Epilogue - Anson
Epilogue
ANSON
Four months later…
If I’ve learned one thing in my brief time as Ameera’s consort, it’s that leading a vampire brood is nothing like being head of the mage council. For one, there’s not a bunch of council members bickering over every decision I make. Whatever Ameera or I say goes, with little to no argument, though I suspect the other vampire’s fear of my magic might have a lot to do with that. And second, there’s a little more free time when there’s two people to get the job done. Hence the game controller currently in my hands and the ass-kicking I’m handing out to my sister while we play a video game in her living room.
“Damn it,” Amber says as her character dies yet another gruesome death at the hands of mine, then glares at me from the other end of the couch. “You beat me again.”
“You told me not to take it easy on you this time,” I say with a shit-eating grin.
She flings her controller onto the cushion between us, then leans back into the couch with her arms crossed and an even deeper scowl on her face. It reminds me of the temper tantrums she used to throw as a kid when she lost a board game and would fling all the pieces onto the floor.
My grin widens. “I can’t help it if my hand-eye coordination is better than yours.”
“Better?” she asks. “We’re not even in the same league anymore. I don’t stand a chance against you now.”
“That’s why I was letting you win,” I say, frowning now since she seems genuinely upset. “I didn’t want to make you feel bad.”
“Well, you did,” she says. “So feel free to go back to letting me win again.”
Her scowl cracks around the edges, and her lips turn up into a hint of a smile. Then a snorting laugh escapes her mouth, and she gives me a full-on grin as her eyes light up with amusement.
“You little shit,” I say and chuck the nearest throw pillow at her. “You just can’t help fucking with me, can you?”
“Nope,” she replies. “I can’t help it if you’re that gullible.”
I shake my head. “I can’t win this one, can I?”
“Nope,” she repeats, then picks up her controller again. “How about a rematch?”
I glance at the mantle clock over the fireplace and grimace. “I’m sorry, but I can’t,” I say. “I need to go. Ameera’s expecting me.”
Amber’s smile fades and her eyes grow sad. “Okay,” she says in a subdued voice.
Shit, I hate leaving her when it’s obvious how lonely she is without me living here anymore. I visit when I can, but there’s only so much time in a night I can spend with her between co-ruling Unity’s vampire brood and running Haven Hall, which thankfully was closed tonight or I wouldn’t be here at all. Dad checks in on her often, but as head of the mage council, his free time is limited, too. I really wish she’d reconsider therapy again. I hate the thought of her spending the rest of her life trapped inside this house thanks to her agoraphobia and PTSD. Hell, she even stopped using her minor magical abilities after her attack, which is a damn shame if you ask me.
But I don’t bring any of that up. It’s a touchy subject that leads to an argument more times than not. It’s bad enough I have to go. I don’t want to leave things on a sour note when I do. I set my controller on the coffee table, then stand. Amber does the same and steps into my open arms for a hug.
“I love you,” she says, her voice thick with emotion.
“I love you too, munchkin,” I say, ignoring the siren call of her blood rushing through her veins.
My bloodlust has gotten a lot easier to deal with over the last few months, but it’s still part of who and what I am. I fed before I left home tonight, but the hunger is always there, especially when potential food is nearby. I’ve never told Amber any of this, or any details about the violent world I’m now a part of. It’s the last thing she needs to know since a vampire was responsible for her physical and psychological scars. She’s not afraid of me anymore and I aim to keep it that way.
I walk to the door and she trails behind me, scooping up her white cat, Gimpy, from the arm of the couch where he was sleeping as she does. She clutches his purring little body against her chest as she follows me to the front door. I open it and step out of the house, the powerful ward that I refreshed tonight tingling along my skin as I cross the threshold. Then I turn for one last goodbye as Amber watches me with such a forlorn expression that it breaks my heart.
“See ya,” I say, fighting the urge to go back inside for the rest of the night, but I have other responsibilities to take care of right now.
“Bye,” she says, still looking unbelievably sad.
She closes the door and locks the deadbolt, then lets out a soft sob she probably doesn’t think I can make out through the thick wooden door. It almost undoes me. All the brute strength I have as a vampire and the magic I can wield aren’t enough to help her, and it makes me feel useless. I sigh and turn to step off the porch and make my way to my truck, wondering if Ameera might help me come up with a solution to Amber’s problems. It’s worth a shot since I don’t know what the hell else to do.
I unlock the door to my vehicle and reach for the handle, then pause as this strange prickling sensation crawls up the back of my neck. I suspect that I’m being watched and whirl to stare off into the surrounding darkness. No one is nearby and nothing seems amiss to my sharp night vision. I don’t hear the telltale throbbing of anyone’s heart beating nearby, either. All I hear is the cool breeze rattling through the trees above and a few dried up leaves scraping across the driveway at my feet.
