My cheeks burned. “He was dying when I gave him my blood. You were there, remember? I don’t want to hear any more about your precious Iris. I did what I had to do. She would have tortured Nadia.”
Valentina grunted and charged up, her side fully healed. “And her deranged sister tried to kill me. No one said this life would be easy, Aldric. You’ve known that since the moment you saw Gray and I drink from that bastard in your apartment. After everything she’s risked for you, don’t look so shocked.”
Dragos chuckled. “Speaking of blood, I’m guessing you’re in need of some, Bannister. You are looking like you might pass out and I’m fresh out of smelling salts.” He flashed him a wicked grin.
Aldric clenched his jaw and glared daggers at Dragos. The thought of him drinking blood again made my heart sink. It was just another reminder that he didn’t want to be linked to me anymore.
The Keeper raised a curious eyebrow at the sight of us stomping into the Hall. “Do I dare ask?”
I rolled my eyes and took off toward the study. “Aldric needs a blood bag.” I couldn’t hide the bitterness in my voice.
Once they were all seated, I poured myself a glass of whiskey and paced around the room. Their eyes followed me, a thousand questions between them.
I took a deep breath. “I’ll get right to the point. If we don’t succeed in stopping Cerberus, the gods will destroy us all. They will attempt to help us, but if Chaos thinks we will lose, he will burn our world to the ground and everyone in it.” I left out the part of him offering me a place by his side. The rivalry between Aldric and Dragos was bad enough. I didn’t need them competing for my attention with Chaos as well.
The Keeper’s mouth gaped open. “I was unaware of that part of the Hades Protocol. We will have to make sure you succeed, then.”
I nodded. “If we all work together, we will have a fighting chance. Which means that first we need to sniff out the traitor.”
Valentina sprang to her feet. “I have an idea. We split up and give each suspect a different location. Wherever the Furies show up, we’ll know who betrayed us.”
I nodded. “That could work. I’ll call Jane and let her know Dragos and I are headed to London to check in with the Rougarou. Val, you will take Aldric to the Wolf and Crescent. Tell my father and Pythia that I will be there. All of us will meet back here after. Whatever you do, stay in the shadows. We can’t take on a Fury unless we are all together.”
Aldric shook his head. “What if no one shows up? What are we supposed to do?”
Dragos sighed. “Then we’ll have a much bigger problem. Let me worry about that, Bannister.” He threw him a look of disgust.
My head pounded. “If we can’t expose the traitor, then we’ll have to take our chances on the battlefield. We’ll need to be careful with Jane, Dragos. She’s going to be angry you broke your link without warning her.”
He nodded. “I’ll make her understand.” There was a cryptic tone to his voice.
The Keeper rose to his feet. “I’ll tend to the preparations. I have a special surprise planned, just for Cerberus.” He gently squeezed my shoulder before leaving the room.
I sat and gazed into the hearth, fixated on the flames. So much had happened, I barely had time to catch my breath. A traitor was among us, Samuel had been possessed by a shadow demon, we found out his father is the white wolf and a berserker at that, we killed Iris and Nemesis right after I turned down an invitation from a god, and both the Lupi and the Furies wanted me dead. All the while the demons of the Underworld were terrorizing New Orleans. Not exactly the life I imagined for myself when I was just a girl growing up in Pendle Forest.
Dragos watched me like a hawk, studying every emotion that flickered through my eyes. I blinked back tears and shrugged off the feeling of dread.
I smiled as his eyes met mine. “I’m fine, Dragos. Just reflecting.” He didn’t have to tell me he was worried for me to sense it. Our link was strong. The Narcissus blood and the Nectunt magic combined gave us a connection unlike any other I’d ever had. Throw four hundred years of history on top of that, and it was the closest thing one could come to having a soulmate.
His eyes darkened. “I can’t help but wonder if none of this would be happening if I hadn’t put you in that coma. I should have told you the truth. I never should have listened to Tobias.”
