Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
VAUGHN
Ididn’t think Sophie would agree to get in Derek’s car. To be fair, I wouldn’t be so keen either if I were in her shoes. He wasn’t pleased that I insisted on riding in the back seat with her instead of shotgun.
The entire scenario is so weird. How can King Raphael have access to Tatiana, his archnemesis, if she’s not his prisoner?
I don’t know Derek that well, but the king trusts him, so that’s good enough, I guess.
I have many questions, though I try to keep them bottled up because I don’t want to freak Sophie out even more.
But my tongue has a will of its own. I last two minutes.
“If the plan was for you to drive us to see Tatiana, why did the warlock drop us off near Bloodstone?”
“It was the safest location. The area is protected by Solomon’s wards.”
“But the warlock could breach through?” I press, even though it’s a stupid question. He clearly could or we wouldn’t have ended up there.
“Obviously,” Derek grumbles.
“My father told me Queen Tatiana was ill and not seeing anyone,” Sophie cut in. “How can you have access to her?”
“Has he told you what ails her?” Derek asks.
“No, he was vague about her illness. Does he not know?”
“It’s possible he doesn’t know the details if she hid it from him.”
I watch Sophie’s profile. Her jaw is clenched tight. “Do you know what’s wrong with her?”
Derek doesn’t answer for a couple of beats, and the silence is deafening. I take that as a bad sign.
“I do know,” he finally replies. “You must be prepared. She’s not the person you used to know.”
Sophie crosses her arms and looks out the window. “I don’t think I’ve ever truly known her.”
I want to take her hand and console her, but she’s closed off now.
I stay on my side of the vehicle, and the gap between us feels like a chasm.
I wonder what seeing her mother will do to Sophie’s psyche.
Will she decide that getting involved with me is a bad idea?
Will she take her mother’s side? My heart is beating so fast, but not as fast as my mind is conjuring up all sorts of crazy scenarios—each one worse than the last.
I look out the window too and think about how my life went from ordinary to this chaotic existence. It’s while I’m lost in my head that I feel Sophie’s fingers on my hand. Her touch sends a jolt of electricity through me—proverbially, not literally—that makes my heart skip a beat.
“What is it?” I glance at her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. You?”
She takes a deep breath. “I’m nervous.”
I curl my fingers around hers. “That’s normal. I’m a bit nervous too, if I’m being honest.”
She gives me a strained smile. “I guess we’re both hot messes, huh?”
Unable to resist, I reach for her face, cupping her cheek. “Absolutely.”
Sophie scooches closer, and I lean in, stopping inches from her lips to search her eyes.
I can’t resist the magnetic pull she has on me.
There’s no hesitation in her gaze, and when her tongue darts out before she bites her lower lip, it’s my undoing.
I shorten the distance between our mouths and kiss her.
I barely have a chance to savor her before Derek barks, “Hey! No making out in my car.”
Sophie jerks away from me as if pulled by an elastic cord that had been stretched to the max. The gap between our bodies is back.
Thanks a lot, jerkface. I glare at the back of Derek’s head.
I keep my displeasure to myself. I might have a big mouth, but I don’t have a death wish. I don’t need to know Derek well to realize he isn’t a male I want to piss off. There’s something about him that tells me he’s dangerous, perhaps even more so than Larsson and King Raphael.
I wait a couple of seconds before I take Sophie’s hand again.
That’s all I dare to do. We don’t talk the rest of the ride, and since I’m not distracted by her, I pay attention to the area.
We’re on a rural road, moving away from the city judging by the lack of streetlights and the abundance of greenery surrounding us.
“How far is Tatiana’s house?” I ask, breaking the silence after we’ve been driving for at least twenty minutes.
“Not much farther now.”
“Has she always lived outside Salem?”
“Yes.”
Derek turns onto an unmarked and unpaved road, making the ride a bit shaky and slower. After a moment, there’s a tingle above my skin, prickling.
“Whoa. What’s happening?”
“Protective wards,” Sophie replies. “They should prevent anyone not affiliated with Tatiana’s court from breaching through.”
“That was before the Accords,” Derek adds.
“I thought the Accords were no longer valid after Boone’s demise,” I say.
