Thicker than Water (Fangs and Feuds #1)

A heart buried deep

A HEART BURIED DEEP

Celine

“My god ,” Renata sighs.

“Jesus, what now ?” Lexi says, attempting in vain to wipe blood from her tube dress.

Another vampire appears in the door of the emergency exit. A bright amethyst glitters at her throat. Her long, purple robe is disheveled.

It’s Amrita Vyas. She must have come from Elmwood Academy. In her arms she’s carrying…

“Hallie!” Amara shouts.

Without a moment to spare, we all huddle nervously around the two newly-arrived vampires.

“Is she all right?” Xia asks, her brow furrowed, her broomstick in hand.

“What happened?” I ask Amrita. “Did Tudor take the school?”

“He tried,” Amrita responds. Her large eyes are sharp, and her tone is brusque. “But we managed to capture him, the other vampires, and the Arundel shifters. Hallie defected to our side. She was injured, but she should be all right when she wakes up…”

“Thank Hecate,” Amara exhales, putting her hand to Hallie’s face to brush a stray curl out of her eyes.

Amrita tilts her head in confusion, but there’s too much going on to distract her. “Um…yes, one of the Hecate witches managed to heal her, but she should probably rest for a few days. I brought her back here, to check if you…”

“I left Tudor in the woods,” I reply, firmly. “We didn’t support his plan to attack the academy. If you’ve locked him in the Cave, I owe you a debt of gratitude. He would certainly have come back for my head if his plan had succeeded.”

Lexi gasps, clutching her chest. Amrita turns to her, and Renata.

“That’s right,” Renata says quickly, shooting Lexi an icy glare. “All three of us are with you, Amrita. We stayed behind, rather than attack the academy.”

Lexi nods anxiously.

“Well, it’s not really me you have to convince,” Amrita sighs.

The elevator chimes, and the club is filled with gold light.

“Oh shit …” Amara whispers.

Eight robed witches march grandly into the club, squinting their eyes in the underground haze. They’re in a tight formation, but don’t seem like they’re planning to fight. None of them are in the air, or have wands raised. They look like they’re expecting us to concede.

I recognize the witch in the center. She has a lined face and a haughty air. She holds up her head as though she owns the place.

But she doesn’t.

Now that Tudor is imprisoned, I own this place.

I step out in front of Amrita and the others.

“High Priestess Nox,” I say, tilting my head in her direction.

“Tudor’s eldest progeny,” she says, with a slight wrinkle of her nose.

“Celine C?té,” I correct, firmly.

“Fine, Celine ,” she says, a condescending note in her voice. “I’m afraid we’re not meeting on very positive terms. Your Creator, Tudor Thornblade, has broken the Arundel wolf shifters out of the Cave and attacked Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy, one of the Hecate witch’s strongholds-”

Amrita snorts loudly behind me, but Lavinia ignores her.

“Luckily, the Triple Council managed to subdue him, and Tudor, Oana, and the shifters were thrown back in the Cave where they belong. As a gesture of goodwill, we returned his youngest progeny to you-”

“ I returned Hallie to her sisters,” Amrita says sharply. “If I recall, Lavinia, you wanted to throw her in the Cave as well.”

“Be that as it may,” Lavinia says. “This does not bode well for relations between the witches of the Triple Council and the northern vampire alliance.”

I clear my throat. “High Priestess, you should be aware that Tudor Thornblade and Oana Ionescu chose to attack Elmwood Academy of their own volition. Me and my sisters, Renata Espina, Alexandra Price, and Hallie Johnson…we had nothing to do with his plan…”

Lavinia Nox raises her hand as she interrupts me. “I’m sorry, but I find that very difficult to believe. Vampires always follow their Creators, this is a well-known magical tenet. You say that you didn’t support the vampire’s plan to attack the school, and yet you did nothing to warn Amrita Vyas or any of the Triple Council members about your Creator’s nefarious plans.”

To everyone’s surprise, Amara steps out in front of me, face-to-face with her High Priestess.

“That was my fault,” she says.

“Amara,” Lavinia says with a gasp. “What are you-”

“I was captured by a rival vampire gang,” Amara explains. “But Celine rescued me. If it wasn’t for her, I would have been killed.”

The Hecate witches whisper and look back and forth between Lavinia and Amara. A pale, red-haired witch grasps her chest in shock.

“ What is going on?” Lexi hisses to Xia.

“Don’t drag me into this,” Xia whispers back.

“Amara, be very careful what you say,” Lavinia says in a low, warning tone.

“I’ll say what I please,” Amara retorts, fire in her hazel eyes.

“Amara, you don’t have to…” I start.

