Chapter Three
Leonora
“Are you going to let me in? Or just stare at me all day?” I folded my arms across my chest and cocked out one hip as I watched the mage standing in his doorway. Cal held open the small door and stepped aside to let me in, muttering something under his breath that I chose to ignore. “Thanks,” I said, keeping my face blank as I strolled inside. Parking around here was a bitch, and the journey even worse, but it was an irritating necessity to speak to the mage.
Cal was another person I'd ignored after going AWOL from Ashvale. Our lessons in magick were abandoned and any familial bond we’d been building had suffered, too. I was pretty sure Hayes didn't know that Cal had tracked me down a time or two. If he'd really wanted to bring me back to Ashvale, I was sure he could have. I may be a vampire, but Cal had magick and, unlike me, he actually knew how to use it for more than a few cursory spells.
Of course, it was hard to use said magick when you were knocked unconscious.
“I'm surprised to see you here,” he said, footsteps heavy behind me as I walked into his sitting room. “Given how we left things.”
I shrugged. “It wasn't personal.”
Cal snorted. “Right. Of course. Well, if you're not here to apologise, then I'm guessing you need something.”
“Maybe,” I allowed and froze when we found ourselves inside his living room and a scent in the air washed over me. “He was here.” I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. If Hayes wasn’t at Ashvale, then of course he was here with Cal.
Cal made a vague hum, but didn’t bother to reply further as I stood in the middle of the room, arms folded across my chest as I breathed out sharply, trying to get the scent of Hayes out of my mouth, my mind. Was he stalking me or was it the other way around?
“You’ve seen him?”
“Is that what you’ve come to ask me? Whether I’ve seen Hayes?”
The sound of his name on someone else’s tongue was a hundred times worse than hearing it in my head, like little pins sticking into my skin in a wave of irritation that woke up the bond. “No.” I shook my head in an effort to clear it and smiled tightly. “I have a question about magick.”
Intrigue lit Cal’s eyes and he nodded to one of the chairs behind me, curiosity overriding his annoyance at the way I’d chewed him out and then knocked him out when he’d tracked me down before. “What is it?”
“Is there a way to claim a vampire from another family so that they’re physically connected to a new bloodline? Through magick, I mean.”
His eyes narrowed. “Yes.”
“Will you tell me how to do it?” I pressed, raising an eyebrow at the sudden tension that lined the mage’s body.
“No.”
“Why not?” I leaned forward, propping my elbows on my knees and moving forward in a blur of speed when Cal made to leave the room. I knew it was rare for a vampire to be claimed by a House that wasn’t their bloodline, but I also knew that it could be done.
“There are some things I can’t tell you, Leonora. Oaths I’ve had to take to prevent certain spells from falling into the wrong hands.”
“Don’t you trust me?” I batted my lashes and he chuckled, the sound short and rough like he hadn’t laughed in a long time. “People break oaths all the time.”
“Not like these.” He shook his head and rolled up one sleeve of his cotton top, revealing thick black lines that wrapped around one bicep and disappeared further up towards his shoulder. “These oaths are the magickal kind. The magick in these markings binds me. If I were to open my mouth and try to tell you the secrets of my kind, nothing would come out.”
I inspected the lines closely, startling when I looked up and found his face close to mine, watching me with something like fondness. I dropped his arm quickly and stepped away, fighting the urge to wipe my hands on my jeans. “I’m sure you can tell a fellow mage.”
“You’re not a mage.” His words were curt but the softness in his eyes was an apology. I didn’t need his pity. I already knew I was too much of a vampire to be a mage, and too much the latter for the former if they ever found out. “There’s a formal training process and many would not take kindly to your… condition.”
“It’s not like I asked to be murdered.” Yet another thing Rowan had stolen from me. Another choice I should have been able to make for myself, ripped away. “I won’t bite. Much.”
The hand that pushed through his hair formed a fist at his side when he dropped it. “I’m sorry. There’s some magick that you, as an undead, will never be able to wield. You know I’ll teach you what I can, but the other mages… They’d sooner see you true-dead than help you by giving up their secrets.”
“Wonderful,” I muttered and his smile was crooked with apology.
“Why did you want to know anyway?”
I shrugged. “Curiosity. Novalie’s family didn’t claim her.”
“You’re too young to be growing your bloodline so soon anyway, the effort of maintaining other vampires through your own power would be too much. That’s why most unclaimed vampires never begin Houses of their own, they lack the power.”
Power had never been my problem, thanks to my half-mage heritage, though knowing how to wield it was another thing altogether. Opting to ignore him, I pulled the envelope I’d found in my room at Ashvale out of my leather jacket’s pocket. “I also came about something else. This. What do you know about the Vampyr Council and court?” The question seemed to distract him satisfactorily. I’d have time to press him for more details about magick later.
The crease between his brows deepened as he read the contents and then threw the letter in the air, waving a hand that left a trail of shimmering silver and made the paper catch aflame.
