Chapter 45
45
EVANGELINE
A s one does when their personal life becomes a complete shitshow, I went to see my sister.
Maybe we could stew in our misery together.
Maybe, if Bex hadn’t evacuated, she would bring us a tray of chocolate chip cookies and we could eat them all and get a stomach ache and that would take our minds off the other problems piling up in our lives.
But I hesitated, standing outside Angel’s door.
Since the attack, I hadn’t had time to visit, and as far as I knew, my sister hadn’t stepped foot beyond her room. At my knock, Angel’s voice floated through the door. “Go away. I’m reading.”
“It’s your sister,” I rolled my eyes. “Let me in.”
A pause, then the sound of the lock turning. The door opened wide enough for Angel to peek through. Her flushed face was framed by messy blond curls, her blue eyes bloodshot. “Oh. Evangeline. Sorry.” She stepped aside to let me in.
Today, her room was filled with the rich scent of lavender, spilling out of the vases displayed throughout the room. Books were piled on every available surface, some left open mid-read. Angel had always been the more bookish of us, but even this was excessive. I flipped one over and grinned.
Okay, more steamy werewolf romance, it was .
We liked what we liked, didn’t we?
“You look terrible,” I said lightly, brushing her hair out of her face, frowning at the dark circles under eyes, the way her nightgown hung from her thin shoulders. “When was the last time you fed?”
“So bossy. And it was yesterday. A very nice donor. Handsome, too, I think Bex has made it a point to hand choose them, just to tempt me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And are you? Tempted?”
She huffed out a sad little laugh. “Not in the least, unfortunately.” One hand drifted to her belly and through the nightgown, I saw her little baby bump. That fast, everything inside me froze, every emotion sucked into a void of cold fear.
Angel was pregnant.
With Tyrell’s child.
My sweet little sister was carrying a monster’s baby and here was the actual, undeniable proof. Before this moment, that fact had been something I’d filed away like an inconvenient truth, but now became something much darker.
We were at war.
There was a host of enemies gathering, ready to take the throne.
Ready to kill Riordan, Blake, Nash, and whoever stood in their way.
And once Riordan was dead, once the way was cleared for Collum or Valaine or whatever puppet king the royal houses placed on the throne—when would those enemies realize my sister was carrying the rightful heir to the Nocturne Clan?
When would they decide Angel had to be eliminated from their equation?
Was this the rest of the secret Blake had been keeping from me, or was I the only one who’d figured out that my hidden away and totally forgotten bookworm of a sister was an important puzzle piece in this war?
Angel rolled her eyes and flopped onto her bed, her white nightgown pooling around her. “Stop looking at me like that, Evie. I’m fine. Better, actually, I just… don’t feel like seeing anyone.”
“You haven’t seen anyone for days,” I said, folding my arms. “Not even me.”
“Like that was my fault. And I’m seeing you now,” she retorted, then hesitated. “Can you do me a favor?”
“What?” I waggled my eyebrows. “Have Bex bring you more werewolf porn?”
“Take me outside.” Her soft plea sounded childlike. “I’ll go mad if I have to stay in here another minute. Just for a little while. Please. I just…didn’t want to go out there alone. Not when the world suddenly seems so big.”
Her words hit me like a blow to the chest. Angel was always so serene. Seeing her like this—raw, vulnerable—made me feel like I’d failed her all over again.
“No,” I said immediately. “It’s too dangerous,” I continued, but she sat up quickly, her hands clutching the edge of the bed.
“Please, Evie, I’ll stay close to the castle, I won’t even go that far. I want to see the sun.” Her desperate eyes flicked to the window, to the beautiful summer day, and for a moment, all I saw was the little girl she’d been, clutching my hand when storms rattled our windows at night. “ Please .”
Are you kidding me?
Weeks cooped up in this room without a complaint and she wants to go outside now?
