Chapter 21 #3
A string quartet starts to play, and her eyes shift from mine to the head of the aisle.
I stand with the rest of the attendees. All eyes fall on Ren, stunning in a spaghetti-strap ball gown that is formfitting to her waist and then juts out at the hip with layer upon layer of floor-length tulle.
The white material is threaded with silver to reflect the moonlight, and she floats down the aisle an ethereal beauty, a bride awash in stars.
When the officiant leads the couple through their vows, I see tears on both women’s cheeks.
Their happiness is infectious, and I find myself overwhelmed with warmth and joy until the second they descend the aisle, hand in hand.
Afterward, all of us filter inside the rustic, restored building where the non-vampires in the group get in line for the bar. I decide a lemon drop martini is exactly what this day calls for and step in line myself.
“You look good, Eloise. It’s nice to see you.” George stands beside me, having popped up out of nowhere like a spot of black mold. The witches in line with me take a step forward or back, putting as much space between themselves and us as possible without losing their place.
“Funny, you still look short, fat, and devious,” I deadpan.
He snorts. “That’s fair, all things considered. Hey, we should talk. We never got to put things right between us after what happened.”
“You’re scaring the other guests, George. Besides, we have nothing to talk about.”
“I think we do. I think I never had a chance to truly apologize for how things went down.”
“Apologize for making me your pawn in a game I had no idea you were playing? I heard it’s worked out well for you, by the way. You slid into Valeska’s spot quick enough.”
A wrinkle forms along his brow, and his eyes narrow to slits. “As I recall, you were playing a game too, and my help was what gave you an edge. Considering I can hear your heartbeat, I think we can both agree it worked out for you as well.”
I slant a glare at him, just as I reach the front of the line and order my drink.
When the bartender slides it into my hand, I turn from the bar and curse.
George is still there. I guess it’s time we had this out.
With a quick tilt of my head, I lead him out the back of the sawmill, to where a giant wraparound porch offers stunning views of the mill wheel that squeaks with every turn under the pressure of the water that flows toward the Rappahannock River.
It’s decorative, as this place hasn’t been used for milling since the fifties, but the creak and groan of the old wood is undeniably soothing.
I need all the calm I can get as I whirl to face George. “What is it you want to say to me?”
He scratches the side of his stubbled jaw.
George isn’t what anyone would call a looker.
In fact, his closest celebrity doppelg?nger is Danny DeVito.
He’s balding and portly, not what anyone would expect from a vampire.
But the woman who sired him didn’t want him for his looks.
He’s wicked-smart and good with his hands.
Rumor is that George can fix anything, including, it seems, an out-of-control vampire queen.
“I want to apologize for not telling you what Marabella and I had done, for not asking for your consent. I was turned without my permission. I knew the evil thing I was doing, but there was no other way. No other fucking way, Eloise. Do you understand that?” He holds out his hand, palm up, and shakes his head.
My nostrils flare as I catch his scent. He’s not lying. “I thought you said vampires couldn’t change. It sounds like you’re growing a conscience.”
He lowers his outstretched hand and rocks back on his heels. Human body language, purposely slow. He’s trying his best to put me at ease.
“Look, somehow I should have told you what it meant that you’d had my blood and I’d had yours.
I really like you, kid, and I believed in you.
I thought you could best her, and you did.
You saved us all, the entire coven, and we owe you a debt of gratitude.
That’s all I wanted to say. I hope you understand why I did what I did, and I hope we can be friends. ”
Until this point, I hadn’t thought whether I could forgive George, but as I search my heart, I realize I already have.
I’m a shade, finally Damien’s equal. And while George isn’t fully responsible for that transformation, his blood kicked it off.
Being a shade is what I was always meant to be.
I feel it in my bones and every time I use my magic.
How can I blame him for helping me become who I am?
And still, the darkest part of me awakens in his presence.
George isn’t innocent, and my shadow heart wants reparation for what he’s done.
And as the darkness within roils and homes in on the opportunity he’s opened for me, I strike.
