CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX || THIERRY #2
Everyone in the room stared at him, myself included. It took me a moment to parse the emotion behind his words. Perhaps I was slow on the uptake, but I realized belatedly that Jeremy was feeling protective of Quinn. From the looks of it, in exactly the same way I was.
Jeremy confirmed it when he added, “And what if Quinn loses control? Have you thought about what that would do to him?”
“Darling,” Simone said, flashing him a genuine smile that told me she’d heard the same thing I had in his voice. “He’s surrounded by three powerful vampires, his destined mate, and a witch who can rewrite the web of fate itself. I think he’s alright for the moment.”
“I’d zap him in a heartbeat if he wasn’t,” Poppy confirmed. “He’s totally safe.”
Jeremy hesitated, some of the heat draining from his expression. He glanced down at Quinn. “You’re really doing okay?”
“I won’t pretend I don’t notice it,” Quinn admitted. “But it’s easy to ignore right now.” His gaze dropped to where Derek held his hand, and he almost looked like he didn’t believe it. “Kind of weird, how everything works out, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Weird,” Jeremy breathed, staring at him.
Quinn managed a smile that didn’t look dangerous. His eyes weren’t cold and flat but filled with a kaleidoscope of emotion. “Sorry about the—”
He broke off, gesturing vaguely to his own neck.
“Right,” Jeremy said, frowning. “No real harm done. I heal quickly.”
“For the record, I’m not sorry,” I told Quinn. “I’m glad I didn’t go through with it, but you would have had it coming if I did.”
“I know,” Quinn said. “You were protecting your person.” He traded a private smile with Derek that somehow managed to speak volumes. “I understand completely. I probably would have done the same in your shoes.”
Scowling, I turned away. I wasn’t sure if I believed him. The problem was that I wanted to trust him—which was usually a sign I shouldn’t.
For an instant, my gaze caught on the window’s reflection, the glass so heavily tinted it was like staring into a black mirror.
Godric was standing right behind me, staring at the back of my neck.
I whirled. No one was there.
Jeremy and a half-dozen other eyes were on me. Whatever expression I was wearing, it couldn’t have been good. If my heart could still beat, it would have been pounding.
“Thierry?” Jeremy asked sharply, brows knitting. “What is it?”
Before I could reply, Poppy’s phone rang.
She pulled it from her pocket, glanced at the screen, then answered. Listening intently, she froze. Her eyes widened; her lips formed a perfect O.
“What is it?” Simone asked sharply, coming to stand beside her. She was deeply protective of Poppy. Cagey as they were about whether they were truly fated mates, it was a rather academic question. It was obvious Simone would do anything for her.
“Are you certain?” Poppy asked. She listened a moment longer, then whispered, “Holy shit.”
Jeremy and I exchanged a glance. I couldn’t hear his thoughts, but it was impossible not to know what he was thinking. He knew something strange was happening. So did I.
I focused my hearing, catching only the end of the conversation: “It’s only him so far, but I thought you should know. The others are still safely contained.”
“Did you—I need to see the marking of the spell.”
“We thought you might say that,” the witch on the phone replied smoothly. “We’ve cast the Sword of Helios upon him to illuminate his magical history. It’s quite unusual. I’ll send photos momentarily, and you’ll see why.”
Poppy hung up, looking even paler than usual. Her phone chimed again. She tapped the screen, studying the image the witch had sent her.
I wasn’t an expert in the coven’s magic, but I knew the Sword of Helios revealed any spell ever performed upon a person, place, or thing.
I’d seen it once before—cast on Bryan, after he’d been buried under layers of compulsion by an evil warlock.
Those spells had shattered after he fed from Ethan.
But why had the witches needed to use it now?
Poppy’s gaze met mine. “One of the vampires in Rookwood escaped the binding spell.”
I snorted. Patently ridiculous. “How? It was cast by a circle of witches, correct?”
“Exactly. Um…” She hesitated, unsure where to start. “He ran. Two towns over. He ended up at a motel by the highway. Then he tore the door off one of the rooms.”
Quinn shot to his feet, stricken.
It was so genuine, I had a hard time doubting it. Gone was the soulless monster from the night before. He looked like any mortal hearing a horrifying story.
“Did they live?” he demanded. “Who was the vampire? Did I—was he someone I—”
He broke off, unable to finish. But his unspoken question hung heavy: had he turned the person who did this? Had he created a creature that destroyed innocent lives simply because it could?
“No, it’s not like that,” Poppy said quickly. She still looked stunned, forcing the words out. “The vampire didn’t kill anyone. He, um… met his mate. That’s who was on the other side of the door. His fated mate.”
“His mate,” Jeremy repeated, staring. “That sounds… but are they sure?”
“He’s basically a fucking kitten with fangs at this point, so yeah,” Poppy snapped, glaring. “They’re sure.”
Beside her, Simone relaxed fractionally. I understood completely—if Poppy could still be arch and cutting, nothing about this could be that terrible.
And then the words sank in.