“Let’s hope I didn’t need that to get in.” My jaw clenched and he barely glanced at me as he caught the ashes in a miniature maelstrom of wind that carried it out of sight.
“You’ve been summoned.”
“I figured.”
“The Vampyr Council are figureheads, overseeing the running of court and upholding whatever rules they’ve decided matter this century.”
“You sound…”
“Disillusioned?” Cal’s mouth twitched as he turned away to grab a pen and paper from the table near his chair. “You know by now what vampires are like, the needless posturing and hierarchy, all of that stems from the court.” He traced a line across the paper to indicate the council and then drew vertical lines descending from them. “In reality, court is nothing more than an underground haven for vampires who don’t want to live in the human world. The politics are essentially entertainment, and the council is self-appointed by whoever has enough power to challenge for a seat.”
“But if none of that matters… Why is Hayes’ heritage such a big deal?” I studied the drawing in Cal’s hands as he drew silly tiny fangs onto the blob-like heads of the council.
“Because the monarchy is the only real power the court held. Without them, the council are mere pretenders. Hayes could change all of that.” Cal scrubbed a hand over his eyes, like the thought of it alone was exhausting. “If they’ve summoned you, then someone has you in their sights.”
“You think they know? About my magick?” I stumbled over the words a little, changing course at the last second to avoid the reminder of his connection to me.
“Maybe. Either way, you’ve attracted some attention and for vampires it boils down to only one thing: power. More worryingly is whoever doesn’t want you at court.”
“What?”
“The letter,” Cal explained, wafting a hand through the air as if for any stray embers of the burned paper. “Someone wants you dead, Leonora.”
“Don’t they always?” I muttered under my breath and Cal frowned.
“You’re lucky the curse expired before you opened it.”
“Curse?” Fuck. Vampires running at me, or plotting against me, I could try and deal with. This sneaky underhanded shit? Not so much. “It arrived after the debut I think, so it must have been sitting in my room for at least a month.”
“Nasty one too,” Cal murmured, analysing me from head to toe before stepping closer and beginning to mutter in what sounded like Latin under his breath. “Mages have some resistance to vampire tricks, as you know.” I did. My resistance to thrall was one of the first things that had tipped us off to my dual nature. “But where most mages have protections placed on them from birth, to help keep us safe from basic magicks and to fortify our minds against intruders, you never received this.” Elowen definitely wouldn’t be winning mother of the year any time soon. At least Cal felt bad for his absence in my life. “I should have done it sooner, sorry—not that it would have helped with that letter, mind, but at least now you’ll have some protection ingrained.”
I nodded in thanks as his hands finished their complicated motion above my head. “So there’s someone at court that wants me there, probably to see what power I have and possibly to kill me. And there’s also someone else who doesn’t want me to go to court and, to prevent that, has already attempted to kill me?”
“Unfortunately, that sounds accurate.”
Fuck. Fucking vampires. Why was one semi-normal day too much to ask for? At this point, I’d even settle for a day where nobody actively tried to kill me. “So I’m screwed either way.”
Cal considered for a moment, mouth pulling to one side in an expression that was intimately familiar because I’d seen it on my own face more than once. “I think refusing their summons would be a bigger danger than whoever tried to stop you from going. The council wouldn’t take the slight very well.”
Great. I sighed. “So, court. Any tips?”
“Don’t piss anyone off?”
Judging by the cursed letter, it seemed safe to say that ship had sailed already. “Damn. There goes my plan to rock-up and cut off Adrian’s head.” Cal looked like he wouldn’t put it past me and I snorted. “Fancy doing your thing and dropping me there?”
“Doing my… thing?”
“You know.” I waved my hand vaguely at him. “Your disappearing act.”
He coughed and I suspected it was to hide a laugh. “I can create a portal for you later. Pack and meet me back here.”
“Or you could come to me, seeing as I’ll be bringing Novalie and Emerson with me and driving to you is long as fuck?” Despite myself, excitement thrummed through me at the thought of using a portal to get somewhere, and I pictured it as some kind of glowing orb of blue liquid. “I want to learn how to do that. Portal, I mean.” The request came out before I could swallow the words down. Cal had lied to me about who Hayes really was, yes. But he was too useful to ignore forever. Plus, there was the pesky matter of him being the only semi-decent parent I had left.
Something like hope gleamed in his eyes before I turned away and walked to the door.
“You want to resume training with me, then?”
“Seems only wise,” I said calmly, hand on the door handle. “Seeing as I’m going into the lion’s den imminently,” I said, turning to watch him before I walked away. “Give me a day to talk to Novalie and Emerson?”
The mention of them seemed to please him, approval tipping up one corner of his mouth. “Okay.”
I nodded and before the awkwardness could rise any further, I pulled open the front door and took a step outside.
“He asks about you, you know. I think he’s concerned.”
