Chapter Twenty
Twenty
Antoine couldn’t remember the last time he’d set foot inside his study.
Months, if not years, before he was entombed.
But Marcel had kept it clean and ready for him.
An antique mahogany desk dominated the room, far larger than it needed to be, with a single lamp casting a soft light, and a computer he didn’t know he owned.
He rather suspected Marcel was the only one with the login.
Noah arrived as he flicked through the bookshelves, discovering novels he had forgotten and were worth a reread.
“You asked for me?”
“Yes. We have work to do.” Antoine pulled a book from the shelves and carried it to the chair behind the desk, waving for Noah to sit opposite. “Has the Curia left?”
“I don’t know, to be fair,” Noah said as he sat down. “Keeping Roberto’s house under surveillance was less of a priority these past few weeks.” He looked around. “Why are we in here?”
“The living room is occupied. I take it the Curia’s rules haven’t changed again? No reversion to the previous Code? Are we still at war?”
“I don’t know, Antoine. Gabe hasn’t said anything, if that’s what you mean.” Noah tilted his head. “Who’s in the living room?”
Antoine rested his elbows on the arm of the chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin, trying to compose himself at the mention of Gabe’s name. “Have you spoken to Gabe much?”
“Depends how you define ‘much’. We spoke quite a lot while we went through the logistics involved in getting you out, but not about anything vampire-related.”
“Could you have done it without his help?”
Noah paused, his eyes narrowing. “Probably, yes. Eventually. It would’ve taken weeks longer. Why? Should I have refused him?”
Antoine waved a hand like it didn’t matter, even though it did.
He still felt robbed; the thought of killing Gabe had kept him steady for so long.
And he’d touched Cally. Fed on Cally. Not just once, either.
Twice, if his comment before the Curia wasn’t a lie.
‘She does taste nice’… yes, she tastes nice. For him alone.
What if he’d formed a bond too, like Belle had warned?
Well, that would be ironic. Without Cally, he wouldn’t be able to feed. Revenge in its own way.
“I want you to send thralls to Milton and Dedham. Find out where Nico and Tobias live.”
“Vampires?”
“Yes.”
Noah shifted in his chair. “Those are big places. It will take a while.”
“Then start soon.”
“Sure, of course.” He held Antoine’s gaze thoughtfully, the study quiet around them. “What’s the goal?”
“I’m going to kill them.”
“Any particular reason?”
“They entombed me.”
Noah nodded slowly. “Okay, seems fair. Have you told Cally?”
Antoine cocked his head to the side. “Why would I tell Cally?”
“First day back, been awake less than an hour, and you’re plotting revenge. Why aren’t we in the living room, Antoine? Where’s Cally?”
“She’s indisposed.”
Noah rubbed his jaw. “Do you remember what you said to me when you were entombed?”
Not really. “Which part?”
“The bit for Cally. Where you were sorry. Where you loved her.”
Antoine held still, fingertips pressed together as he regarded Noah over them. “Some things change.”
“Sure, but some things don’t.” Noah leaned back in his chair, regarding him, the light of the single lamp casting half his face in shadow. “Of all the people around you, I know you best of all, don’t I?”
“You know what I want you to know.”
Noah shook his head. “I know what you don’t tell me. I feel your emotions when you give me commands. I told Cally that, by the way. She knows too.” He paused. “Just now, you summoned me. Do you know you’ve never done that before?”
“You’re my thrall.”
“Yes,” Noah replied slowly, “but before it was, ‘would you mind if’ or ‘can I borrow you for a moment?’ not a blank, emotionless summons.” He swallowed, like there was a hint of fear, even if it wasn’t reflected in his tone.
“I don’t wish to say anything out of place, Antoine, but you’ve been awake an hour.
Maybe just give yourself a little time?”
“Time is all I’ve had these past weeks. Time to think, to plan, to… remember.”
“Look, I can’t relate. I’ve never been drowned alive for weeks at a time, and I can only imagine the hell you went through. But I know you, and moreover, I know what Cally means to you. As your friend—if I am your friend—I would urge you to remember some of that, too.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Antoine said coldly.
“Great. Sure. Good to hear.” Noah scratched one cheek. “Where’s Cally?”
“In the living room.”
“Shall I call her?”
“No.”
