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“You don’t have to be proud of him. Because you are my son’s daughter now, and mine. And we—we will make you dizzy with pride. Embrace me, and leave your former sire behind. Embrace my son.”
Roman appeared, on the other side, and he also wrapped his arms around me, and in the midst of the Veil, they lowered their fangs to my neck and fed, and it was glorious and delicious, and I came hard and quick, and then, without hesitation, aware only of my own desire, I fed from them, first from Roman, and then from Blood Wyne. And then, filled to the brim with the heady energy that ran through their veins, I slid into unconsciousness.
Chapter 18
When I woke, I was back in the ritual room. Blood Wyne was nowhere in sight, and I slowly sat up, feeling like I had a hangover from hell. I winced against the light, but apparently Roman had dressed me again. I leaned my head between my knees, trying to sort out everything that had happened.
As I examined my feelings, I realized something had changed. I was still me, but I felt different. Something was missing, something that had been a part of me for thirteen years. And then I knew what it was.
The feelings of shame and anger were gone.
I thought about Dredge. The fury that had remained after staking him had faded, leaving only a vague numbness. I glanced at Roman, and my heart skipped a beat as I instantly fell to my knees.
“My sire…” Catching myself, I realized that I’d acted without thinking. And then I remembered the same look on Erin’s face when I came into the room.
“Crap.”
Roman laughed. “Different, isn’t it? But it will fade to a distant thunder, my dear, especially since I didn’t sire you the usual way. It will dissipate faster than you think, though probably not as quickly as you’d desire.” He paused, then added, “But the bond between you and Morio is now broken.”
I gazed at him, feeling something stir in my heart. Not love, but a sense of devotion. Something I’d never felt for Dredge.
I glanced at the clock. “Roman, I have to go…”
He nodded. “I know. We’re done. There shouldn’t be any other aftereffects that I can think of.” Taking my hand, he helped me to my feet. “I wish you a good evening. And I’m sorry about your friend, Andrees. I have a couple of my men looking into this.”
As I headed out of the room, my mind was racing. The evening had been one huge unexpected whirlwind, but really, walking out of the mansion, nothing had visibly changed. But inside…oh, yes. The bond with Morio was broken. But what kind of a bond had I taken on instead?
By the time I got home, it was going on eleven P.M. Everybody was in the kitchen, waiting for Smoky and Shade to return from checking out the caves.
Camille, Delilah, and Iris were playing a rare game of quarsong—an Otherworld board game. Trillian and Roz were playing chess. Nerissa rifled through a flower catalog, looking at bridal arrangements, with Hanna peeking over her shoulder. Vanzir was playing his Sony PSP. Morio pored over maps of the Snoqualmie area. Bruce was tickling Maggie on the floor. And they all looked up as I came in.
Morio did a double take, shaking his head as he stared at me. “What happened to you?”
Camille stared at me. “I can feel it, too. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine…actually better than fine,” I said. “Go on with what you were doing.” I’d tell them about what happened later. Right now, I needed to process my thoughts.
Downtime in our world was rare. We needed to make the most of it. I joined Bruce on the floor. He was playing horsey with Maggie, who was hanging on to his back as he lumbered across the floor, neighing every few steps. I laughed and pretended to be a monster trying to stop them. Bruce valiantly turned into a knight in denim armor, saving the fair Lady Maggie, who giggled and danced around happily, if a bit clumsily, her wings knocking against the cupboard doors.
Camille tossed the dice and counted out her moves, then drew a card. “Five…six…seven. Tangleweed catches you in the marsh. Lose a turn. Hell.” She shrugged. “I’ll refill the cookie plate while you take your turns.”
As she stood, plate in hand, Morio pushed back the maps and sauntered over to help her. He glanced back at me, looking confused, but then he turned and wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. She leaned against him briefly, and for a moment, I felt a slight twinge, but it faded and I realized that, while he was cute, he really didn’t appeal to me. Which meant the ritual had worked.
With a silent thanks to Roman, I went back to Bruce and Maggie. She held her arms up and I lifted her, resting her against my chest.
Bruce stretched, then headed over to the table to watch the quarsong game. Camille returned to the table in time for her next turn, and Morio joined her. She picked up the dice as I carried Maggie over to the rocking chair and sat down, holding her to my shoulder, crooning a lullaby.
Trillian had just checkmated Roz, and Vanzir was winning whatever he was playing—that much was obvious by his shouts of “Die, sucker! Eat it!” when Smoky and Shade shimmered in from the Ionyc Seas.
As we all turned, the quiet peace broken by our anticipation, I gently laid the now-sleeping gargoyle into Hanna’s arms and she carried her off to bed.
Smoky glanced at Shade. “We found it. We found the cave where they’re gating in bhouts.”
“Which one is it? The one near Snoqualmie or the one up near your barrow?” I tensed, hoping it was the former—nearer and easier to get to.
“Near Snoqualmie. There’s a large Demon Gate set up in there. But we can’t destroy it—none of us can. The magic is so powerful it nearly knocked me for a loop. And there are creatures there, guarding it—ones I’ve never before seen. They’re demons, but again, their energy is also connected to the Netherworld.”
“What do they look like?” Vanzir pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil.
