Before her name left my lips, I realized it wasn’t her. Instead of her warm reddish-brown hue, this hair was raven black. It shone in the sun as the woman turned her head, her cold violet eyes locking onto mine.
No. Not Cynthia.
“Sonia.” My voice cracked, my throat dry and tight.
She didn’t acknowledge me, looking more like a piece of art than Brett’s old roommate.
I paused, trying both to moisten my tongue and to determine what the safest move would be. It made no sense that Sonia was waiting at my bedside. Then I decided I didn’t care. How much worse could things get?
“Where is Schwint? How is he?”
Her perfect brow creased slightly, whether in confusion or distaste, I couldn’t tell. Turning, she looked back out the window, closed her eyes, and let the sun wash over her honeyed skin.
When she spoke, her voice was familiar, sounding like the girl I’d met lifetimes ago. However, all warmth and the overflowing joy she’d exuded had vanished. “Gwala had the fairy taken to your sister for healing, as you weren’t able to assist.”
“Cynthia is with him?” The thought gave me a rush of hope. Cynthia was the best healer of all of us. If she was with him, he would be fine. And she would know that we were here with her.
Sonia turned toward me. I had no doubt this time. Her expression left no question about her revulsion at the situation. “No. Not the witch he has here in the Cathedral. The other one.”
“Caitlin?”
“I don’t know her name.”
So Gwala did know Caitlin had come to Costa Rica with us. We’d figured as much. “Is she here?”
She stared at me before answering, as if each word took effort that she had to decide if she was willing to expend. “The fairy was taken to their cave. The king felt that the other fairy would be able to heal him more effectively than Gwala’s other witches would.” Again she sneered as she referred to witches.
“Gwala has other witches?”
She didn’t reply, only stared at me before returning to the view, getting lost to whatever she was watching out the window.
So much was implied in what Sonia said, I wasn’t sure what to focus on first. Not that the pain in my head would let me concentrate on any of it to any great extent.
Gwala had made the right decision. Newton would be able to help more than even Cynthia. The more a person knew about the body, the easier it was to help it heal. He would understand how a fairy’s body worked. Knowing not only that Schwint was still alive but that he was being helped lessened some of my own pain.
With the relief came the worry of what would happen to Caitlin and Newton now that it was clear Gwala knew about them.
And what did Sonia mean about Gwala’s other witches? I’d been under the impression that Omar was the only other witch here.
I continued to watch Sonia as she stared out the window. Though I hadn’t really known Sonia before her death, I’d liked her when we’d been introduced. She’d been one of those people you fell instantly in love with. Her beauty, exuberance, and innate kindness had emanated like a physical force.
Looking at her now, it seemed impossible, but she was even more beautiful, nearly otherworldly. An ache coursed through me, both for her and for Brett. She was a shell of the woman she’d been. So much lost. My family had been worried about the possibility she’d been turned, but I’d never mentioned the chance to Brett, seeing no reason to add worry to his pain.
I was glad he never needed to know. Better he thought her dead than becoming this. How she came to be at the Vampire Cathedral and became a Royal, I had no idea. It seemed a complete impossibility. I thought of the nymphs. Although they weren’t fortune-tellers, surely they had known about this. Surely there had been a way to have saved her. Saved Cynthia. Saved all of us—or at least one of us.
I guess they had. Brett had been spared. I still wasn’t sure what the nymphs had told him that night on the cliff. Maybe they’d given him a warning. He might still be battling his demon blood, but other than that, he’d escaped the rest of our fates. As long as the vampire that had been pursuing him wasn’t still trying to find him. I couldn’t let myself consider that possibility.
Thinking of Brett brought with it the ever-constant pain. I was fully in love with Schwint, but a part of me would never completely heal from the way Brett had left. It had been the right decision for both of us, but still… Along with the pain came a momentary wash of jealousy. He’d managed to escape all of this. He was the only one to truly come through this unscathed. No sooner had the feeling emerged than I shoved it away with a rush of guilt. Thank God he’d escaped. I was glad he had. I hoped he’d found some peace somewhere and that he’d never have to deal with any of this.
“I’m sorry.”
Sonia turned her head slowly, a warning in her violet gaze.
“I’m sorry. If I’d had any idea the vampire knew where Brett lived… If I’d realized you were in danger…” My words trailed off weakly. How did you apologize for not being good enough to save someone from the torture they’d gone through? Thoughts of Sonia’s family flashed through my mind. Her mother cold on the bed, father mutilated in the shower. Maybe she’d never found out what the vampire had done to them.
The unusual hue of her eyes intensified as she glared at me.
I tried again, knowing I should leave well enough alone. “I wish I’d been able to kill the vampire when I had the chance. Then you’d be okay. We all would. None of this would have ever happened.”
