“What do you want?”
“Pleasant as always, Foster. Headmaster Daizlei and his guests would like to have a word with you. Privately.” He motioned to the mess of a girl in my arms. I turned to where Blair had been moments before I’d cut off the world. Lucas stood next to her, his hard gaze unflinching as he stared down the messenger, even with his sister curled up in his arms. Blair was wearing her bored, prep-school expression, but she cocked her eyebrow at me, a silent question.
“Take her back to her room and sit with her until I’m done, please. I’d rather she not be left alone.” I stood, pulling Lily up with me.
Both she and Blair glared at Alec as my cousin led her back to Building Two. Professor Vonlowsky tapped his watch impatiently.
“Lucas, please just take Tori back to my room, and I’ll come find you when this is over.” I wanted to push him. To tell him to go, because I didn’t even know why he was here in the first place. His sister was going through the transition. She was his priority. I could take care of me and mine.
His eyes flashed, and I remembered his little discovery about reading my mind.
“That’s what you get for listening uninvited. Not always so pleasant, is it?”
He turned and walked away before I could continue mentally berating him.
“What are you waiting for? We both know that this is a summons and not a request. May as well get it over with.” I motioned for Vonlowsky and Alec to lead the way.
“You may want to drop the attitude, Foster. Council Member Fortescue is even less forgiving than I.” He smirked, holding open the door to the clock tower where Headmaster Daizlei’s office was.
“Fortescue?” I asked, turning to Alec. “Your mistress is here, and you neglected to mention this because…?”
“Because what she chooses to do or where she goes is none of your business.” The harshness in his features returned. With the way he held himself, the tightness in his jaw, I couldn’t help but wonder how fond he really was of her. Maybe a little too fond.
Vonlowsky gave the giant oak three sharp knocks, and the doors swung open. Someone was expecting us.
“Selena, darling, it’s been far too long.”
Chapter 68
“Anastasia.”
“How dare you—”
“It’s fine, Hunter. Selena is here as my guest, after all.” She silenced Alec with a glare and motioned to the chair in front of her.
I glanced at Headmaster Daizlei, sitting behind his long oak desk— the desk Anastasia was currently leaning against. Her guards were stationed throughout the room, melding into the shadows, neither seen nor heard. Daizlei’s face was stoic, an unreadable mask. This couldn’t be good.
“Guest?” I repeated, plopping into the chair with exaggerated ease.
Her eyebrow rose, but there was no amusement in her eyes. “Guest.”
“To what do I owe this pleasure, Council Member Fortescue?” I worked to keep my tone light, friendly.
She smirked at the change in title, but I played the humble commoner well. I couldn’t afford to show worry. Anxiety clawed up my throat with every passing moment that she stared at me with those unwavering, cold blue eyes. Being summoned so soon for a visit after her grandfather’s death and my interrogation wasn’t a good sign. Something was wrong. It was the only reason she would travel halfway around the world in person. She either wanted something, or this was my execution.
“I’m sure you’ve heard what’s transpired over the last twelve hours.”
“My condolences for your grandfather. He’ll be dearly missed.” They were pretty words. Respectful words. The very words people had offered me when my parents died. If I’d had time to pretend, I would’ve looked for different ones, because, judging by the clenching of her fists and shuddering breath, she felt the same way about them I had. They weren’t enough, and they never would be.
“He will be,” she murmured, taking a breath to steady herself. “But that’s not why I’m here.” She pushed off the desk, and walked away. Her steps were measured as she approached the massive stained-glass clock that towered over campus. I glanced at Daizlei now that her back was to us, but he remained a statue as ageless as time.
“The Council is calling for war. The Vampires have been testing the boundary for the last half a century, and some members view my grandfather’s death as the final straw.” Her voice carried.
“I was under the impression that the table was divided. Which leaves you.”
Her back straightened, and the clock chimed. “Publically, I’ll support the war because my grandfather just died, and that’s what’s expected.”
I crossed my ankles and rested my hands in a steeple. “And outside the public eye?”
She turned to meet my eyes. “I’ll be putting together a group of exceptionally gifted Supernaturals to end this war before it even starts. A group you’ll be leading.”
I stared at her, mouth hanging open, unable to form a coherent response. “You— I— What?” I spluttered, dropping the nonchalant façade.
“I don’t want to go to war, Selena. Millions will die, and there’s a high risk of exposure. The Council is proposing a draft, and taking those soldiers to Viliky Novgorod before winter hits. They want to strike now…however, they understand my concerns. Therefore, they’re willing to postpone any declaration of war if they start seeing results. Results I think you can deliver.”
I weighed my response. Results. Such a diplomatic way of saying murder, like assassination was just marking off a to-do list. “Let me get this straight. The Council wants to attack the Vampire capital of the world, and you want to stop it?”
“Correct.” Her response was stiff, but her actions seemed sincere.
“And you want me to lead some band of misfit servants to god knows where and hunt down those things? Don’t you have anyone better suited for this?” I wanted to ask why the hell she wanted me, but I knew why. I’m a telekinetic. Which put a price on my head, but also made me valuable, because I would be able to do things they couldn’t dream of, if my powers continued to grow.
