Goddess Annessa. He always spoke her name with difficulty, accompanied by a twinge of hurt and mourning. Now even a non-mention of it had placed sorrow on his face.
He smirked. “Besides, I have you.” He returned to the console and the items on it. Then he looked over his shoulder. “Have you abandoned your task?”
Before I could explain the delay—the vampires arrived.
Standing at the window, I watched a cadre of vampires exit a heavily armored G 580, as if I were receiving a visit from a head of state, delegate, or important government official. Mysubdivision and my neighbors often ogled my visitors and me with disdain and looks that emphatically said I had ruined the neighborhood with my nonsense. If the occasional presence of vampires and witches bothered them, this ostentatious BS certainly would.
As the vampires approached the house, I gripped the Syphr like a security blanket. It didn’t ease my anxiety. Amelia’s life hinged on a vampire accepting the uncertain result of assisting me with the spell.
I wasn’t a hundred percent certain it wouldn’t harm them, and that was on my mind when my doorbell rang. Cirrian’s attention slipped to the window, watching Belham and William getting out of the car accompanied by three other vampires. I had asked to speak with just the two of them; I had no idea why they’d brought an entourage. It had to be Belham’s idea. He didn’t approve of my neighborhood and had commented several times that it had the makings of a vampire hate crime.
My subdivision comprised only humans, and not the ones who appreciated the tandem lives supernaturals and humans lived. Rather, the ones who wished they lived far away from them. In their own country, never to be confronted with supernatural existence. I liked it because the neighborhood consisted of older people; I was certain Memaw and PawPaw weren’t forming a militia to wipe out vampires, witches, or werewolves.
When the doorbell rang, I hoped Cirrian would take it as a cue to leave. Instead, his cloaking shimmer covered him, and he wandered to the wall, crossing his arms and resting against it.
I opened the door to Belham’s concerned, furrowed brow. “Takara.”
Ugh, not my government name.But it was that serious, and I couldn’t deny it. Addressing the situation with both houses simultaneously would have been more efficient, but I didn’thave it in me to deal with the Amelia situation and their petty bickering. It cemented something I knew all along: I was an overcompensated toddler wrangler.
“I really need your help,” I relayed the moment they were in the house, casting a look over their shoulders at the three additional vampires. A simple nod from Belham and they left the house, I assumed returning to the car.
I explained the situation. “A vampire is the last requirement for the removal of the curse,” I admitted. “The curse steals the life essence, and for that reason, someone without it is the only option. I have no idea what will happen to you if you help. I’m almost certain nothing. But I’m not a hundred percent and I want to be transparent about any pitfalls. From the spell, it appears you’ll only be used as a conduit.” Saying it aloud made the ask seem totally unreasonable. This wasn’t just a favor; I was asking them to risk their very existence.
Minutes ticked by as they exchanged looks and sotto voce conversations, with me keeping my patience in check, looking at the clock and my watch periodically. When their discussion stopped, I was moving closer, my heart pounding with anticipation, when the door swung open and Corrine entered. Stopping abruptly at the sight of Belham, her lips automatically furled into a snarl, instinctively exposing her fangs like weapons.
In desperate need of a barrier, I slipped between them. “Please don’t,” I implored.
As I used my body as a wall between them, I clung to the hope they wouldn’t hurt me. Annoyed that I had to be one. Through my irritation, I managed a smile at Darby, who’d entered behind Corrine. Moving closer to Corrine, Darby angled toward her, creating another obstacle between the two.
“Why were we called here?” Corrine inquired, her eyes softening as they landed on me. They chilled over when theymoved in Belham’s direction. The indifference she held for William was stark compared to his disdain for his counterpart.
I quickly provided the same explanation verbatim, looking to them all for an answer, including the vampire from Corrine’s security who’d accompanied Darby.
William and Belham had several more nonverbal exchanges. “Kara,” Belham started quietly, and I knew his decision before he said it. “We adore you in a manner that can hardly be expressed in words. But you are asking us to perhaps sacrifice our lives for Amelia. I can’t agree to that if there is any uncertainty about our survival.”
He wasn’t wrong. I nodded, my response stuck in my throat, tears blurring my vision.
Corrine’s brow rose, her expression nestled between bewilderment and surprise as if she was trying to piece together missing information. Her lips parted slightly before pressing into a rigid line. She took several considering moments before she said, “Well, this is hardly the issue you made it out to be. I’ll turn someone and you can use them. If they survive, we have another member of our house. If not, we saved Amelia’s life.”
“No. I will not allow you to make someone a vampire for the sole purpose of being sacrificed against their will. This has to be by consent.”
“Then you aren’t desperate enough. It won’t be some random person. There are plenty of people who would love to join my family and be part of my house.”
“Will they be given all the information? No matter how small the risk, they need to be aware of it. There’s a chance they may not live to reap the benefits of joining your house. Corrine, is that really something you want to do?” She understood the look I gave her and showed a surprising display of remorse. It dawned on me that I was more than just a mediator for them: I was theirlink to humanity and their conscience. Both seemed to dwindle as the years ticked by.
Darby bit her lips, her face expressive in her sorrow. She stepped forward but Corrine snatched her back. Turning to Darby, she signed, “You’ll make no such decision.” Turning to the male vampire who’d accompanied them, she signed, “Escort Darby to the car and take her home.” Corrine appeared hesitant to look back at Darby.
The vampire was swift, grabbing an enraged Darby from behind and securing her to his side. I didn’t like that he’d silenced her with his hold. Corrine noticed it, too, and glared at his hand. When he’d adjusted his hold, Darby’s hands were a flutter of determined, angry movements, signing to Corrine, “You do not get to make decisions for me.”
“And here I am doing just that,” Corrine signed back. Darby read lips well but preferred sign language. It was the first time I’d heard Corrine be cold and decisive with Darby, whose eyes widened in shock, sorrow panning over her face.
Corrine sighed, her expression softening. She signed only, I assumed, to keep the House of Knight out of the conversation. Corrine’s fondness for Darby had led to the House of Hollows learning ASL and BASL, which she used interchangeably. I’d learned both and noticed that she used different signing methods with two of the vampires in their house and with the House of Brine, whose Elite was a Black woman.
“I’m older and stronger than you, which makes my chance of survival against the magic higher than yours, yet I remain apprehensive about doing it. I will not risk your life for this. You’re being led by your heart and not logic. So, you can’t stay here. Leave. Don’t make me force you.”
Darby’s face hardened into a calculating mask, her rebellion drawing a weary exhale from Corrine. Moving closer to Darby, her hands moved slowly, her lips in a soft, disapproving line.“I’ve been considerably impressed by your fighting skills, but they are no match for Kaden’s. Don’t make him humble you in front of an audience.” Her doting expression sharpened to a dagger edge in the manner it did when she was on the precipice of unspeakable brutality. Corrine wasn’t above humiliating Darby to teach her a lesson.
Darby wiggled out of Kanden’s hold. Her anger suffocated the room as she stalked toward the door, glaring at Corrine the entire time.
