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Maddy releases a long string of expletive mutters under her breath, and she moves away three paces, as though she needs space between her and Mason.
Caleb grins at Maddy. “Don’t rip the arms off the new vampire king just yet, Maddy.”
This makes her laugh.
Mason’s expression hardens. “We have the book, and we’ll use it to destroy the Faeries.”
Caleb pinches the bridge of his nose, shakes his head, and moves to the edge of the curb. “Stop, Mason. Just stop.”
“What are you talking about?” Mason joins the two of them on the curb edge. “Stop, what?”
Caleb grimaces and draws a deep breath in through his teeth. He has to make Mason understand what’s really going on here. “Orion is a much bigger threat than the Faeries. Don’t you get that? You have to make the Council understand. The Faeries don’t matter. Orion intends to take over the mortal dimension. This realm is at risk.”
“Orion is one threat when the Faeries can destroy us with their magic.” Mason steps out of Caleb’s grip, narrowly avoiding a pile of animal excrement. “I will make the vampires stronger than you ever did, Caleb. I’ll do everything you should have done when you were in charge.” He jerks his thumb toward Maddy, and his upper lip curls. “But you were too in love with her the whole time you had the chance to be the vampire king.”
Maddy kicks at the ground and almost seems to blush. But the muscles work in her cheeks, and she’s shaking from head to toe.
Maybe Mason’s words should make Caleb furious, but they don’t. They’re true—each and every word, and he’s at a loss for how to respond. The silence swells.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the remaining vampires are standing tall at the end of all this,” Mason adds, glancing at the red-tinged sky. “Good talk. Be sure to stop by next time you’re in the neighborhood.”
Then he pats them both on the shoulders and hurries back into the Council house without another word. The heavy door slams and locks behind him.
Caleb can only stare after his former friend-turned-betrayer.
Maddy rubs her hands over her face, throws her head back, and screeches at the sky, a soul-splitting sound. When her wail fades, she meets Caleb’s gaze.
Her weariness shines through in her eyes, and it echoes his own. They’ve been pinned in the corner once again. How much more will they have to carry before they can rest? They have to war on two fronts now—friend and foe, and they’re outnumbered on every side.
He stares at the building behind them. “We have to take care of this Council once and for all, especially now that Mason’s been brainwashed.”
“I must be hungry. Ripping Mason limb from limb and raiding their blood vault sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in two lifetimes.” Maddy sighs. “Who needs enemies with friends like these?”
Caleb’s mind spins. The saying has never been more accurate than now.
No matter which way he works the problem, he doesn’t know how they’re going to find a way out.
Chapter15
Madeleine
Maddy’s shaking in the passenger seat while Caleb sits silently in the driver’s seat. They’re both back in the SUV they drove to the Council building, sitting in the parking area near it. The engine’s running, and some random R&B station plays on low.
Maddy curses under her breath. “What a bunch of selfish cowards. Can you believe they said no?”
Caleb frowns, staring out the bugged-up windshield. “Yeah, I can, especially with Mason in charge now. There were enough vampires who weren’t crazy about our relationship, Maddy. The rest… Well, everyone knows how things should be done when they’re not the ones doing it.”
Maddy falls silent, drumming her fingers on the inside of the door. “It’s not right.”
“No, it’s not,” Caleb agrees. “But we can’t make them join us or help us. Them or the hunters, either one.”
“What if we could, though? What if we could find a way to make them join us?” She presses a hand to her middle as the emptying sensation seeps out from her stomach, throughout her torso, and into the rest of her body.
His scowl deepens. “How would we do that?”
She shrugs, already frustrated by his questioning. Can’t he just pretend with her for a nanosecond, for a minute? What if they could? What if they got their happily ever after and everything wasn’t miserably difficult from start to finish…for once?
“I don’t know,” she finally answers dully.
