by LJ Swallow
"You lost blood too, Maeve!" Jamie retorts.
"Not as much."
“I told her, I’m not fully in control,” Ash says looking straight at me. “I can’t predict how the dragon would react to a vampire attacking Maeve.”
“Not an attack,” I retort.
“Maeve, please be sensible,” says Jamie, standing in front of me.
“Don’t you dare make a comment about how uncontrolled Andrei is, because I know he isn’t,” I blurt.
Jamie’s face pales. “What?”
“Yeah,” says Ash. “They did.”
Tensing, I wait for Jamie’s outburst, sensing his mingled disapproval and confusion. Instead, he stares at his palm and rubs the wound with his fingers. Andrei’s laboured breathing fills the silence.
Jamie lifts his eyes to meet mine. “We’re alive. We all need to rest before we find the others and that includes you, Maeve. Andrei isn’t dying.”
I swallow. “He’s weak.”
“Andrei isn’t the only one who needs your strength, Maeve,” he whispers. “You need to rest. We might need everything you’ve got if we’re followed.”
“Followed? Ash killed Anastasia, and Gabriella is—” I shake my head to dislodge the final image of her with Tobias inside the cavern; the one before Jamie’s spell tore me from the nightmare. “Gabriella won’t come for us, will she? She’s dead.”
They both died.
I slump from the sofa seat onto the floor and choke out a sob. “We left Tobias.”
Ash moves to join me and as my body shakes with tears, he gathers me in his arms and pulls me to him. I curl into a ball against his chest as he encompasses me, stroking my hair.
“I’m sorry,” says Jamie. “I tried, but he….”
But Tobias chose to hold back Gabriella.
I gulp in air as I look to where he kneels beside us, his distress radiating to me, and I reach out to take his hand. “You did what you could. You saved us, Jamie.”
He moves closer and presses his lips on my cheek; I squeeze his hand, willing Jamie to know that I don’t blame him. We’re here. Me, Ash, Jamie, and a shallow breathing Andrei. We survived.
But this isn’t over yet.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
ANDREI
I struggle to open my eyes and my limbs won't move. Groaning, I turn onto my side and try to get my bearings. I'm lying on a sofa in a room that uncomfortably reminds me of Ravenhold’s decor—broken plaster over grey stone. Is this Gabriella or Anastasia's house? I fucking hope not.
How did I—?
Images gather in my mind as memories roll towards me like a freight train.
Shit. Mother dearest.
My hand goes to my neck and I wince at the still-tender wound where my skin struggles to heal against her attack. She would’ve ripped my throat out, because that's her style when she murders—I've seen her—but something snapped her head back before she managed to pull out an artery.
Tobias? Maeve?
My eyes widen. Maeve.
Fuck. Is she alive? The others?
My legs are jelly when I stand and I support myself on the wall, struggling for breath. Blue veins are visible on the back of my hands and my pulse is sluggish. Well, she took a good bite then. I cough a laugh at myself and lean against the wall. A thick, dark blanket hangs haphazardly over the window to provide a curtain, but not enough to stop all light coming in.
Great. Daytime. No way can I walk out of this room.
My hair falls forward as I look down at the dark stains on my clothes, relieved there's no scent of witch blood. But my heart hammers with fear and frustration that I'm stuck here until the sun sets.
Even if I'm not imprisoned, I may as well be.
More from last night seeps in. I was apprehensive about walking away from Maeve with Tobias, but she was in earshot and we literally stepped around the corner, less than ten metres away before I almost walked into Gabriella. There wasn’t any time to speak or move—no possibility we could fight—because in that split-second Anastasia cast a spell that paralysed us in the moment.
I’ve never heard Tobias swear as evocatively or as loudly as he did when she dodged away and gave a small wave.
What confuses me the most is that the spell broke. We’d spent several minutes trying to figure out if and how vampires could break Blackwood magic with no success. Then the invisible barrier dropped and everything around became normal. Did Anastasia expect that? Plan?