“A debt of gratitude, you say? In that case, you may have my forgiveness on one condition. I need your help.”
“What kind of help?” he drawls suspiciously.
“I need men. Soldiers. Warriors.” George’s nose crinkles, and I barrel on. “All the problems you had in Night Haven, I have in Tenebris. I saved your world—now it’s time for you to return the favor.”
“You want me to lend you vampires to fight in your world? Fight what exactly?”
“An evil queen, not unlike Valeska. She’s a dark elf, as sinister as they come. She must be stopped. But as of now, Damien and I don’t have the muscle to take back the kingdom.”
George glares at me for a beat and then starts laughing, low and deep. “Let’s pretend I lent you these men, Eloise. How exactly would you get them to…” He draws out the last word, circling a bent knuckle between us.
“Tenebris,” I chime in. “It’s another world, like Earth, but the atmosphere is safe for vampires. Safer than here, actually. There, it’s always night. They divide their time based on the rising and setting of their moon.”
He makes a dismissive noise deep in his throat. “How exactly would you transport these soldiers to this night world of yours?”
I clear my throat. “I’ll open a portal. As it turns out, I’m a talented witch.”
He snorts. “Of course you are,” he says with a note of disbelief. “Okay, kid. For shits and giggles, how many men do you need?”
“How many do you have?”
“Don’t be cute.” He picks at something on the side of his thumb.
“Five thousand.”
Silence, like an exclamation point, is followed by the rise of both bushy brows. “You’re serious?”
“You asked what I need. That’s what I need.”
“I don’t have that many to give, doll. The armies of Night Haven were split when you vanquished Valeska. Liberty coven has some, and Night Haven has a few more, but nowhere near that amount, and I can’t leave the coven undefended.”
“How many can you lend me?” I ask again. “To appease your debt of gratitude?”
He thinks for a minute, rubbing his chin. “A thousand.”
A buoyant ray of hope bobs through me. It’s fewer than we need but more than I ever expected, considering the source.
I hadn’t even thought to ask George for help and probably wouldn’t have if Ren hadn’t invited him.
But his yes means even more to me, because if George can say yes, then so can Morpheus and Cassius. A yes means everything.
“Two thousand,” I counter.
He rubs his chin. “I have to check with Marcel, but it’s as high as I can go, Eloise. Two thousand. No more.”
A warm smile spreads across my face. “Done. I forgive you.”
He blows out a deeply held breath. I reach out a hand and give his a few firm shakes.
“You know,” he says, peering at me through the corner of his eye, “I always saw the darkness in you.”
“The darkness in me? You think I’m evil?”
“No! No. You, of all people, should know that darkness doesn’t equal evil.
All of us have a shadow self, Eloise, a part of ourselves we conceal in the deepest darkness of our spirit.
What we conceal says a lot about a person.
Someone like Damien made a show of being outwardly callous, when inside, he was secretly kind and capable of loving you.
I’d like to think I’m that kind of man. That my shadow self is selfless, but maybe I like power a bit too much to claim that entirely.
But you…you came across sweet and helpless the first time I met you, much too pretty to be a killer.
Though, inside, your shadow self is ruthless, not in an evil way, but in a loving one.
You’d kill for the people you love, and you’ll play whatever game you have to to end the injustice you see on this world.
You were never a meek little mouse, Eloise.
And now your shadow self is so big and strong, it’s shining through your skin. ”
“My new shadow self thinks you should shut up about it already,” I say with a laugh. “I’ve grown and changed. It doesn’t make me any better or worse than who I once was. I simply have different options.”
He huffs. “If you think so, you must be a true leader, doll. Never lose that. It’ll keep you grounded.”
The door behind him opens, and Marabella, dressed in a low-cut red gown, steps out onto the deck. “Is she going to kill me if I join you?” she asks, one hand on the door. Her heart hammers in her chest. I remember too well what it was like to be a vulnerable human.
“Not if you move out of my way.” I glide past her, through the door before she has time to blink. “I want to dance.”