Sabrina tilts her head, studying me now. “You and your mate pose one hell of a problem. What I said in the Star is still true. I can’t take any official action against Night Haven without putting my people at risk.”
I swallow. “What about unofficial action?”
Cassius moves closer, his attention suddenly concentrated on his master.
Sabrina slides her long, graceful fingers from the keys, resting them on the red silk covering her thighs. She ignores my question and continues. “As I was saying, direct conflict with Night Haven puts my coven at risk. But if Valeska succeeds in killing you and takes Damien as her consort, my people are also at risk. Valeska’s hunger for power is insatiable. With that kind of advantage, she’ll never stop.”
She stands and snags her wine off the top of the piano. At least I think it’s wine.
“It sounds like a good reason to help me,” I say softly.
Everyone in the room stares at me, including Sabrina, her green eyes locked on mine like laser beams.
“Sorry. It just seems like the natural conclusion.” I shift awkwardly.
Sabrina sizes me up again. “Our kind is ruled by a council of ancient vampires called the forebears. All covens are. Vampires may be deadly, but we are civilized. We follow a set of laws written over a thousand years ago and enforced by the oldest and strongest of us.” She approaches, moving in closer until it feels like I’m standing next to a pacing lion. “If I confront Valeska about Damien, I have three choices. One: I can ask her nicely to hand him over. You must know if I did such a thing, it would only make your mate more valuable to her. Valeska would never willingly part with something she believed was valuable to another master. Two: I could offer to trade for him, but I fear the only thing I have that she wants is Cassius, and as I don’t treat my coven members as property and he has no interest in going back, I refuse to do that.”
“No. That’s not fair to Cassius.” I couldn’t live with myself.
“Three: I could challenge her for her hive. I can’t challenge her for him specifically because he’s not my mate or my citizen, but I can challenge her for her power to hold him. It would be a fight to the death and would not be in the best interest of my coven. If I lost, my vampires would be displaced and find themselves under the rule of a tyrant. If I won, I’d become queen of Night Haven while maintaining my place here. Honestly, no one should have that much power. But even if I were willing to take it on, merging Lamia and Night Haven wouldn’t benefit my vampires in any way. It’s not fair to them.”
I release an exasperated breath. “None of this is fair to Damien or to me.”
She sighs heavily. “I sense you’re a good person, Eloise, and as a vampire in a relationship with a shifter, I personally empathize with your mating bond with the shade. It’s unfair what’s happened to you. I want to help you.”
“But?”
“But I can’t fight this battle for you. Even if I were amenable to the idea, the forebears wouldn’t like it. The vampire council is already concerned about how Valeska has named herself queen over multiple coven masters. Lamia is the largest coven in the Midwest. Not only would combining the two be completely unmanageable, but the forebears would become involved, and I have strong reasons not to want such a thing. I can’t win against her without inviting their scrutiny, but if I lose, I’m dead. And you of all people know why I can’t do that to my mate and coven.”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a beat. I do understand, but the disappointment is crushing. “Then why am I here? If you can’t help me, I need to go and try to find someone else.”
She shifts, exchanging glances with Tobias and Cassius. “I asked you here because I have an idea. Well, I might have an idea. Truly it depends on you.”
“On me?”
“You said you practice spirit magic. Tell us about your power. I can taste it in your blood but couldn’t quite place how it’s manifesting.”
An idea. I chase the small hope she holds out to me like a carrot on a stick and start from the beginning. I relay everything to Sabrina, from the day I descended into the underworld when Tony killed me to my lessons with Maeve, the red fog, and the ghosts in Harcourt Manor.
Sabrina swallows. “Do you see any spirits now? Here?”
I look around the room. “No, but my magical anchor is in Harcourt Manor. To be honest, I’m not even sure my powers will even work outside my family home. Every time we’ve tested them somewhere else, I’ve failed.”
“Hmmm.” Sabrina swirls her drink. “Your mating to Damien, it’s official and binding? Accepted by both parties?”
“Yes.”
Cassius clears his throat. “I can confirm. I can sense the mating bond of my kind.”
She sets her glass down and moves even closer to me in that fluid way vampires and shades do, until she’s right in front of me. Too close. Intimidatingly close. I hold my ground. I swallow. Her eyes flash silvery blue again and meet mine. I blink.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
She smiles, her eyes fading to green again. “Proving once again that I can’t influence you, which means neither can Valeska. I can’t help you, Eloise, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help yourself. Are you willing to risk everything to get your mate back?”
Beside me, Cassius stills, almost like he’s holding his breath.
“Yes. If I knew how to get in and out of Night Haven, I’d already have tried.” Even as I say it, I both know it’s true and that it would be a suicide mission. From the beginning, everyone I’ve spoken to has told me there’s nothing I can do to get him back. But I’m desperate to hear another opinion.
