“I don’t think we have to worry about Caden fighting Mr. Myles.” Nate was awestruck; adoration was in his voice, and his eyes held a gleam of wonderment in them as he looked across the way at me. “That magic almost took a druid out. She has this.”
“You’re still enthralled.” Finn rubbed a hand down his face.
“Maybe,” Nate shrugged a shoulder. “But you can’t deny that she has power.”
“She won’t be able to do that again for a very long time,” Finn barked. “And it was due to self-preservation from another magic user. The Fae part of her has no interest in hand-to-hand combat. She’s never been taught the ways of the Fae.”
“And I thank the Ultimate Power for that every single damn day,” Zane snarled.
“Not all Fae are bad,” Finn replied crisply.
Zane and Anahita gave him a deadpanned look.
“Well, we are capable of change,” Finn sniped.
“Not without selfish reasons,” Zane countered.
Finn gave him a look of incredulity. “And your reasons are completely honorable.” Finn’s words were laced with cynicism.
Something about their arguing lit a spark of anger within me.
“We lost a friend tonight,” I spat. “I could care less about your reasons right now.”
Before I could continue, Nate's phone went off, and the room became silent as he looked at it. He chagrined before shaking his head.
“It’s Korina, isn’t it?” My voice was low, not wanting the certainty of the answer.
He nodded his head, closing his eyes and wincing.
I snorted. “She always did have impeccable timing. Let me guess, Myles finally issued the challenge.”
He nodded again.
“It’s the last possible second?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Close. You are to meet him at eleven tonight back at the school.”
I grunted. It didn't surprise me. Even if Myles was incredibly intelligent, he was a coward. He was waiting until the very end of the third day for the challenge. The jerk probably had amassed quite an army, and definitely, Obscurus had an interest. His Newborn status wouldn’t be over this soon, but I was sure that he had certain cognitive faculties back to think about how this would work in his favor. He was one hundred percent sure that he would win, which shook my confidence.
I looked up at the group. “If you guys have any last minute secrets to winning, you need to give them to me now.”
✽✽✽
Preparing for this match was marginally different than what training had been. This included everyone in the household. Meredith, Nate and I wanted to grieve for Jesse, but I didn’t have the opportunity, and theirs was postponed.
Shortly after Korina texted Nate, Finn left the room in a hurry and practically ran down his end of the hallway. We heard a door slam, and that was the last time I would see anything of Finn for a while. I was pretty sure from the frosted windows of the house and the zing of Fae magic in the air of the household that he wasn't cowardly hanging out in his room. He was apparently up to something; whether it was creating more wards on the house or something else. It was clear from the magic being thrown off that anyone who disrupted him would be in a world of hurt.
Meredith and Nate conference-called their parents to let them know that the challenge was issued and we were all on high alert, or what Nate called as "Defcon 2" heading toward "Defcon 1." They relayed that Myles was using every trick that he had to throw us off balance, and included Jesse's death as evidence. So, they were to remain at the warded hospital until after tonight. Then it wouldn't matter. If Myles won, it would be disaster for the city of Erie, at the minimum, which meant evacuation. If I won, all would be safe.
So then, Ms. Weber and the Spencers went into a plan B of evacuation, which stung. I understood that they were just being practical and looking out for the safety of their kids. I probably would have done the same, but regardless, my feelings were slightly hurt. So I took my leave and went into my room to make my own phone call to Sera.
The flood of relief I felt when I heard Sera’s healthy, strong, and alert voice on the other end of the phone pushed away any negative feelings I had when I had gone into my room.
“Jesse was killed today,” I sighed into the phone after our preliminary greetings, trying to force down the tears that were susceptible to come forward.
“Oh, my gosh, Caden. I’m so sorry.” Her sympathy threatened to undo me. “Are you okay?”
"I'm fine." A hiccup came forward, and I felt warm tears slide down my cheeks. "I couldn't save him, Sera. I tried, and I couldn't."
I couldn’t control the tears now as they ran down my cheeks in streams.
“None of this is your fault,” Sera asserted, strength in her voice.
I murmured something unintelligible into the phone.
“Caden, it’s not. It’s Daniel’s fault, the Scelesti, and all those other assholes who brought this into our lives.”
I sniffed back some of my grief. "Myles finally issued the challenge." My words were broken.
“Asshole,” she growled back.
I sniffed again, and my tears began to dry. “I need you to stay where you are. I have faith that Ms. Weber and the Spencers can make sure the wards stay up at the hospital. I need you safe. Myles is manipulative, and he's using people I know to hurt me."
“I’m sorry, Caden,” she interrupted, her own grief laced her words. “If only I had never met him.”
“Didn’t you say it wasn’t my fault just a minute ago?”
She grunted into the phone, already knowing where I was headed with this.
"It's not yours either. Daniel Myles was determined to find a way."
“I hope you kill him.” Her anger was apparent.
I cleared my throat, knowing the next topic wasn’t something I was comfortable with nor was it something that she would want to hear.
