“I wish someone had explained some of this plan to me,” Sarah said with a glare at Nikolas.
“I didn’t even realize there was a plan until I saw that photo Heather left behind,” Nikolas said. “I had seen Dommy when she was with Jerome, but I just remembered her as—” He broke off as he realized that several of the hunters in the room were glaring at him. “I never would have recognized her.”
“There’s no reason for a hunter to pay too much attention to prey,” Heather remarked, “but we remember each other. I thought you had killed her, you know, when she stopped coming back.” There was no accusation as she said this to Jerome. In her mind, Zachary knew, whether to grant life or death was a vampire’s prerogative.
“We have to move on,” Adia said, voice and body tight, as if she was fighting not to show her discomfort in her surroundings. “I just came to bring the update. I can’t linger. You understand, right, Sarah?”
“I understand.”
She was their leader now. Zachary doubted she would rule with the same iron fist as her mother had, but she couldn’t afford to second-guess herself. He might have a little freedom, granted by Adia’s forgiveness, but she needed to keep her distance from those who had to be her prey.
For this last time, though, the two sisters approached each other, obviously both a little wary. Given how the last hug had gone, Zachary could understand why they both hesitated.
Nikolas reached out and squeezed Sarah’s hand in silent encouragement. She smiled at him before she stepped forward, reaching out enough that Adia had to step back or respond.
Adia met the hug, and the two sisters embraced each other tightly.
“I’m proud of you,” Adia whispered.
Sarah blinked, eyes shining with tears, before saying, “That’s pretty much all I’ve ever wanted.”
Adia half laughed, past what obviously wanted to be a sob. “I’ve always been proud of you, you idiot.”
As Adia and Sarah reluctantly drew apart, Michael asked the hard question: “So, what next?” The hunters gathered to leave together. Zachary hadn’t needed to be at the meeting—it had been for the leaders of the lines—but he did need to eventually show his face to other witches again. “I mean, we have a truce right now, but next time I walk into a party before the Devil’s Hour, I’m not going to walk out and let people die because some of my vampiric in-laws are there. Do we come up with some kind of rules of engagement?”
“Olivia and I plan to join SingleEarth,” Sarah said. “That way there will be no reason for anyone to feel conflicted about visiting this apartment, or knowing its location, or maintaining contact with either of us. My magic is all messed up from the vampire blood, but Caryn has offered to help me learn how to use it again, in a way that’s more focused on healing than fighting. SingleEarth always needs healers.”
Olivia had already discussed that part of the plan with Zachary. I already mostly obey their rules, she had said. It’s no sacrifice for me to make it official.
“The rest of us have managed this long without ending up on a hunter’s blade,” Nikolas said. “You do what you feel you need to do. You can ask Zachary how the game works when your prey is your kin and is watching your back.”
“It’s complicated,” Zachary admitted.
But Jay shook his head. “No … I don’t think it really is. You’re used to living by all of the Vida rules. Some of us are used to more natural laws, where the hunt is about the hunt, not anger or vengeance.”
“That’s a very predatory outlook, for someone named after a songbird,” Michael observed.
“Maybe.” Jay grinned. “I’ve always been close to birds. I understand them. They speak to me. But my bonded companion is a lynx. We all have to find a balance somewhere.”
Zachary stared at the Marinitch witch with surprise, trying to picture him prowling through the woods with one of the big cats by his side. It was hard to imagine in a way that didn’t involve his animal companion hunting him.
“Balance,” he said out loud. “That would be nice.”
“Much better than perfection,” Sarah agreed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AMELIA ATWATER-RHODES wrote her first novel, In the Forests of the Night, when she was thirteen. Other books in the Den of Shadows series are Demon in My View, Shattered Mirror, Midnight Predator, Persistence of Memory, Token of Darkness, and All Just Glass. She has also published the five-volume series The Kiesha’ra: Hawksong, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and a Voice of Youth Advocates Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Selection; Snakecharm; Falcondance; Wolfcry, an IRA-CBC Young Adults’ Choice; and Wyvernhail. Visit her online at ameliaatwaterrhodes.com.
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