Chapter 30
Thirty
VAUGHN
Idon’t know what possessed me to pretty much confess to Sophie that I may have fallen in love with her.
Who does that after spending a couple of evenings with someone?
The craziest part of it is, I don’t think there’s any magical bond at hand.
We aren’t fated mates. There’s no compulsion drawing me to Sophie, no insane need to be near her, to touch her.
All the feelings swirling in my chest are my own, I’m sure of it.
We don’t talk much during the drive to Isadora’s house. Tish insisted on tagging along, but even the talking cat is quiet.
“Have you ever met any of the previous High Witches?” I ask.
“No. They’ve always been aligned with King Raphael. How is the current one?”
“Intense.”
“Aren’t they all?” Tish snorts.
“I wouldn’t know. I’m a newly minted vampire, remember?”
“Right. Quick question: Where exactly is your sire? Has Lucca skipped town?”
I clench my jaw, grinding my teeth in the process. I was wondering when the question about Lucca’s whereabouts would come up again. “He didn’t run away if that’s what you’re implying. But he’s not in Salem.”
“Where is he?” the pest insists, but mercifully, the drive is over.
I park in front of Isadora’s house and announce, “We’re here.”
“Nice house,” Sophie says.
I stare at the single-story construction and, for the first time, pay attention to the details. I suppose it is a nice house, and with impeccable landscaping. Sturdy hedges line the walkway, cut super neatly, as if grown under constant threat of the homeowner’s association.
“I’ve never been inside,” I say.
“Let’s go. Maybe after the High Witch is done interrogating Sophie, she can help with my situation.”
“What is your situation anyway?” I ask.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me where Lucca is.”
Man, Sophie’s familiar is cunning. “Nice try.”
Sophie is the first to get out of the car, taking Tish with her.
I think she’s as keen to get this over with as I am.
I follow her, then take her hand as we walk together to the front door.
Before I have the chance to ring the doorbell, Niko opens the door, but she doesn’t invite us in. Instead, she glowers at me.
“Hey, Niko. Your mother is waiting for us.”
The teen crosses her arms. “I know. I can’t believe you were spying on me.”
My brows shoot up. “I was just following orders.”
“Like the good soldier you are.”
“Niko, to your room, now.” Her mother’s voice comes from deep in the house.
She gives me another scathing glance before storming down the hallway, leaving the door ajar for us.
“That kid has spunk. I like her,” Tish says.
“Of course you do,” I mumble.
Isadora appears at the end of the hallway. “What are you waiting for? Come in.”
Sophie drops my hand and clutches Tish tighter against her chest. The tension around her mouth and furrowed brow tells me she’s nervous about this meeting. I am too.
“It’ll be okay.” I put my hand on her lower back and nudge her forward.
Isadora disappears through a door, and my guess is that she wants us to follow her.
We enter her office, which is nothing like I expected.
There’s a floor-to-ceiling bookcase behind her desk, brimming with books, but no table with ingredients or cauldron for spells. It looks like an ordinary home office.
She’s sitting behind her desk, and after we enter the room, she makes a rotating motion with her index finger, and the door closes.
“Neat trick,” I say as a weak attempt to break the tension in the air.
Her sharp gaze is fixed on Sophie. “So, you’re the offspring of Jacques and Tatiana.”
“Why did you want to see me?”
Isadora narrows her eyes. “You did something to the wards keeping Madeleine in her prison. They have weakened. Tell me what you did.”
Sophie raises her chin. “I don’t answer to you.”
Isadora’s nostrils flare. “Insolent. I can see the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Do you know what will happen if Madeleine and the other specters escape from their prison?”
I shiver. I only met one scary ghost, and she wasn’t friendly.
“I didn’t release her on purpose,” Sophie grits out.
“How did she escape?”
“She didn’t really escape. She was still tethered to her coffin. Chill, woman,” Tish chimes in, making Isadora flinch.
A chuckle goes up my throat, and I have to bite the inside of cheek to not let it out. I can’t help the amusement from seeing Isadora’s reaction. It’s not every day you come across a talking cat.
