Chapter 21 Knox
Knox
“It’s impossible, I destroyed that entire bloodline!” Egor roars as his fist smashes down onto the table. On the outside, I’m bored and unimpressed by the chaos that ensued after Danni had broken Egor’s compulsion, but on the inside, I’m terrified.
I personally watched Egor take the mortal life of the last descendant.
I even searched the house afterwards to make sure nobody would have a reason to go looking for her.
No signs of children’s toys or any other life inhabiting remained in the tiny bungalow.
So how the fuck had this happened? It all seems impossible, yet didn’t the impossible already happen?
Danni must be a direct descendant of the witches we thought we destroyed and Egor got his information terribly wrong.
That’s the only explanation there is. Someone’s losing a head when my father finally puts two and two together.
What a thrill it would be to see that fucker’s head on a spike.
I’m mated to a human who carries stakes around in her purse, so this is definitely possible. But right now, I have to convince them all that it isn’t.
“Has it ever crossed your mind that you might be simply… losing your touch, Egor?” I smirk as the vain motherfucker starts examining his hands for wrinkles.
Vampires care only about themselves. They can preach about doing what’s best for the coven all they like, but I know this whole fucking thing is purely for their own entertainment.
They are old and bored and wish to do as the Romans did.
Down here, they can play god and get away with it. They make the rules, after all.
“Insolent boy!” Egor’s face shifts, his eyebrows lowering to conceal half of his eyes while revealing his true face. My goading is working. He is one ugly motherfucker.
I like to think that even when my face shifts, I’m still handsome.
I roll my eyes and sink back into my seat, avoiding my father’s disapproval. He hates it when I provoke his trusted counselors. The first thing I’ll do when I take my father’s power is burn them all at the stake.
“You keep going over it all again and again. It’s boring. Just face the facts: you were either sloppy with your murdering or you just don’t have that magic touch anymore. I mean you’re how old now?”
And that was the final nail in the coffin.
Egor leaps up from his seat and pounces on me.
He grabs me by the shirt collar, nearly ripping out a few seams. “How dare you disrespect me like that! Do you have any idea what I’ve done to keep us all safe?
!” He spits as he speaks, a trait I’ve always detested.
I dramatically wipe it from my cheek without flinching.
“I’m well aware of what you’ve done for our coven,” I say as I pry his hands away. “You remind us every day of this miserable existence.”
Yes, Egor, I know your secret. I know exactly why you’ve been so desperate to get me to take another Familiar. I know all of the reasons why you want the magic back at its full capacity in our realm. As if he can hear my thoughts, Egor’s eyes narrow and I brace myself for another assault.
“Enough of this.”
My father’s tired voice carries over the commotion. My gaze shifts to see him pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Egor, you know that our magic is weak. Knox and I were with you when you went above ground to get rid of the woman. There is a possibility that since we are so close to the time of the ritual, your compulsion has weakened. It’s no secret that my own powers are waning.
When the family of witches cursed us to live underground, they made it clear that an eternity of darkness with only one night every fifteen years to harvest the mortals above was our price.
The magic that strengthens us is waning, Egor.
You’re not the first to suffer and you will not be the last.”
I try to hide my surprise. My father is actually going along with what I’m saying? Has it begun to snow outside as well?
Egor huffs and returns to his seat. When my eyes meet my father’s, his gaze hardens as he examines me. He knows I’m keeping something from him. I can only hope he will understand my reasons for it.
I can’t tell him about Danni being my mate. Fathers have killed their sons for a lot less in our realm, and his love for me will never surpass his love for power.
“Egor, just to be safe, tell us again what happened that night.” Damon’s voice cuts through the tension; his brows furrow, deep in thought as he takes a long drink from his goblet.
Egor closes his eyes and tilts his head down in exasperation.
That egotistical mask slips for just a second, revealing how tired he is, how weak.
A shell of the powerful man he once was.
I revel in it, despite knowing that we are all feeling the effects of my handiwork, thanks to the ritual not being fully completed for decades.
I’ve worked so hard to get them all to this point. I hate that I have to throw it all away on some girl. She’s not just some girl though, is she? I push the thought away; letting it in makes it that much harder to conceal my truth from the others.
We’re monsters and we deserve to die. Danni will be giving them all the elixir of life once she becomes my Familiar. Everything will go back to how it was.
Egor begins his retelling of the events that took place that night, but I only half listen. A hollow ache begins to carve itself deep in my chest, an ache that takes the shape of the woman who wants to kill me.
The woman who may or may not be my greatest enemy.