“After we broke up.” I’d taken off, wanting nothing more than to get out of New Forest, to forget the look of pain on his face when I’d told him I wasn’t ready to come home. Now I’d give anything to go back to that moment in time, to take it back. But then again, would I? Would I give up being who I’d become?
I shook off the thought. “Let me try it on.” I dried off and fastened my underwire bra, then slipped the dress over my head. It clung in all the right places and was just the right color for my skin and hair. As I gazed into the mirror and saw the beaming smile of Rhia behind me, a crack in my mood started to fracture. I tried to repress it, but within minutes, like a glacier calving, the façade fell away and I sank to my knees, in tears.
Rhia was by my side instantly. “Cicely, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I shook my head, weeping into my hands. “I want to tell you things, I want to so bad, but I’m afraid to because of Leo. Because I don’t know where your loyalties lie. I want to talk to you, but I can’t . . . I can’t trust anybody but myself—and I feel so alone. I’m walking into a vampire’s lair tonight and I don’t trust him. But I have to go, and I have to go alone.”
“I’ll go if you like—I’ll be there with you.”
“No, Geoffrey told me to come alone. Oh, Rhia . . .” I turned to her, grasping her hands. “I know Leo trusts him. I know Leo works for him, but Geoffrey’s not the fair, just leader we think. I know. Trust me, I know. And I’m afraid that he’s using me for something . . . something that could lead to everybody’s destruction.”
“What are you talking about? I promise you—I give you my word to keep it silent, upon our mothers and our grandmothers. On the Veil House itself . . .” She held up her hand to swear.
I quickly grabbed her fingers. “Before you do that, you should know—I saw the Veil House from the astral. This land is almost a living being. Its energy is brilliant, a beacon in the night. We live on top of Grand Central Station—we’re the blue-light special at Kmart. If you swear on the house, the land will hear and hold you to it. Don’t say anything rashly.”
She nodded, serious now, and pulled her hand away. After a moment, she held it up again. “I swear to you on the memory of our mothers, on our legacy with this land and this house, on flame and fire, on the Veil House itself, I will not betray your confidence. You are my cousin and we are in this together. Neither love nor men nor circumstance will sway me from my oath. You have my back, Cicely. And I have yours.”
A pale light, orange and flickering, formed around her hand. I stared at it, feeling a pull I’d never felt before. I held up my hand opposite hers.
“I swear to you on the memory of our mothers, on our legacy with this land and this house, on wind and air, on the Veil House itself, I will not betray your confidence. You are my cousin, and we are in this together. Neither love nor men nor circumstance will sway me from my oath. You have my back, Rhiannon. And I have yours.”
From my hand spun a whirlwind, tiny and gray; it began to increase, as did her flame, and the two met in the air, producing a firestorm of sparks, but none that stung as they landed on our skin. We brought our hands together, clasping them. The energy spiraled around us and as we held tight, we were dancing through a vortex, through a spiraling tunnel that wended with flame and cloud.
And then, we were aloft, spinning in a dance through the stars, while the pounding beat of drums in the night surrounded us.
“We are powerful together,” I whispered. “We can move mountains.”
“We can take down armies. We combine our powers and we are the sun and the moon.”
“The night and the day. The summer and winter.” I let my head drop back and laughed wildly as we began to spin faster, and then I was standing outside myself, watching as we spiraled even higher. I glanced to one side and saw Rhiannon’s spirit there, too, watching, laughing joyfully. And then, before our spirits could journey too far from our bodies, we were back in the room, dancing, laughing, stomping on the floor until we collapsed in a pile in the center of the room.
After a few moments, I looked up, surprised no one had come to find out what the fuck we were doing. Rhiannon looked just as confused.
“I guess . . . we were hearing everything on an internal level?”
“Could be,” I said. After a few minutes I sat back and stared at her. “Okay, you want to know what’s going on? Lainule and the rest of them be damned. I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone at this point.”
“I promise. What the hell happened with Anadey?”