The metal doorknob moves, and I gather what energy I have to defend myself—which is pretty much zero, since standing takes everything I’ve got currently. I almost drop to the sofa with relief as Maeve steps into the room.
Her eyes brighten and I'm overwhelmed as she rushes over and seals her mouth on mine. I stumble backwards and the wall touches my back, as Maeve kisses me until she steals the little breath I have left, as if we’ve been apart for weeks. My arms shake as I wrap them around her, and she holds my head, refusing to take her mouth from mine.
I gently prise her fingers from my face and pull back. "Now I know how you feel," I say weakly. She purses her lips in confusion. "Pinning me against the wall and kissing me to death."
Maeve's pale face brightens with a smile and she plants another kiss on my mouth. "You're okay," she whispers.
"Define okay." I hold her soft cheeks and study her face. However bright she is, her eyes are rimmed with dark shadows and they're red from tears. "Are you?"
She blinks and her beautiful eyes brim with more tears before she shakes her head.
"Are you hurt?" I rest my head against the wall. "Fuck, I need to sit down."
Pissed off with my weakness, I slide my back down until my arse lands on the floorboards.
"Not badly." She lifts her hands where red slash marks on her palms and arm are becoming scabs.
I take a deep breath as I see the blood that I’m trying to ignore the scent and sound of. "Why are you wearing Jamie's blazer?" I ask.
She moistens her lips. "Everything else has my blood on and—"
"And Tobias thinks I'll attack you?" I interrupt and make a derisive noise.
Maeve's face crumples and she drops to the floor beside me. "Tobias." She gulps a breath. "He isn't with us."
My pulse quickens. "Where's Tobias?" I ask the question, although I know the answer without Maeve telling me, or any need to read her mind. "No." I shake my head. "No, Maeve."
Biting her lip hard, she nods.
I flop backwards onto the floor and stare up at the ceiling, weakened more by her news. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say nothing, then I can pretend it isn’t true.” Maeve’s voice cracks and she leans over me, her hair covering my face and she moves to kiss me again. "But you… You lost a lot of blood."
"Yeah, I can tell." I lift my hand up. "No transfusions for me, huh?"
Her soft body presses against my side as she lies beside me and entwines her leg with mine. "Witch blood could help."
I prop myself up on my elbows. "No. Maeve."
"I saw how much strength and energy I gave you that night. You don't have to take much, but—" Her gently fingers trace my lips and weaken me further.
"I'm still buzzing from last time." Now wouldn't be the time to tell Maeve I think the lingering power in her witch blood saved me. What doesn’t help is Jamie's blazer slips when she leans forward again.
I close my eyes and remind myself I’m exhausted. Maeve’s mouth touches mine again, teasing my lips open until her taste is too much to resist. The energy I have left rushes through me as I grip Maeve’s hair and kiss her as hard.
I'm breathing heavier than usual, struggling for oxygen after the blood loss, and my need for self-preservation wants to takeover.
Maeve fumbles with the button and unfastens the blazer, then takes one of my hands to hold it against her skin.
"Fuck," I groan out. "Maeve. I know what you're doing."
Her hair tickles my face as she shuffles upwards and the mark o
n her shoulder comes close to my mouth.
"No. Maeve. You were attacked badly last night." I close my eyes. “Your blood won’t fix me, only make me high.”
She moves to stare down at me. “Is that true?”
“Yes.” No.
“You’re lying, Andrei.”
My willpower is as weak as my body. She may've washed away her blood and changed out of her clothes, but the scent lingers and my thirst is greater than I've ever experienced. However, much I protest to her, this is one situation where the hemia wouldn't override his lust for witch blood.
The first time Maeve's blood touched my tongue, every nerve fired to life and into an immediate high like nothing I could ever imagine. This time, her blood touches my injured body, and the witch energy drives through pushing me back to life.
