by Rachel Jonas
A smile broke free despite still needing answers.
“But we kept communicating with them, kept seeing how hard they were searching for you and Levi, kept seeing it was all legit, and, I don’t know, we took a chance on them,” she concluded with a shrug.
“And that was it?” I asked, knowing how hardhearted we, as a team, had a tendency to be. For survival’s sake.
“Of course not,” she laughed. “We gave them a hard time for a while just like you did, but Felix and I know a good heart when we see one, too. So, after a bit of a vetting process, we eventually decided they were on the up and up.” She hesitated to say more, but finally caved. “They’ve been a big help. After you were taken, things got kinda bad.”
She never would’ve intentionally made me feel guilty, but I did. Hearing that they suffered was no surprise, but I could only imagine the hardship they faced.
“I’m sorry. I should have been there. I should have done something sooner, and—”
“Cori, stop.”
I stared at her face, a face I missed so much it nearly broke me.
“None of this was on you,” she insisted. “We all know the nature of the work we do, of the life we live. You’re a fighter, so if you couldn’t have gotten out of this, no one else would have stood a chance either.”
Lowering my head, I didn’t speak.
“None of us look at you any differently than we did the day you left. In fact, I think you are more of a hero now than before. And not just with us, within the entire network.”
Confusion prompted me to peer up at her.
Liv met my gaze with a smile. “You’ve made the ultimate sacrifice, Cori. Being turned has always been all of our biggest fear. And to know that you’ve willingly allowed yourself to be put in this position, endured it because of your loyalty to the cause … it’s fueled the mission like you’d never believe.” She took my hand in hers, and despite my best effort, more tears fell. “We don’t care where you are, or what you are, you’ll always be Blackbird.”
There was no way she could have known this, but those words were everything I needed to hear. All this time, I believed that my involvement with the princes would ruin my life’s work—my family’s life work—but now, to hear that those I stood by were choosing to stand by me was such a beautiful discovery.
Liv’s gaze followed mine when I glanced toward the dining room.
“I don’t know how, Cori, but … it’s all real. Their love, their dedication to you, it’s all real.” She turned to face me again. “I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.”
Another tear fell and I pushed it aside, clearing my throat. “Yeah, but I have to keep my priorities straight. I can’t get comfortable here. I have too much work to do.”
Her palms moved to my face, gripping it so I’d look her in her eyes.
“Don’t you realize what’s happening?”
Unsure what she meant, I stared.
“Corina Elizabeth Prescott, somehow all the weird, unlikely pieces of this puzzle are all fitting together,” she shared with another quiet laugh. “No one’s making you choose. I know you didn’t expect to fall for them, but you have. I’ve seen it in them, and I see it in you right this second. Hell, even your tears are a testament of how torn you feel.”
When she called me on it, the dam seemed to break, allowing more water to flow from my eyes.
Stupid emotions gave me away.
She was still smiling while I practically sobbed—something new for me. I think I was always so tense, kept my feelings so tightly packed away, crying was an incredibly rare event.
“They’re more on our side than you realize,” Liv informed me. “Things aren’t so black and white. We were all wrong to think that.”
There was so much sincerity in her gaze that I trusted every word she spoke, believed them with blind faith.
“So, what are you saying? What happens next?”
The matter-of-fact shrug she gave, and confident look she stared me down with, made me smile again. “What happens next is we accept the fact that the world we live in is super weird and super complicated, and then we go sit down at the table with our vampire friends like they didn’t drink someone we knew for breakfast.”
She laughed and so did I.
“But no, seriously, all jokes aside, we just move forward, Cori. We don’t have to hide to communicate anymore, and Julian’s given us the okay to reach out whenever we want to meet up with you. In the meantime, continue to play your part. You’ve committed to partaking in this blood bond, so that’s what you have to do. Your life, and theirs, depends on it. Not to mention the fact that, once all is said and done, you’ll be kind of awesome,” she added, referring to the idea that I’d inherit the princes’ abilities. “What matters is that you’re safe here with them, and now we have you back, too,” she added. “As crazy as it is to consider, while it may have taken us a while to realize it … maybe this has all been for the best.”
Those were words I never expected to hear from anyone on my team, words I never expected to agree with, but I was beginning to wonder if she was right.
“I need you to promise me something,” I blurted when it came to mind.
“Anything,” she answered without hesitation.
“When we find a way to weaponize the sickness, promise me you won’t hesitate. Even knowing it could affect them … could affect me,” I added, knowing that would be the hardest part for her to accept. “I need your word that our mission—and those who have died for it—won’t be in vain.”
Her expression turned solemn.
“I’ll promise because I told you I would, but you should know that’s not quite our objective anymore.”
My brow tensed. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, we’ve already taken into consideration that this will affect you too, now. So, the entire network has agreed to go a different route.”
“Liv, there is no other route.” Panic rose in my gut, and I feared the danger they’d put themselves in if they didn’t stick to the original plan.
“There is, actually, and Silas thinks it’s not too farfetched to work.”