I slowly started, and then the words spilled out and I told her, told her everything. About Anadey drugging me and tying me down and trying to strip away my feelings for Grieve. About Wrath being my father, and the plan to find out who Anadey was working with. About the picture with Myst—who looked like me—and Geoffrey. By the time I finished telling her about what Kaylin and I had witnessed, she was staring slack-jawed, shaking her head.
“I can’t even begin to put it all together, but, Cicely, I’m afraid. You know too much. You’re walking into a lion’s den. And somehow, I don’t think Lannan is the lion in this cage.”
I nodded. “You think Geoffrey was behind Anadey’s actions?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like you going out there by yourself.”
“I can’t take anybody—the vamps would be pissed and the last thing we want to do is stomp on any vampire egos. Lannan . . . he tried to warn me in that e-mail and if I hadn’t seen what Kaylin took me to see, or the print . . . I wouldn’t have believed him. I’d have thought it was yet another trick to get me into his clutches. But now, I don’t think so.”
“Don’t trust him too much, Cicely. He’s not one of the good guys.”
“I don’t. I know he still wants me and will do what it takes to get hold of me. But now—alliances are running deep and hidden, and I’m realizing there’s a lot more to this than what’s on the surface.” I stood and straightened the dress. “This is really pretty. I wish . . . I wish I could have thanked Heather for it.”
“I wish so, too,” Rhia said. “I miss her so much. I hate that she’s out there, a spawn of the Indigo Court. I hate that they transformed her. She was so wonderful and now, now she’s Myst’s confidant.”“That’s another thing,” I said. “Myst has to be fuming. Wrath and Lainule managed to capture Grieve. Myst will be on the hunt for her chosen one. And she’s going to blame me for his disappearance. You have to keep watch—the wards may not hold out against an all-out assault. And you can bet that tonight, Myst will realize Grieve is gone, and she may send her people.”
I braided my hair back in a French braid, slipped on some simple gold hoops and a pair of black pumps, and whisked on a quick, five-minute face for evening. Standing back, I observed myself in the mirror.
“You look elegant.” Rhiannon hunted through the closet and pulled out a simple black velvet cape. “Here, this will make the outfit.” She stood back as I slid my arms through the slits and fastened it by the single button in front. “There, see—you look incredible.”
The cape transformed the outfit. I paused long enough to slide the moonstone pendant over my head. “I wish I were going to visit Wrath and Lainule instead of Geoffrey.”
“I know. I wish we could go with you. I wish you didn’t have to face them alone.” She opened the door and handed me my purse. “Call us if you need us. We’ll be there . . . in fact, I’ll ask Kaylin and Peyton to drive out and park nearby. They can hide in the car and wait in case you need them.”
“Normally I’d say no, because the Shadow Hunters will be out tonight in full force, but I think I’d feel better if you did that. Tell them to be cautious, though, and keep a low profile. Don’t hang out on the streets. Take weapons.”
I wish I could go, my dear Cicely . . . watch how much you reveal. Sometimes silence brings life and to speak is to die.
Ulean couldn’t attend me—but I had learned the secret why. The Elementals could sense the vampires but not the other way around. Until now, we thought the vamps just didn’t like them. I thought about asking her to go with me now that we knew the truth, but the chance that someone there might be able to sense her—perhaps one of the bloodwhores—and rat us out was too great. I didn’t dare tick off Geoffrey.
I sucked in a deep breath and swallowed my fear. “I have survived worse fears before. When you’re six, facing the streets with a junkie mother tends to leave you immune to lesser threats.”
Besides, I would—if I read things right—be seeing my beloved Grieve tonight. And that . . . that one fact alone was enough to sustain me. I followed Rhiannon downstairs and peered out the living room window. Geoffrey was sending a limousine and I wanted to meet it outside rather than wait for them to come knocking.
