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Shivering, I hesitantly reached down and picked up the bag with the picture. I slowly held it out to him. “What’s this?” My voice barely above a whisper, I was shaking so hard I could barely form the words. “Were you and Myst . . .”
“Ah, so you’ve seen it. I did not mean for you to. There are reasons that we hire day-runners. Leo should have called his contact this morning and asked for a stand-in. I shall have to have a chat with him about that.”
“Please, no—he was delirious.”
“Sometimes the magic-born remind me of humans. Weak . . . but necessary. So, you have seen my secret and you now wonder. Were Myst and I in love? No. Were we star-crossed? No. Were we lovers? Yes.” He took the picture and cast the bag aside. “She was so beautiful. She looks a lot like you, you know.” His jet-black eyes fixated on me and his nostrils flared.
I took a step back. “What . . . why . . . you tried to turn her but it wasn’t the way it said in the history books, was it? You were partners . . . she wanted it.”
“We could have become a force that no land could withstand. We planned to rule the world together. If things had gone right, we could have conquered innumerable lands. But the turning changed her. She became . . . what she is. She was no longer willing to share power. She became more dangerous than I ever dreamed she would.” He glanced up, a dark look on his face. “She betrayed me, and I tried to destroy her.”
“And that is why the war . . . the other vampires think it’s about her anger at being turned, but she’s really out for your head. To grind you into the dust.”
“As she is you. We’re in the same boat, my dear. You were her daughter and betrayed her. I was her lover and gave her the keys to the kingdom. And now, she needs no one . . .” He stopped. “Which is where my plans for you come in. Cicely, before I bring your tortured love in for you—and yes, we have him back—I offer you a chance that you will never have with anyone else.”
Something about his look, his voice, frightened me more than anything he’d done or said before. “What is it?” I stumbled back as he stepped toward me.
“Cicely, take Myst’s place. Fulfill her original plans. Let me turn you, and become my partner. You will be part Indigo Court, but more. You are half magic-born, and that will help you to control the ravaging nature. If you embrace the power, together we can destroy Myst, and together we can take this land by storm. I know you are not cut out for ruthless rule, but you don’t have to be that way—you can rule with a just hand. And you can still have your Fae Prince for a lover. I would not object.”
I stared at him. The light in his eyes told me the warlord was still lurking beneath the surface, that you could take the warmonger out of the Dark Ages but you couldn’t take the Dark Ages out of the warmonger.
“I can’t believe you just asked me to do that.”
“You were Myst’s daughter. To see you go up against her, a queen in your own right, would be a blow hard for her to ignore. It would unsettle her and she’d make mistakes.”
“You want to use me for psychological warfare, you want to turn me into what she is, only you hope to control me because I’m only half-Fae. What would Lainule say if she knew?” I stumbled back toward the door, half-afraid he was going to grab me and drink me down.
But at that moment, Lainule and Anadey appeared from behind a screen in the back of the room. Lainule looked pained. Anadey looked sullen.
“I told you not to approach her until we were here and could explain matters to her.” Lainule shook her head. “You’d better hurry. Regina was just down the hall and may come in here. You don’t want her finding out what you’re up to before we’ve had time to prepare.”
I stared at Lainule, as it dawned on me that she’d known all along what Geoffrey was up to. But had she also been behind Anadey’s little stunt?
“Lainule, you know what Geoffrey asks? You can’t approve! I’m Cambyra Fae—I am not Unseelie! How can you even dream I’d agree to this? And where’s Grieve? Were you the one who tried to force Anadey to strip away my feelings for him?”
“Your lover is with us, young daughter. Do not push your luck. You may not be Unseelie in your own heart, but many of the Uwilahsidhe are on the darker side of the Court. I am the Queen of Rivers and Rushes, and I am the heart of Summer’s realm, but not all of my people are bright and beautiful of spirit. The world is made of shades of gray, young Cambyra.”
“Did you know what Geoffrey wanted of me? Did you help Anadey?”
Lainule looked pained. She shook her head. “No, I did not help her. It would have killed you, and she will be taken to task for her actions.”
Anadey shifted, looking at me through shaded lids.
Lainule ignored her. “As for Geoffrey, yes, long ago he convinced me of the wisdom of his plan. You can still have your lover, Grieve, and do as Geoffrey asks.”
Her gaze was cool, and I remembered how ruthless she could be. She would sacrifice anyone in her court to destroy Myst—and that included Grieve. And it included me. If she thought this alliance with the vampires would work best, then she’d back it all the way.
“Do I have a choice?” I asked, my voice flat. If they decided they wanted Geoffrey to turn me, I wasn’t likely to get out of here alive.
But she surprised me. “Yes, you do. But think long and hard before you decide whose side you wish to stand on.”
Geoffrey let out a hiss, but Lainule shushed him. “I told you—I will agree to this only as long as it is voluntary. But if the child refuses, I turn my back on her. Cicely, you have the chance to sacrifice yourself to rid the world of Myst. If you choose your life over this . . . we have little to say.”
“This is why you insisted Wrath impregnate my mother. You foresaw this coming. All along, you planned this with Geoffrey.” I stared at her, certain I was right. And she gazed back at me, unmoved, unmoving.
“Some wars are fought in minutes, others are in the planning for generations. We knew Myst would resurface. We knew that you would return to be with Grieve. What better way to defeat Myst than to create a force who could equal her power and yet retain control over her desires? You are the perfect choice. You were her daughter—and you have her soul-mark in your own soul. Yet you do not seek the power she craves. Your potential is vast and untapped.”
At that moment, Wrath strode into the room, slamming the door open against the wall. “Stop! You will not do this—you will not force her to make this move.” Grieve and Lannan were behind him. Grieve looked ragged and worn, but alive. Lannan looked dark, hostile, and angry.