“Not quite. I want you to lead a team of soldiers I’ve personally chosen to accompany you to hunt down Vampires. And they are not my servants. They volunteered.” She tapped her heel impatiently, oblivious to the flaws in this grand plan of hers.
“I have several issues with that statement. First and foremost, I don’t know where you got this idea that I’m the girl for your mission. Second, even if I was—which I’m not—I pick my team, not you.” I stood, turning to walk out the door.
“I think you’ll want to reconsider.”
I paused, glancing over my shoulder. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Her blue eyes pierced me as the overwhelming presence of her mind pushed down on mine in a battle of wills. “Victoria Hunter’s memory of your attack was tampered with, which is, by law, a crime I could have you put on trial for. Instead, I want to make you an offer.” Her shark grin widened. “You fight for me for the duration of the war, and in the end, you go free, and can use my team to hunt down whoever sent the Vampires after you.”
Silence ticked by like the hand of a clock that never stopped.
“How do you know what happened if Victoria’s memories were altered? How do you know I even had anything to do with it?” I asked, trying to carefully dance around accepting the blame even though I wasn’t the one to blame for this. If anything, Lucas was the idiot who hadn’t covered his tracks well enough, and now the Head of the Council had enough dirt on me to get me killed if I didn’t do what she asked.
“Because when her memory was re-evaluated, we found these interesting inconsistencies between what she thought had transpired, and the little message you sent.” She paused, giving me a moment to weigh my options. Or maybe just taking the time to enjoy her victory. If she really was able to break through whatever Lucas had done…I was in deep shit. Like, mounds of it.
“Why do you want me in the first place? Why
not just dole out your punishment and be done with it?” I asked, knowing full well she didn’t need the Council to take action against me. She was drawing this out, playing with me, and for what? A flippin war I wanted nothing to do with.
“Because you don’t have a problem killing, and that makes you useful. I’m making you an offer for freedom and a chance at vengeance. Don’t be stupid, Selena. Take it, before I change my mind and kill you instead.” Her abrupt switch wasn’t surprising, but at least she wasn’t pretending to be anything more than the monster she was beneath that face.
She was playing a dangerous game threatening me, but I wasn’t a fool. Anastasia Fortescue had nothing to lose but the respect of her people. Whereas I…I had everything now. I had a sister I needed to live for, and a promise to keep. I had friends…well, kind of. I didn’t know where Lucas and I stood. Given his role in putting me in the middle of this shitstorm, I wasn’t exactly his biggest fan at the moment. Then there was the whole matter of promising Tori that I would get revenge—for her, for Lily, and myself.
Anastasia’s deal was the best shot I was going to get, even if being her assassin stripped whatever remaining morals I had left. Something still didn’t sit right, though, and the inexplicable sense of wrongness hit me strongly enough that I knew I needed to bargain for one more thing—because I was selfish, and that was what selfish people did. “Okay, but I want something.”
“I’m listening,” she said.
I stared at the glass clock behind her, wondering how hard it would be to shatter it and kill them all. Wondering how my life had become a bargaining chip. How I’d ended up here. That one was a little easier, though.
Lucas.
I was here because of him, and how he’d fixed things. I’d been right not to get tangled up in his so-called love. It had made him a damned fool, and now I was paying the price.
“I want to choose my team. At least part of it. Supernaturals working for the Council tend to lead inexplicably short lives, and I want people I trust guarding my back.” I paused, waiting for her answer. I really had no room to be arguing here. No leverage. All I had was the gut instinct that she’d give me what I wanted, because she didn’t want me dead—at least not yet.
“Why would I do that? They’re children, only just coming into their own powers, and while a good number of them will end up on the front lines anyway if the draft is called in, they aren’t strong enough for this. I will only have the best representing the Council.”
I didn’t know what to say, because she wasn’t wrong. But…for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to go it alone. Not completely. Lily wasn’t coming anywhere near this—she would be safer here—but the others…I wanted them. I would need them when the time came, to remember what living felt like. To drag me out of the darkness kicking and screaming. I needed them, because now that I knew what it was like to live, I didn’t want to die inside again—but I wasn’t strong enough to save myself.
I couldn’t say that, though, because that was weak. So, I would approach it from a different angle, one powerful people could understand.
“I’m no older than them, and yet you don’t seem to mind asking for my freedom. If you truly want a team that’s strong and can end a war, you’ll give them the choice, because I can guarantee that they’re stronger than any band of reject royals you’ll give me.”
It wasn’t a lie, but it also definitely wasn’t the truth. I had no idea if they’d be stronger—all I knew was that the people she was bound to give me probably wouldn’t care one way or another what we killed or if I died. My friends would, though. They would be my humanity and give me a reason to fight when the killing gene overwhelmed me.
“Stronger? You’ve killed demons, survived a Vampire attack, and I’ve seen you massacre a number of young men for underestimating you. You have no mercy. You told me that yourself. It’s the only reason you’re here.” She paused, stepping forward to meet me eye-to-eye. “And you’re telling me they can do the same? That they are stronger than even heirs to the Council?” Her smile was cool, and vicious.
