“When I accepted the triune bond, I agreed to put the lives of the witch and shifter I’m bound to above all others. My triune is my family now, and as Tenebris is another world and what happens there does not directly threaten our territory or position, asking them to endanger themselves for me would be illogical and foolhardy. Going alone and putting myself at risk threatens the triune. I am magically bound to put them first, Eloise. Always. My answer is no.”
My blood heats. I can’t keep the tremble of fury from my voice as I say, “You’d let your parents die to spare having to ask your precious triune for a favor?”
“It’s not a favor. It’s a potential death sentence.”
“How? You’re immune to the effects of sunlight, and so are they. The dark elves are less a threat to you three than any soldier.”
He grits his teeth. “We have vulnerabilities. Our natural lives are protected, true, but we aren’t invincible. This isn’t our fight. Tenebris is no longer my world.”
I stand, knocking over my chair, and lean across the desk until I’m right in his face. “And how about Damien? Is he still your friend? You’d let him get massacred to spare your own hide?”
“Careful, Eloise. No one attacks me in my own house. You are very close to crossing a line.”
I look down and realize I’ve gripped my dagger. I slide it back into its sheath. “Ask them, Morpheus. That’s all I want from you. Just ask the triune if they’ll help us. Offer them a future favor. Surely having a pair of shades at your disposal is worth something.”
“The answer is no,” he says flatly, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Then send some of your men! That ogre guarding the door could fight.”
“I run a bar, not a kingdom. I have bouncers, not an army.” This time, his eyes do meet mine, and his expression is tired, ancient. “The answer is no. Tell Damien I’m sorry.”
I flip him my middle finger. “Tell him yourself.”
I fly through the door and back into the thumping music of the club, my heart pounding with resentment. But before I reach the exit, a hand lands on my shoulder. Morpheus. He hands me a gold key. “I can’t help you on Tenebris, but if you decide to flee, to return here, you’re welcome in this club.”
I close my fingers around the cold metal. “Wonderful, Morpheus. I’m sure Damien will want to come dancing after he watches everyone he loves get slaughtered.”
His eyelids flare, and I swear I see some real emotion pass through his expression, but it’s gone just as quickly. “Goodbye, Miss Harcourt.”
“Mrs. Hymir,” I correct. “Damien and I were wed by the witches of Dimhollow months ago. You’re speaking to your rightful queen.”
He bares his teeth in surprise and then makes a show of an exaggerated bow. I head for the door, the key biting into my palm.
24
Try, Try Again
Eloise
Two thousand men. That’s all I’ve gained from this trip unless I can convince Cassius to help us. I’m no child when it comes to rejection. I’ve heard no before. But the way Morpheus turned me down leaves me shaken. The way he seemed to disregard the fate of his own parents and completely close the door on my request unsettles me. The entire flight to Chicago, I think about it, turning the dials of it in my mind like a cryptex I can’t crack.
It’s twilight when I make my way to Cassius’s door, the changing colors of the leaves on his street reminding me that it’s fall. It’s been almost exactly a year since I sought him out the first time. If it weren’t for Cassius, I never would have known how to descend to Night Haven or have freed Damien from Valeska’s clutches. I can trust Cassius. He’ll do his best to help me. I know he will.
But when I knock on his door, no one answers. I callhis name, loud enough that a shade would hear me, even if he were sitting on his rooftop patio. But no one answers. I focus my hearing on the interior, blocking out the noise from the street. I smile when I hear what I think must be a mouse nesting somewhere inside. But there are no footsteps. Nothing else breathing within these walls.
I take a deep breath and descend the steep set of steps to the sidewalk, passing through the wrought-iron gate to hail a cab on the street. I remember how to access Lamia coven; it’s just going to be more difficult than I expected to get in.
The bar called Boss Miller’s is just as crowded as the day Cassius brought me here. That November night, my human heart was beating so hard and fast that I’d hardly acknowledged the crowd, and I’m thankful I was able to recall the name from the depths of my shade memory.
As I navigate the throng of bargoers, the slightly sweet scent of human mixes with the earthier one of witches and the acerbic tang of vampire. My new senses can easily sort these smells, and I wonder which of them is sorting me. I’m too far from my anchor in Harcourt to disguise myself, but the glasses I wear dim my glowing eyes. It’s not enough to completely disguise my otherness to anyone but a human. All I can hope for is that my presence is forgettable.
A vampire as large and fit as a rugby player glances over her shoulder at me as I move into the stairwell at the back of the bar. Too casual. Too slow. She’s trying to pass as human, but she’s overcompensating. When I hear the bottom of her beer hit the bar and her stool shift, I hasten my steps. I don’t want any trouble, and goddess knows the last thing I need right now is more delays.
At the bottom of the long flight of stairs, I find the same metal door I encountered before when Cassius brought me here. No handle or keyhole, just a silver panel the size of a thumb that will sample my blood and open if the coven has cleared me. The coven hasn’t cleared me, but I pray feeding the mechanism my blood will raise awareness of my presence. And if I can get inside, I can reach Cassius. I press my thumb to the panel and feel the prick. The wound heals before I can bring it to my mouth.
I smell her before I see her. The vampire from the bar has moved into the stairwell with me. “That door’s off-limits. Nothing back there but the HVAC.”
Slowly, I pivot to face her. Her nostrils flare. “My name is Eloise Harcourt.” If she’s heard of me, it will be by my maiden name. “I’m here to see Cassius. It’s an emergency. Can you get me inside?”
