Chapter 40
Elina
Holding tightly onto Bash’s hand, like it’s my anchor in this sea I find myself adrift in, I lean against the cool marble of the tomb. This has been the longest night of my life. I’m tired—I did not think that was something that I would experience anymore but these last few weeks have been a lot.
“Sebastien, did you kill Ezekiel?” I blurt out, bluntly, before he has time to begin his own tale. I want to get right to the matter, really.
Shaking his head, he replies, “No,Tesoro, I did not. I know who did, but it wasn’t me.”
“Who was it?” I feel relieved it wasn’t him. I don’t know what I would have done if he truly was responsible for my father’s death.
“My cousin, Lucian,” he answers, sadness in his voice. “He is my uncle’s executioner. He does all the unsavory things no one else wants to do.”
“The one who tortured Talia?” He told me all about Talia’s involvement and subsequent questioning after the rescue.
“The same.”
“I think I know Lucian—we had a regular at the Tomb with that name.” I recall the many times he sat at my bar, brooding and angry. I wonder if it was his work that made him that way. “He has grey eyes, like yours, but his hair is black, I think. Either that, or super dark brown. He would always hire Lillith. That him?”
“Yes, that’s probably him. So, that's who carried out the order to take Ezekiel out so Marcus could fill his place.”
“Ok.” I breathe out heavily. “Ok.” I’m grateful the man I love is not guilty of a crime he didn’t know he was committing. A quiet rage simmers low in my belly that my father, before I was even old enough to remember him, was stolen so someone else could step into his shoes. No doubt, if they knew of me, they would have killed me as a child. I shake my head to clear the thoughts, it isn’t as though the French, my own family, had not treated me similarly, and they are my flesh and blood.
“What about maman?”
I watch his profile in the moonlight as he sits beside me. There is not a twitch or flinch. “That I do not know. I spoke with my mother and we checked the records. We were required by decree to record the extinguishing of any vampires within the city in the days after the massacre, and there is no record of anyone from our side killing her. I don’t know what that means though. Who else would it have been, you know?”
A face, a cruel face twisted in excited pleasure at seeing people suffer, flashes before me. The face that haunts my dreams and my waking hours—the man who is still out there, capable of hurting all of us.
“Nicolas. I think maybe it was Nicolas.”
“But why though? She was his queen.” He watches me, confusion written on his face.
“You weren’t there, Bash. Fuck, you can’t fathom this man.I can’t evendescribehim.” I shake my head to try and clear the soulless eyes from my memory. “One minute, he was kind, charming. In seconds, a switch would flip and he would kill someone, or order me to be tortured for the tiniestmade upinfraction. And he wanted to be King. My mother was in his way. He only wanted me to secure his claim to my father’s seat. The seat your uncle now holds. I think, when he realized you and I were going to do the binding, he panicked and tried to get me so that he could control me and use my name. He hated that I was a hybrid. He may have hated my mother more because she was human.”
Grabbing the back of my head, he crushes me to his chest, holding me so tight, it would have hurt if I was still a fragile human. His body is shaking slightly. Letting go suddenly, he stands and walks to the other side of the cemetery. I jump up to follow him, unsure of what is happening. When he reaches the stone block perimeter fence, he unleashes his fury against the stones. One solid punch sends a crack up the entire wall, causing bits of stone to tumble to the ground. He lets out a pained cry from deep in his chest before landing another blow.
I feel my hair move slightly in a breeze before realizing Jack is standing next to me. I startle.
“Sorry darlin’. Didn’t mean to scare you. What’s happened to him? I felt his anger all the way across town.”
Wide-eyed, I stare at him. “Felt his anger?”
“Yeah, it’s part of the sire bond, he sired me so I can feel him,” tapping the side of his head, “up here.”
“Oh, can Sarah feel him too?”
“She can. But he’s been my best friend for 200 years; I’m a little more aware, I would guess. I wanted to make sure he was ok.”
“Oh, I was talking to him about Nicolas, at the house. I have a theory that he had something to do with my mother’smurder.” I wonder how much of Bash’s moods he can feel. Like, all of them? I don’t have a sire so I have no one to be tied to. I wonder if Bash and Vespera are connected?
“Ah. Yeah, he’s pretty torn up about the whole thing. And a little mad at himself that it took so long to find you. It’s his instinct to protect you, even when you can protect yourself.”
At that moment, Bash must hear us talking and he growls at Jack as he spins in our direction, abandoning his destruction.
Jack puts his hands up, placatingly. “Easy brother, I was worried about you.”
“I’m fine, Jack. We have to find him.” His knuckles and shirt are splattered with blood, but the skin is unbroken. I approach him slowly, making sure he is done with his display. Taking his hand and raising it to my mouth, I slowly lick the blood away, looking into his eyes as I go.