I reach for my magic to take a more in-depth look around. I have plenty of energy at my disposal since I recharged from one of the ley lines at my house before leaving to visit Amber. I’ve learned that I have to recharge my magic every night before I can manage any spellwork, just like I need blood to keep my body functioning properly. Thankfully, the ley lines are easier to come by than blood since they snake beneath the ground almost everywhere, giving me a convenient and infinite supply of power.
I extend my magical senses outward and find nothing suspicious or any sign of another aura skulking around. Mind you, someone could be cloaking themselves with magic, but that seems unlikely given my sister has little to do with the preternatural world. I remember the incident months ago when Ameera and I discovered Logan Rourke lurking near the house. His lame excuse about keeping an eye on Amber when the Executor was after us made no logical sense, but I was a little distracted at the time and never gave it another thought until now. It could be him, but I can’t imagine him meaning my sister any harm. Besides, the powerful ward on Amber’s house will keep him and anyone else from entering without her permission. And if it’s something else? Then the ward will protect her from anything supernatural that means her harm.
She’s safe, and that’s all that matters. But I will make sure Dad checks in on her tomorrow. Better safe than sorry. I glance at the house one more time, its ethereal glow verifying the ward is still intact, before releasing my magical senses. Then I get into my truck and drive home.
I reach the front gate in record time. Yeah, Ameera’s penchant for driving fast has rubbed off on me. The guards let me in with a few friendly words. I’ve gotten to know most of them by now, probably more so than Ameera, who prefers a more hands-off approach with her guards. Me? I like to know who’s working for me. Cultivating a friendly relationship is an easy way to ensure their loyalty. And thanks to that philosophy, my employees at Haven Hall require little supervision for things to run smoothly, despite my inability to be there during the day.
I park near the front door, since I’m running late, then hurry past the guards at the entrance and pass through the powerful ward to get inside the house. I hear raised voices and follow them downstairs. Ameera and I are holding audience tonight for any of our subjects who wish to speak with us or to mete out punishments to those who break the rules. The angry voices coming from the sitting room tell me it’s the latter happening right now, and that she started without me.
“I refuse to go against my nature because some pussy ass bureaucrat thinks she can tell me what to do,” a low rasping male voice says as I near the bottom of the stairwell. “If I want to play with my food before I feed, I’ll fucking do it.”
“Our continued existence is only possible through discretion,” Ameera says as I stop at the bottom of the stairwell to stand between the two guards flanking the doorway. They nod in greeting, but say nothing as I survey the room. “Torturing humans will only draw their attention to us.”
Ameera is perched on one of the black leather sofas with an imperious tilt of her chin and clear disdain in her eyes for the male vampire with short dark hair sitting on the sofa across from her. Samuel is standing at one end of the coffee table separating Ameera from this upstart with a hard glare directed at him as well. I can’t see the vampire’s face because his back is to me, but I already despise him for the tone he’s using with my woman.
“Why should we be forced to skulk in the shadows?” he says, his voice even more annoying to me now. “This world is ours for the taking if we want it. The humans are little more than cattle to us.”
“If that’s how you feel,” Ameera replies. “Then maybe Unity isn’t the right fit for you. We follow the laws of the Mari Mae?tri here and if that’s not something you can agree to, then maybe it’s time for you to move on.”
“Are you banishing me?” the other vampire asks in an incredulous tone.
Ameera’s eyes flick to me over this his shoulder and she smirks before returning her attention to him. “Let’s just say I’m strongly suggesting you leave town before you get yourself into more trouble than you can handle.”
For the most part, our leadership has been embraced by the brood. By the time I came along, Ameera had already weeded out the previous master’s loyalists, who were just as reckless and bloodthirsty as the late Randall Lynch. The ones left behind were grateful to have fair and competent leadership for the first time in decades. And they were more than happy to grant us their loyalty and, with a few exceptions, follow the rules that keep the human world from finding out about our existence. But sometimes we had to make an example of someone who refused to fall in line. Someone like this dumbass.
He surges to his feet. “You… you can’t do that,” he says, his voice rising. “My business and my home are here. I’m not fucking leaving and no Mari Mae?tri whore can make me.”
Ameera looks unimpressed by his insult. “I can and I will.”
He snarls and lunges for her with his hands outstretched. “Why you-”
I cut his next words off as I yank the air out of his lungs with a burst of my will and a simple hand gesture. I simultaneously thicken the air around him and clench my hand into a fist, pulling it taut against him so he can’t move. Then I circle around until I can see the vampire that was stupid enough to insult and attack Ameera in my presence, and find myself unimpressed. He’s attractive enough, which probably serves him well luring in his victims, and looks to be in his late twenties. But for all I know, he could be hundreds of years old, despite his youthful appearance and trendy clothes. Either way, he’s my bitch now.