“Sera, if I don’t make it tonight, I need you to go with Ms. Weber and the Spencers-”
“Caden, I don’t-”
“This isn’t optional, Sera. They are coming up with an evacuation plan. Myles and his army will sweep through this city, and I know they will go after all that I am linked to and those that I hold dear. Please,” I pleaded. “Please just go with them, if something happens to me.”
“It won’t,” she affirmed.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Sera, if I knew that you would be safe, it would help me tonight. It would be one more weight that wouldn’t weigh on my mind.”
It was her turn to sigh. “IF, and only if it’s necessary, I will go with Joanna and the Spencers. But I know that you have this, Caden.”
Relief lightened my chest. “Thank you, Sera.”
There was a knock on my door, pulling my attention from my sister. I closed my eyes. “I have to go, Sera. When this is all over, I can’t wait to go home.”
“I can’t wait to see you,” she responded before we said our goodbyes.
When I opened the door, Meredith was standing in the hallway, eyes red-rimmed and holding out a cup of tea.
“Can we talk?” She asked, handing over the warm mug to me.
Internally, I groaned. I didn’t want to talk anymore. Even with the weight of Sera’s safety off my shoulders, there was so much left burdening me. But this was not the way Meredith worked. She needed conversation, and apparently commiserating with Nate wasn’t enough.
Taking the mug, I gestured for her to take a seat, as I sat in the other armchair across the way.
“You know Ajax was wrong, right?” She pulled her knees up to her chest.
My sigh was audible as I tucked my legs underneath me.
“He was being an ass,” she continued. “None of this is your fault.”
“I know, but it doesn’t make me feel any less guilty.”
“I know,” she hushed.
I took a sip of the tea. It was almost tasteless, but looking at it, it was the color of tea.
“What�
�s in this?”
Meredith shrugged a shoulder. “It’s actually a coven recipe to help with clarity, focus, and relaxation.”
At the mention of "relaxation," I looked up at her sharply. "This is going to knock me out, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it will. But only for a few hours. It’s supposed to clear away all the tension and anxiety. You know, all those toxic emotions, while rejuvenating you. It’s what witches drink before performing a really powerful magic spell.”
“I think I’m supposed to train one last time with Zane and Anahita.” My words already felt slow even after a sip.
She motioned with the wave of her hands to continue drinking. “I already talked to Zane about this. He agrees that this might be in your best interest.”
I scowled into my mug but took another sip nevertheless. "I'm guessing you guys have already talked about a plan of action."
She shrugged both shoulders non-committedly. "There's been some talk."
“I don’t want you or Nate coming with me.” My eyes felt heavy with the slow murmur of my voice.
She rolled her eyes. "We already knew you were going to say that. Nate said ‘tough shit.' He has a bone to pick with Korina, and he has every right to confront her.”
“He’s going to get himself killed.” My words didn’t pack the punch that I knew I was feeling somewhere inside, even if I couldn't feel it at the moment. The potion was doing precisely what Meredith said it would do, and I was starting to feel numb.
“And that’s his choice,” she affirmed, strength in her voice.
“You gave me this drink to make me more compliable. So I wouldn’t react.”
“Maybe,” she replied. “And just so you are aware, none of us blame you for anything.”
I tried to snort, but it mostly sounded like a snore.
“That’s not true,” I slurred.
“Ajax doesn’t count. And I really don’t think he truly blames you. I think he blames himself more than anything. I don’t think Jesse even blamed you.”
I couldn't talk anymore, and my eyelids fell heavy over my eyes.
“Sleep,” Meredith tapped my knee and then I heard her get up.
✽✽✽
That was the last that I was aware of until I woke up again in the early afternoon in my bed at Underhill. The tea that Meredith had given me had made me almost dead. I didn't have any dreams that I could remember, nor did I feel the pull of a link from Flora. I hadn't even sensed when someone had moved me from the armchair to my bed. And Meredith was right, I woke up clear-headed, focused, and surprisingly unemotional. I knew that I needed to kill Myles, but there was no anger, guilt, or remorse behind it. It was almost factual. I also didn’t have any fear about facing him either.
My emotions had been supernaturally messed with several times in the past couple of days, and I was sure that I should probably be pissed about Meredith drugging me before telling me, but I wasn’t. Everything just seemed factual. She did it to give me clarity, my mind seemed to explain.
I got out of bed, feeling the first rumblings of my stomach. I hadn't eaten since dinner the night before, and I was pretty sure that I had missed out on breakfast.
When I got into the kitchen, I noticed that the house was very still. There were no sounds of anyone moving about. I only knew Finn was still in his room doing whatever it was that he was doing because the shards on the windows had grown thicker.
I peered over the sink, taking a closer look at them, and allowing my hand to touch the window.
“It’s a magical ward,” Anahita’s voice said behind me.
I should have jumped from her sudden appearance, but I didn’t even feel my adrenaline pump.
"Magical ward? How do you know this?" I turned to look at her. She no longer had a disinterested look on her face like she had been accustomed to wearing around me. Instead, from the slightly sallow complexion of her skin, she looked tired, worn, and resigned.
“When he walked out of the room earlier, I heard him mumbling about maintaining the ward as he went to his room.”
