I didn’t want to believe he’d kept something so huge from me. But after learning all of this, it was the only thing that made sense.
“I never met Annika when she was pretending to be Princess Ana,” he explained, and I breathed slightly easier at the confirmation that my instincts about him weren’t totally off. “In the Vale, the wolves lived outside of the vampire city. We didn’t see anything that happened in there. I first saw Annika during the war at the Vale. By then, she was back in her true form. Trust me—if I’d known Princess Ana looked like you, I wouldn’t have kept it from you. I swear it.”
“Thank God.” I held his gaze, my voice strong. “I was beginning to worry I was wrong in trusting you.”
“You can trust me,” he promised. “I’m on your side, Raven. Always.”
There were so many unspoken words between us—so many intense emotions. His hand still held mine, and at that point, his touch was the only thing keeping me grounded as the world as I knew it crumbled around me.
A part of me wanted to kiss him again and make this entire mess go away—if only for a little while. And despite everything he’d said earlier about not wanting to see where this went between us, I could tell from the way he was looking at me that he wanted to kiss me, too. I could literally feel his desire through the imprint bond and hear our hearts beating in time together.
I leaned closer, and he did the same. It was like we were drawn together, and when his lips finally brushed mine, my heart leaped. I wanted to climb into his lap and melt right into him. Everything about him called to me—his taste, his scent, his touch. With my temporarily heightened vampire senses, it was more tempting than ever to let go and lose myself in the moment—and to him—completely.
But I pulled away, not allowing the kiss to progress any further.
In the span of a single second, he looked hurt, confused, and finally, resolved. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Don’t apologize.” The last thing I needed was another reminder about his decision not to be with me. “We’re just so close to figuring out the connection between Princess Ana and my missing memories,” I said in a rush. “And as much as I want to just kiss you and make this all go away, it doesn’t work like that.”
He smiled mischievously and traced his thumb along my palm, sending warm tingles shooting through my body. “Are you so sure about that?” he teased.
“Yes.” I couldn’t help myself—I laughed. This playful side of Noah was one I rarely saw, and I wanted to keep this version of him with me always.
Was this what he’d be like if he wasn’t constantly carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders?
“All right, then.” He pushed a few strands of hair off his forehead that must have fallen there when we’d kissed. “But after distracting me like that, you’re going to have to remind me where we left off.”
“Annika taking transformation potion to disguise herself while she was pretending to be Princess Ana.” The seriousness of that implication suddenly set in—thanks to the lessons Noah and Sage had given me during our drives—and I immediately snapped back into focus. “Since Princess Ana looked like me, the transformation potion Annika was drinking was brewed with my blood. But transformation potions have to be used within twenty-four hours of being brewed, or they won’t work…”
“And Annika was in the palace, disguised as Princess Ana, for over a week.” The playfulness that had been in Noah’s eyes a few seconds earlier was instantly replaced by horror. “Geneva would have needed daily access to your blood to keep up Annika’s charade.”
That name—Geneva—sounded so familiar. She was like a fuzzy image that refused to come into focus. But as hard as I tried to remember what she looked like, it was like trying to recall a forgotten dream.
A dream. That’s how I knew her. I’d seen her in a cell, and my hands were wrapped around the bars…
“She locked me up somewhere,” I realized. “Some kind of jail.”
“How do you know that?” His grip on my hand tightened, his eyes wide with hope. “Do you remember?”
“Not really.” I lowered my eyes, knowing it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. “I think I might be having dreams about what happened when my memories were erased. But when I wake up, I can barely remember them. All that’s left is a flash—a feeling. But the name Geneva is familiar. And in the dreams, I’m pretty sure I was trapped somewhere. I was holding onto bars that looked like they were part of a jail cell. But that’s all I can remember.” I shrugged, wishing I could give him more.
“As much as I hate it, it makes sense.” Noah’s eyes blazed at my mention of being kept in a cell. “Geneva needed your blood each day to brew Annika’s transformation potion, so she would have had to keep you somewhere. Probably the same place she was keeping the royal vampire whose blood she was giving to Annika. In separate cells, obviously. To make sure you stayed alive.”
Even though it hadn’t happened, I shivered at the thought of a vampire draining me dry. “Why do you think she was keeping that vampire prisoner?” I asked.
“How else would she have gotten his or her blood?” he asked in return.
“Thomas thinks the vampire royal who was giving Annika blood was in on the plan,” I said. “Not just in on it—he thinks that vampire devised the plan to spy on the Vale.”
“Thomas is wrong,” Noah said. “The plan was Annika’s. Geneva was working for her.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, although I could tell by the confident way he’d said it that he was.
“Yes.”
“Good.” I ran my fingers through my hair, amazed by how perfectly this was falling into place. “Because if Geneva was creating transformation potion with my blood, I’d bet she was the witch who gave me the memory potion, too. Which means she can create an antidote, and I can get my memories back.”
“No,” he said. “She can’t.”
“Why not?” I frowned.
“Because Geneva’s dead.”