A glance over at the Golden Wood told me that Myst had most likely discovered Grieve was missing. The forest was lit up like a house afire—the sickly glow that permeated the area was shining brightly, flaring with fits and sparks. I looked for Wrath, but he was nowhere in sight and I could only hope that he’d be there tonight when I arrived at Geoffrey’s. I wanted someone on my side who I felt I could believe in, and among all the major players, my father would be most likely to take my part. Lainule was ruthless in her own way, and the vampires were using me to their own ends, but Wrath . . . he was my father. And he’d been watching over me since I returned to New Forest.
A black sedan pulled up in our driveway and out stepped one of the vampires that I recognized by now from Geoffrey’s mansion. I exhaled slowly, steeling myself for the coming meeting. Picking up the bags with Geoffrey’s laundry, the chocolates, and the framed print, I stepped out into the icy night. I was headed straight into the arms of destiny. I only hoped she’d cover me with kisses, instead of flogging me with her whip.
As we pulled out of the driveway, I looked back at the Veil House, wondering how much longer we could hold the front line against Myst. Our wards were strong, but her desire was stronger.
Chapter 21
As I entered the mansion, I felt conspicuous. For one thing, there was no crowd this time. I was standing all alone in the foyer, with Butler-Vamp. A few people came and went—some of them vampires, some bloodwhores and servants—but for the most part, the house seemed empty.
“Follow me,” my guide said. I picked up the bags and obeyed.
We reached a door I’d never been through before, and as I entered the room, my wolf trembled and whimpered. I whispered comforting words to calm it and, heart pounding, turned to face Geoffrey.
He was sitting there, alone, and he looked hungry. I dropped the bags by my feet and glanced over my shoulder as the door behind me shut, and I heard the sound of a lock turning.
“Geoffrey . . . what did you want to see me about?” I wasn’t sure how to broach the picture—or anything, to be honest. It was unnerving to be in a room alone with the Regent, especially after what I’d seen and heard at the Owl People’s circle the night before.
He slowly stood, then languorously wandered over to my side. Without a word, he circled me, then came to a stop right in front of me. “Cicely, do you know where Leo is?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “Yes, he’s home very sick. He fainted this morning from a fever. I . . . I did his errands for him since I knew I would be seeing you tonight.” I pushed the bags forward with the toe of my shoe.
He glanced down at them. “Domestic, aren’t we? Playing fetch so Leo does not get into trouble? Or for another reason?”
Shivering, I hesitantly reached down and picked up the bag with the picture. I slowly held it out to him. “What’s this?” My voice barely above a whisper, I was shaking so hard I could barely form the words. “Were you and Myst . . .”
“Ah, so you’ve seen it. I did not mean for you to. There are reasons that we hire day-runners. Leo should have called his contact this morning and asked for a stand-in. I shall have to have a chat with him about that.”
“Please, no—he was delirious.”
“Sometimes the magic-born remind me of humans. Weak . . . but necessary. So, you have seen my secret and you now wonder. Were Myst and I in love? No. Were we star-crossed? No. Were we lovers? Yes.” He took the picture and cast the bag aside. “She was so beautiful. She looks a lot like you, you know.” His jet-black eyes fixated on me and his nostrils flared.
I took a step back. “What . . . why . . . you tried to turn her but it wasn’t the way it said in the history books, was it? You were partners . . . she wanted it.”
“We could have become a force that no land could withstand. We planned to rule the world together. If things had gone right, we could have conquered innumerable lands. But the turning changed her. She became . . . what she is. She was no longer willing to share power. She became more dangerous than I ever dreamed she would.” He glanced up, a dark look on his face. “She betrayed me, and I tried to destroy her.”
“And that is why the war . . . the other vampires think it’s about her anger at being turned, but she’s really out for your head. To grind you into the dust.”
“As she is you. We’re in the same boat, my dear. You were her daughter and betrayed her. I was her lover and gave her the keys to the kingdom. And now, she needs no one . . .” He stopped. “Which is where my plans for you come in. Cicely, before I bring your tortured love in for you—and yes, we have him back—I offer you a chance that you will never have with anyone else.”