Chapter Fourteen
Leonora
“What are you doing here alone?” Hayes hissed in my ear as soon as we were outside the chamber doors. Cal followed closely behind us, still in disguise, and Hayes seemed to know who it was from only a glance, accepting the jeans the mage passed him, and I scowled at the reminder of how well the two men knew each other.
Adrian had ushered the shocked council into a private antechamber to discuss the newest revelations. Hayes didn’t receive an invitation, but he’d ignored the slight, smiling benevolently from the head of the table like Adrian was simply a petulant child playing games. The rest of the council had looked disappointed to be hurried away so quickly from this latest drama, and the eyes of the audience in attendance had followed Hayes like he had his own spotlight when he walked.
“I’m not alone,” I snarled, roughly pulling my arm free from his grip. “I have Cal.” I narrowed my eyes on the mage in question before cocking a hip. “Or, I suppose now you’re here, his allegiances have changed.”
Hayes rolled his eyes, the depth of the blue making my irritation rise higher. “ Allegiances. Listen to yourself. You’ve been at court for five seconds and already you’re categorising people as enemies or allies. This isn’t war, Leonora.”
The sting of my nails cutting into my palm allowed me to take a calming breath as I uncurled my fists. “Secrets, lies, murder… I don’t know. It sure feels a lot like war to me.”
“Elowen and Rowan?—”
“I’m not talking about them.” My voice was sharp, allowing no reproach, and Hayes’ mouth pulled into a frown that captured my attention for a second too long. Damn bond.
“Then who?—”
“If you’d been here, you would have known.”
He laughed, the sound dry even as his eyes turned outright icy. “You made yourself pretty clear about my company, love.”
I opened my mouth, ozone rising in the air as I took a step closer and the bond surged, making me stumble in my effort to hold back from touching him.
“Children, children, let’s not do this here, hm?” Cal swept in between us and placed a pinching grip on each of our shoulders as he pushed us out of the room that still held the remnants of Novalie’s parents on the floor. “I think you’ve given the leeches enough to gossip about for one day.”
I said nothing, pushing forward so Cal’s grip fell away. At the end of the day, none of what Hayes was planning concerned me. I needed to be there for Novalie and check in on Emerson. With any luck, they hadn’t gone on a killing spree in our absence.
Cal spoke quietly to Hayes as I strode ahead, using a little of my vampiric speed so they couldn’t catch up to me. I wasn’t so far away that I couldn’t make out Cal’s words though, murmuring to Hayes about Novalie’s death and my display of power.
More worrying though, was what I’d seen Emerson do. I’d been thinking about it during the council meeting while the vampires in attendance droned on and I was certain my mind hadn’t been playing tricks on me. Somehow, Emerson had known what Novalie’s parents were planning before they’d done it. But how? Telepathy?
Her bloodied eyes and pitch-black irises filled my mind, making me shiver, and Hayes made a sound of surprise from behind me.
Fuck. I’d forgotten about that.
“Butt out,” I said without turning around, before Hayes could say a word. It had been nice being at court without someone listening in on my thoughts all the time. But now Hayes was back, and I needed to focus on keeping him out of my head if I wanted to have any semblance of privacy.
Hayes ignored me. “Do you know how rare that is?”
“I said butt out .”
Cal sighed and I ground my teeth as I came to a stop outside of my room, opposite Novalie and Em’s. “Loop me in please, kids.”
“Emerson has a gift,” Hayes said, shaking his head as he watched me with something like awe. “Of course,” he said immediately and I bit back my growl, trying to clear my mind so he couldn’t read all of my thoughts. “It’s rare enough for a vampire as young as you to successfully turn a human via bite, but for that human to also be gifted magickally?”
“What kind of gift?” Cal said, intrigue lighting his eyes and I folded my arms across my chest, filling my thoughts with a buzzing static that made Hayes wince. The door opposite mine swung open and Novalie moved so fast even I couldn’t track her for a moment. My hand ended up in hers, she pulled me into the bedroom as the two men filed in behind us from the hallway at a much slower pace.