“Exactly how much have you told them?” I tried to ask that calmly, but I knew I failed when her posture suggested she’d gone defensive.
“We told them enough that they’re now willing to help us.”
There was a brief standoff between us.
“What’s this new plan?” I finally asked.
“Well, instead of weaponizing the blood,” she sighed, “…we think we might be able to use it to alter the virus. Possibly even eradicate it.”
I scoffed at the idea of what she suggested. “You’re talking about a cure?”
She nodded.
“Liv, do you know the kind of resources that would take? The kind of support it would require to achieve such a thing? And then administer it to a population of beings who have no interest in losing their abilities, starting with the luxury of being immortal?”
This had bad idea written all over it.
“I didn’t say we had all the details worked out, but this is where we are, Cori,” she whispered in response, although I knew she wanted to shout at me. “I didn’t say it was a perfect plan, but it’s the plan. It’s already been decided across the board. In fact, there’s already a faction working on the first leg of the strategy as we speak. No one’s willing to see you get shafted in all of this, not with all you and your parents have done to get us this far. So, if we have to fail over and over, trying to save the life of the girl who’s risked hers again and again for us, then I guess that’s what we’ll do.”
She was so freakin’ stubborn.
And as pissed as I was at her for letting her emotions cause her to lead such a reckless charge … I couldn’t help but to love her for it.
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” I sighed.
She quirked a weary smile. “I learned from the best,” she assured me, giving my shoulder a light punch.
S
till not believing the strange turn of events today, I looked her over again. Of all the ways I saw this ordeal ending, being rewarded with having my team back was not one of them.
My thoughts shifted back to what she said, about not having to choose, and my heart was at peace in a way I never thought it could be. If Liv was right about all this, everything, I was in a rare position I’d never been in before.
I’d just been given my family’s blessing to be happy.
Chapter Twelve
Silas
Our dinner guests were now safe and sound at home—wherever home was. We had snuck them in through the tunnels while Corina bathed, and then proceeded to sneak them out in the same manner.
Per their request, we didn't pry for further information as to where they lay their heads at night. That was information only they, and Corina, were privy to for now. After all, it had been difficult enough to get certain ones from their group to grant our request to drive them period. Much less be made aware of their exact location. So, tonight, our journey together ended at the entrance to one of several bridges near the Capitols outskirts.
The dynamics of the brotherhood the other princes and I shared had changed so quickly, there hadn't been much time to digest it all. However, what was most important was that Levi and Corina were finally home safe. And for that, I was eternally grateful.
It wasn’t lost on me that their return had raised several questions, perhaps more than their absence had. Julian confirmed as much with a simple glance that passed my way through the rearview mirror when a name was mentioned during our drive home from Glenn’s.
Aaric.
The only detail we managed to grasp was that he’d been the mastermind behind Corina and Levi’s disappearance, and that neither had any idea as to why they’d been taken.
If this point was frustrating for me, it must have been at least ten times that for them. As my brothers and I sat here now, having a drink in Julian’s study, it seemed wise to confer without Corina being present. If I wasn’t mistaken, earlier, she seemed to want nothing to do with the conversation.
“We need to discuss what took place while you were away. We were given a name, and told that his motives were unclear, but I feel there’s more that hasn’t been said.”
Julian’s gaze rose to meet Levi’s when I inquired, watching as he aimlessly swirled what little Scotch remained in the bottom of his glass. There was a grave look I didn’t miss, one that only confirmed my thoughts.
There was more to the story.
“He bit her,” Levi breathed. “She was taken from me one night and they didn't return her for several hours. When they did, there was a mark on the side of her neck.” Peering up, he swallowed hard. “Only, within seconds the mark was gone.”
Tension spread across my brow, and I straightened in my seat. “He injected her with his venom? But why would—”
“I'm still a bit foggy on the details myself,” Levi admitted. “Starting with Corina's description of the guy. Something strange stood out to her about him. Something I'm still trying to make heads or tails of, honestly.”
“What aren't you saying?” The coarse words flew from Julian's mouth, but the sudden burst of anger was not meant for Levi. It was intended for this stranger whose motives were slowly beginning to unravel.
“His eyes,” Levi continued. “She said they were like ours. Silver.”
My lips parted, and a question rested on the tip of my tongue. However, instead of asking it, my thoughts snagged on this detail. If I was understanding Levi correctly, their captor—an Ianite who bore the rare trait of having silver eyes—had taken the time to inject Corina with his own venom.
“He initiated a bond.” I believe I understood long before I spoke the words aloud, but there were aspects of this situation I found impossible to grasp.
Levi responded with a hard glare, one that told we were of the same mind. One that told of our collective anger and a sudden air of uncertainty resting in the room.
“Is she all right?” I asked, knowing immediately after what a stupid question that was. Of course she wasn’t.
The effects of the bond were no secret. Not even to me, and I still had yet to partake. If this Aaric had performed the process properly, and then went on to successfully initiate the Claiming, that would mean Corina was linked to him in the same manner in which she was linked to Julian and Levi.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that must have been like for her.