I shook my head. “None of this is your fault. Don’t do that to yourself. We all made our choices and now we have to deal with the consequences. This war was going to happen one way or another.”
He nodded. “Perhaps, but I definitely gave it a push. Gray, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I will never abandon you. Not even in death.”
My heart raced. “I know. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. But it’s not going to come to that. We are Dhampirs. We don’t die.”
Dragos smirked and cupped my face in his hands. “You are just as stubborn as me. I love that about you. Cerberus has no idea who he’s up against.”
I leaned in and kissed him—slow and soft. The tip of his tongue danced across mine and a tingling sensation spread through my limbs. But when I opened my eyes, it was Chaos’s face staring back at me. I gasped and leaped from the chair.
“Gray, what’s wrong?” Dragos was standing in front of me.
My hands trembled. “Nothing. I’m fine. I’m just tired. My magic surged, that’s all.” I was far from fine. Chaos’s words echoed in my head. A part of me will never leave you. I shivered. You will crave my presence.
Dragos’s pulse raced as he grabbed my hands. “Something’s not right. I can feel it. What is it?”
I shook it off as the voice in my head quieted. “Really, It’s nothing. I promise. I just need a change of clothes and a stiff drink. It’s been a long night.”
He nodded but didn’t look convinced. I could barely convince myself. This pull to Elysium—to Chaos—reminded me of the bloodlust. The thirst, the hunger, it clawed at the back of my throat, dark and toxic. A craving that could only end badly for everyone. My stomach turned. How was I going to convince a god to release his hold on me?
Fifteen
As our ships sailed off in different directions, me with Dragos, and Aldric sailing off with Valentina, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness. A sense of loss. Aldric’s blue eyes sparkled against the reflection of the sea. They filled with emotions I couldn’t comprehend. Not anymore. With our link severed, the distance between us was greater than when we had first met. He was more of a stranger to me now than when I had watched him from the shadows on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain.
We were just outside London when I recalibrated the ship. There was something I had been avoiding for a long time. Something I needed to make peace with. Dragos raised an eyebrow.
My stomach was in knots. “I need to go home.”
His brow furrowed. “Back to the Hall? Did you forget something?”
I shook my head. “No. My home. Pendle Hill. I need to see it again.”
He nodded, his eyes lighting up at the realization of what I needed to do. “How long has it been?”
My eyes welled up with tears. “Over four centuries. When I was first turned.”
His eyes widened. “Are you sure you want to go back?”
I wasn’t sure of anything anymore, but I had to see it. I had to remember. “Going back is the only way I will be able to move forward.”
The cold wind whipped through my hair as we changed direction. My heart beat wildly in my chest. I didn’t know what I was hoping to find—maybe myself—but it was where my journey began and where my human life ended. With the fate of our existence uncertain, I needed to see it one last time.
There were many events that occurred here four hundred years ago, but only one that meant anything to me. As we walked through the town of Barley, I could almost smell the stench of rotting flesh. I could almost feel the heat of the flames. I was not a Witch when they came for me. I died with Dhampir blood in my veins. But the rest of them, t
he ones that burned, were innocent. I could still hear their cries in the wind.
The rain fell hard, practically drowning us as we walked. Not much had changed here except for the date. The streets and buildings were just as I remembered. Only now the story of the Witch trial was just that, a story. For me, it was a distant dream, a nightmare that I’ve tried to forget, but it haunted me still.
I shivered as a droplet slipped down my back. “The hill isn’t far from here. I still remember the way like the back of my hand.”
Dragos clasped my hand. “What exactly happened here, Gray? I’ve never seen you like this before, so on edge.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled it out. It lingered like smoke. “I was a different person back then. I had another life. Growing up, I was told Gray was my last name. Another lie fed to me by Jane. It was her family name. It was part of her plan to conceal me. Maybe that’s why I was so lost. A person is nothing without a name.”
Dragos’s eyes were wide as saucers. “I had no idea. I’m sorry, Gr—what is your real name?”
