe, before sinking my teeth into my bottom lip to stop myself from demanding information. He must sense it though, because he waves me over with a knowing glint in his eyes.

“I should have known you would get here last,” he states as I round the table, noting the fact that all of the other seats are already filled.

“How?” I ask in confusion as he wraps me in his arms, breathing me in for a second before turning back to the table with one arm slung around my shoulders.

“Because I sent a text and you are the worst with your cell. The guys were just arguing about who was going to come and get you,” he muses, pointing between Raiden and Kryll.

I roll my eyes at them, while also noting Flora, Arlo, and Beau’s presence. I ache at the fact that Cassian isn’t here, but he’s not ready for a seat at the table yet. He needs life with the wolves to calm down first.

“What are you about to deliver?” I ask, redirecting the topic back to what we’re here for, and his grin only seems to grow.

He leans in, pressing a kiss to my temple before pointing down at the open book and those stacked beneath it. “I got us all the information on dark magic I could find.”

I freeze, my veins zapping with adrenaline, the rush consuming my body as I gape in a mixture of surprise and awe. I tentatively reach out to ghost my fingers over the open pages, not taking in a single word as hope and excitement blossom in my gut.

“How? Where?” I stutter, and he rubs his hand down my spine before releasing me to focus on the book.

“I’m just saying the mages trust me. I was allowed access into the restricted section,” he whispers the last few words with exaggeration, and I can’t stop the smile from spreading over my face.

I’ve been searching for something, anything, for what feels like forever, and now here he is with almost a dozen books stacked and ready. “Have you started reading?”

“Some, but there’s still a lot to go through. But what I have found… Addi, it’s important.”

I look up at him, the strain in his eyes now showing as he turns the book to me, pressing his finger against the pages, but I shake my head. “Just tell me, please.”

He nods, glancing around the table at everyone. “Dark magic can be used to ensure your location is hidden. You can hide yourself from anyone and anything you like. Which is likely why our trail ran dry on Clementine. But the truth of the matter is, if we couldn’t find her at all, she was likely closer than we realized.”

Fuck.

Nodding in understanding, I rock on the balls of my feet, desperate for more, but when he doesn’t look back at me, settling his eyes on Raiden instead, I know I’m not going to like whatever comes next.

“Dark magic, controlled by blood, can consume an origin, bring out their worst side and send them into a manic state of aggression.”

My pulse rings in my ears as his words wash over me, but it’s Flora who speaks first.

“The frenzied vampires.”

“Fuck,” Raiden grunts, and Brody shakes his head.

“There’s more.” He wets his bottom lip, clearing his throat as he tries to find the right words. “Magic controlled by blood ends when their leader dies, and they didn’t die when your mother met her demise, Raiden.”

“So whoever is running them is still out there. But I thought Raiden learned that the vampires were in control,” I interject, and Brody nods.

“It could have been a guise. It could have been my father,” he admits, disappointment etched into his stormy eyes, and I squeeze his arm in an attempt to comfort him. “I know all the information we have points to Clementine at the moment, but the frenzied vampires became an issue while she was trapped in the amethyst,” he adds.

“We can figure it out,” I insist, and Kryll clears his throat.

“Is there anything we can do to be sure? Or do we just have to go around killing everyone until the frenzied vampires fall?”

Brody sighs, the sound more of ease than trouble. “From what I’ve read, if we can take a sample of the frenzied vampire's blood then we can try to match it to its source. Kinda like a magical tracking device.”

Holy shit.

Is this the positive step we’ve been desperate for?

What other knowledge lies within these pages?

“You say that like it’s simple enough to get close to the frenzied vampires. We don’t know where they are, they’ve almost been non-existent the past few weeks,” Raiden states, dashing my hope, but Arlo interjects.

“That might be the case, but it looks like there’s enough going on here for us all to get involved. The quicker we get through these books, the more knowledge we’re going to obtain, which can only lead to a greater chance of our success,” he insists, and I nod frantically.

“Absolutely,” I agree, grabbing the top book before Brody can take it, but he doesn’t seem to mind as he pulls out our seats and waves for me to sit down.

I’m too excited, too fueled by the hope that there’s something among the madness able to aid us in this disaster.

“What we really need is to find the frenzied vampires. Then we could actually start gaining some hard evidence to allow us to make educated moves,” Kryll offers, his muscles tense as he taps his fingers on the table. “This is our chance to gain the upper hand and we need to be able to grasp it with both hands and run until there’s nothing left to run to.”

He sounds as determined as I feel, just as weighed down by the strain of it all as I am, and I can’t help but agree with his statement. The issue is we have no idea where to find the vampires. Not one. The only people who may be able to guide us in the right direction are the threats to the kingdom, so I don’t see them offering any help in the slightest.

“Do you hear that?” Raiden blurts, slowly rising from his seat. I frown, confusion fogging my vision as he presses a finger to his lips.

It takes me a moment, but the second I do, it’s undeniable.

Footsteps.

Hurried. Four, maybe five people?

What the fuck is going on?

Rushing back to my feet, I turn for the door as a soldier appears in the doorway, four men lined up behind him. He heaves a breath, frantic eyes searching the room before he finally speaks.

“We’ve just received reports of an outbreak of frenzied vampires rampaging through the City of Harrows.”

My blood runs cold.

“This feels too much like a coincidence,” I murmur, the words barely more than a whisper as I turn to the others.

“It looks like we’re about to find out, Dagger.”