“We make sure they never leave there,” Josiah said as he and Mark walked down the stairs and stood there. “Marlon, I know I’ve apologized, but I need you to know I deeply regret everything I did to you. I realize now you were not the monster she made you out to be, and even if we were not mates, we loved each other. Maybe that would have been enough, maybe not. But I shouldn’t have taken the choice away from you, and I—”
“Shouldn’t have buried me and left me in a dark hole I couldn’t escape?” Marlon asked.
“No, I shouldn’t have.” His expression didn’t give away any of his true emotions, but I was growing used to the way vampires didn’t show emotion through a smile or even a snarl. They showed emotion on a visceral level, and with very little warning you could lose your head or find yourself mated to one of them.
“Why should I trust you now? How do we know you won’t run to the witch and tell her our plans?” Marlon asked.
“Because if he does, I’ll let you destroy me,” Mark said and stepped forward. “I never asked for this life, and even though I’m pulled to Josiah in a way I cannot resist, I won’t stand back and allow any other humans to be harmed.”
“You cannot—” Josiah began and was cut off by a wave of a hand from Mark.
“It’s my choice. I won’t be used by them again,” he said. Josiah moved to his side and soothed his hand untilMark unclenched it enough to allow him to hold it.
“I love you, and I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” he said to everyone in the room, but his eyes were only on Mark.
“As I was saying,” Elias said and looked at each of us. “We’ll need to attack her before they’re able to get more blood. The humans who help her will lose their ability within a day or two, while she’ll gradually weaken. But it should give us enough of a chance to attack and hopefully destroy her.”
“What about the humans?” Mark asked.
“They are lost. If we let them live, they know about our existence, and a part of them will always be tied to her,” Elias said.
“How do you know all this? I mean, you’re a kid,” Mark said. Elias stood and walked over to him. Josiah moved in front of Mark, but he pushed him aside and knelt down to speak to Elias.
“This is the age I was turned, but I’m older than you could ever imagine, and stronger than everyone in this room besides Marlon. If you want to keep your head and live past sunrise tomorrow, I suggest you learn some respect,” Elias said, and showed his fangs.
I forced myself not to flinch away. There was an innate sense in me that told me he was not a vampire to mess with, and I trusted that sense. Mark leaned back and almost fell before Josiah caught him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Mark said.
Instantly Elias was transformed and gone were his fangs and that sense of power that made him terrifying. “I know, but now you do. Don’t forget it,” he said and looked at Mark and then Josiah. “If either of you tries to betray us, I won’t hesitate to end you.”
“I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” Mark said, and Josiah nodded. Their bond was strong, and whether they wanted it or not, there was no denying it.
“When the sun sets tonight, we’ll go to the rocky crevice where they have their trap set,” I said and repeated everything Elias had said earlier.
“What if they’re waiting for us?” Josiah asked.
“Then we wait for the opportunity and we destroy them,” Marlon said.
“Does she have other powers?” Mark asked.
Elias, Marlon, and I looked at each other. We only knew what we’d experienced, and it wasn’t much. “She could have. We’ll just need to be ready and stick together,” Marlon said.
“Five vampires against one witch and any humans she may have with her shouldn’t be a hard fight,” Josiah said.
“Don’t let her fool you. She’s old and has survived all this time because of the blood of vampires. You’d be smart to never forget that fact,” Elias said.
Thirty-Two
Marlon
Iglanced at everyone in the room, ready to work together to bring down a witch that had hurt many of our kind during her existence, and I couldn’t believe Josiah was within choking distance and still alive. Well, as alive as an undead creature could be. Pushing down the thoughts of tearing his head off, we spent the rest of the day planning and strategizing how we’d overpower her and any humans she was currently using.
“Do you think it’ll work?” Blake asked me. His eyes were full of worry, and I tried not to let my heart react to how much that hurt me to see, but I was helpless to fight any feeling around Blake.
“We’ll make sure it does,” I said, and brushed my fingers across his cheek.
“What if it doesn’t? I don’t want this life if you’re not in it,” he whispered.