A wave of nostalgia hit me. “It was Alice. Alice Wynter. When she brought me here, I became Alice Gray…and when I left, I was just…Gray. I thought it was my father’s name—the father she told me died at sea. I took it to honor him when she abandoned me and left me for dead. Four hundred years later, I’m still no closer to the truth.”
His eyes were the softest I’d ever seen them. He looked at me sadly, not with pity but with genuine anguish. “You’ve never told anyone this before, have you?”
I shook my head. “I was ashamed. I could never get the words out, never trusted anyone to understand, or care for that matter. I clung to my need for revenge for so long that I had forgotten about the little girl I left behind. The bright, hopeful girl who picked berries with her mother in Pendle Forest. The girl who used to sing and dance along the moors. The girl who had no idea she was going to live forever, who had no choice in the matter. That part of me…I locked it away. When you and I linked, I felt a spark of it. I’ve been thinking of this place ever since.”
Dragos sat down on a park bench and ran his hands through his hair. He let out a deep sigh. “That girl is still in you, Gray. What they did to you—what Nicholas Bannister did to you—if I had known, I would have killed him a long time ago.” His tone wasn’t vengeful, just soft and wistful and full of regret.
I sat down beside him and put my hand on his knee. “In that moment, when the flames melted my clothes, I thought that was it. The end of Alice Gray. The fire was so hot…the smell…the screams were deafening. When I realized my flesh wasn’t burning, I thought it was a miracle. That I was being saved by the gods. Then the bloodlust kicked in and a rage I never knew anyone could possess. That was the first time my eyes shifted to black. I still remember the look of horror on their faces—on Nicholas’s face—when they realized I was one of them. A Dhampir. They took off running before I could catch them. When I returned to our cottage, Jane was gone too. I was alone with this hunger I didn’t understand. I didn’t feel safe for a long time. Not until I met you and Val.”
He cupped my face in hands and kissed my cheeks. “We were all lost until we found each other. I promise you, you will always be safe with me. I know I’ve done and said things to make you think otherwise, but I swear to Apollo, I will never allow anything like that to happen to you ever again.”
I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder. “I know. I think I’ve always known. You make me feel things that I have tried to push away for centuries. Feelings that bring out those parts of me that I thought died on Pendle Hill. I’ve always been the strong one for everyone else. I wear it like a coat of armor. With you…I don’t have to be. Sometimes, I don’t want to be.”
His arm wrapped tight around my shoulders. “You can be whoever you want to be. Strong, vulnerable, Gray, Alice—it doesn’t matter. I know your heart and I love every side of you. How you put up with me is still a mystery.” He chuckled.
I lifted my chin and gazed into his eyes. “We have to win. It can’t all be for nothing.”
His eyes flickered. “We will. We might not be human, but this is still our world and I won’t let them have it. We’re sending those demons back to hell.”
I nodded. A warmth spread through me even though the air was crisp and icy. I pulled him up with me as I stood. “We should head to London now. There could be a Fury loose in the city.”
He raised an eyebrow. “But Pendle Hill is just up ahead. Don’t you want to see it before we leave?”
I shook my head. “I’ll see it again someday. It’s time to put the past to rest once and for all.”
Dragos smiled, almost childlike. “Thank you for sharing this with me. Maybe someday you will have yet another new name.” He winked and flashed me a grin.
My stomach fluttered. “Hmm, Gray Petri does have a nice ring to it.” I winked back.
Not that long ago, I thought I would take the Bannister name. It’s funny how quickly things had changed. As we made our way back to the ship, it hit me. Dragos was right. It didn’t matter what name was given to me or who I was back then. I could be whoever I wanted to be. I didn’t need to hang onto the pain anymore. It made me who I was, but it didn’t define me.
We hid in the shadows all night, outside the sewer entrance to the London coven’s headquarters. Other than a few mangy rats and stumbling drunkards, there was no sign of any of the Furies. I was both relieved and angry. For once, Jane was not behind this betrayal. But yet again, Pythia was trying to stab me in the back.
