“Skip to the point,” Clara snaps, crossing her arms as she takes a step in front of Rosie. I would venture to guess that there has been more stress and strained communication between them that I am not privy to, nor would I expect to be.
He is Rosie’s family by blood—and though it has been a complication for my flame and me, I can imagine it has been stressful for the humans. Seeing them together now only confirms it. The betrayal and hurt is so thick in the air you can almost taste it, though he seems oblivious. Perhaps he has been micro-dosing their disappointment for so many years it fails to affect him.
When he hesitates, I stand at full height. It is only a little satisfying to see the way he squirms in discomfort. He reaches for, then drops, and reaches for his phone again. Despite the strangeness of his peace offering, I am glad he has not forgotten I am something to be feared. With shaking hands, he shows me the next series of photos.
Long chestnut hair and freckled skin—it is her, on the balcony of a restaurant. From the style of the building, it appears to be somewhere in the mortal realm. The vampire king is at her side, but more chilling than his presence is the smile that adorns herlips. They are laughing, blurred in motion, and there’s a look on her face I thought was meant for only me.
“And you know where this is?” I ask through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to turn the cellphone to dust. I know, from experience, they crumble quite easily.
“Yes! I’ll go with you,” he offers. I laugh. He has to be joking if he thinks I would allow such an action.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. The mere thought of having his joke of a human near any of my dearest friends makes my claws lengthen.
“Come on, I promise I can do this—” he begins, attempting to cross into the threshold of the cabin. With a small pivot of my body, he is easily blocked.
“You will not step into our home,” I say, standing firm.
“Okay, fair. I can wait at The General Store. Call me in for backup. “
Rosie shakes her head. “I promised Heather you’re still banned there.”
“But she’s not—” I glare, and the hunter presses his mouth shut. “So, the farm?”
“I don’t really want him at our house either,” Clara whispers to Rosie under her breath. I can tell from the way Clara nervously fiddles with the strands of her teal hair, there is no love left between them as family, married-in or otherwise.
“Okay, so I’ll just stand outside wherever you all are meeting and—”
“You are not, and you will not, be a part of this,” I say with a finality I hope is hard to argue with.
“I hurt her once. Let me try to save her,” Chris begs, his eyes glassy and tinted with remorse. He is sorry, that much is certain, but it does not change the fact he must go.
“Imagine on the day of her rescue, Heather sees your face, how do you believe she would feel?”
“She’d…” Chris begins, his smile wavering into a deep frown. “She’d hate it, wouldn’t she?”
“If you are truly sorry. If you truly want to do right by Heather, as you have said, you would have sent a message to your sister instead of showing up here. You will always want her forgiveness. It is her right to never give it to you, understand?” I say. “You should not have come.”
“I will do anything,” he says in his sad earnest way, and I know it to be true. I could ask him to charge into King Magnus’s castle with nothing more than a wooden sword and he would agree—but he willneverbe a hero in this story.
“Then heed my flame’s wishes—and do not return,” I demand. “She will not give you redemption, but you may grant her peace.”
“Okay.” He gives a hard swallow before finally accepting my words. “I am sorry—for everything.”
“And that matters very little,” I respond, not caring that it is cold. The foolish hunter retreats into his car, leaving the information in Rosie’s hands, and I am pleased it has fallen to a source we can rely on. We have the threads from the “forum,” as Chris called it. The website seems to update with new theories by the minute, and though most of it is focused on Magnus, we have a location.
“We should organize,” I say, once the chaos has settled. Too many of us are gathered in one place, and we should split our resources. “I will go in search of Heather, along with Holly and we could use Pepper’s skills if this turns out to be some kind of trap.Mother will remain in Eclipsica, waiting for word. Marsha, you will stay at the cabin with Clara in case Heather makes her way here. Oak, you can—”
Oak stands from his place on the porch and stretches his wings. “I will take on my duties as Uncle Oak with the children—Gods know Ruby will need reinforcements with her little cherubs by now.”
“And I’m coming with you,” Rosie says to me. “You need someone who knows how to work a phone in case more information comes in.”
“Then let us go.” If Heather is truly on this mortal plane, we have no time to waste.
19.
Heather
The vampire’s domain is certainly …spooky.Though I haven’t seen anything outside the castle, the shadows surrounding us tonight are a dark mist. There’s a smell of dampness in the air, so different from the fresh florals that waft down the hallways of Queen Plume’s castle. Standing on the landing, I reach out to touch the banister and a thick coating of dust cakes my fingertips. Either no one has been here in a long time, or they’re forsaking cleanliness for the sake of aesthetic.
