She swoops in and runs her tongue across my earlobe before darting back with a grin. “Got it.”
Her smile quickly fades.
So does mine. “The Nostra Empire is mine.”
My declaration feels hollow.
The dark elves give me quiet nods before Lucian steps toward me, reaching for my hand.
“The keeper isn’t doing well,” he says.
Vengeance wasn’t enough.
As soon as I destroyed the light magic keeper’s weapon, I knew it wouldn’t be. My keeper was broken long before I met him.
I exhale slowly, trying to take control of my aching sadness. “I’m going to need your help,” I say to my pack. “You, too, Orlan.There are things I need you to do, and you can’t question them. Please trust that I’m making the only choices that I can.”
I wait for them to acknowledge me.
“We’re here,” Anarchy says. “Say the word and it will be done.”
My legs are wooden as I step between them and make my way to the bedroom.
When I round the corner and step inside, my hand flies to my mouth and my eyes fill with tears.
Gone is the man who held me in his arms only hours ago.
The keeper’s face is past pale, a gray tinge now at the edges of his lips and extending across his hollow cheeks.
Once again, he lied to me—this time about how much time he had left. I wouldn’t have gone to fight my father if I’d known the keeper had only had hours to live.
He’s lying on his back, his chest bare, his arms crossed over his torso, his left hand covering his right.
The dark crown is fully visible on his left forefinger.
His breathing is shallow, a whisper in the silence.
I try to move past my pain.
I know what I have to do. I realized it when I drove my hand through the light magic keeper’s insubstantial form and cut through her weapon to free her. Tocommandand free her.
I squeeze my eyes closed, and when I open them, I draw on all my fury because without it, I won’t be able to do this.
“Orlan,” I say. “Come here. I need you to be close by and ready to use your transportation magic.”
He ventures into the room, keeping near to the wall beside the door, his voice conveying his uncertainty. “Veda?”
“When I ask you, I need you to take the keeper away from me.”
His forehead crinkles, but I continue before he can question me. “You will take him to St. Michael Cemetery.”
Orlan startles. “What?”
“That’s where Elijah is,” I say.
Orlan widens his eyes at me. “That may be so, but there are also other supernaturals there who won’t take kindly to my arrival.”
I turn to my brother. “Which is why you will go with Orlan.”