“This kind,” Novalie said and I watched her keenly, finding nothing but worry on her face as she took in Emerson’s form, sitting bolt upright on the bed but unseeing.
The whites of her eyes were red once more, bleeding into the black of her irises. Her face had paled, her warm skin becoming ashy as blue-black veins ran over her skin.
“That’s…”
“Freaky as fuck?” I muttered and Hayes nodded.
Emerson blinked, the only sign of life she gave before closing her eyes for a longer period of time. When they reopened, her normal colour had returned and the bronze hue of her skin had deepened again. “Did I miss something?”
Emerson ran her eyes over Hayes, still clad in only the low-slung jeans Cal had provided when Hayes had strode off of the council table still nude.
“What were you doing just now?” I asked carefully and Emerson frowned.
“Um, I was talking to Novalie and then suddenly my head hurt.”
“Do you remember… seeing anything?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“Earlier…” I hesitated and then moved to sit down beside her, taking her hand in mine. “Earlier you told me I could save Novalie, before her parents had even attacked her.”
A perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose. “I don't know what you’re talking about.”
“Emerson,” Hayes tried, “you have a gift. Foresight.”
I nodded when she looked to me for confirmation.
“There’s no way to know how strong or accurate this gift might be, but if the other houses find out… They’ll want you for themselves.” Cal looked to me and I knew what he was really saying—that as her sire, it was my job to protect Emerson from anyone who might want to take her by force. “Do your best to keep this under wraps,” he said and I sighed.
“That would be easier if she hadn’t already had two visions publicly. Plus, the walls here have ears.” We all looked to Emerson at my words, the mood growing even more sombre.
“Then you need to be on your guard. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
“Or better yet, we could all leave. Right now.” I pointed out and Cal and Hayes shared a look that made me cross my arms over my chest. “What?”
“Returning to Ashvale would be ideal…” Cal started and Hayes cut him off.
“—Adrian isn’t going to let you go anywhere. Not without permission.”
Novalie and I exchanged a glance, and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. Adrian may be old and therefore strong, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once. How would he know if we tried to leave? And what would he do about it? If he wanted to punish us, he’d have to catch us first.
“Couldn’t you just give us permission?” Novalie asked, gesturing to Hayes. “You’re kind of a big deal, right?”
I bristled at the thought of Hayes giving me permission to do anything.
Hayes shook his head. “Even if I had any interest in ruling, the council aren’t going to give up their power just like that. I’d probably have to kill them all.”
“Sounds good to me,” Novalie muttered and I coughed to hide my laugh.
“But like I said, beyond pissing off Adrian I don’t care about the monarchy or ruling the council. I just want to know what that bastard did to my family and get the fuck out of here.”
My body turned towards him, his emotions pouring through to me via the bond, and it took conscious effort to remain where I was instead of comforting him.
“So we need Adrian’s permission to leave. Surely, that won’t be a problem, what more could he want from me anyway?” My jaw clenched and I pushed out a long breath to calm myself. I hated feeling out of control and, despite my heightened power thanks to my heritage, I was still low ranking compared to most of the vampires at court. “I came to his stupid trial. I don’t want to stay here if it means we’re all at risk.”
Hayes watched me, cool measurement in his eyes. “Ask him for permission.”
I recoiled and held back the growl that wanted to escape my mouth. “I didn’t realise we were prisoners,” I muttered and Cal patted my shoulder sympathetically, brows drawn together in faux empathy.
“That’s how they get you.”
Novalie snorted and some of my tension faded at the familiar sound. Whatever else had happened today, we were okay.
“You need to keep your temper under control,” Cal continued. “And maybe Adrian will agree to let you leave before any more murders are committed.”