I should’ve thrown myself on the pyre and just accepted her offer at face value. I shouldn’t have tried to think long game, because I was pretty sure she was going to give me what I asked for. But not without a price.
Swallowing the bile in my throat, I couldn’t stop myself from sealing their fate when I said, “Yes.”
She missed nothing. The clock chimed behind her, like a warning bell I should’ve heeded.
“You have a month to train with the nine soldiers I’ve chosen. I’ll allow you to choose six of your own, who will also train. You have twenty-four hours to get me their names and await further instructions.”
What I’d just done made me want to vomit, because it was far too easy. And if I knew anything about the Fortescues, it was that nothing came easy where they were involved. Her response had been too quick. Too planned. I didn’t like it.
“This is an honor, and you will treat it as such. Some people give their firstborn child for the chance to serve my family, and you get the privilege of serving as penance for your crimes.” Her words were mocking, condescending. After the last couple of days I’d had, though, I couldn’t give two shits what she thought of me. Only how this little game we were playing turned out.
“Is that all?” I asked, feeling both tired and out of control. Her patience was running thin, and I knew I shouldn’t push my luck any more than I already had, but the urge to remind her who she was talking to was very tempting.
“For now,” she said dismissively. “Do we have a deal?”
Deal. For some reason, the word felt off—maybe because what she was doing wasn’t a deal. It was blackmail.
She held out her hand, pale white and identical in every way to my own.
At least she isn’t pretending I’m a guest anymore, I thought bitterly.
I forced myself to place my palm in hers. If I played my cards right, no one would set foot in the Vampire capital, and I would get to keep every promise I’d made.
Her ice-cold fingers wrapped around mine as she whispered her final command.
I nodded once.
What have I done?
Chapter 69
The second the office doors closed behind me, I bolted for Building Two. Mind racing, I couldn’t even begin to process everything that had just occurred. What I’d just done. My sisters were going to be pissed. Lucas was going to be furious.
I’d just signed my life away, and, thanks to Anastasia’s last demand, I couldn’t even tell them why. She would come down like a hammer on us all if I told them the truth, because, unlike me, they wouldn’t keep silent, and she knew that. That bitch knew that what she was doing wasn’t right, and she wouldn’t risk the Council’s reputation on one of them running their mouths that the Head of the Council had had to blackmail me into this.
The reality of it hit me as I stood in front of my door, lost in myself, not knowing what to say to the people I would find on the other side. The door swung open, and his shadow loomed over me as Lucas stared down. I couldn’t find the words to tell him that there would be no school for me, no boxing. That my old life was gone.
His eyes went wide as he reached for me, but now wasn’t the time for comfort. I sidestepped him and ducked under his arm. My gaze fell on the redhead standing before me, tall and regal, boasting a slight tan from the summer sun.
“Alexandra?” After everything I’d seen in the last two days, I couldn’t trust my eyes. “How did you get—?”
“You’re not the only resourceful one here.” She wrapped her arms around me.
Over her shoulder, I saw what she meant by resourceful. Standing only a few feet from us was her boyfriend Aaron White, the pain-in-my-ass boxer who burned with too much intensity for comfort. If I’d thought she was tanned, he was brown. His eyes settled on me with the same tension as always, black as coal and darker than I’d ever seen them. A shiver ran through me.
“What is he d
oing here?” I didn’t even bother to take the edge out of my voice, and Alexandra tensed.
“He’s with me,” she said, as if that were a real answer.
I released her and stepped back, suddenly aware of how many people were in this room. Lily sat in the far corner on my bed, with her arms wrapped around her legs, watching Tori as she slept under the pile of blankets thrown on top of her. The chills must’ve returned, but she was looking better. The transition must be coming to an end.
Blair leaned against my window with her hip angled in such a way that silver gleamed. She wore the knife on display; little did they know she actually knew how to use it now. Blair looked at me, arms across her chest and head held high. Her eyebrow arched as she motioned to my sister’s boyfriend.
“What the hell is going on?” Alexandra asked. Always the charmer.
“He needs to leave. We have a lot to discuss.” I moved to Tori’s side and swept the hair from her forehead. She was cold as ice, and didn’t even shift under my touch. I sighed.
The room tensed as Aaron took a step toward us. In less than a second, the metal at Blair’s hip was released and in her hand. Heat flared as Alexandra ignited her hands, stepping up to the plate. I turned and glared in both their directions.
“Out,” I said to him. His eyes were so dark, almost like demons’. That didn’t help his chances.
“No! He goes where I go,” Alexandra declared. She kept her eyes on Blair, but her words were for me and me alone.
I looked at her, the way she held herself. The way she was standing in front of him, protecting him. I cocked my head, and narrowed my eyes. “We have things to discuss, Alexandra. I’m not going to ask twice. He leaves now.” I growled the last words.
“No,” she said defiantly.
Silence fell between us, but for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why the sight of her with him infuriated me. He can’t be trusted, I reminded myself.
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