“Angel, there are enemies outside these walls you don’t even know about. These are dangerous times and even with the protective ward,’ which I didn’t trust one bit “you’d be exposed out there.” I rubbed my aching temple, realizing I sounded exactly like Blake, or even Riordan, before he’d lost his damn mind.
“You should stay inside, where it’s safe.”
“Like this place was safe the night of the ball?” she rolled her eyes. “I heard everything, Evie. The screaming, the shouting. People running for their lives. I smelled the blood, tried to block out the howling revenants. I was scared to death, even with the guards outside my door. Bex came and stayed with me, but she… we didn’t know where you were.”
Her blue eyes took on a dangerous edge. “I spent the entire night locked in here with no information, no weapons, and Bex, who was scared to death. So don’t lecture me about safety, Evangeline Grace.”
Fuck.
Fuckity fuck.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t keep me caged up. You’ve been badgering me to go out, so here I am, ready to go out, only for you to tell me no, it’s not safe .”
Finally, a sliver of the old Angel—the real Angel—was breaking through the mask wounded hopelessness. Bad timing, but who was I to tell her no?
I relented. “Fine,” I said. “But I’m staying with you the entire time, and put some clothes on, you can’t go outside in your nightgown.”
When her face lit up, I couldn’t help but smile.
Ten minutes later, my sister—dressed in leggings and an oversized sweater—and I were walking arm in arm down the hallway when that little prickle of warning trickled down my spine.
Someone was watching .
I fought the urge to peer around, to inspect every dark corner and cobwebby alcove.
No, better whoever was watching believe I was clueless, that I was focused on my sister and nothing else. But I’d definitely tell Blake, the moment I saw him…my teeth grit together.
Or not.
Maybe I’d keep my own damn secrets, like he and Riordan kept theirs. Maybe I’d have my own damn “need to know” list, and they didn’t need to fucking know shit .
“When we get outside, I want you to stick close. If I say run, you run.” She rolled her eyes, but nodded and when we emerged into the gardens, Angel sucked in a deep breath of cool, evening air, her face tilting toward the cloud flecked sky. The sun bathed her pale skin in hues of pink and gold, and she looked otherworldly.
“Thank you,” she murmured, bending over to touch a blooming rose, her fingers brushing the petals as if they were made of glass.
We walked in silence for a while, the only sounds the rustling leaves and the distant chirping of crickets. Finally, we sat on a stone bench near the fountain.
“Do you think I’ll be a good mother?” Angel asked out of the blue, her voice barely above a whisper.
The question startled me. “Of course, you will,” I said, turning to face her. “You’re kind, and patient, and... God, you’re everything I’m not.”
The answer struck a chord inside me, something I’d never wondered about myself.
Motherhood required certain things. Gentleness, kindness…a tender heart, and my heart gave a sideways wrench. No, I’d never be a mother, because I lacked every single quality required in the job description .
Hell, I didn’t even have a soft side.
I’d spent too long hardening myself against this world to bring something tiny and helpless into it.
She laughed lightly, a trace of sadness in the sound. “I’m not so sure. I’ve been so... useless lately. Hiding away. Letting everyone else deal with the mess.”
“Angel,” I said firmly, taking her hand in mine. “You’re not useless. You’ve always seen the good in other people, and you’ve never let the world make you hard. And when the time comes, you’ll be an amazing mother. I know it.”
She smiled, and for a moment, it was as if the weight of the past weeks lifted. But the moment didn’t last.
“Angel,” I asked cautiously, searching every bush and tree for possible hiding spots. “What do you know about Malachi?”
Her smile faded. “Why?”
“I need to understand him,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “How often did he visit Tyrell at Darkmore? Do you know if he’d spent any time here before you…came? He seemed so…familiar with the castle, I wondered if he might have stayed here, in the past.”
Angel hesitated, her fingers tracing patterns on her leggings. “Tyrell never talked much in front of me,” she admitted. “But every time Laurent mentioned Malachi’s name, he acted... uneasy. Afraid, even.”
