I smile as my friends bring their empty glasses to the bar for a refresh, surrounding me with inquisitive eyes. “Exactly. It’s like we’ve assimilated at some point. You know the humans are as scared of fire as we are? It’s an invincible force. Something you can’t just extinguish without solid power, or a virtual overwhelming amount of water.”
Raven fills her glass from a bottle of wine. “That’s how we get rid of the witches who want to harm the vampires. They simply can’t extinguish it, even with all their magic. They can hold it at bay in certain situations, or obviously flee, but once it captures them, they’re going to be dust.”
I nod solemnly, catching Lucianna’s eyes over Raven’s head. This cannot be easy for Raven to talk about no matter that she’s dedicated to us. What we’re talking about is how to wipe out her kind, albeit only the ones who wish us harm but still her Aunt Devora is at the top of that list.
Raven places a small hand on my arm. “It’s okay my friend. I love my aunt, but she has misplaced loyalties. Many of the witches do not want to do any harm to the vampires but simply want to live in harmony, coexist in a peaceful drama free life. Personally, I blame that evil High Priestess. She is never going to stop demanding more and more out of those academy witches. But Devora has to find a way to stand up to her at some point.”
Lucianna’s eyes glow, while each of the witches’ baubles glow with synchronized harmony. “Overmaster Descallia, Lord Corvinus, and the masters are no doubt discussing the next steps with Devora as we speak. It will be interesting to see what their thoughts are. They’ve dealt with her for centuries, and as mad as I’ve seen my mate at Devora, he’s always used cautious constraint, understanding well that our two worlds should be in harmony and not war. But, this time, Devora has certainly gone way too far.”
Alyssa and Angel exchange a look. The psychics give me wide eyes as I point to one of them and then the other. “That look, you two can’t do that without cluing the rest of us in. It’s group rules.” I tried to say it deadpan, but they laugh right out loud. Alyssa stands and takes Angel’s glass over to the bar, topping them off slightly before turning. “We were just thinking that our grammas said that very same thing, so many times. It’s like we were all told little bits and pieces of a greater story as we grew up and now, we’re finally understanding why. I feel like all of my life she’s been grooming me towards this purpose, to help with the vampires. And maybe the witches too.”
Angel nods. “Exactly what she said. Do you not feel that Embry?”
I take a long swig of my margarita. “Ladies, I’m not positive why yet, but I do believe that we were all meant to be together and that with all of our varied and exceptional powers, we will conquer whatever stands in our way on our search for harmony and a better day for the pureblood vampires. With our strength, nothing will stand in our way.”
The witches cheer and all of a sudden the lights dim, disco balls appear hanging from the ceiling, and a popular celebration song starts pulsing through the room from an overhead sound system. Raven cups her hands to her face like a bullhorn. “Ladies, we only have a short time before the males return, it’s time to dance!”
Chapter 30
Corvinus
The voices are boisterous; everyone has an opinion about the witches after what they’ve learned here today. There is just no way that Devora can be allowed to wreak such havoc in our land. She’s had far too many chances over the years. Not one of the masters disagree with that, only that eliminating her means at some point, someone will take her place. Descallia brings his gavel down hard. “Look, it’s not an easy decision, and we have to weigh the consequences of each action carefully. I will say though that at least with Devora, we know our enemy. We know that when things get too heated, she tends to back off.”
Master Tuscano, who has never been a fan of Devora, growls. “Sometimes. Let’s not forget what she’s done in the past, what she put Embry and Lucianna through.”
Descallia nods, cool and calm, trying to evaluate both sides. “They stole the witches shadow books.”
Tuscano meets his eyes dead on. “Which she kept because she didn’t want the witches’ secrets out because she wanted to keep our land.”
Our leader nods. “I’m not disagreeing but playing devil’s advocate. She had her reasons. She was trying to safeguardinformation that would keep her witches safe in case we were to attack. I might have done the same if the situation were reversed. In fact, if they stole the Vade Mecum, I’d consider it an act of war.”
Everyone stops for a moment, considering what he’s said, and our wise leader is not wrong. As many times as we’ve gone up against Devora and some of her harebrained schemes, while she may have ranted and raved, we’re all sitting around this table together today unharmed. Not without effort because she’s tried to get to us through a multitude of factions, ghouls, rogue vampires, bastard shifters, and even the mafia. She’s tried every trick in the book, and we’ve stayed ahead of it all.
Descallia’s eyes meet mine. A scary moment for all of us as he contemplates whether Devora’s actions mean we end her for good or take back the land but leave her knowing we’ll deal with her another day. “It’s not a decision I plan to make lightly. I wanted your input, but I’ll sleep on it tonight.”
He brings the gavel down. “Go enjoy the rest of your night. As always, feel free to send me any thoughts you have about this today or tomorrow.” The vampire masters get up, milling around, clustering into groups as they discuss recent events and the chain reaction it’s set into motion. Descallia looks tired as he gathers his things. He glances up at me as he places his notebook in his briefcase. “That went about as well as expected.”
“Devora stepped over the line with Delilah. It was personal for him. If she tried that shit with Embry you’d be getting the same push back from me if I hadn’t already ended her myself.”
He lets out a frustrated sigh. “You’re not wrong, and it feels like the decision should be easier, yet something in the back of my mind, in the pit of my stomach, is telling me to wait.”
I’ve been in that same position a million times over the centuries. “There’s nothing that says we have to make the decision today or even tomorrow. We have time and maybe weevaluate once we know how they react to us staking claim to our land.”
He nods, smiling at me. “You know, whoever made you my second in command was a brilliant fucking man.”
I laugh. “Come on. I received an invitation to a dance being held at your estate.”
He rolls his eyes. “Hard to know what we’re walking into tonight,” he says, but thinking about going home has certainly put him in a far better mood. We walk out of the conference room together. “A favor if I could,” he asks.
“Anything,” I say, stopping to take my coat from its hanger in the large foyer area. He turns to me. “Now that Slobozia is back in his rightful place, and there’s no conflict of interest with Taylen being in the warriors, I thought perhaps you could talk to Embry. She was one of the few that we already said yes to before we put a pause on the project and asked you to step in.”
I smile. “She loves Taylen and will be thrilled.”
He nods. “Do you remember Zain, stepped in when the Halloween nonsense was going on with the witches? I told him he’d have a place on the warriors as we got it back up and organized.”
Descallia doesn’t give me a chance to tell him no, that it’s no longer my decision. “I’ll talk to Embry too, but you know Zain personally.”
Overmaster scans the crowd before turning back to me. “I’m wondering if you could reach out to him, let him know that the warriors are being reorganized and that his patience with this hasn’t been for naught. He’ll make a great warrior and fantastic leader one day. Just send him down the path of applying, and he’ll impress Embry with the rest.”