The problem was, I didn’t feel like I had a temper. Sure, a low tolerance for bullshit and a propensity to speak my mind often led to trouble, but with the vampires… I was running on instinct. There wasn’t much I could do if my instincts insisted that Adrian should be the one to fall in line. Vampiric nature pulled no punches and, as the days went by, the harder I found it to stay in control.
“I’ll speak to Adrian,” I said quietly and scowled at the surprise that flared on Hayes’ face. It would be hard, but for Novalie and Emerson, I was willing to try. They were my best friends—my only friends—and they were now part of my House too, which meant I had a responsibility now. “And in the meantime, I won’t let anyone get near you.” My eyes met Novalie’s and moved over to Emerson when she nodded. If Adrian wouldn’t let us leave… Well, I’d burn that bridge when it came to it.
Tension fell over Novalie’s form and I noticed her shift slightly closer to where Emerson sat on the bed. Hayes’ eyes were a tangible weight on my skin and I kept my face turned away. I had bigger things to worry about than whose head he’d brought to the court, or what he was planning now he was back.
Apparently not content to let me ignore him, Hayes cleared his throat lightly and I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think my room is prepared yet. Fancy sharing?”
The question was clearly directed at me, but I let the silence drag on for a moment too long to be comfortable before looking to Novalie and Emerson and shaking my head. “Take it. I’m going to stay with Em and Novalie tonight.” It had been a long day and now, more than ever, we needed each other. I’d shut them out before. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Plus, there was the small matter of the dead mage in my room and the destruction he’d wreaked. “Do you know anything about this kind of gift Em has?”
Cal frowned, his eyes going distant as if he could mentally riffle through the knowledge tucked away in his brain. “It’s rare, I can only think of a few clairvoyants in our history, but I’ll see what I can dig up for you.”
I nodded my thanks. “I, ah, also need your help. There’s a small mess in my room, could you check it out for me please?”
Cal’s eyebrows rose, maybe because I’d asked him so nicely, and he nodded before shooting a look at Hayes and disappearing altogether.
I didn’t waste any time. “Get out.”
“Leah,” Novalie hissed and at first, I thought it was in protest of my sharp-tongue where Hayes was concerned, but when I looked at her, I realised Emerson had fallen into the same trance-like state as before.
“It’s happening more frequently,” Hayes murmured, moving closer to me and making my body stiffen with yearning as the bond seemed to undulate inside me. Needing space, I strode towards Emerson and took her hands in mine.
“What do you see, Em?” My eyes moved across her face, the stillness there was unnerving.
“She looks dead,” Novalie said from behind my left shoulder, a tremble in her voice that had me reaching back a hand for her.
“She’s fine,” I said quietly, squeezing Novalie’s fingers before letting her hand rest on my shoulder. “Emerson.” Command filled my voice, the power that came from a master speaking to a fledgling, and Hayes swore as the demand swelled inside the chamber. As a living vampire, his instincts would likely be screaming at him to obey, to serve the bigger predator: me.
Emerson reacted, eyes filled with death rolling until they met mine, a few bloody tears rolling down her cheeks. Her mouth opened but no sound came out.
“What do you see?” I repeated, the same power filling the words and leaving me shaking from the exertion.
Emerson shook her head, a grimace forming on her full mouth before her face became placid again. “I see a heart pierced, eyes that are lifting, blood on teeth.”
I glanced back at Novalie and saw the same worried expression on her face that I knew must be mirrored on mine. Emerson’s words were both vague and worrying. Cal needed to work with her sooner rather than later, maybe she would be able to gain some control or at least some memory of what she was seeing.
Her face cleared, sight returning to normal, and she blinked when she found me in front of her, kneeling with my hands on her knees. “It happened again?” I nodded and her brows drew together. “What did I see?”
I shook my head and Novalie spoke up as I stood in time to see Hayes leave the room, a sharp sensation twanging through me as the door thumped closed.
“We have no idea.”