“Oh? What’s she doing?”
Regaining consciousness. Hopefully. “Why are you so interested, Noah?”
“Have you also forgotten you told me that she’s a witch? That you’re bonded—both of you—to each other?”
Antoine stilled. “Of course I haven’t forgotten.” He had forgotten—that he’d told Noah, at least. Not the trip to the Curia. Not Belle, sitting on the sofa, explaining it all. Cally’s apartment. Feeding on her. Nor their bond. Fatum Coniunctum, a shared fate.
All he’d wanted was her company. Maybe some of her blood, but to take so much? Their bond was too precious. How had he let himself go so far?
Noah watched him, saying nothing. The silence built.
“I may have drawn too heavily from her,” Antoine admitted.
“Is she all right?” Noah asked cautiously, his concern carefully hidden.
Why? Why did he feel like he couldn’t be open?
He fears me. He fears my anger. He thinks me unstable.
Maybe he’s right.
Antoine linked with Zoey. “Is Cally recovered?”
“Nice of you to ask. She’s alive, if that’s what you mean. I broke four of her ribs and fractured her sternum, but we got her heart going again. She’ll be black-and-blue until she heals. Marcel gave her a shot of fentanyl and we’ve put her in her room. Thanks for making me do that, by the way.”
Zoey could always be relied on for bluntness. But in some respects, it was more helpful than Noah’s diplomacy. “Thank you, Zoey. And I apologize for over-stepping.”
“It’s not me you need to apologize to.”
That was blunt too. But deserved.
Antoine focused on Noah once more. “She’s resting in her room.”
His first thrall let loose a sigh of relief, and this time he didn’t try to cover it. “You said that with more emotion than anything else so far.”
Antoine pushed himself up, striding to the window behind his desk that overlooked the gardens. There was peace in staring out into that stillness.
Noah was right. Zoey, too. He wasn’t himself.
Would he be? Could he come back from this? Would he ever be as he was before?
Do I want to be? Would the old me still want to kill Nico, Tobias and Roberto?
It was difficult to balance his burning need for revenge with his desire for Cally. Like there wasn’t room in his soul for both.
“You’ve lived through wars, Antoine,” Noah said behind him. “You’ve seen this before. Shit happens to people, and some of them never fully recover.”
Was his thrall reading his mind? No, that wasn’t possible. Maybe it was that obvious.
“Do you have a point?”
“I do, actually, yes. My point is Cally.”
“What of it?” Antoine kept his eyes on the garden, his shoulders tense. But cautious hope kept him straining for Noah’s next words.
“You love her, and she loves you.”
“Loved.” The correction slipped out before he could stop it.
“Maybe. It’s not my place to argue that. Shit like you went through can change a man. But my point is this: you loved her once, and she hasn’t changed. Maybe get to know her again.”
“Yes, so simple. I just almost killed her. No doubt she’ll be delighted if I go and visit.”
“Take her on a date.”
Antoine turned in surprise. “Do what?”
“You must know what a date is. Aren’t you French?”
Antoine turned back to the window. “I don’t think she’d be receptive to that idea.”
“She loves you, you stubborn old bastard. And she’s smarter than you are, too. She’ll understand.”
Three weeks I spent in that hellhole. Damn, Noah has spent more time with Cally than I have.
Noah spoke again. “You don’t have to take my word for it. There’s someone here who knows Cally better than either of us. Ask Eve what she thinks.”
Antoine didn’t need to think too hard to dismiss that idea. After draining Cally to the point of death, Eve was the last person he wanted to face. Better make sure Marcel has all the kerosene locked up.
“Thank you for your suggestions. While I’m busy trying to remember how to take a girl on a date, maybe you could do what I asked. Organize the thralls, and find Nico and Tobias.”
“Sure.” Noah’s chair skidded against the carpet as he rose.
“Cally found me in two hours of googling. Try that approach.”
Noah’s eyebrows rose. “Google, huh?”
“Is my Audi still in the impound?”
“Yes. Sorry, it wasn’t a priority.”
“Get it back. Order a new car for Marcel and some extras for our thralls. Do whatever’s necessary to prepare us.” Antoine watched the maple tree outside stirring gently in the wind, bare but for a few red-and-yellow leaves. Peaceful, yes, but not what he needed after all. “We’re going to war.”