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Kaylin hurried out of the room, returning with the sealed box. I cautiously opened it and pulled out the blade. Obsidian, it was fashioned with a bone handle. I cautiously reached out to touch it. The one time before when I’d picked it up, it had immediately tried to possess me, but I had the feeling that now that I knew about my heritage as Myst’s daughter, I might be able to wrest control of it.
As my hand slid around the handle, I felt a shudder of joy run through me, a delight in the sharpness of the edge, the piercing point that could drive through bone and steel. This blade was magic, and it had an essence—a strength all its own. I clasped my fingers around the handle and a ripple of delight echoed through my breasts, my body . . . it was better than sex.
“I can mow them down with this,” I said, looking up at Kaylin slyly.
And indeed, a swath of blood and destruction spread in front of me, and I knew that whatever might come, this blade would sever limb from bone, it would slice throats and pierce hearts and do anything I asked it to, sucking the pain right into itself as food, and with each kill, it would grow stronger, and so would I.
“I’m afraid.” A thin river of regret ran through me and I glanced up at Kaylin. “I’m afraid this blade can change who I am.”
“Only if you allow it to. Take charge. You have to be the one to rule. You cannot allow it to have its head—just like breaking a horse. You have to maintain control.” He leaned over me. “We need every advantage we can get to stop them. You have to be strong, Cicely. You have to give a little of yourself—not all, not what Geoffrey and Lainule were asking—but a little . . . in order to help win this war. You can’t remain the same and come through it unscathed. None of us can.”
I slowly inhaled, hefting the lightweight blade in my hand, feeling the rushing waves of destructive joy run through me. “I know. I know that we’re not coming out of this without some damage.” Staring at the blade, I understood—it would bring me in touch with who I used to be, who I was a lifetime ago, as Myst’s daughter. It would take me to the same place Geoffrey wanted me to go, but without losing all of who I’d become in the process.
“I’ll do it. I will carry the blade.”
A light knock on the door and my wolf whimpered, excited. “Please, go. Give us just a moment and we’ll be down.”
Grieve came in, his eyes glimmering with stars against their blackened background. “We have little time. They’re approaching the house. Cicely, I’m not sure how you did it, but I know you’re responsible for Wrath freeing me. I hate Lannan with a passion, but I will fight alongside him now, and do my best to control my nature.”
He swept me up in his arms and I melted against him, pressing my head to his heart, shuddering in the warmth of his embrace. I wanted him, then—there, without pretense. Wanted to be with him forever, wanted to be his and only his, to run away from the war and live in a quiet place where we could settle in and just be happy.
“The enemy is storming our gates, my love,” I whispered. “Myst has come to play and she’s looking for you.”
“I won’t let her take me back.” He pressed his lips to mine and kissed me. I could have lived within his kiss forever, but there was no time.
“Let’s go—we can’t let the others down.”
I took his hand, then stopped and turned. “I’m sorry—I’m sorry I wasn’t ready when you asked me so many years ago. I’m sorry that . . . I needed time to know how I felt.”
He shook his head. “I asked too soon. You were very young. I should have known better. I just hoped you would have remembered, but no matter now. We’ll make it through, Cicely. We’re survivors. We’ll have our time.”
And then we were headed down the stairs, racing to meet the oncoming storm.
“Where are they?” I swung into the kitchen, where the rest of them were, but realized I’d just interrupted an argument. “What’s going on?”
“Geoffrey just called me,” Leo said. “He told me what happened. It appears I’m being forced to choose. He’s given me an ultimatum.”
“You have to pick sides.” I knew it would come to this.
He nodded, staring at me with ill-disguised anger. “Yeah, thanks to you. I know where my strengths lie, and it’s not with you and your war. Rhiannon, you’re my fiancée. Kaylin—you were my friend first. Choose. Come with me and fight this war in a sane manner. Lainule and Geoffrey had a plan, and Cicely fucked it up.”
“I chose not to hand my life over to Geoffrey—I chose not to let him turn me into a monster. That is hardly fucking things up, in my opinion. But choose—by all means. If you truly believe that I should have sacrificed myself on the altar for the vampires, then go with Leo—because you won’t be of help here.”
Rhiannon, bitter tears streaking her cheeks, shook her head. “No. I stand by Cicely—Myst took my mother. And I won’t see her claim Cicely by default.”
“I can’t believe you’re choosing your cousin over me. So be it, then. But don’t come crawling back to me when you’re alone and scared. Because I won’t play second fiddle to some freak.” He turned to Kaylin. “What about you?”
Kaylin’s face clouded over. “Leo, dude, your ego’s speaking. You’d rather be a little fish in a big frying pan than a little fish in a little frying pan . . . either way, you’re going to get your fins burned.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Just this: No matter how hard you try, Geoffrey’s not going to turn you. That’s what you want, isn’t it? I’ve been watching you for some time now. You crave power, and if it takes becoming one of the vamps, you thought why not? But Geoffrey won’t turn you. And if he hasn’t offered by now, he’s not going to. With us, you aren’t skilled enough to be one of the up-front fighters—and you aren’t content with what you can do to help. You’ll never be happy until you can accept who you are.”
“Fuck that shit.” Leo turned and, jamming his coat on, headed toward the front door. “I’ll pick up my things later,” he called over his shoulder. “If you are still alive to give them to me.” Grabbing Bart’s carrier, he slammed out the front door with the Maine Coon.
“Crap.” I turned to the others. “We meet the Indigo Court outside. They’ll tear down the house if we let them in here.”
“We have another choice. We can make a run for it, move to a new location and plan out what we’re going to do.” Kaylin stopped my protest. “Before you say no, think about it: There are at least a dozen Shadow Hunters out there. They could have made a move earlier but were waiting—they were waiting for you to get home, Cicely.”
