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Julius grew visibly enraged as the other vampire leaders voiced their agreement. His frenzied gaze swept the room, realizing that the tides were turning in my favor. In the end, he was a coward, so he stepped off the dais with a sneer.
“Thank you for your trust.” My breath escaped in a rush, but I formed my expression into something I hoped appeared neutral.“There are bedrooms ready for you all once you’re ready to rest for the day, and this evening, we will start the real work.”
“What will we do about the witches?” Maximus wondered aloud.
I wrapped my arm around my mother and Mira, drawing them close. “The Salem High Priestess has agreed to reparation terms, but I will contact Rebecca Graves tomorrow night about her granddaughter’s kidnapping.”
Without another word, I led my family away from the throne room before the lords could change their minds.We took a collective sigh of relief once the doors clanged shut behind us, and mother swayed in my arms.
“Alexei—”She broke off, moving in a flash, her hands encircling my shoulders as she dropped her head to my chest. Her eyes shimmered with blood tears. “Thank you, my beautiful son.”
Years of pain had finally begun to heal with my father’s oppressive reign at an end.
“It was the least I could do to start making amends.” I swallowed thickly as Mira forced herself into our hug, wrapping her arms around my waist.
She murmured into my biceps, “Is it terrible that I’m not upset by his death? That I’m… relieved?”
“No, my darling,” my mother whispered to her. “Now, we can stop living in fear. And simply live.” After a few moments, mother cleared her throat. “Now, Mira, off to bed. The coming weeks will be terribly busy as your brother heralds this new age of the vampires.”
“But I’m in line to become the next queen, right, Alexei?” Mira raised her brows with amusement, but she obeyed, leaving us alone in the hall.
Mother’s knowing gaze swept over me sadly, and she lifted a hand to cup my cheek. “As proud as I am of you, Alexei, please tell me you have a plan.”
“A plan?” I quirked a brow.
“Yes, your plan to win back your mate. Youaregoing after her, aren’t you? Now that you are no longer forced into the arrangement with Seraphina, you can claim her as your own. As I would have, had my beloved lived.”
I swallowed around the painful rock in my throat.
“I failed her when she needed me the most. It would be better to let her find someone more suited to her.” My eyes landed on the carpet as I forced myself to believe the words falling from my lips, though they burned like acid.
“Don’t you dare demean yourself or Jade to me again,” she snapped, slapping my cheek hard enough to sting. She stepped away from me with a glare. “Jade is her own female, and a powerful one at that. You sell her short by deciding for her.”
As she disappeared into her bedroom, I stood frozen. There was still much to do if I wanted to build a world better than the one my father left behind. I would prove to Jade how desperately I loved and cherished her above all others.
And just maybe, it would be enough to win her back.
33
With snow falling around me and seeping through my disgusting black dress coated in blood and dirt, I felt myself move in a daze. Witches and demons portaled to their destinations as Killian approached, his dark hair disheveled and crusted with inky vampire blood.
“You ready, Jade? Your sisters are waiting for you.”
“Yes,” I said, hoping to convince myself as much as Killian. I looked back towards the forests surrounding Castle Vasyliev one last time, imagining the fallout Alexei would no doubt face but feeling nothing as the amulet absorbed my emotions.
The exorcism had been completed, the spirits moved to the Beyond with the sunlight, but there was still much more work to be done with the talismans and the souls of the witches still awaiting peace back at Bled Island. Still, Alexei was right. First, I had to set my own life straight, starting with Grandmother and the repercussions of my actions.
“This shouldn’t take long.” Killian offered a crooked grin, though it didn’t quite reach his golden eyes. “But if you’re going to vomit, try and aim away from my feet this time.”
When I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against the demon’s chest, I feared my heart would remain in the blood-soaked snow of Slovenia. The next time my lashes fluttered open, my feet landed on Coven soil within the night-soaked gardens in New Orleans.
“Jade!”
Ember’s head whipped up from her folded hands on the outdoor dining table, and she ran towards me, followed swiftly by Audra and Isla. My knees buckled from the force of their embrace.
“Thank the Goddess!” Isla cried into my neck.
Before I could question what the three of them were doing in New Orleans, Ember’s nails dug into my shoulders with glowing eyes. She wrenched away from me with a hiss. “How could you keep something like this from us? And nearly get killed on top of it all. I’m fucking pissed as Hell at you, Jade!”
