I spun around. “If any of you double cross me, Jezebel will be the least of your problems.”
“We’re your family, Gray. Whether you like it or not.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know who my family is. We share more than just blood.”
I spotted her red hair flapping in the wind as we approached. My heart sank. Her eyes matched the color of her hair. Valentina. She knew about Dragos. It was written all over her face.
Valentina lunged toward Tobias. I stepped in front of her and held her back.
My hands trembled. “Val, he had nothing to do with it. He’s here to help.”
She sneered. “You can’t be serious. Next you’re going to tell me Pythia is free to go too.”
I lowered my eyes.
She fumed. “Have you lost your mind? You can’t be that desperate.”
Black tears rolled down my cheeks. “I am.”
Tobias stiffened. “Valentina, I can explain everything.”
She glared at him with fists clenched. “This better be good. Otherwise, I’m locking you up with your wife.”
He raised his hands. “Fair enough.”
She wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Let’s go inside. I can’t wait to hear this fool’s sorry excuse for an explanation.” She threw Tobias a menacing glance.
The Keeper froze when we walked in. His face twisted in shock and horror.
I let out a sigh. “It’s all right. He’s with me.”
The Keeper relaxed but his eyes remained focused. “To the study then. It seems we have much to discuss.”
Not in their wildest nightmares would they be ready to hear what Tobias was about to tell them. I wasn’t even sure I was ready to hear it again.
Everyone was speechless, their faces pale and rigid. The awkward tension was almost as suffocating as their nervous glances, which bordered on pity. They were looking at me differently. I was the broken demon girl with monsters for parents and a constant target on my back. Everyone around me paid for it. Why would anyone want to help me? I was the reason for this war.
Valentina crinkled her nose, a subconscious tick she had when she was on edge. “I have an idea.”
I almost choked on my whiskey. “You don’t hate me?”
She gasped. “Hate you? Gray, you’re my best friend. None of this is your fault. You didn’t choose any of this. I’m with you to the end.”
My heart burst inside my chest. I turned toward The Keeper and bowed my head.
He cupped my face in his hands. “Gray, the Fates chose you. The gods guide you. Nothing this man has said will change my mind. By the Order of The Keepers, I remain your humble servant.”
I choked back tears, overcome with emotion. I had literally dragged my friends through hell and back, and they were still willing to stand by my side. I was the speechless one now.
Tobias cleared his throat. “I am eager to hear your idea.”
I nodded at Valentina to proceed.
“We steal Aldric back.” She smirked, a twinkle forming in her eye.
I shook my head. “We don’t know where they are keeping him. Even if we did, he’s under their magic. And what about your brother? We can’t just leave him there.”
Valentina crossed her legs and sat back in her chair. “Dragos will be fine. We have been through worse. It takes a lot to break us. As for Aldric, from what you’ve told me, he’s headed for a mental breakdown. If Arcadia is willing to work with me, the wolves can get him out. Then all you have to do is break the spell.” She threw a glance at The Keeper.
The Keeper nodded and looked to Tobias. “Can you make this happen?”
Tobias sighed. “Arcadia is still sore about Lycos, but she listens to me. And as long as you return her mother to her unharmed, I believe I can convince her to help.”
Valentina clapped in delight. “Great. It’s settled then.”
I shook my head, confused. “We still don’t know where they are.”
The Keeper smiled. “Remember the scroll I showed you? I used a locator spell to pinpoint their vicinity. They have left quite the trail of blood. All the way to the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.”
My blood curdled. “They spit on the gods. That is sacred ground.”
Valentina nodded. “Yes, and they will answer for that as well. After we get Aldric out. This is a rescue mission, Gray, and only that.”
She was right. I couldn’t jeopardize Aldric’s safety. I needed to keep a level head. I nodded.
Valentina stood up. “We leave for London at dawn. Lycos and the pack will meet us there. Get some rest.”
She left the study with The Keeper a step behind her, leaving me alone with Tobias.
He leaned back and folded his hands in his lap. “I need to ask you for one more thing.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course he wanted something from me. “Get to the point.” I was exhausted and all out of patience.
“If I bring the humans and Witches here, will you have your…Keeper… link them?”
I jumped to my feet, venom coursed through my veins. I snapped, “Why? So you can finally have your army of hybrids?”
A gleam lit up his eyes. “No…so you can finally have yours.”
Fourteen
The enemy of my enemy was my friend. Would Aldric understand everything I’d done? I feared that neither of us would be the same once this was over. Were we even the same now? We were both slipping further away from what we once were. The way back might not exist. I feared this more than anything. The blood, the death, and all the destruction were nothing compared to the ache in my chest. The ache of a broken heart, torn in opposite directions. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.
The dawn breaking through my window signaled the dark night ahead. The calm before the storm, it cast a warm glow onto my cold pale flesh. I closed my eyes and bathed in its false sense of security. I let it radiate into my pores, basking in the temporary moment of solace.
Like a warning to not get too comfortable, my thoughts were interrupted by a knock at my door. I let out one last peaceful breath and opened it.
The Keeper stood in the doorway, his face twisted in pain. “I have deciphered another scroll. It bears the symbols of the serpent and the pomegranate.”