“Afraid?”
“He was more cautious around Malachi than any other vampire. More like…Malachi was a threat, even though that’s impossible, right?” She gnawed on her bottom lip.
“Stop biting, Angel,” I warned automatically. “Anything else?”
She nodded. “Malachi seemed…too interested in me, if that makes any sense. I mean, since I was Tyrell’s mate,” her no se wrinkled up, “everyone else was smart enough to stay away, but not him. He was always popping out of the shadows, asking me the strangest questions.”
Her words made my stomach twist. “Did he ask anything specific?”
“Yes,” she said, then frowned. “He asked about mom. Who she was, her name, what she looked like.” She bit her lip. “I…I ended up telling him everything, Evie. It was…just so nice to talk to someone, and I was so lonely and he was so kind. I told him her name was Aurora, and I told him…”
Her head shot up and she scanned the garden, eyes wide before she dropped her voice to the barest whisper. “I told him about her magic, Evie. I know I wasn’t supposed to, I know I shouldn’t have, but the words slipped out like I couldn’t stop them.”
A coldness wrapped around my heart, slithered through my veins.
That little kernel inside me seemed to come alive, as if the mere mention of mom’s power coaxed my own back into existence.
I’d been warned, ever since I was a child, how dangerous our magic was.
That danger had been hammered into me; the lesson doubly enforced the night Silas killed our mother right in front of me. But lately…I’d wondered what it would be like to possess magic of my own.
Would I end up like Blake, in full control of my powers, someone to be contended with?
Or like Riordan, its unwilling slave, as darkness slowly took me over and turned me into a monster?
“It’s okay, Angel, I can’t imagine how horrible living here must have been.” I squeezed her fragile hand, cursing myself for failing that first time, when I should have dragged her out of this fucking place. “It seems our secret is out anyways, so no harm done.”
“What do you mean?”
“I…” like my sister, I scanned the bushes and trees, knowing Malachi was perfectly capable of hiding in plain sight. “I can’t explain. Not anywhere on these grounds. But I’ll take care of this, Angel, don’t worry. In fact, I don’t want you to worry about a thing except your baby.”
I rose, stretched, cracked my neck. “You keep yourself fed and rested, and every day we’ll do this, set out here at dusk and talk. It’s nice, isn’t it?’ I surveyed the shadows swallowing up the statues, the air exploding with the sweetness of night blooming flowers.
Some of the shadows had faded from her eyes, leaving them sparkling.
“He’s hiding something. In the castle. Like a secret. And he’s always carrying those keys.” She murmured, with a sideways glance. “What do you think they’re for? Be careful, Evie. Malachi plays the fool, but he’s dangerous.”
“Oh, I know,” I said softly, though her warning lingered.
The wind picked up as we walked back, and for a brief moment, we were just two sisters, untouched by the weight of ugliness and secrets. But even as I held Angel’s hand, my mind raced.
Malachi was more dangerous than I even imagined, and I replayed the expression on his face the night of that ill-fated dinner with Tyrell, when he’d watched me so greedily across the table. How he’d manipulated me into feeding him as he lay there dying. How I could still remember how his blood had sparkled on my own lips as I’d drank from his wrist.
He’d known of my existence long before the day I’d first met him, trapped in that wooded ravine like a wounded rabbit, and I’d been as unaware of the danger in the weeks since. I’d been wary, but nowhere near cautious enough.
And I’d played right into his hands again, by stealing that folio.
Perhaps it was time for this rabbit to grow some fucking teeth, because while Malachi Draven had plans for Riordan and Blake…
He had plans for me, as well.
The late summer storm lashed the windows as Angel sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, her arms wrapped tightly around a pillow as if it could shield her from the world. I sat on the floor by her feet, watching the fire I’d built flare to life.
