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My hands clench into fists in my lap, and I let a slow breath out through my nose.There is nowe. Even if I am contemplating using that damn book, it won’t be with her help.
But maybe there’s another option. A conversation from a different life drifts back to me. The night I turned and attacked Beth in the woods. The memories are drenched in colors too bright, carrying a frantic energy to them, like my brain could retain only so much information as Reid dropped bomb after bomb on me.
Are you familiar with the legends about half-vampires, half-witches?
How much do you know about the necromancers?
The combination of a blood witch and a vampire is said to manifest the same kind of abilities—not as potent as the original necromancers—but anevolution, if you will.
Do you really think a bunch of vampires weren’t threatened by witches who could control the dead? All it would take was a few necromancers to band together…
“We’ve been on the defensive long enough. It’s time to show he hasn’t weakened us as much as he wants to believe.”
“You want to launch a counterattack,” says Reid.
“He’s going to keep targeting our estates. Right now, his followers are watching his every move, and they’re seeing him win. They’re seeing us cower behind our walls. That kind of faith and momentum is dangerous. We need to show them if they want to play this game, we can hit them back just as hard. The compound near the Locklear estate should be our first target. Show the residents of Locklear’s region that we’re avenging their monarch.”
A long beat of silence passes, and I look to Reid out of the corner of my eye, my stomach twisting.
“The threat alone might be enough,” says Reid. “Take hostages. Make it very public. See if Westcott will negotiate to save his people.”
“And if he’s not willing to risk it, the rest of his followers will see that firsthand,” muses Auclair. “They’ll see who he really is—not a voice for them, just a man who will let an entire compound of them die to further his own agenda. Find some cracks in their loyalty. We’ll make it flashy. Something they’llremember.A fire. I’ll have our Marionettes construct a magical barricade over the exits.”
A shiver rolls through me like I can already hear the screams of people being burned alive but unable to escape.
The compounds aren’t full of soldiers, that much was clear from what Calla told me and from what I saw firsthand. There were some of those, yes, some of Westcott’s advisors and employees and other higher-up personnel.
But they were also full of refugees. Families. Children.
Innocents who turned to Westcott because they dared to hope for a better future.
But I don’t voice any of that because I already know what they’ll say.
Our estates have innocents too.
Our cities weren’t spared.
Children, families—the Wendigo Psychosis didn’t discriminate. He showed no mercy for us. Why should we show it to them?
“I want a team sent out tonight,” decides Auclair. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements. In the meantime, Reginald, how would you feel about moving forward with your coronation? I don’t want to leave the seat empty for too long in these conditions. It would be a show of good faith, and ensure Vasiliev’s support, if your union with Princess Anya were to follow shortly after, and we need all the numbers we can get right now.”
All of the air gets sucked out of the room. I don’t look at Reid. I can’t. It’s taking everything in me not to let my feelings show on my face. The edges of my vision blacken, the room going blurry for a moment, and I blink rapidly to clear it.
Because as unthinkable as it is…he’s also right.
Because these are all the smart things to do. The right things. The best political moves.
What had Magnolia said?
War rarely lets us hold on to our humanity.
V smirks and lifts her eyebrows in a clearSee?
“I’ll speak with Anya about it,” Reid says.
King Auclair nods. “Very good. Don’t stray too far on the grounds. I’ll have an update within the hour.”
I avoid looking at V as we head for the door, but I feel the heat of her gaze on the back of my neck. And unlike after our previous conversation, she doesn’t seem to be going anywhere this time.
