But Calanthe said, “From what I’ve heard, the girl is the only person in the world who has the ability to find the Well. To track it with a power she likely inherited from one of her parents.”
Well, shit. This just complicated this whole mess even further.
“How is that even possible?” Lace interjected. “Humans are ordinary. They’re…simple. They have never possessed magic.”
Calanthe said, “That’s a new mystery I don’t know the answer to yet. But for a human to possess such an ability would mean their gift had to have come from a parent. If it were from a remote ancestor, the blood would be too diluted. It would’ve washed away through all the descendants that came before her. That is the conclusion I’ve drawn, at least.” She gave a thoughtful hum. “If we can find out who her parents were, we might find some answers.”
Little did Calanthe know that Darien was already trying to do this. He wouldn’t tell her—not now, not ever.
The vampire allowed them a moment to process what she’d told them. And when she spoke again, her words were only for Logan. “If you refuse my offer to unite against this common enemy, I will need to re-evaluate the situation. Siding with me and catching those responsible for coveting this artefact would clear your name, Mister Sands. We would forgive and forget that the pact has been broken.”
Before Logan could reply, Darien said, “I have another question.” If Calanthe really expected him to side with her, he’d need proof that her intentions were genuine. Who was to say Calanthe wasn’t wanting Loren and the Arcanum Well for herself?
Calanthe waited.
“This seems like a whole lot of legwork for you,” Darien began. “Your fear of being ousted from your place in society can’t be the only reason you’re wanting to stop the Phoenix Head cult from finding the Well. Care to explain what your other motivations are?”
He blinked his Sight into place, and even though he knew Calanthe would be aware of what he was doing—checking her aura for any signs that she was lying—he did it anyway.
Calanthe assessed him for a long time. And then she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket, retrieved a handful of photographs, and spread them on the table before her.
Everyone in the room grew very silent. Darien didn’t need to move from his place by the sink to see the horror displayed in the photos.
“Penny Thompson turned up dead last night in the District of Drakon, not far from the House of the Blood Rose,” Calanthe said in a low voice. “I don’t think I need to explain how bad this looks for my people.” A human had turned up dead on vampire soil, not far from the mansion that housed Calanthe’s Elite Coven. In all of Angelthene, there were only three places with the highest security and protection spells on the continent: Hell’s Gate, the Avenue of the Scarlet Star, and the entirety of the District of Drakon—Vampire Territory. The fact that a girl had turned up dead in a place like this was…well, it was bad, to say the very least.
Tanner and Maximus had stepped closer to examine the photos. Penny Thompson had been the victim of a Blood Stave, an illegally altered Focus with blood magic at its core. Her body had been partially melted into an exterior brick wall of a building in the District of Drakon. The way her corpse hung upon that wall reminded Darien of a hunting trophy. Blood was streaming from her closed eyes, and shimmering magic swept upward and out on the wall behind her in a pattern that seemed deliberate, her death every bit the symbol as the tattoo these wannabe Darkslayers wore below their ears.
Tanner said, “The way the magic is splattered on the wall looks like wings.”
“Wings of flame,” Max corrected, his gaze flicking to Darien.
“I want to catch the people responsible for the missing girls,” Calanthe said. “And I want to make sure the Arcanum Well does not fall into the wrong hands. It must return to how it was before: a secret. Nothing but an old legend no one believes.” She swept up the photographs and slid them back into her pocket. “If you still need convincing, I’ll have you know that one of the vampires of Drakon went missing just last night. Lenora Aldonold.”
Darien recognized the name. “She’s one of your own.” A member of the House of the Blood Rose.
Calanthe’s aura displayed no signs that she was lying. In fact, it was drooping and tinged with shades that spelled grief. “She is not only one of my own, but she is my Second. The fact that she was taken is a great concern for me.” There was a pause, and then the vampire said, “Are you satisfied with everything my aura tells you, Mister Cassel? I’m not enough of a fool as to think I can lie to someone as gifted in the Sight as yourself.”
The black left his eyes with a blink, and Calanthe gave him a little smile that still echoed the grief her aura told him she was feeling.
And then she turned to Emilie, who stood at her side, and stroked her cheek with a gloved knuckle. “As if all that isn’t reason enough, my daughter has decided to shed light on some recent events, and although I admit she is a bit of an idealist when it comes to her hopes for the future, as my heir apparent I am willing to give her a chance and try something different this time. Finding Chrysantha Sands will do us all some good, I would think.”
Ah, yes. Emilie’s hope for the future that most people thought laughable: a world where vampires and werewolves could live in harmony. A world where no pact would be necessary, and the two species could mingle without the bone-deep hatred that had divided them for so many centuries. A world where she and Chrysantha could be together without judgement.
And her mother was indeed willing to try something different this time. To side with wolves instead of fighting with them.
Calanthe looked about the room, at the werewolves and Darkslayers crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with a small number of the vampires in her coven. “Will you accept my offer?”
“Consider it a yes from my Devils and me,” Darien said. He would keep Calanthe and her coven at a distance, make sure they never found out he and the Devils had the key to the Arcanum Well currently living under their roof. He would take it step by step, being careful the whole way, and would use Calanthe’s strength as a City Head to put a stop to the Phoenix Head cult that was looking for Loren.
Calanthe looked pleased with his decision. And then she looked at Logan and awaited his answer with an unblinking gaze.
Logan mulled it over. The other werewolves in the room made no noise as they waited for their Alpha to speak.
Logan sighed and dropped his hand to the table. “We’re in.”
Calanthe flashed a smile that showed her thin, elongated incisors. “Good.” One of her bodyguards shifted her chair back, and she rose to her feet. “I think we’ll get along just fine, given the situation.”
“Vampires and wolves, working together,” Logan mused. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
