“Do not do this,” I rasped. “There is another way.”
He knocked my hands away, reaching for my throat with his fangs bared. I sliced through his neck with a whip of my magic, fire consuming his flesh until he was ash at my feet. No more immortals advanced and I turned toward my maker just as Iris fell to her knees.
“Kah aneyur,my maker, forgive me,” she wept in the long-dead ancient tongue, sliding to her belly until she was prostrate at his feet.
“Ahnak makayna,”he answered, placing his hand on the back of her head. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, cheek resting against his shoe. He took a deep breath and she crumbled into ash with his exhale.
I looked away from the scene, rubbing at my chest where grief had taken root, noting each survivor. Mateo stood near the ominous stone table, panting heavily with blood streaked across his white shirt and waistcoat, the silver embroidery of starling birds turned copper. Callum knelt in a pool of it and I took a worried step forward before realizing it was not his own. Lilith was beside him, lowering to her knees to press her forehead to his temple.
“Don’t,” he murmured. “You’ll be covered in it.”
A strange, haunted smile tugged at her cheeks. “I am already covered in it.”
I turned toward the rest of those in the room. Immortals clung to the walls, immortals with broken hearts and hollow souls. Mercy. I would offer them mercy, even Gerald Montag where he stood with wide, terrified eyes. But I would not be as foolish as I had been before. I’d learned from my mistakes and I would no longer be complacent.
“And the rest of you?” I asked.
Whoever ruled us next must be patient but firm, fair but ruthless, and above all must have a capacity to love fiercely.
“I do not wish to destroy more of my kind. In fact, I wanted to offer peace. To offer them a chance.” I took a deep breath, rubbing again at my chest. “They did not take it…and I will mourn them for the rest of my existence.”
A hand curved around my shoulder, squeezing tight. A small bit of tension bled away at the touch of my maker. But it was not his affection I needed. I reached out through the bond toward Adrienne only to find a small flicker of feeling: her sadness, her longing. As much as I could, I stayed with her as I spoke to the survivors, pushing my love and devotion to her through the frayed bond.
A female immortal I did not know well stepped forward, her hands wringing in front of her, asking who they should honor for the killing of my brother. My stomach turned and I could barely answer her and sighed with relief when my maker chose not to reveal their identities.
“Then should I honor you?” she asked Seth before turning to me. “Or you?”
Dread sank its claws into me and I recoiled. “I do not deserve such an honor.”
Seth hummed softly. “Nor I.”
Another male stepped forward nervously and cleared his throat as his eyes fell on my maker. “Then who will lead us now? You, sire?”
“No, my child,” he answered gently. “I am not equipped to lead.”
I cleared my throat, taking the time to look each remaining immortal in the eye. “A leader should be chosen by all, not merely those in this room… When my brother came to power I did not do enough. My failure was in looking for the best in him, in hoping that with time he would see the error of his ways—that I could show him the truth.” I shook my head, clearing my throat of the thickening grief. “I was wrong and, in that hope, I did nothing to stop him. Centuries ago was not the time for hope, it was the time for action. But now?”
I took a step back, making sure to look each and every immortal in the eye, including Lord Montag, who clung to another. “Now is truly the time for hope, the time when we can dream up this new world and then see it built. We must come together, we must decide how we want our future to look.Together.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The apartment was quiet.
I’d cried the last of my tears for Lilith before Ralph had arrived with the carriage. Rationally I understood my friend still lived and would remember me, but I could not shake the feeling she had died. The understanding I had with Eamon in no way changed the life I’d lived, the horror I’d witnessed and experienced at the hands of vampires. I feared it was in their nature to be cruel, and Eamon had been an exception to the rule. So what would that mean for someone who loved and felt as fiercely as Lilith?
I wasn’t sure if I could stomach witnessing her love leach away.
Noah was out on patrols and I’d talked Ralph down from finding him for me. Venefica attacks were at an all-time high in the city and the last thing I wanted was for his brothers to be shorthanded. But I wished he was here to fill the silence, especially as I wandered into the bedroom I shared with Lilith.
She lives,Eamon had said.
Then why did this room feel like a tomb?
I started gathering our belongings. After tonight, I was sure that she would stay with Callum, and though Eamon and I hadn’t discussed it, I didn’t know if I could stay here again without her. The thought had guilt creeping up my shouldersat the realization it would mean leaving Noah here alone. But soon Eamon and I would seal our mating bond and he would most likely prefer for me to stay at his estate.
I tried not to think about what sealing the mating bond would mean for myself and my humanity. There was no world in which I could stay human, not if I wanted to spend eternity with him. But the prospect of being turned as Lilith had been made me so frightened I was in danger of losing the lunch Bernard had all but force-fed me before Seth had appeared.