“Ah.” I turned on my heel and made my way to the refrigerator, pulling out the leftover Chinese food and displaying it on the kitchen island.
“Why are you up? Isn’t this like bedtime for you?” I glanced up at her before pulling one more container out of the fridge. The weariness was still on her face as she just stared off.
“It is.” She took a seat across from me. “But apparently it is my turn to-”
“Babysit me?” I finished for her.
She gave me a bored look. “Something like that. Also, it’s my turn to train you. One on one.”
I just huffed a little as I picked through the containers, seeing how much was left. “I would ask you if you want any, but I don’t even know if vampires can eat human food.”
A small smile lifted a corner of her mouth. “We really can’t actually. Our stomachs don’t actually digest anything. Our stomachs just redistribute the blood to areas of our body since our hearts don’t beat to do it.”
"Fascinating," I snarked without any heat behind it, pulling a thermos-sized container that looked like blood from the door shelf before shutting the fridge. I handed it over to Anahita.
“We may not have the ability to digest, but that doesn’t mean we like our blood cold,” she snorted, reminding me that even if Anahita was showing emotion on her face, the abrasive Anahita was still in there somewhere.
I rolled my eyes, taking the lid off the container. The smell of iron hit my nose, which made me draw back a little as I put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Then I took a cold dumpling out of a container and ate it in front of her on the other side of the island.
“Do you ever miss food?” I inquired while making a show of chewing on the cold dumpling.
She turned her nose up at me. “After watching you eat that, not really.”
I smiled, showing teeth and probably the food that was in between them when the microwave beeped. I pulled the now warm thermos out and handed it to Anahita.
She tried to give me the same challenging display through her food, but it just gave her a blood mustache above her lip. She licked over it, displaying her elegantly feminine fangs.
"Even your fangs are perfect," I snorted. "Can you be less perfect?" When there would usually be heat behind my words, there was none, and I guess my tone made her laugh. It wasn't haughty, but genuine.
“I guess that’s why Zane made you, huh? Because you’re so perfect.” I grabbed some noodles out of another container and stuffed my face with them.
Anahita put down the cup and gave me a look. “Zane didn’t make me.”
I almost choked on the noodles. I chewed and swallowed quickly. "But you said that Zane was your master-"
“He is. But he didn’t sire me.”
“Then how….? What….?”
"Zane, being a master already, killed my sire. Everything that belonged to my sire, including me became Zane's, and that's how he became my master. That's how it's done through vampire law." She took another sip from the thermos, this time, making it more of a refined display. "But you're right, my sire did turn me for my beauty. And for my royal lineage, and everything that went with it."
“You were royalty…?”
“I was. A Persian princess you might say.” She took another sip, allowing that knowledge to sink in.
Awe made my mouth agape. "I don't know much about history, but I do know that that would make you at least a thousand years old if not older."
She showed her fangs to me. “Be nice.”
“Are you older than Zane?”
“Only by a couple hundred years.” She waved a hand like it was nothing.
“Why didn’t you become a master and take over your own line?”
She eyed me cautiously, and I suddenly realized that by doing what I had said, it would have meant killing someone like me, a Venatrix.
I cleared my suddenly clogged throat. “Not that I think that’s a go
od idea.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Just wondering.” I took another bite of my leftovers.
“Because I didn’t want the risk associated with becoming a master. Nor did I want the responsibility of taking care of my own line or making sure my line followed vampire law. Even being Scelesti, there are still laws and rules. Breaking them meant termination from Obscurus’ army. The entire line would be wiped out, including the master.”
“There couldn’t be that many rules being a Scelesti, could there?”
“Not really. We couldn’t go after those that Obscurus said were his or deemed otherwise. And we couldn’t go on a murdering bloodlust rampage. It would draw too much attention to the Mundus Noctis.”
“That doesn’t seem so difficult.”
“Scelesti and almost all newborn vampires have a problem with bloodlust.” She shrugged a shoulder. “It can be hard to control as I am sure you have already noticed with your Mr. Myles and your friend’s ex. Especially if you have no real cares in the world except for power and blood.” She finished up her meal as well as finishing up the topic.
I paused a moment thinking about everything, while I finished up my own meal.
“So then do all newborn vampires have the inclination to be Scelesti when turned?”
“The bloodlust is there, but the difference between Meredith and Nate becoming Scelesti versus some psychopath is that your friends care. They know that there are consequences for their actions and that would pull them through the bloodlust onto the Casti side.”
It didn’t escape my notice that she hadn’t put me in the category with my friends. But I guess it shouldn’t have shocked me since I had allowed myself to be slightly tempted by Obscurus. I hadn’t made the actual move, but there was enough in me to know that I had a price. I didn’t bring it up though.
“Speaking of my friends, have you seen them?” I switched the subject.
“I would guess that they are sleeping.”
“So they have finished planning, huh?” I probed, as I started putting whatever was left back in the refrigerator.
“Not really much of a plan. Your friend, Meredith, has some sort of witchy scheme up her sleeve, but I wasn’t told anything.”
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