The witch queen nods. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ll survive, and I’ll watch your every move through the crystals. We’ll come to you as soon as the moment is right. Just keep the mother and child safe.”
Darius holds a fist to his heart. “On my life. I will not let what happened to Cara happen to Bernie and Rain.”
Erzsébet’s face flinches briefly at the mention of her dead daughter, and my heart newly aches for her after nearly losing my own child twice in a matter of minutes.
With that, Darius flashes away from the queen. My mind starts to return to the present moment, but Darius’ pulls me back into his memory.
There’s more you must see.
The image blurs, and now we’re in the cemetery above the tomb where we spent so many nights. It’s dark and quiet outside, probably early in the morning, just before dawn. Darius and Erzsébet walk slowly between the tombstones.
“Is there no other way?” Darius asks, though it’s clear he’s resigned to his task.
“We have two active threats we can’t contain,” she says. “Vampires, fae and wolves will continue coming after us, and Timót has amassed power beyond what I ever could have imagined.”
“How do you know?” Darius asks.
A worried look comes over Erzsébet’s face. “Dragons.”
Darius stops walking. The queen stops as well, turning to face him.
“There had been stories and signs for years, but no explanation. Dragonlings gone missing and mothers found dead. At first we assumed it was just the unbalance in the magical kingdoms, but then Bernadette spoke of the broken egg in the cave where Timót had gone.”
“You think he’s trying to build some kind of dragon army?”
“I think he’s already built it, Darius.” Erzsébet’s words have great weight, and the vampire clearly feels it.
“He means to kill the vampires,” Darius says, and I can almost see the images of his home and family dancing through his mind.
Erzsébet nods. “He wants a throne for himself, and he’ll destroy anyone who might hold him back. Vampires pose the most immediate threat.”
“Then why should I lead him right where he wants to go?”
“So that he’ll take the bait,” the queen says. “We must move this fight to a new realm, if not we’ll just watch more people die. Also, I believe you can lure Timót with an offer few others can make.”
Darius raises an eyebrow, unsure of what bargaining chip Erzsébet refers to.
“You’re the vampire king’s son,” she says. “If Timót will promise Bernadette to you, you can offer him the eternal life only your father can grant. A man like Timót could not refuse such a proposal. But...”
She stops, the creases in her brow becoming deeper as a look of concern takes hold.
“But…?”
“But Bernadette can’t know. Should everything go exactly to plan, it will still be incredibly dangerous. She wouldn’t agree to take such risk with her child, even if it is the only path forward. You’ll have to force her to go along. And she’ll have to think you’ve broken your pledge.”
Before I can fully process the exchange, I’m thrust back into Darius’ memory from the fight in the Grand Hall. He’s now face to face with my father, standing in the shadows only feet from the doorway that led us to the room of portals. Darius holds a frightened looking Andor by the arm.
“I’ve kept him safe, now do what you must and get everyone out of here before the vampires find you,” Darius says.
Timót points his wand at Andor’s face, mutters his spell and I watch the man shift into Rune. Seeing everything that preceded that treacherous moment is really hard to stomach.
“You’ve made a wise choice, Darius,” Timót says as the spell takes hold of his protegé. He then hands Darius the infamous pendant, which I now understand to be a mobile portal forged with dark magic.
Darius nods, and I’m back to sensing our slackened bond, which reminds me of the potion that caused him so much pain.
“I’ll see you, Bernadette, and the child on the other side.”
With those parting words we pull out of the memory, both left with our blood boiling as we consider the events that brought us here. I can feel that Darius hates my father with a passion that is fierce and protective, and his love for me and Rain is all-encompassing. He would do anything for us. Even this.
Even the thing that he feared would ruin our relationship.
As long as it kept us safe.
I’m silent for a moment as I stare into the face of a man I love, but still feel so hurt and confused by. “So you led my father to massacre your people?”
He looks at the floor, searching for a good answer. “The fight was bound to bring me here. Once I pledged myself to you, I pitted myself against my family, my ancestors, and my laws. I’m not proud of what happened here today, but Timót would have come with or without my help. This way, I could make every effort to protect you.”
His explanation makes sense, but the feeling I had when he took Rain... When he took my wand… When he took my magic...
It could have gone so badly.
It almost did.
I know. He says silently. I know I hurt you. But please know I never betrayed you. Or us. I did what I did to save you. I knew we couldn’t fight Timót and the vampires at the same time. Frightful as this plan was, King Vladimir will never again send assassins to find your child. Still, I’m eternally sorry.
“I understand,” I say, speaking out loud. I leave it at that, too drained by the day and these revelations to unpack any more of my emotions.
Darius acknowledges those feelings and stands to leave me in peace. I want to reach out to him, longing to feel the love between us that was once so strong, but then another memory rocks me to my core and my anger surges again.. “What about AJ? We left her for dead.”
He turns to me. “I would never leave your best friend for dead,” he says softly.
“But… I saw you. I asked you. We just left…”
“Vampires have a pretty strong sense of when something is alive or dead,” he says. “Her heart was strong and I knew Erzsébet was watching.”
Erzsébet is with her now.
Zev’s voice chimes into my mind, making my heart go a flutter for two reasons. First, his voice just does that to me, and second, my AJ is okay.
I drop to the ground and cry my freaking eyes out, letting every bit of needless mourning pour out of me. I’ve been fighting for my life, pushing away any thought of AJ being dead but knowing that a huge piece of my heart might be gone. Now I know she’s alive and I’m just letting it all flow.
As I flood the small room with my tears, Zev’s strong hands grip my sides and lift me from the ground. I’d love to keep crying, but I also have been longing for a deeper embrace with my wolf.
I bury my face in his chest and relish in his hug. The safety. The warmth. The comfort of it. Even as I do, I feel Darius on the other side of the room, his emotions and thoughts nudging against mine, and I know I will have to fully absolve him eventually. I won’t be able to live with my own mind if I don’t. And he did everything for us. As close as it brought us to death, we’re still here.