‘Oh my darling girl.’ She hugs me to her. I smell her comforting scent, violets mixed with spice. ‘Do you want to talk?’
‘Er, sort of. I mean, yes. You know about Kyle, don’t you?’
‘That you had feelings for him? I’d guessed.’
I swallow. ‘Yeah, that. Well, he’s dead. I killed him.’
And it all pours out of me. The betrayal, my ordeal at Kyle’s hands, Mistral, even the border guards. And more. The Safe Zone and what I’d seen there, how I’d felt. My mother holds me as waves of sorrow crash through me, my tears marking the silk of her gown, her own tears mingling in spots of red, bright on the white bedding.
Once I’m spent, there’s silence. It wraps around us, soft as the blanket covering my legs, comforting as my mother’s embrace. We lie there together, mother and daughter, heart to heart, awaiting my father’s return.
ChapterThirty-Nine
A PLACE TO START
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’ll be fine, honestly.’ I smile, but my mother’s brow creases, her hands twisting together. Then I get it. ‘I’m not going anywhere. Just to the library, that’s all. I don’t know why I can’t watch, anyway.’
‘You know your father doesn’t want you anywhere near Mistral.’
I’m still in the fortified rooms, my parents not wanting to take any chances with my safety until Mistral was dealt with. My father had met him when he’d arrived at the house two nights ago, a cordon of guards taking hold of him the minute he’d crossed the threshold. He’d struggled, of course, but when my father told him what he knew, that his plans had been exposed, he gave in. He hadn’t even known I’d escaped.
Now the house is full of high-ranking vampires, Raven affiliates from everywhere travelling in for the trial. It hadn’t taken long – once word got out that Mistral had been behind the North Wind, the other Raven families turned on him. He’s being held in one of the basement cells, awaiting his execution. Which I really, really want to watch.
But Father has forbidden it, despite my insistence that I need to see Mistral gone. He says the threat isn’t over. The seeds Mistral planted have grown into fully-fledged rebellion, disturbances still being reported throughout the realm.
‘So can I go? Bertrand can take me.’ My mother’s mouth twists. I know she won’t deny me for long. ‘Pleeeaase?’
‘Fine.’ She sighs out the word. ‘But take another guard too. And lock the door. And?—’
‘Mama.’ I hug her. ‘I’ll be fine. The house is crawling with guards. If I’m not safe here, where will I be? I’m sorry I left, more than I can ever say. I won’t do anything to worry you like that again, I promise.’
Her cool hands cup my face. ‘You’d better not,’ she says. ‘Now go. I’ll come to you when it’s over.’
‘Okay.’ I kiss her, her cheek smooth and firm. ‘I’ll see you then.’
My mother told me how Mistral had done it, what he’d initially promised the humans to convince them to work with him. Apparently, he’d told them that, once he’d taken over as head of Raven, he would set up a new Safe Zone. One where humans could be free, rather than tied to our blood machines and factories. Where they could bring up their children in peace. Where they would have a future. All lies, of course. I think I cried the most when she told me that.
I can see, though, how they would have gone for it. Taken any chance for things to change. For them to have a future beyond being farmed, beyond watching their children suffer the same fate. The world is a big place, yet we’ve taken that freedom from them. No wonder they want it back. And Mistral can be charming, when he wants to be. When there’s something he wants. But his charm won’t help him now.
Because it’s time. I don’t care what my father says. I need to watch Mistral burn, the same way Kyle did. And I’m the only one in the house who can. I go to the door and punch the code into the keypad. It opens. There are several guards outside, including Bertrand. They all turn to look at me. I run my hand through my hair, putting my shoulders back. ‘I’d like to go to the library.’
‘My lady.’ Bertrand signals to another guard, and together they escort me through the corridors until we reach the carved wooden doors. The other guard opens the door, while Bertrand flashes around the room. He comes back to me. ‘All is well, my lady.’
I told Bertrand what happened, though not all of it. I asked him about the Safe Zone, too, and what he thought of humans. His response surprised me. Apparently, until I was born, he hadn’t thought of humans as anything but food. Now he feels that, if anyone can change things, it’ll be me.
I smile. ‘Thank you. I’m going to put the light on. Mother said I should lock the door, too.’
‘I’ll set guards outside. You understand, I cannot stay, I have to attend?—’
I nod. ‘It’s fine. I’ll see you afterwards.’
He bows and leaves, closing and locking the doors. I’m alone. Through the long windows I see the moon, a curving silver gleam hanging low in the sky. I feel strange, vulnerable while at the same time cocooned, the house like a blanket around me, the guards a shield, and me a soft raw thing in the middle. The carpet is soft under my bare feet as I wander over to the bookcase. I pullInterview with the Vampirefrom the shelf. My mouth twists. I take a deep breath, blowing it out my nose. I need to do this. I reach for the metal lever, pulling it. There’s a rush of cold air.
Taking a blanket from the sofa, I start up the staircase to the roof.
* * *