I motioned for him to enter and took a seat by the hearth. The scent of smoke and ash still lingered in the air.
He continued. “I know you. You will want to fight Jezebel then and there. You nodded to appease Valentina, but I know that you won’t hesitate to take them out. You must hold back until we break Aldric out of that spell.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why does it matter when I rip her throat out? If I get an opportunity, I will take it.”
He shook his head, his hands trembling. “The magic of the pomegranate, it doesn’t only destroy her, it destroys all her followers. They are linked.”
It took me a minute to piece together what he was saying. Then it hit me. Willing or not, Aldric was one of her followers.
A knot formed in my chest. I paced around my room, fists clenched and eyes black. I gasped. “That’s why she took him. She knew I would never lay a finger on her if it meant killing Aldric.”
The Keeper nodded, his eyes focused on the floor. My whole body shook as I let out a scream and punched the wall. Chunks of stone cracked and fell out.
My heart raced. “Tell me you can break the spell.”
His eyes teared up. “I can’t promise you that, Gray. I wish I could, but…I can’t.”
I grabbed my head, pulling my hair as I let out a cry of frustration. This can’t be happening. Aldric was the only one keeping me sane. The only light in the darkness. If anything happened to him, I might not be able to stop myself from sending this world and everyone in it into an eternal night.
Valentina cautiously peered into the doorway and signaled that it was time to go. I leaned over The Keeper, inches away from his face.
My nostrils flared. “Be ready to break that spell when we return, or by the will of Apol
lo, I will burn this planet to the ground.”
As I stomped out, shaking the ground with each step, I had never seen either of them more afraid of me than they were then.
The catacombs were dark and cool, a welcome relief from the false hope of the morning sun. I thought it only fitting that I be the one to let Pythia out of her cell, seeing as I was the one who put her in it.
Pythia shrank back as I walked in, her body trembling. Despite her plush surroundings, her bones were frail, and all of the color had drained from her face.
I snickered, satisfied to see her cower before me. “Today’s your lucky day. I’m letting you go.”
Her lower lip quivered. “I don’t believe you.”
I sighed. “Believe what you want. Arcadia’s help is worth more than keeping you locked up. You can thank my father for that.”
Her eyes teared. “Is Tobias here?”
I nodded. “He’s here to accompany us back to London. Pack your things. We leave now.”
Pythia crept away from the wall she had been hugging since I walked into the room. She walked over to the nightstand and poured a glass of blood. The pink returned to her cheeks as she drank. I wondered how long she had been starving herself.
She licked her lips. “What do you want in return?”
My muscles stiffened. “I want Aldric back, and you are all going to help me get him. If I suspect in the slightest that you might betray me, I will finish what I started the last time I was in this room.”
Her eyes matched the color of her hair, dark and muddy, like wet soil. She nodded in agreement, but the hatred in her stare was anything but. She picked up a black velvet cloak and glanced around the room.
Her eyes narrowed. “There is nothing in this room that I want. I’m ready to leave now.”
I nodded. “Follow me.”
We climbed the stairs side by side. Her heart raced while she watched me like a hawk, flinching every time I made the slightest gesture.
She cleared her throat. “So, you know the truth about everything?”
I gritted my teeth. “I know that you’re all a bunch of lunatics and the only thing that is keeping me from killing you is Aldric. For your sake, you better pray to Apollo that he is still alive.”
Her pulse quickened. “Apollo doesn’t hear my prayers anymore.”
I snickered. “I guess you better pray to someone else then.”
Tobias rushed over to embrace her as we reached the top of the stairs. She crumbled in his arms upon contact. It would have been touching except for the fact that I despised both of them.
Adrenaline charged through my veins as we sailed to London. My stomach was in knots. As desperate as I was to see Aldric again, I was also terrified of who he had become. What if we couldn’t fix him?
Valentina huddled next to Seven at one end of the ship while Tobias and Pythia were deep in conversation at the other. I kept my eyes turned toward the sea, watching the blurred waves splash by with the speed of light. The first time I’d ever experienced the magic of this ship, it disoriented me. Now, it was a welcome escape.
I never imagined the day that I would be working with the Consilium. Valentina was just as surprised.
She sauntered over to me, her red curls bouncing in the wind. “You look like you could use a drink.”
I chuckled. “If only there was enough whiskey to make me feel better.”
She smiled, but then furrowed her brow. “What are you going to do about Dragos?”
“I’m not going to leave him in the Underworld if that’s what you’re worried about.” I was way past punishing him for putting me in that coma.
She stared blankly at me. “That’s not what I meant. What are you going to do about your feelings for him, now that you know he did not betray you.”
My heart sank. It was something I hadn’t let myself think about. I wasn’t ready to face it. Before the coma, Dragos was the man I loved. I had spent most of my Dhampir life with him. How could I ignore that? Yet his supposed betrayal led me to Aldric, and I wasn’t ready to walk away from him either.
I sighed, long and drawn out. “What would you do?”
Valentina grew pensive. “Flip a coin.” She erupted into giggles and threw me a wink.
I burst out laughing. “Sounds fair.”