Raven
“What?” Everything was coming together so nicely, and then he had to drop that bomb on me.
“After the Hell Gate was opened, Geneva sacrificed herself to close it,” he continued. “Of course, that didn’t put all the escaped demons back inside, but it stopped more of them from getting out. If she hadn’t sacrificed herself, the demons would have had the numbers to take over the Earth immediately. We wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
I took a few moments to let his words sink in. “Well, then I’m grateful for her sacrifice,” I said slowly, meaning it. Because of her, everyone on Earth had a fighting chance. That was worth more than anything. “But with Geneva dead, I’ll never be able to get my memories back. Right?”
“We don’t know for sure that she’s the one who erased your memories,” he said. “But she was the strongest witch in the world. If anyone could have created a potion capable of erasing weeks worth of memories, it would have been her.”
I bit my lip and nodded. If we were right—which it seemed like we were—it made sense that Geneva had created the memory potion. And the only witch who could create the antidote was the witch who had created the potion.
Which meant I’d never get my memories back.
“What are you thinking?” Noah asked. Our hands were still clasped together, and neither of us was making any move to pull away.
“I’m thinking that I should be okay with the fact that I might never get my memories back,” I said. “I mean, it seems like Geneva locked me in a jail cell. And while I don’t remember what happened there, in my dreams I’m always terrified. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t remember.”
“Maybe.” Noah didn’t look convinced.
“But I’m not okay with not remembering,” I continued, allowing the anger I felt to seep into my tone. “I don’t think I ever will be. Those weeks were just erased. Whatever happened to me—no matter how awful it was—I want to know. And I hate that it might always be
blank.”
“I understand,” Noah said, and from the way he was looking at me, I could tell he did. He could probably feel what I was feeling through the imprint bond. “When we get to Avalon, maybe Annika will be able to help fill in the blanks for you.”
I shifted uncomfortably, knowing he wasn’t going to like what I had to say next. But I needed to ask. “Are you sure Annika’s trustworthy?” I asked.
“She’s the Earth Angel.” He looked at me like I’d gone nuts. “She was shown the way to Avalon by the angels in Heaven themselves. She’s raising an army of Nephilim to defeat the demons—to stop them from killing all supernaturals and taking the Earth for themselves. The fate of both supernatural and humankind is on her. She’s the one person in this world we can trust more than anyone.”
“But she had Geneva imprison me for my blood, and she walked around looking like me for days.” I shuddered, not liking the thought of someone using my body as a disguise. It wasn’t actually me—it was just an illusion that made her look like me—but it was still weird. “If she’s as good and trustworthy as you say, why would she do that to me?”
“I don’t know,” Noah admitted. “It doesn’t match up with what I know about her. But she has to have a reason. I’m not going to pretend I know what that reason is, because I don’t. But once we get to Avalon, you’ll be able to ask her yourself.”
“I know,” I said, since as much as I hated it, he was right. With Geneva dead, Annika was the best person to help me fill in the blanks from where my memories had been erased.
But that didn’t mean I’d ever be okay with what she did.
“Plus, Rosella told you that you have to go to Avalon to save your mom,” Noah added. “So you better not be backing out of it now.”
“Oh, I’m still going to Avalon,” I said. “I didn’t come this far—and risk my life multiple times—for nothing.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Just wanted to make sure.”
Electricity buzzed between us, and I desperately wanted to kiss him again. But before I could, the door to the media room swung open.
Noah was instantly at his feet in front of me with his slicer in hand, ready to fight to protect me.
But he didn’t need to. Because Thomas marched inside, holding a vial of light blue potion in his hand—truth potion. Sage followed behind him.
I stood as well, not wanting to be the only one sitting down.
“I just had an interesting conversation with Sage about your history as the First Prophet of the Vale.” Thomas glanced at Noah’s slicer like it was an annoyance that didn’t belong in the room. “Put your weapon away. There’s no need for such hostility between us—not after I just saved your girlfriend’s life.”
Noah put the slicer back in his weapons belt, although he remained on guard.
“I take it you’ve had time to fill Raven in on everything you kept from her?” Thomas asked. “Because she was mighty clueless when I spoke with her earlier.”
“Yes.” Noah glared at Thomas as he spoke. “She knows everything now.”
“Good,” Thomas said. “Because I have important information to give you, as I want to work with you and not against you. But first, you’re going to have to prove you’re trustworthy.” He held up the potion, making it clear what he meant. “Can you do that?”
“I already went through all this with Flint.” Noah sounded annoyed more than anything. “Sage was there. Ask her.”
“She told me.” Thomas didn’t look moved in the slightest. “But this truth potion is stronger than the one Flint gave you. It was brewed by one of the witches of the Haven. Taking it shouldn’t be a problem… unless there’s something you’re trying to hide?”
I looked over at Noah and nodded. As long as he was being honest with us all—which I believed he was—there was no reason for him not to drink the potion.
“I’m not hiding anything.” Noah held his hand out, and Thomas passed the truth potion over to him.
