Chapter 39

The first screech shattered Cosette’s heart into oblivion, a screech of pure agony straight from the mouth of the person she loved more than anything in the world. She started to rush back to the infirmary, needing to be near him in his affliction, but a strong hand gripped her elbow and pulled her back.

Adam.

Both she and Laurel burst into tears while he dragged them down the castle hallway and outside into the garden. The pained screeches became muffled with each step until she no longer heard them.

“Where are we going?” Laurel sniffed.

“To chase butterflies in the forest,” he replied sarcastically, but even Cosette couldn’t smile at the irony. Her dear Oriel was in so much pain, and his future remained uncertain. Would all go well? Would he survive?

“Is the blood bane going to kill him?” she asked in horror. Her gaze drifted back to the looming black castle.

“Not at the amount administered.” He sat on a bench, his arms resting casually on his knees. His raised eyebrow dared her to sit next to him.

She didn’t dare.

“How certain are you this surgery will work?” She wrung her hands together, her gaze darting the way they came.

He shrugged. “I excel in herbs and tonics, not surgery. The blood bane will keep his venom dried up enough for Zachariah to do what he needs to do. The rest is a mystery.”

He pulled out a small book from his pocket and began sketching as if expressing his disinterest in conversing. Thankfully, Laurel wasn’t at all cold toward her.

“It might be best if we distract ourselves.” Laurel sniffed miserably as she looped her arm through Cosette’s and led her away from Adam—who seemed to be watching them carefully despite appearing preoccupied.

They ventured deeper into the gardens. The red nettle flowers caught her eye, bright and beautiful and red, but the usual joy they offered crumbled on the wind. Her crying heart still echoed Oriel’s screech of pain.

“Where is Leif?” Laurel asked as they passed beneath an archway made of interwoven branches, successfully pulling her thoughts away from Oriel.

“He’s with my brother Luca.”

Laurel stiffened at the mention of Luca, and Cosette glanced at her, her brows furrowing.

“With Luca?” Laurel asked with a strained expression. “He’s no doubt giving Leif more than he can chew.”

She opened her mouth to ask after her meaning, but as if having heard his name, Luca appeared around the bend, his smile large enough to rival the Ichor Knell palace. Leif laughed while bouncing on his shoulders.

“Faster, Uncle Luca!” Leif cried, letting out another fit of laughter. “Faster!”

However, Luca stopped short, his smile faltering immediately at the sight of Laurel. They stared back at each other for a moment, the atmosphere thick with tension. Awkward tension.

“I suddenly have a bad taste in my mouth.” Laurel turned away with her head held high. “If I hear anything about Oriel, you will be the first to know.”

Without another word, she turned in the opposite direction, her blonde curls bouncing behind her before she disappeared altogether. Luca approached hesitantly, his smile still nonexistent, though Leif’s smile was as wild as his disheveled hair.

“Mama! Uncle Luca and I were playing birds!”

Cosette laughed, grateful for it after the difficult week. She watched as Luca set Leif on the ground, and her son sped off with his arms held out on either side of him. He never ventured too far as he weaved in and out of the bushes and trees.

She rounded on her brother, her hands on her hips. “Care to explain the exchange with Laurel?”

“Not really.” But when she smacked his arm, he snorted and shoved her right back. Though something was…missing. His light. It was gone. A new concern grew within her to add to her other worries and burdens. “Fine, fine. Laurel and I used to court. It seems as if she still hasn’t forgiven me.”

“What?” she squeaked. “I wasn’t aware of this.”

“We courted in secret.”

“What did you do? What hasn’t she forgiven you for?”

He grimaced. “I don’t want to talk about it.” His gaze looked far away, almost wistful. The light further snuffed from his eyes. This wasn’t just about Laurel. Something else bothered him.

Not wanting him to close off further, she attempted to change the subject.

“Luca, we need to talk about your union gift. Completely inappropriate.” To her annoyance, he burst into laughter, which only resulted in a deep scowl from her. “Yes, Oriel laughed too. Much to my horrifying embarrassment. I am officially disowning you from being my brother.”

“You can’t disown your own brother,” he wheezed through his laughing fit, and some of the heaviness in his eyes disappeared. “Who would play ring toss with you in the courtyard?”

“I have a family of my own now,” she huffed. “I will play with Leif, and you will not be invited. In fact, you are banned from our estate altogether.”

He smirked. “You know how I am about rules. If you make them, I will do everything in my power to break them. Where else would I get a thrill in life?”

She rolled her eyes but smiled as Leif burst laughingly out of the trees in front of them before disappearing again. Her smile quickly fell. If it were up to her, she would rush back up to the infirmary and hold Oriel’s hand through the entire ordeal. But when she glanced over her shoulder, she found Adam trailing not too far behind, watching her with a close eye. There would be no sneaking past him.

Luca wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as if sensing the comfort she needed. She hadn’t realized she’d started trembling until her brother placed his hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Oriel will be all right,” he whispered. “Just you watch. Everything will turn out fine.”

“I hope you are right.”

Please live, she prayed in her heart. Oriel, please live. For me. For Leif. I love you.

****

Still sleeping…

Cosette squeezed Oriel’s hand, his skin no longer cold and clammy but something between cold vampire skin and raging fever. On and off, the fever would appear. And just when she thought she might lose him, he recovered from it.

A shuddering breath escaped her lips as she trailed her fingers through his large curls. His chest rose up and down with each breath. Occasionally, the rattling in his lungs returned. But it was no longer constant like before.