The lighthearted banter was just the reprieve I needed to get me through these next few hours, but it was fleeting.
Peeking out from the fog, London at night was magical. A thousand city lights lit up the sky like fireflies over the River Thames. Dozens of streetlamps lined each path, bright and sturdy like an offering of safe passage. I gulped in the icy air and let it fill my lungs, sending traces of my whiskey-soaked breath out into the night.
Yet the feeling of dread returned and followed me all the way down our dark descent into the sewer tunnels. It gripped me till I could barely breathe. A feeling I had come to know so well, but it was amplified each time it filled me. It consumed me and poisoned my thoughts.
Arcadia was waiting for us at the first tunnel with an entourage of twenty Rougarou guards. Her hair was knotted back in a dozen braids that twisted back around like snow covered vines. The Helm of Awe was painted across her chest in black and gold, a sacred symbol of protection. Draped in fur and with two swords sheathed on her back, she stood both poised and savage, like a warrior queen ready for battle.
Pythia pushed past me and stood next to her. The tension sizzled. Adrenaline coursed through my veins with every heave of my chest as I waited for someone to make a move.
As if reading my mind, Tobias stepped forward. “I am proud of both of you for calling a truce. We are a family, and we will be stronger together.” He looked back and forth between me and Arcadia.
Arcadia winced and tightened her lips. “How sweet. And you brought the boyfriend-stealing gypsy too. Just one big happy family. Right, sister?” The bitterness in her voice was thick with apathy.
Pythia smirked. “We may have agreed to help you, but we don’t have to like it.”
I snorted. “No more than I like letting you live.”
Tobias raised his hands to silence us. “Enough. Save your rage for Jezebel and the Serpent Bearers.”
I sighed. “He’s right. We can argue about who hates who more on the way back from the temple, once Aldric is safe.”
Valentina cleared her throat. “Um, Gray, you…you’re not coming with us.” She peered up at me, her head lowered.
I looked around at all their faces and froze. “Of course I’m going. Have you all gone mad?” No one would look me in the eye.
Tobias placed a gentle yet cautious hand on my shoulder. “You would be walking right into Jezebel’s trap. If you go, you will jeopardize Aldric’s life, and our chance at destroying her.”
Arcadia joined in. “As much as it pains me to admit it, you’re only good to us alive. Besides, you haven’t even ingested the pomegranate yet.”
My head was spinning. They were right. They wouldn’t be able to focus on rescuing Aldric if they were too busy keeping me under control. I wanted to be there more than anything. I wanted to be the first face he saw. Sitting out a battle was something I did not do, but my presence would only make things worse.
I swallowed my pride. “Fine. Try not to screw this up.” I rested my gaze on Arcadia.
As the guards ushered me into Arcadia’s chambers. I paused to whisper in Valentina’s ear. “If anything happens to Aldric, kill them all.”
She squeezed my hand and whispered back. “I’ll start with the ice queen first.”
Tobias and Pythia followed in step behind me. I didn’t know what would be worse, putting Aldric’s life in the hands of Arcadia or being stuck in a room with the two people I hated most.
Pythia caught my eye and smirked. “It’s no fun being told you can’t leave, now is it?”
I slammed the door behind the three of us, leaving the guards out in the tunnel. I snickered. “Almost as fun as draining you of all of your magic.”
Her face fell, taking the smug look with it. She crossed to the other side of the room and folded her arms to her chest.
Tobias shrugged and sank into a fur-draped chair, much to his wife’s annoyance. I think she half-expected him to come to her defense.
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and said a silent prayer to Apollo.
This was going to be a long night.
Fifteen
Time had become my enemy. My pacing had become incessant and an aggravation. My emotions ran hot and cold. From regret and sadness to anger and rage. Tobias shot me a sharp look after the third time I plunged my fist into one of Arcadia’s chamber walls. The waiting was driving me into madness.
Being underground unnerved me too. I couldn’t tell if it was day or night anymore. I had no idea how long we had been down there. Every minute lasted an eternity. But the worst part was that I had no idea what version of Aldric I was going to get back. Would it be the cold smug version that I’d found in Romania, or something worse? What kind of life would he have?
A slight gust of wind blew in from under the door. Multiple sets of footsteps walked with intention toward us. Each step pounded in my ears. They had returned.
A sickening sensation formed in my stomach. My heart pounded as the footsteps got closer to the door. Tobias and Pythia, both on their feet, turned toward it in anticipation.
The door swung open. Arcadia and Valentina walked in, bits of blood and flesh streaked their faces. Valentina and I locked eyes and my heart sank. I had seen that look before. Aldric was worse than I thought.
My hands trembled. “Where…where is he?”
Valentina and Arcadia exchanged a nervous look. Exhaustion was apparent on both their faces.
I felt my chest caving in as the room began to spin. “Where is Aldric?”
Valentina winced at my tone. “He’s on the ship. We had to restrain him.”
Arcadia sneered. “Your boyfriend is insane.”
I moved to strike her, but Tobias stepped in front of me. “Gray, let’s just be grateful he’s alive. We will worry about the rest later.”
Flesh and Bone (Blood and Darkness Book 2) Page 8