“Fantastic.” Thomas eyed Noah up, as if he expected Noah to try breaking out of the room at any second. “Well, then. Cheers.”
“Cheers.” Noah opened the cap, held the vial up in a toast, and then downed the light blue liquid all in one gulp.
Sage
The four of us situated ourselves on the couch—Noah and Raven sat close together, and I made sure to put as much distance between Thomas and myself as I could.
Just like I knew he would, Noah told Thomas the same story of his past as the First Prophet of the Vale that he’d told me. I understood why Thomas was being cautious by making Noah tell his story under truth potion again, and I was also relieved to learn that my trust in Noah hadn’t been misplaced.
“Anything else you want to know?” Noah asked Thomas once he finished.
“No,” Thomas said, a satisfied smile on his face. “I think we’re good here.”
“Great.” I wished more than anything that I could reduce the tension between the two guys. So I turned to Thomas and asked, “What’s this important information you have for us?”
I hoped it was information about whoever had sent the coyotes after us on our way to New Orleans. They hadn’t tried attacking again, but I knew better than to think that meant we were safe.
“It’s about your brother.” Thomas faced me, watching me with what looked like pity. “You’re not going to like it.”
“What sort of trouble has Flint gotten himself into this time?” I sighed and rolled my eyes. I hadn’t expected this to be about Flint, but I wasn’t surprised. Flint was the alpha of one of the most powerful shifter packs in the country. You didn’t get to his level by being the nice guy all the time.
You got there by making people respect and fear you. And Flint could be a pretty scary guy.
He’d also do anything to protect our pack. So I trusted that no matter what Thomas was about to say, Flint would have his reasons for doing it.
But something about the way Thomas was looking at me made me brace myself for the worst.
“Before the three of you showed up at my doorstep, Flint called me,” Thomas started. “He told me you’d be arriving soon.”
“He couldn’t have.” I scrunched my eyebrows together, confused. “I never told him we were coming here. He hasn’t known where we’ve been since New Orleans.”
“Nonetheless, he knew you were coming,” he continued. “He told me you were with the First Prophet, and that the First Prophet had brainwashed you.”
“I don’t understand.” I looked back and forth between Noah and Thomas, feeling like I was in a daze. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Not according to Flint,” Thomas said, and he proceeded to tell us about the entire phone conversation he’d had with my brother.
Flint had asked Thomas to bring me back to LA. He’d said he was working on an alliance and that he needed me there to cement it.
Flint had said Noah had lied about his quest to kill the demons. That he’d stolen the assignment from someone else.
“That’s why you wanted Noah to take truth potion and confirm his story,” I realized. “You were checking to see if Flint was lying or not.”
“Precisely,” Thomas said. “Especially since Flint asked me to kill Noah and Raven.”
I sat forward, instantly on guard. “What?” I widened my eyes, not willing to believe it.
“Obviously, I have no intention of harming either of them.” Thomas motioned in Noah and Raven’s direction, as if proving they were unharmed. “Although if Noah’s story hadn’t checked out, the situation would have been different, of course. So it’s a good thing wolf boy here was telling the truth.”
“Flint wouldn’t…” I trailed off, shaking my head in disbelief.
“He would,” Thomas said. “And he did. As you know, I record all of my conversations. You’re free to listen if you need proof.”
“Please.” I wouldn’t believe it—at least not until I heard it myself. Even then, Thomas could always fake it. But I knew my
brother.
If it was really my brother speaking on that phone call, I’d know.
“I figured as much.” Thomas removed the latest iPhone from his pocket, and the conversation between him and Flint started to play.
I sat there in horror as I listened. It went exactly how Thomas had claimed.
Once it ended, the four of us sat there in silence.
“Flint knew about the coyotes.” Raven, surprisingly enough, was the one to break the silence. “Was he the one who sent them after us?”
“It would explain why the coyotes wanted to take Sage somewhere with them,” Noah said. “And why they wanted us dead. If they’d gotten away with it, they were probably going to bring Sage back to LA. Just like Flint asked Thomas to do.”
My head buzzed, all of the information spinning so much that it felt like my brain was about to implode. I heard the others talking around me, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying.
Why would my brother do this? What kind of alliance was he making? Why hadn’t he just told me about it?
If he’d talked to me, I would have listened. I probably would have gone back to LA on my own. I wouldn’t have liked abandoning Noah on his hunt—and I would have returned to helping him once the alliance was solidified—but pack came first. Always.
From the easy way they accepted this, Thomas, Noah, and Raven apparently had no problems villainizing my brother. But I couldn’t just sit here and listen to this. I needed to call Flint and set things right with him myself.
I took my phone out of my bag, pressed the button to call him, and held the phone to my ear.
It didn’t ring. Instead, it beeped three times and the call ended automatically.
I took a look at the screen—no service.
“Not getting through?” Thomas smirked and eyed up my phone.
“You’re blocking my service,” I realized. “Lift it and let me call him. I have a right to talk to my brother.”
The Angel Trap (Dark World: The Angel Trials Book 3) Page 9