“Wait,” I said, holding up a hand. “His fated mate? As in—”
Poppy snorted. “They’re already blood-bonded and everything. Apparently, there was no polite waiting period. And now the murderous newborn vampire is eating out of the palm of his human mate’s hand. He’s annoyingly protective, in fact.”
“That sounds right,” Quinn said, giving Derek another nauseatingly simpering look. “When you know, you know.”
Everyone ignored him.
“Wait,” Jeremy said, giving me a strange, searching look. “But that’s pretty unusual, isn’t it? Meeting one’s true mate—it’s rare.”
I thought of Ethan and Nathaniel. James and Pierce. Michael and Danny. Bryan and Tobias.
“I used to think so,” I said slowly. “But it seems like it happens once a week around here.”
“No, I don’t think this is a coincidence at all,” Poppy said, giving me an oddly pointed look. Her vivid green eyes glittered with speculation. Then she stepped closer, narrowing her gaze. “This won’t hurt, but I need to see something for myself.”
Before I could ask what wouldn’t hurt, she stopped three feet away and swept a hand over me, from the crown of my head to my feet. My aura exploded into vivid light.
Every witch and warlock in the coven had a unique talent, almost like a magical fingerprint. Poppy’s was making magic visible.
She stared at me for a long moment, her gaze lingering. I followed it and saw what held her attention: a chain of oddly shaped symbols etched into my aura, hovering four inches above my heart. Then she looked at Quinn and pointed. “You. Come here.”
Simone stiffened. “Darling, is that wise?”
“I—no. That’s way too close,” Quinn said, eyes flicking to the pulse in Poppy’s neck. “I don’t want to, but I don’t know if I could stop myself.”
Interesting.
“I’ll be right next to you,” Derek assured, giving his vampire’s hand a squeeze. He met Quinn’s gaze without a shred of fear. “You won’t hurt anyone. Not on my watch. I promise.”
Quinn hesitated, then nodded and let Derek lead him to stand beside me. Tension coiled through my muscles as Poppy stepped closer, ready to act if the newborn lunged. Simone seemed to have the same thought—she shadowed Poppy, clearly prepared to whisk her away at the first wrong move.
Instead, Quinn screwed his eyes shut and went still. Not looking at her, not breathing in her scent. He stayed motionless while Derek held his hand and Poppy illuminated the magic on him.
A strange feeling crept over me—Quinn had chosen not to harm her. Most newborns, even with their humanity intact, would have struggled. Instinct should have overpowered him.
I had seen this once before. When Danny was first turned, as long as his mate Michael was beside him, he was safe around others. Apparently, the same was true for Quinn.
Derek, on the opposite side, seemed to realize it too. His eyes shone, lips curved in a proud little smile already tender with affection—which was patently ridiculous after all of five minutes of knowing each other.
But when his gaze caught mine, he beamed. And I found myself smiling back, my heart oddly full.
“There,” Poppy said quietly, stepping back. She pointed at the symbols hovering over my heart, then at the ones over Quinn’s. “It’s the same.”
“They both had the same spell cast on them, though,” Jeremy said from directly behind me, his hand settling on my shoulder in a warm, grounding squeeze. “Shouldn’t they both have the same markings? I’m not sure what this proves.”
“It should be the same sigil, sure,” Poppy said slowly, letting Simone guide her farther from Quinn. “But there are two of the same sigils on both of them.”
“And that’s… a good thing?” Jeremy asked.
“Each spell leaves a unique marking—like a fingerprint.” Poppy wore an odd expression I didn’t like. “If there are two of the same markings, it means the spell was cast on both of them. Twice .”
“But you’ve only cast the spell twice,” I said. “Once on me and once on him.”
Poppy met my gaze. “Exactly.”
She pulled out her phone, tapped a few buttons, and held up the screen. The photo she’d been sent was identical to the markings above Quinn’s heart—and mine.
“Those are the same as well,” Simone murmured, eyes widening. “But you haven’t cast the spell a third time.”
“I really haven’t. I’m betting if you checked any vampire in Rookwood, they’d have the same markings.” She turned back to me. “Think about it—when I cast this on you, it triggered visions. You said you saw a bunch of vampires. They were all in your bloodline, right?”
“Well, I couldn’t be sure, but—”
“The ones you knew shared a common ancestor,” Poppy cut in.
My brother. Godric. Both of us turned by Magnus.
Slowly, I nodded.
“This spell doesn’t just affect one vampire,” Poppy said softly, still halfway stunned despite being the one connecting the dots. “It targets the entire bloodline. Anyone your maker ever turned. Anyone they turned. Anyone you’ve turned.”
“But that’s probably hundreds—maybe thousands—of vampires, right?” Jeremy asked.
Poppy nodded solemnly. “Yes. It probably is.”
“Wait,” Derek said suddenly. “If that’s true, then how would this even work? Thierry wasn’t in Rookwood until way later. He didn’t turn Quinn or any of the others.”
“No,” Poppy said, gaze fixed intently on me. “You didn’t do this. But someone in your bloodline did.”