“What are you?”
“She’s Tish, my familiar. As for your previous question, I’m aware now of the danger Madeleine and her friends pose. My mother already warned me that she can’t be freed under any circumstances.”
Isadora’s brow arches. “You spoke to Tatiana? When?”
Whoa, she doesn’t know about our visit? I’m shocked and damn curious as to why Derek didn’t inform the High Witch.
“Last night.”
“She’s still lucid, then?”
“She was for a moment.” Sophie sighs. “I didn’t come here to talk about my mother. You wanted to know how Madeleine escaped. She drew blood from me before I could stop her. I think that’s how she was able to leave her cell. I didn’t do anything to the wards.”
“Not intentionally.” Isadora presses her index finger against her lips. “I just don’t understand how your blood weakened the wards.”
“My father believed my blood would work because I’m related to Madeleine. She’s my mother’s sister.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the family tie, but your father was mistaken. Your blood wouldn’t be enough. If it were that simple, Boone’s blood would have sufficed.”
A light bulb lights up in my head. “Oh yeah. That’s right. Madeleine almost killed Boone. It was Vivi who fr—” I stop suddenly, cursing my big mouth.
Isadora shoots daggers from her eyes, and Sophie is staring at me, bewildered and with a gleam of enlightenment.
“Vivi is Lucca’s girlfriend. He had just fed from her before he turned you into a vampire.
” She gasps. “And I had fed from you before visiting Bloodstone. It all makes sense now. Vivi’s blood is the key to everything. She’s a Nightingale.”
SOPHIE
The blood seems to drain from Vaughn’s face when I say Lucca’s girlfriend is a Nightingale.
It’s the only explanation. He glances at the High Witch in a panicked motion, and I know I guessed right.
Even though he said that secret wasn’t his to tell, I feel betrayed nonetheless that he didn’t trust me.
“That’s a giant leap,” Isadora says.
“Bollocks. It’s a bull’s-eye. That’s why Lucca was able to make a vampire when that had been an impossibility for so long. And since Vaughn was made thanks to Nightingale magic, his blood still has the vestiges of it.” I look at Vaughn. “You were going to say Vivi freed Madeleine, weren’t you?”
Vaughn’s eyes flash with conflict and guilt. His shoulders slump forward as he exhales. “Yes, that’s what I was going to say. Boone attacked Vivi in the catacombs, and the worst would have happened if she hadn’t freed Madeleine with her blood.”
The worst would have happened. I repeat Vaughn’s words in my head.
Boone would have succeeded in doing to her what he did to me.
It seems the world doesn’t want me to forget what that bastard did.
I keep getting reminders. It’s not Vaughn’s fault, though.
He doesn’t even know what Boone did to me, but I’m sure he can guess the nature of my trauma.
“But if she’s a Nightingale, why didn’t she use her magic against that fucker?” Tish asks.
“Vivi didn’t have her powers, but her blood still had Nightingale magic,” Vaughn replies.
“Unfortunately, I can’t wait for Solomon to return to reinforce the wards. You’ll have to help me,” the High Witch says.
“Me? How can I help when my blood was the reason she almost escaped?” I ask.
“It’s only a problem if she gets near you. We won’t get close enough for her to have the chance.” She stands up. “We need to take care of this now.”
“I understand the urgency, but why me? My blood only has the power to free.”
“I don’t need your blood. I need your innate power.”
My forehead wrinkles. “Excuse me?”
“I recognize a powerful witch when I see one.”
“You can see she’s a witch?” Vaughn asks.
“Of course. The magic rarely shows up in vampires, but Sophie is brimming with it.”
“I was never strong. I need to use crystals most of the time.”
But I don’t know if that’s true anymore. I was able to blast that dragon shifter when my powers should have been completely depleted. I keep that detail to myself, though, and mercifully, Vaughn doesn’t blurt out my secret either.
“You are either trying to hide the truth from me, or you are unaware. It matters not to me. I know what I sense coming from you, and it’s good enough for me.”