“Evie,” Angel said softly, her voice disappearing beneath the pattering of rain hitting the glass. “How safe are we here? Do you think…we should leave?”
I glanced up at her, at the way her wide eyes searched mine. I wanted to reassure her, to tell her that everything would be fine. That this castle, these walls, could protect us from the chaos outside.
“Yes,” I said, forcing a smile to my lips. “We’re safe. Once the staff comes back, things will get back to normal in no time.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she shook her head. “Don’t lie to me, Evie. I can always tell when you’re lying.”
The pillow slipped from her arms as she leaned forward, her fingers clutching the edge of the bed. “Please,” she said. “Tell me the truth.”
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Fine,” I said, my voice low. “You want the truth?”
She nodded, her face pale and serious.
“We’re not safe,” I admitted. The words felt like stones dropping from my lips. “Not here. Not anywhere. Riordan is...” I hesitated, the next part of the sentence clawing at my throat. “He’s changing, Angel. Tyrell’s magic is eating away at him, piece by piece. Outside these walls, our enemies are gathering, plotting their next attack.”
Angel’s eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t look away. “What do we do?” she whispered.
“I don’t know,” I said, the helplessness in my own voice making me nauseous. “If I knew more about being a vampire, Angel, we would leave tonight. Go somewhere far away where nobody could find us. Where Silas couldn’t touch us. But I don’t know enough.”
I shook my head angrily. “I don’t know how to keep us fed, and with the baby, you have to feed every single day. I don’t know who to trust, or how to use any of my goddamned vampire powers, which are nonexistent, by the way.”
“Evie, you’ve barely been a vampire for a month. It took me weeks and weeks to even dematerialize.”
“You can do that?” I straightened up. “Really?”
“I can, but the healer said no dematerializing until after the baby comes, so…” she shook her head. “I guess I’m as stuck as you are.”
Well, that was that.
“We can’t leave, Angel. As dangerous as this castle is, we’d be on the run out there, too vulnerable.” I shook my head. “And Silas is waiting for an opportunity to snatch me up.” I paused, then decided she might as well know the truth. “He and our uncles caught me, the last time I went outside the walls.” At Malachi’s urging.
“Do you want to leave?” Angel asked, tears slipping silently down her cheeks. For a moment, I thought I did. Riordan wasn’t Riordan anymore. Blake was lying to me, despite all the empty promises and declarations of his supposed love.
But then, to my eternal surprise, I found that…I didn’t.
“No.” I said firmly. “I want to stay. I want to finish this. We run now, and we’ll always be hunted. Staying ahead of Silas and our uncles would be impossible. Our only option is to stay and fight.”
“I want to stay, too,” she said, hugging her knees to her chest. “For the first time in our lives, Evie... it feels like we’re part of something. Something bigger than ourselves. We could be a family. You feel that too, don’t you?”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the words wouldn’t come.
Because she was right.
For all the danger, for all the chaos and uncertainty, despite the fact Blake lied to me—okay, so he had his reasons, but still—I’d found something here I hadn’t felt since mom died.
Belonging. Purpose. A sense of safety, despite the dangers.
“Okay,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. “We stay, until we decide it’s more dangerous here than out there. But if things go south, we need to be ready to leave at the drop of a hat. Do you have a go bag?”
Angel nodded, her grip tightening around mine. “Under my bed, like mom taught us. We’ll be okay,” she said. “As long as we have each other. That’s what mom used to say. ”
Her words ignited something in me, a spark of the courage I thought I’d lost. I looked up at her, my heart tightening at the determination on her tear-streaked face, and felt a swell of pride. My little sister wasn’t so little anymore.
“Yes, she did,” I agreed, reaching up to hold her hand. “We stay. But if we’re going to fight, we’ll have to be smart. We can’t let Silas or Alistair get their hands on us. I’m never going back to White Chapel.”
“No,” Angel’s grin turned fierce, “I suppose we won’t, since you burned that fucking place to the ground.”