Her fingers moved from his hair and brushed his cheek before she pressed her palm over his chest. His heart beat faintly but stronger than yesterday.

The most surprising emotion bubbled up in her core until it burned, searing hot within her body. Anger. Vampire slavers had done this. How many other families had been torn apart? How many other vampires had suffered? How many more would continue to suffer?

Determination and bravery intertwined within her like they had never done before. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the seashell Oriel had given her so long ago. She kissed the grooves in the shell and set it on top of the small table beside the infirmary bed.

“No one else will suffer if I can do something about it,” she whispered.

She glanced back at him one last time before she exited the dim room and sought out her father. She found him in his study, pouring over the documents on his desk. He glanced up when she knocked on the doorframe, and with a single nod, he gave her permission to enter.

His familiar, comforting scent of ink and parchment filled the room, something she had missed during her time away from the castle.

“Is Oriel—”

“I need you to take me back to where those vampires sold me.”

Her father’s face paled. “Never.”

Of course, she had expected him to object. She took another step toward him and pressed a palm against his desk. “If you won’t, I will find someone who will. I prefer it be you.”

He opened his mouth and closed it again. Finally, he shook his head and sighed. “Adam and Dracula took care of those slavers. If you go back there, I don’t know what you will find.”

She imagined lots of dead bodies and plenty of blood if Dracula had made an appearance. Still, she nodded. “I understand. Will you take me?”

For several long moments, he simply stared at her as if puzzled. He tipped his head to the side, a crease forming between his eyebrows. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

With a shake of her head, she rounded the desk and gripped his arm. “This is important to me. Please, Papa.”

He ran a hand over his chin and then rested his fingers over hers. “You are not the same person as the one I gave away to Oriel.”

“No, I’m not.” So much had changed. But it was for the better. She felt more confident and less timid, able to face hard things and overcome them. And she had a new purpose, something she knew she had to do. If she didn’t, her conscience would never forgive her.

With one last lingering look filled with both sorrow and pride, he sighed. “Very well. But if I sense even the slightest hint of danger, we are coming right back.”

Oriel must have told him the location, as he materialized without asking where to go. Ichor Knell flashed by below, followed by green and red foliage and then snow. Lots of snow. The sight of the white powder both terrified and thrilled her. Her pleasant memories outweighed the bad as she recalled every moment with her mate. Every touch. Every kiss. Every sweet word he’d murmured in her ear.

Finally, they became solid once more just outside the rundown auction building. The darkness of evening fell over the city like a hushed whisper. Several lanterns hung from signposts, illuminating the name of each business. Humans still out and about scattered at the sight of them.

But she didn’t fear the humans. Not when what lay within the building scared her much more.

“Are you sure about this?” her father asked beside her.

She ran her hands up and down her arms to ward off the wintry chill and nodded. “I’m sure.” Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she stepped through the door.

The powerful stench of rot and vampire blood assaulted her nose, and she hid her face in her elbow in an attempt to block out the smell. Spatters of red dotted the ground and one of the fallen rafters. A pair of legs stuck out over the beam, connected to a still body with limbs tangled together.

Vampire.

A shudder shimmied down her spine as she averted her gaze and continued farther into the building. Her father remained one step away from her at all times.

Together, they descended the staircase. The putrid stench worsened until they came across two more fallen vampires, ones she recognized despite the decaying of their bodies. Among the scents was a familiar one she would know anywhere. Wood shavings and daylight.

Oriel.

A whimper climbed her throat. But a sense of comfort pushed out her despair when her father touched her shoulder. And then anger followed, giving her the courage to keep going.

The stage where she had been presented was now littered with vampire bodies, their spilled blood soaking into the wood. Her stomach churned at the sight, and she pulled her gaze away to venture into the rooms she had not seen before.

One of the rooms lay bare except for a table and chair. A second room contained a vampire body with an iron dagger sticking out of his chest. Her head spun at the smell alone, and her nostrils burned from being so close to the iron.

Farther down the hall was a closed door, and when she turned the handle, it resisted. Locked. Yet she didn’t sense the shimmering barrier that prevented her from entering a room without permission. The vampire who had control over the room was likely dead.

“I need to get in here.”

Her father smashed his boot once against the door, and the wood splintered against the strength of the kick. The door swung open on broken hinges to reveal a dark room filled with safes and a wide variety of documents. She sifted through a stack of documents on the desk, her stomach rolling with queasiness. They were sale transactions. Hers, Leif’s, and Sarene’s were included in the pile.

She jumped when a bang startled her, and she spun around to find her father ripping open one of the safes with his bare hands. Several more documents lay inside along with a vast amount of coin.

“What would you like to do with this?” he asked, several coins clinking together in his hands.

Biting her lip, she returned her attention back to the documents and sifted through name after name. It would be a waste to throw out the coin, no matter how it had been acquired. But perhaps…

“We will use it to help these people rebuild their lives,” she answered quietly. Despite the outrageous amount of coin, she knew it wasn’t enough to help all of these vampires to recover and rebuild. But it was a start.

She pulled one of the transaction sheets to the top of the pile and read the name, buyer, and other details. “We’ll start with this one.” It might take time to find all of these people. Not only that, but she would need a means of transportation, housing, and a way to officially put this underground operation to an end.

What if there were more? This could just be the start of it.

But she vowed to help them in any way she could. Beginning today. For Sarene. For Leif.

For Oriel.