Her breath speeds and she grips the back of my hair, but I sense she's nervous. Does she think I'll take more from her than the taste I had several nights ago? I press my lips against the tiny wound, able to seal skin as easily as I can break it, before drawing back.
Maeve frowns at me. “No?”
Head buzzing, I tip my head back and the musty smell in the room has intensified. My hearing has sharpened too, and I can faintly hear Ash and Jamie's voices somewhere in the building. I place my fingers across the broken skin and gaze up at her.
"As soon as this is over, I'm locking myself in a room with you and not leaving until somebody drags me away."
Smoothing hair from my face, Maeve kisses my forehead, leaving lips against my skin for several seconds. Withdrawing, she traces her fingers across the healing wound on my neck, and her expression darkens.
"This isn't over until we’re sure that your mother died." She pauses. "She killed Tobias."
Once I would've made a comment about her mood kill, but the ferocity in her eyes and voice tell me I’ve tapped into deep emotions. I don't think the blood only affects me.
"If she's alive, I'll help you kill her," I whisper.
She nods. “And if she’s alive, Tobias is too.”
Chapter Sixty-Eight
JAMIE
Maeve stays with Andrei in the darkened room for the rest of the day and I hope she sleeps. The girl has been through hell and she needs to recover.
But we're not out of danger yet.
I carried the burner phone with me constantly since the witch attack, and now sit outside, under a tree, calling Amelia over and over. I’m immobilised by anxiety over what happens next; Ash deals with his stress by pacing around the estate, claiming he's searching for anybody who slips through.
I don't need reminding that’s a possibility.
I don’t want to consider another possibility: Amelia and Matt didn't survive the fight with the shifters. Each time Amelia doesn't answer, my stomach knots more and I have to focus on not vomiting.
No.
They're strong.
Ash didn’t see what happened to them. He hasn’t told me much, apart from he killed Vince before instinctively going to Maeve.
I didn’t ask for details; Vince died and that’s enough for me.
They escaped. They’re okay. I repeat this to myself, gradually blanking away the doubt.
Ash found me unconscious by the cavern entrance and dragged me out of sight until he managed to rouse me by repeatedly telling me Maeve is in danger. Did I hear Maeve’s voice too? Something else definitely pushed me towards consciousness.
I opened my eyes and looked straight back into a dragon’s, convinced for a moment this was Vince. The moment I moved, Ash charged into the cavern. Seeing Ash partially shifted shocked but didn’t surprise me. He was incoherent and his anger had a hold on him—the dragon wanted revenge. Anastasia’s arrogant pride that she helped create the monster, Vincent, cost her life.
I sat with my hands in my hair, desperately figuring out what to do to help my friends. I don’t have the magical or physical strength to take on powerful opponents, but I did still hold the dark magic we fight against and remembered the Blackwood spell text. The studious witch with an academic advantage because he has a photographic memory saves the day without claws, or teeth, or mind control. I laugh at myself. Go, Jamie.
The spell.
Will Maeve forgive me for taking her and leaving Tobias? I hesitated at the time, but the moment may've been our only window to escape. Ash couldn’t have pulled him from Gabriella, and neither could I. Gabriella almost killed me once; this time she could've finished the job personally.
Tobias looked at me and nodded, so I did what we always promised—protected Maeve at all costs.
I'm pulled away from the last night’s nightmare memories by the phone ringing, and I snatch it from the grass.
"Amelia?"
"Omigod, Jamie." Amelia's voice is thick. "Are you all safe?"
"Yes. No. Most. Not Tobias," I stammer out. "You?"
"Fine, but Jamie..." Her voice trails off. "So many people died. Sofia…"
My mouth parches. "And the academy?"
"There's damage, but not as much as Maeve's vision. The fire stayed local to Petrescu, although the movement from the ground cracked some of the academy walls. Everybody who escaped the shifter attack and went into the academy survived." She’s garbled but I keep up.
"And Theodora?" I ask flatly. "The tunnels?"