“Apologize to your mistress,” I say, then lift my free hand and conjure a ball of white crackling fire in my palm. “Or I’ll incinerate you where you stand.”
It’s not UV light, because that shit hurts like a son of a bitch, but he doesn’t need to know that.
His eyes widen into saucers, all that defiance of a few moments ago long gone as he nods his head in a frantic jerking motion. I release enough of the spell to let him take in a ragged breath so he can speak.
“I… I apologize, Mistress,” he says. “I d… didn’t mean any offense.”
Yeah, right.
Ameera stands and rounds the coffee table, then stops in front of him with an arched brow. “I’m not feeling very forgiving tonight, Joel.”
I smirk. What the hell kind of vampire name is Joel?
“In fact,” Ameera continues, “I’m not feeling particularly lenient tonight either.” Her eyes darken toward black. “And since I can’t risk banishing you with such a serious lack of discretion, more severe measures must be taken.”
“Please,” he says as tension almost radiates from him. “I… I haven’t done anything to warrant a death sentence.”
Ameera’s answering smile is predatory, her eyes black as coal now. “Perhaps not,” she says, and he slumps in relief that’s short-lived with her next statement. “But I have other means to ensure you follow the rules even after you leave this city.”
Joel’s eyes narrow in confusion, then widen in panic a second later when he realizes what she means. “No-” he begins, but it’s too late. Ameera has already captured his mind with her glamour, his face going slack and his eyes glazing over.
“You will leave Unity within twenty-four hours,” she commands him. “And from now on, you will abide by the laws set forth by the Mari Mae?tri, and never do anything that could risk exposing our existence to humankind ever again. Do you understand, Joel?”
“Yes, Mistress,” he replies in an odd monotone.
“No more torturing your donors,” she continues. “No more breaking their minds for sport. You will only feed from the willing unless you are in dire need of blood and you will leave no traces you fed on them. And you will never kill an innocent. Am I clear, Joel?”
“Yes, Mistress,” he repeats, nodding like a bobblehead.
“Then go before I let my consort defend my honor as he sees fit,” she adds, then glances at me.
I nod, then release Joel from the aerokinetic spell restraining him and snuff out the ball of fire in my hand. “Samuel?” I say to the vampire who’s been grinning like a madman since I joined the confrontation. “Would you escort our friend here off the property?”
“Yes, Master,” he replies. “Shall I assign a few guards to make sure he leaves town?”
“That’s a brilliant idea, Samuel,” Ameera says with a nod. “Thank you.”
Samuel walks over to Joel and grabs the back of his collar. “Come along, you wanker,” he says, then shoves Joel along ahead of him toward the stairwell. Once there, he pauses at the bottom of the steps and glances back at us, his grin turning downright giddy. “Watching the two of you work together like that never gets bloody old.” Then he drags Joel up the stairs and out of sight with the guards right behind them.
I grin as I sidle up to Ameera, a little turned on by the commanding way she handled herself with that dumbass. “We do make a great team,” I say as I curl an arm around her shoulders.
She smiles. “That we do, zem?r,” she says as she leans against me. “That we do.”
I turn to face her and wrap my other arm around her, then nuzzle at her neck. “Please tell me we don’t have anyone else to see tonight.”
She shudders against me as I nip at her silky skin. “That was the only one.”
Thank god. We haven’t had a free night together in weeks. “Whatever shall we do with the rest of the night?” I murmur, then glide my tongue up to her ear and nibble on her earlobe.
She lets out a hum of delight that makes my dick throb. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.”
With a low growl, I scoop her up into my arms and carry her toward the mirrored door to our bedroom. Once inside, we spend the rest of the night ravishing each other until sunrise puts an end to our debauchery.
I awaken the next night to Ameera hovering over me with a horrified expression that sends me straight into a panic.
I jerk upright. “What’s wrong?”
She winces, and her eyes dart away from mine.
“Tell me,” I demand, knowing I’m being harsh, but I’m too freaked out to care.
“Amber’s house caught fire just before dawn last night.” She looks at me again with agony in her eyes. “It burned to the ground.”
I was just there last night and sensed something was off before I left. Guilt pummels me. Why didn’t I fucking stay? “Is… is my sister…” I trail off, unable to finish my sentence. She can’t be dead; she just can’t be.
“There was no physical trace of her in or around the house. Your father tried to track her with magic, but couldn’t find any traces of her that way, either.”
“Then… then where is she?” I ask as I grab Ameera’s wrist in a death-grip.
“No one knows.”
“What do you mean, no one fucking knows?”
She lays her hand atop mine and squeezes it with a sympathy that only makes what she says next even worse. “Amber is missing.”