“Are you going to take it?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” I scrubbed my hands over my face, feeling every one of my three hundred and sixteen years. “Running means I’ll never see him again. But staying...” I trailed off, unable to finish the thought.
“Staying means you might not survive what they have planned,” Lila finished for me. “The Elder Council doesn’t exactly have a reputation for mercy when it comes to vampires who step out of line.”
She was right, and we both knew it. The paranormal justice system was heavily skewed against creatures like us. A powerful witch family’s word against a vampire’s would hardly be a fair fight, especially when there was actual evidence of inappropriate conduct.
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you going to try to get Amelia back?”
Lila’s expression hardened with determination. “I’m going to try. But I need to be smart about it. The Quinns have resources I can’t compete with directly.” She looked at me meaningfully. “But maybe together we could figure something out.”
“Together?” The word sparked something in my chest that felt dangerously like hope.
“Yes,” she nodded leaning forward. “But before we decide anything, there’s something important I need to tell you. Something you don’t know about me.”
“Okay…”
She took a deep breath. “I was placed at Widdershins Academy by the Elder Council after the attack by Damian Cromwell. My job is to keep an eye out and report back on Purity Front activity in and around the school.”
My jaw fell open and I stared at her, struck speechless.
“And I don’t think the attack and the Quinn patriarch showing up at nearly the same time was a coincidence. I heard the things he said about our kind. Everyone did.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “I think he’s part of the Purity Front. And if we can prove it, the Elder Council will have no choice but to let us keep our partners and try him for treason.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but I was cut off as a loud boom echoed across campus, rattling the glass in the windows.
Chapter 27
Archer
Ilooked up the moment my feet hit the ground, and I saw the Quinn mansion rising in front of me like a specter. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Amelia do the same thing, her determined expression faltering. We both knew getting out of here was going to be difficult, if not impossible. My parents had a lot of security.
The familiar weight of surveillance spells settled over us like a suffocating blanket. I could feel them crawling across my skin, invasive magical tendrils designed to track our every movement and report back to my father. Even breathing felt monitored.
“Move,” one of the enforcers growled, prodding me toward the imposing front doors.
As we climbed the marble steps, I caught Amelia’s eye again. Her jaw was set in that stubborn line I knew so well, and despite everything, I saw a flicker of pride. She wasn’t broken by this. Neither was I, not really. Angry, heartbroken, terrified for Valen’s safety. All of that was true. But not broken. Not yet.
The massive front doors swung open before we reached them, revealing my mother standing in the foyer. Rose Quinn was the picture of aristocratic composure as always, her blonde hair swept into a perfect chignon, her silk dress impeccabledespite the early hour. But I could see the fury burning in her eyes.
“Archer,” she said, her voice deceptively calm. “Amelia. How lovely to have you both home.”
I wanted to spit back some sarcastic response, but the memory of my father’s compulsion spell made me hesitate. One wrong word and he’d silence me again, leaving me helpless while they decided my fate.
“Mother,” I managed, keeping my voice neutral.
She stepped forward, her heels clicking against the marble floor with each measured step. “I trust your father has explained the severity of your situation?”
“He’s explained his version of it,” I replied carefully.
Her smile was sharp as a blade. “There is only one version, Archer. The truth. Which is that you’ve both been seduced by a creature that feeds on your life force and manipulated into believing you have feelings for it.”
The casual way she dismissed everything I felt for Valen as manipulation made my hands clench into fists. “That’s not what happened.”
“Isn’t it?” She tilted her head, studying me like I was a particularly interesting specimen. “Tell me, Archer, when did these supposed feelings begin? Before or after the feeding started?”
The question was a trap, and we both knew it. No matter how I answered, she’d use it as evidence that my emotions weren’t real. But I couldn’t bring myself to lie about what Valen and I had shared.
“The feedings came first,” I admitted quietly. “The feelings took longer to develop.”