“That’s what Jacques believes. It isn’t so. He doesn’t know the reason the Accords were implemented in the first place. No one does save for Tatiana and King Raphael,” Derek replies.
“Not even you?” Sophie asks.
“I didn’t before, but I do now.”
“Are you going to tell us?” I ask.
He looks at us in the rearview mirror. His green eyes have a dangerous gleam to them. “No.”
“Great,” I mumble.
Derek doesn’t offer a retort to my sarcastic comment, but I forget all about it when the silhouette of Tatiana’s mansion appears ahead of us.
My jaw drops of its own accord. It’s a beautiful construction that resembles a fairy-tale castle made of light gray bricks and blue turrets, surrounded by a beautiful garden and tall trees.
“That’s her house?”
“The last time I checked, yeah,” Derek replies, not catching that my question was rhetorical.
“It’s not exactly how I imagined her place would look like.”
“What did you expect?” Sophie looks at me.
“Something darker and more sinister, not a Disney princess castle.”
“Don’t be fooled by Queen Tatiana’s taste. She is ruthless.” Sophie stares at the castle, tension making her shoulders square.
“I believe you. She raised that piece of shit Boone.”
Sophie sits straighter at the mention of that vermin. I know she hates his guts, but I’m beginning to think he’s done something to her. If he hurt her… God, there’s nothing I can do about it since he’s worm food now. But hell, it makes me livid just imagining that he might have hurt her.
“Please don’t say his name to me.”
“Sorry. I won’t anymore.”
Derek parks the car in front of the mansion but doesn’t make a motion to exit the vehicle.
“What are we waiting for?” I ask.
“One cannot simply knock on Tatiana’s door.”
“Why not? Isn’t she expecting us?”
No sooner do I ask the question than the small hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Something creepy is out there. A second later, a couple of pairs of glowing ember eyes appear in the darkness. Wolves.
“She has wolf shifters protecting her mansion?” Sophie’s voice rises in pitch.
Derek rubs his face. “Yes.”
“Too bad I’m all out of Scooby snacks,” I joke.
The front door opens, and a tall woman with white hair and dark skin walks out.
“That’s Enya, Queen Tatiana’s familiar,” Sophie tells me.
“What animal did she used to be?”
“A hawk.”
“That’s cool,” I say, which is a stupid comment to make all things considered. That’s me, saying stupid shit at the worst possible times.
“All right. Let’s go.” Derek opens the door and gets out of the car.
I’m not as keen to follow him considering the wolves outside, but hell, I can’t stay in the car like a coward while Sophie doesn’t hesitate to exit the vehicle.
I use the opposite door and join her in front of Derek’s car but avoid touching her. I’m going out a limb here that we don’t want Enya and the wolf shifters to know Sophie and I are involved.
“I didn’t think you would come tonight,” Enya addresses Derek.
“I wanted to be here sooner, but there were some complications. I understand we had a small window. Are we too late?”
Small window for what?
“No.” She turns her attention to Sophie. “It’s good to see you awake, child.”
“I’ve been awake for two months. My father hasn’t told you?”
She narrows her eyes. “It’s been a while since your father shared any information with us.”
Oh, that doesn’t bode well.
“I brought Sophie per your request,” Derek interjects. “Are you going to invite us in, or did we come here just to hang out with your pets?”
The wolves snarl, peeling their lips back to reveal huge and sharp teeth.
Derek, what are you doing, man?
Enya’s nostrils flare. “Watch your tone, Blackwater. I’m not your friend.”
“Didn’t think for a second you were.”
They glower at each other for a moment, making me fidget on the spot. It’s Enya who breaks the staring contest first to look at me. “And who is this?”
“I’m—”
“He’s of no consequence,” Derek interrupts.
“He’s my friend,” Sophie grits out.
Enya’s spine goes rigid right before she looks over her shoulder at a window on the second floor. I follow her line of sight and see the shape of a woman staring at us. Rivulets of dread run down my back. I bet that’s Tatiana.
Without a word, Enya turns on her heels and opens the front door wide for us. “You may enter.”
Her invitation sounds ominous, and too much like the last words someone might hear before their demise. But Sophie’s going in, and I’ll be damned if I let her go alone.