I nodded. “I know.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“David died for me. Gabriella had to give me away. I can’t imagine how sad she must have been, or how scared David was. I…it’s…” Maddy started crying. Deep, broken sobs rocked her entire body.
I put my arms around her tighter as she cried into my chest, the tears soaking into my shirt. “It’s gonna be okay.”
She cried for several minutes before getting herself under control again. I grabbed tissues so she could wipe her face and blow her nose. I ran my fingers through her hair and looked into her eyes. “Well, one good thing came from this. We know why the royals are after you. That gives us an advantage. I promise you, with all I have inside me, I won’t let your parents’ sacrifices go to waste. Come on, let me put you to bed.”
I guided her to our room and got her tucked away. She was asleep before I was even able to get the covers over her. I lookeddown at her for several seconds before stepping over to the window. I looked out into the dark night and wondered what it would be like to die for the people you loved the way her father did. To give away the most precious and beautiful thing you would ever have the way her mother did.
I knew they were dead, but it didn’t stop me from speaking to her parents at that moment. “I’ll keep her safe,” I whispered. Hoping that somewhere, somehow, her parents heard and believed me. I would keep her safe, and if I could, I’d stop the royals’ hunt on the bloodline forever.
23
MADDY
The next afternoon, Luis returned home. Once Kenneth had revealed himself to us, there was no reason for him to stay out on the road. He was a little pissed when he got back.
“That sneaky asshole,” Luis had hissed. “I was right on his tail. I would have had him in another two or three days.”
“Well, I think that’s why he came to us, right?” Sebastian asked.
Luis sighed. “Yeah, I know. It’s just…if I was out hunting a bear or something, and I spent hours and hours tracking him down, searching until I found his cave and everything, then while I’m in the woods he strolls up to the porch of my buddy’s house…it’s disheartening. That’s all.”
I giggled at him. He was so dejected that his quarry had sensed him on his tail and one-upped him. It didn’t make things any better that Luis was always so serious. Nico went over all the information Kenneth had given us, including the secret vault where the vial of blood was supposedly hidden.
“Well, there’s my next job. Figuring out where that blood is. Once we find it, we will have major fucking leverage against the royals,” Luis said once Nico finished talking.
The idea of finding the blood had me stiffening. Nico had his arm around me and felt my reaction. He leaned over and whispered, “What’s wrong?”
“Do we really want to find it?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Felipe asked.
“It’s too dangerous. If it can really do what they think it can, wouldn’t it be dangerous? Creating a whole new line of these god-like werewolves?”
Nico shook his head. “No, that’s not what we want. We need to find it so we can destroy it. Once that blood is found, we can get rid of it. If there’s no chance of Edemas’s bloodline returning to power, the royals won’t have any reason to go after Maddy or any other descendants.”
It was a good plan, but I wasn’t sure it would be that simple. This royal family had guarded the secret for hundreds of years for good reason. If one drop could reawaken a dormant wolf, what would happen if someone drank the entire thing? It would be like Edemas himself was reborn.
I mentioned my fears and Nico nodded. “True, it will be hard to convince the royals we have no intention of using the blood as a weapon, but I don’t know what else we can do.”
My hatred toward the royals seemed to build each day. After hearing Kenneth’s story, the rage inside me slowly built until it was basically boiling within me. Knowing that they’d sent agents out to murder innocent children, all because they might one day find some hidden blood somewhere on earth, was too much to even fathom.
One night, while working a slow evening at the bar, I was staring into space, and for a moment my thoughts turned dark. I started to imagine taking the blood, just a single drop. I couldalmost taste the mineral, coppery taste. Once I did that, they’d be sorry. I’d lay waste to the entire royal line. How would they like it if I did to them what they’d done to me and mine? I would take the blood, then spill every drop of theirs.
The dark fantasy broke at the sound of a wine glass shattering. I jumped in surprise and saw a customer had dropped her glass. Abi was running over with a towel and a fresh glass for the woman. I didn’t help because I was too shaken up about the thoughts that had been circulating inside my head. Had I really been contemplating taking Edemas’s blood? The thought made me shudder.
Mateo had been my guard that night, and he came over. I must have looked like I’d seen a ghost. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. The glass breaking startled me. No big deal.”
He’d gone away, buying the story.
Nico hadn’t been as easy to fool. The next day, his whole family was getting ready to come over, and he pulled me aside while we were cooking. “Something’s wrong, Maddy. I can tell. What’s up?”
“Nervous is all. No big deal.”
“Nervous? About what?”