"Collapsed. Garrett found Theodora's body near the entrance, but the area is destroyed." She continues to speak quickly. "So much to say. Where are you? We're coming for you."
"The Winterfall estate. How far are you?"
"Good. Okay. Three hours maybe. We'll be there by nightfall." She pauses. "Is Maeve alright?"
"Physically."
“You said ‘not Tobias’.” Amelia's voice drops lower. "Tobias died, didn't he?"
I can't speak.
I don't know what to say.
I protected Maeve's life, but dragged her to the future she didn’t want.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
ASH
Nobody speaks for the whole three-hour journey, and the exhaustion and grief blankets us all. Matt drives with Amelia sitting beside him while I rest in the back with Maeve, and Alaric takes Andrei and Jamie in another car.
The house we arrive at is unfamiliar and Jamie remarks it's different to the last. How big is Alaric’s network of places and people? Matt told me they’re worldwide—as big as Confederacy and Dominion?
Who are these people?
Each of us carries our own shock at events as we try to process them. Vince almost achieved what he wanted from me, but I controlled the shift enough to keep a part of myself. The dragon wasn’t as affected by events around and my focus stayed on destroying what harmed innocents, but when I close my eyes, I can still see the carnage.
I killed.
Twice.
The worst part? I don’t care.
Vince deserved the death he was denied and the thing I killed wasn’t him.
Anastasia would be a threat to Maeve until she died, and I had my opportunity to seal her fate.
Ash’s control over the dragon stopped me launching myself at Gabriella. I may’ve already ripped into two creatures’ hearts, but I’d need more than claws to end her life. Instead, Gabriella would’ve ended mine.
Regardless, she died in that cavern.
Along with Tobias.
I can’t process this yet; I’m too focused on Maeve.
There's a part of her missing despite her strength and determination to get through this. Her eyes hold a distant sadness and she's jumpy, as if something haunting her keeps approaching.
We don't say his name in front of Maeve.
I haven't found a chance to sit and talk with her today; of course Andrei's injuries would take over her attention. His precarious balance between life and death distracted her away from Tobias last night, but that won’t last now Andrei is recovering.
And I don’t even want to think about the blood ‘thing’ between them. Yeah, I expected this eventually and I trust Andrei—mostly—bu
t Maeve is vulnerable.
I'm physically unscathed, relieved the scales that helped me have faded as time passes. But I'm growing closer to the day the time bomb inside unleashes—what control will I have then?
Maeve explained to us what lives beneath the academy and her connection—the gateway and the magic seals; Theodora’s threat to her life in order to save her academy. I whispered my biggest fear to Jamie earlier and he nodded in agreement: is this ‘First’ still down there? Did anybody else know Theodora's plans for Maeve and the tunnel?
If anybody else holds the secret about the First, they’ll know that secret doesn't exist anymore. Somebody will look for us.
Alaric’s appearance always confuses me. He’s tall and broad for a witch and has a strong 'don't mess with me aura'. He’s gruff and practically drags us into the house once we all arrive. The glass conservatory he ushers us into could be from a show home with the wicker furniture and roman blinds, open with a view across the back garden stretching into the night.
The large house is in the middle of an expensive estate where prestige cars park on driveways and the detached houses are surrounded by more space than most. Kids from these estates with their wealthy backgrounds would visit our pub. They always spent more than the less-affluent kids, so Dad tolerated their raucous behaviour.
The other thing I know about estates like this is that the neighbours watch each other. The house may be tucked in a corner backing onto fields, but Alaric and his group are strange residents. I look away, not wanting to remember what I last saw in the dark. Maeve sits between Jamie and Andrei and I stand with my hands on her shoulders, trying to soothe away the tension.
"Don’t worry, I own the house and once lived here, Ash," says Alaric. Bloody mind reading witches. "The neighbours know me and my strange 'goings-on'. They don't care as we keep ourselves private and don’t cause trouble."
"Right." I nod but I'm still uncomfortable at his invasion.