I stiffened. There was only one he Cal could be talking about. “Tell him he can choke on his concern for all I care.” The bond seemed to heat up under my skin, bubbling angrily like it didn’t appreciate my tone towards the living vampire I was bound to.
“Leonora—”
“And some moral support from you wouldn’t hurt, you know,” I said sharply. “I am your daughter, after all.”
I wasn’t sure how they chose the vampires who ran the schools like Ashvale, but the new head bore very little resemblance to Elowen.
She’d been waiting for me inside the gates when I returned from Cal’s, a pleasant smile on her face, and I wasn’t sure how she’d known when to expect me.
I’d left the car in town and had opted to run the short distance back to Ashvale from there. With my speed, it hadn’t taken too long and I’d been able to enjoy the early evening air. I’d missed Ashvale more than I’d realised. It wasn’t until the familiar scents of the forest had wrapped around me that I’d felt at ease.
Rowan was dead and Elowen was gone, things with Hayes were a mess, but the trees hadn’t changed and for some reason that brought me comfort.
“Leonora,” the undead vampire said, the glint in her eyes speaking to the predator that lurked beneath her polished surface. “I think it’s time we chat.”
I raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue, letting her lead the way to the office that had belonged to my mother before she’d tried to kill me and then fled the castle grounds.
The corridors were busy, mostly with living vampires heading off to classes or to the food hall, and there was no shortage of staring as the lady of Ashvale led me through the halls. If it hadn’t been so annoying, the whispered rumours might have been funny. One student had heard that the last caretaker of Ashvale, Elowen, had been murdered by me and that was why Carina was here instead. I snorted, looking directly at the living vampire as we passed him.
The undead vampire in front of me, Carina apparently, turned to look at me with a small smile curving her lips. “It’s probably one of the tamer theories I’ve heard since joining the sanctuary.”
We kept moving until we reached the office and I followed her inside. The room looked different to the last time that I was here, despite the layout being the same. It was the small touches that added warmth where Elowen had none—like the plush rug beneath the desk that extended out to the chair positioned in front, or the scented candles tucked into the corner of the desk that made the room smell like cinnamon. So far, Carina was unlike any undead vampire I’d met.
“Please, take a seat.” She indicated the padded chair opposite her desk and I obeyed, expecting her to round the desk and sit too. Instead, she perched on the edge of the desk and looked down at me. Her face was pointed, almost elfin, with a sharp little chin and an upturned nose that reminded me of Christmas elves. “I’m Carina, the new caretaker of the sanctuary here at Ashvale.”
“Nice to meet you.” I didn’t want to be impolite, but I also had no idea why she wanted to talk to me—unless it was to get the real story from the horse’s mouth instead of listening to the gossip in the halls.
“I know your history with the previous caretaker was more than a little fraught, but I wanted to assure you of your place here at Ashvale. This is where you belong, Leonora.”
Something about her tone raised the hair on the back of my neck, her brown eyes boring into me like she could convince me with her will alone.
“That’s nice of you to say,” I replied, crossing one leg over another as I leaned back to consider her. “But I’m not so sure.”
She blinked, displeasure tightening her mouth at her failed attempt to use thrall on me, and rounded the desk to sit behind it. “I know you’ve been summoned to court.”
“Word travels fast.” Especially if she was the one who’d cursed the letter. Though, what her motivation would be, I couldn’t begin to guess.
“I expect you will attend?” Her hands drew together atop the wooden desk, steepling at her fingers as her gaze refused to waver.
I shrugged, wanting to see what her reaction was. Did she want me to go? Or was she trying to convince me to stay? “Probably.”
“Forgive me,” she murmured, a wild smile blooming across her smooth, white skin. “My tone must have been off. Let me try again: I expect you will attend.”
Ah. So she was probably in the pocket of whoever it was at court that wanted me there. Then why try the thrall? To see if it would work and report back? God, vampires were exhausting. I wished for once that they would just be upfront about what they wanted.
“I see.” I smiled back at her, keeping my posture relaxed.
“Good.” The flick of her lighter snapped through the room as she lit the cinnamon candle. “It’s a rare opportunity to be invited to court. You will represent this school— me —and I don’t intend to be made a fool of.”
“Of course.”
“If you need assistance with travel, I can arrange for train tickets to London. The journey should only take about an hour?—”
“I have my own means of travel,” I said, thinking back to Cal and his portal magick. “But I appreciate the offer. I’ll be bringing my fledgling and Novalie with me, too. I assume this is acceptable?” My tone made the words a question, but the way I stood after speaking made it clear that it was a demand.
“Of course,” she echoed me, leaning back into her chair and smiling. “You may go.”
I bowed my head and turned away, heading for the door that would take me back into the throng of vampires in the hall.
“Oh and Leonora?” she called and I hesitated in the doorway. “Be on your guard. Not everything is as it seems at court.”