Dragos snickered. “Seems like your dear stepmother is up to her old tricks.”
My heart raced. “Which means Val and Aldric could be in trouble.”
He shook his head. “I’m sure they’re fine. Besides, maybe the Crescent Witches can make themselves more useful for a change.”
I nodded as a shadowy figure caught my eye in the alley across from the sewer. I froze and gripped Dragos’s arm. His pulse raced as he stiffened. The figure darted across the square. It was heading directly toward us.
I held my breath and braced for an attack and then let out a sigh of relief. It was Jane.
Her eyes threw daggers at Dragos. “How dare you? Do you have any idea what it’s like to be hit with bloodlust out of nowhere? No warning. I didn’t know what was happening.” Her eyes were bloodshot, and her lips were dry and cracked.
I snorted. “Are you really going to ask him that with me standing right in front of you? Your memory must be failing as well as your composure.”
Her face fell. “I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Save it. We didn’t have time to warn you. It’s a long story, so here’s the short of it. The Harpies manipulated us, Aldric has lost his mind, and Dragos and I had to link. Consulting you was not on our list of priorities—that’s assuming we could even find you if it was.” I didn’t try to hide the bitterness in my voice.
Her brow furrowed. “Why are you in London? Shouldn’t you be at the Hall, planning the attack on Cerberus?”
Dragos huffed. “We had to make sure you weren’t the traitor. Now that we know who is, our strategy will be a bit different. Don’t look so surprised.”
Her mouth gaped open. “I’m the one who told you there was a traitor. Did you honestly think it was me?”
I sighed. “I didn’t want to, but I had to be sure. Can you really blame me?”
She lowered her eyes. “No, I guess I can’t. So, who is it?”
“Pythia. Shocking, right?” Just saying her name aloud made my stomach turn.
Jane’s eyes darted back and forth between me and Dragos. “I am a bit surprised. Pythia despises you, but you are still her husband’s child. I can’t believe she would go so far as to send the Furies after you.”
Dragos snickered. “Well, believe it. Pythia will do anything to preserve her little family. Tobias appointing Gray as the head of the Consilium instead of Arcadia was like pouring salt on a deep and ancient wound.”
A tinge of guilt hit me as I watched Jane take everything in. She just had her link stripped from her and she had no allies. It tugged at my heart in a way I was not expecting.
“Come back with us to the Hall. We keep a supply of blood bags and you look like you could use a drink.” I pursed my lips so as not to give away that I was actually feeling sympathy for her.
Jane licked her lips. “I would like that. Thank you.”
I nodded as Dragos chuckled and whispered in my ear, “First me, now Jane. You’re getting good at this forgiveness thing.”
I rolled my eyes and charged ahead toward the docks, muttering under my breath. Pythia won’t be so lucky. It was time to finally finish what I started on the battlefield at Infitum.
Sixteen
I was relieved to find Valentina and Aldric in one piece by the fire in the study. As soon as The Keeper returned from setting Jane up with a blood infusion in the healing clinic, we settled in to hear what happened when they arrived at the Wolf and Crescent.
Valentina clenched her jaw. “You were right. We spotted the Fury just a few miles away from the Wolf and Crescent. The Witches had their shields up, so she couldn’t enter. But she waited for a long time before realizing it was a trick.”
Aldric wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. “The look in her eye…it was demonic. She was fixated on finding you.”
I glanced over at Dragos, who was as stiff as a board, a murderous look in his eyes. “The Furies are no doubt seething and will amp up their search. It’s best if we all stay here until we are ready to take back the city.”
Dragos poured himself a shot of whiskey and knocked it back. “And what of the Lupi? They still want Gray dead, I presume.”
Valentina shifted uncomfortably. “Lycos has been keeping them preoccupied for now, but I suspect someone has been pulling their strings as well. It’s not in their nature to go against the alpha.”
Gods and Demons (Blood and Darkness Book 3) Page 10