Levi released an uneasy sigh. “Mostly, yes. At least she seems to be, anyway,” he revealed, “Although there are times when I'm not so sure. For instance, there was an episode during our stay at Glenn’s. She was certain Aaric had been there while we slept. Only, I found no evidence to prove it. She's also admitted to having vivid dreams involving him, but hasn't shared what she’s seen in them.”
Of all the things I could have imagined would take place during their time away, Corina being forced into a bond, and then Claimed by a stranger, was not one of them.
“And I didn’t say as much when the topic first arose,” Levi continued, “but we were held at Blackthorn.”
I knew all too well of the experiments conducted there. I was also aware of who’d been responsible for them. The things that had gone on there weren't often spoken of, but for someone’s soul to be dark enough that they’d choose that particular location to dwell in, it gave further insight into Aaric's character. Without having met him, I felt it safe to assume he was a twisted, sinister bastard, who’d been born without a heart.
“When do we go after him?” The question left Julian’s mouth with a wave of darkness that could be felt around the room. It was rare to see him angry, but once he reached that point, there wasn’t much anyone could do to calm him.
Only, in this instance, calming him was imperative. With the reputations the three of us had earned for ourselves recently, storming the sanatorium, guns blazing, was unwise. I needed to help him see that.
“Levi and Corina are home, and they’re safe,” I reminded him. “That's what matters most. Let's focus on Corina’s wellbeing, and then we can decide how to proceed with Aaric at a more appropriate time.”
I prayed he saw the logic in what I expressed. For us, from here on out, timing was everything.
The look he wore made it clear he preferred whatever dark scenario he created within his thoughts, versus my logical response, but I believe he understood I was right. Aaric would get every bit of what he had coming to him.
Just not tonight.
“In the meantime, I'll find out what I can about this guy,” I assured them. “That way, when we do move forward, we'll know who we're dealing with.”
It was clear Julian was still troubled. The tension in his brow was a dead giveaway, as was the path he wore pacing from one edge of the rug to the other.
“How is it possible that his eyes were like ours?” he asked. “Have either of you ever heard rumors of, maybe, Percival having a son?”
I shook my head. “Never. Besides, it's common knowledge that Percival's strain of the vaccine yielded gold eyes, not silver. So, I would assume that any offspring of his would bear the same. Especially if said offspring was a son. “
Julian let out a sigh with my revelation. While it didn't make sense for this bastard to be Percival’s son, it did bring up the question of whose son he might be. Unless of course, his existence and connection to Blackthorn was somehow a clue. For now, there was no way to answer these questions. No way to know in what other ways Aaric might be different.
No other way to know how dangerous he might be.
“Carina is too proud to let us hover, but I’ve sensed that she's afraid of him,” Levi revealed. “Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to offer her more protection? Her own security detail?”
“She’ll never allow it,” Julian assured. “For one, I don't get the impression she has much confidence in the staff since her return, probably for fear of retaliation.”
He was right about that
. She was somewhat skittish, like a feral cat at times, and I'd seen the distrust in her eyes myself. If our goal was to make her feel safer, that would certainly do the opposite.
“Then perhaps—simply for our own piece of mind—we ought to still keep more eyes on her,” Levi suggested. “From a distance, of course, but they’ll be present nonetheless.”
I couldn’t have agreed with that more. When I nodded, Julian confirmed that he'd get on top of it. So, it was as good as done.
There was a long breadth of silence after, one in which all our thoughts seemed to be focused on the topic at hand.
“According to Percival, there’s a darker side to being bonded,” I revealed. “If one of us dies, we all die.”
“Which means we can't kill him,” Julian clarified, bringing Levi up to speed on our latest revelation.
“Well, that blows a bit.” Levi’s statement wreaked of disappointment.
I agreed; it did complicate things. Once we were finally able to go after him, there was the question of what to do with him next?
“We’ll have to be more vigilant ourselves,” Julian insisted. “If we agree to keep around-the-clock tabs on Corina's whereabouts, that should further ensure that nothing happens, should he decide to come for her.”
Again, I agreed with my Dynasty Brother, approving with a nod.
“I believe this is confirmation, an argument in favor of something I’ve been tossing around these past couple weeks,” Levi revealed. “Seeing as how I had more than enough time to think.”
My gaze met his. “What was the thought?”
He hesitated a bit and I didn't miss it.
“Well, if I’m being completely honest, being apart from Corina at this point is one-hundred-percent out of the question. And in the spirit of full disclosure, this conclusion has nothing to do with our present concerns for her safety … and has everything to do with my own selfishness. A burning desire to be near her at all times,” he admitted, smirking a bit. “To put it plainly, I think it's time we reconsider our living arrangements. Having a majority of my belongings halfway around the world, and being mated to Corina, is a bit inconvenient. So, I think it would suit me better to establish myself, officially, in the Eastern Quadrant.”