“Yes, I do,” Amara says. She turns to address Amrita and my sisters. “I’m a Hecate witch, I have been all along.”

“What?” Renata says.

“You’re a witch ?” Lexi splutters.

“I thought you looked familiar!” Amrita gasps. “Amara Moonfall, isn’t it? Marcus Moonfall’s daughter?”

“That’s right,” Amara confirms. “I’ve been a Hecate witch for two hundred years. So when Lavinia became suspicious of Tudor, she sent me undercover to spy on his business.”

“And I was right,” Lavinia replies. “Tudor was plotting against us all along!”

“That doesn’t give you the right to spy on us!” Renata replies, tossing her hair back angrily. She reaches for the dagger in her belt.

“I’m the High Priestess of the Hecate coven!” Lavinia Nox responds, a halo of bright light radiating from her. The witches around her reach into their robes for their wands, eyes shining yellow. “I won’t tolerate such insolence from a vampire. And I’ll do as I see fit, to maintain the peace of this region! If I have to, I won’t hesitate to unleash my full force.”

I’m about to speak, but Amara turns toward her High Priestess, her palms turned upward, golden energy magic pooling around her fingers. From out of nowhere, a small hawk - the same one that came to me in the woods - swoops down and lands upon her shoulder.

“If you dare to harm any of these vampires, or any of the their guard,” she shouts, her eyes a brighter yellow than any of the other Hecate witches, “you’re going to have to go through me first, Lavinia!”

I stare at her in amazement. I don’t know how I never realized her true identity. She looks like the powerful, incredible witch that she is.

And the woman that I love.

Her declaration causes quite a stir among the witches. They look to Lavinia in confusion, not willing to turn against her. The red-haired witch beside Lavinia turns and whispers urgently in her ear.

The High Priestess glares at Amara with a deep frown on her face. For a moment, I wonder if there will be another battle tonight. I hope not - I can feel the pull of the dawn approaching, and I know the witches will have the advantage.

But Lavinia Nox shakes her head in disappointment. “Fine. There will be no bloodshed tonight. Let it be remembered that I took pity upon you all, and turned the other cheek!”

With one final withering glare in my direction, she storms out toward the elevators.

“But that doesn’t mean this is over! You haven’t heard the last of the Hecate witches,” she shouts, as her and her witches file back into the elevator .

“Well, who wants a drink?” Xia sighs, ducking under the bar and grabbing an open bottle of whiskey.

“Me, please!” Nova chirps, leaning against the bar.

“ I’m going to ground!” Lexi says. “This night has been way too long, I need my beauty sleep.”

“I’m going to get Hallie to her coffin,” Amrita says, nodding toward my still-unconscious youngest sister.

“We’ll arrange a crypt for you, Rita,” Renata says. “We all need some rest, and then we can sort everything out tomorrow.”

She gives me a stressed look. I look around at everyone, battle-weary and tired. I could never have imagined being in this position. But here we are. And now that Tudor is gone, I’ve got to step up.

I raise my voice slightly, addressing Renata and Lexi. “Listen both of you, I want you to know…we’re going to make it through this. Tudor might have turned us, but we’re so much more than he is. Renata, you’re a brilliant CEO. You make this whole hotel run like clockwork. Lexi, you’re confident and strong. You could sell anything to anyone. And Hallie…well, I’ve never met a more optimistic vampire, or one who’s so willing to learn.”

Renata clicks her tongue, but can’t suppress a grin. “Took you long enough to notice!”

Lexi clasps her hands together. “I knew you had a heart buried deep inside there somewhere! Even if it doesn’t beat anymore.”

“Don’t go spreading that around!” I reply with a raised eyebrow. “I still need to be able to protect you, and everyone at the hotel. We’re going to need it.”

Everyone files out toward the elevators, Amrita going first with Hallie in her arms and her owl familiar hovering beside them.

Then it’s only Amara and I.

Her eyes are hazel again, and there’s a smudge of dirt across her cheek. She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me close.

“That’s sweet, what you said,” she whispers.

“I meant it. Now that Tudor is gone, someone needs to watch out for this place.”

“Well, you don’t need to do it alone.”

“Are you sure? It’s going to be dangerous.”

She laughs. “Danger? I eat danger for breakfast. Didn’t you know? I’m one of the most powerful witches in the northern region.”

Her smile is infectious. It erases all doubt from my mind. “You were incredible tonight.”

“You too.” She pulls me closer, her heartbeat steady and strong. But I can feel the pull of the dawn.

“Would you…like to join me tonight?”

“In your crypt?” she asks with a grin.

“Of course.”

She puts her lips to my cheek, and whispers in my ear.

“There’s nothing I’d rather do.”