Chapter Thirty
Vanessa
I glanced in the side mirror, watching the house fade behind us as Liv drove down the driveway.
“Thank you,” I said again, not tearing my eyes away.
What was I looking for? Did I really expect Vil to come bursting out the front door, running after me? Then what? Would he chase the car down, throw himself at my mercy, and beg for me back? Was that what I truly wanted? Or did I just feel melancholic and wish things had worked out differently?
“I’d say no problem, but that’s not quite how it goes,” my sister said. “But that’s what family is for, sis.”
“I’ll pay you back,” I said. “Need some extra free babysitting?”
“Ohmygod, yes!” Liv gushed. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” I said. “I owe you for this.”
Liv looked over at me. “Are you sure you want to go?”
“Yes, please. I can’t stay here any longer.”
“Why were you here in the first place? I haven’t heard anything from you the past few days.”
“Long story,” I said. “But my cell phone went for a swim in the river.”
“What about your car?”
“Also went in the river,” I said.
“What?” Liv yelped.
“Um. Did you hear about the car that got fished out of the river off the bridge?” I said, wincing.
“That was you?” Liv shrieked, slamming on the brakes. “There was a dead guy in there, Van! What the fuck is going on?”
“He tried to kidnap me,” I said quietly. “He worked at the TapHouse and was walking me to my car. Thought that because he was a ‘nice guy,’ I owed him favors. He didn’t take ‘no’ very well.”
“None of them do,” Liv spat. “God, I’m glad you’re okay. Goodness. You’re coming to stay with us. I don’t want you on your own.”
I looked back at the mirror, the house still visible from where we’d stopped. “I wasn’t alone,” I said quietly.
Liv made a noise. “And just who lives out here that you’ve been spending your time with?”
“That,” I said heavily, “is a long story that I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about yet.”
I could see her looking at me out of the corner of my eyes, waiting for me to say more. I didn’t. How would I tell her about Vil and everything that had happened between us? Not to mention how I’d hide the fact he was a dragon. Too many questions. I had to get my story straight first.
“Did he treat you that badly?” Liv asked, making an easy guess that I’d been with a man.
“Not at all,” I said with a sigh. “In fact, he treated me amazing.”
“Then why are we leaving?”
“Because he lied about something important.” I didn’t elaborate.
“Fuck him,” Liv spat, taking her foot off the brakes.
I made a noncommittal noise. Did I agree? Should I just hate him? That would be the easy way to do it. But … did I actually hate him?
In the mirror, a giant plume of orange fire and black smoke erupted from the house. A moment later, the entire car shook and rattled as the roar of the shockwave raced over us.
“What the fuck was that?” Liv asked.
“Go back!” I shouted.
“What?”
“The house! Turn around, get us back there!” I shouted, twisting around to stare in horror at the house as fire and smoke billowed into the sky.
My sister wheeled the car around, staring at the scene playing out in front of us. Debris lay scattered across the road. When we reached the house, I could see windows shattered everywhere and curtains blowing wildly in and out of the house.
“Van,” my sister said, slowing the car as we approached the thickest part of the debris. “Are you sure we should be going closer to—”
I was already getting out and running toward the house.
“Vil!” I shouted, looking around frantically.
There was a violent crack and then an ominous rumble. I watched in horror as a large chunk of the left side of the manor house slowly collapsed in a heap of rubble and broken materials. More smoke flowed upward out of the newly open-concept design.
“Oh my god,” Liv moaned behind me. “Van, what have you gotten yourself involved in?”
I turned on her. “What?”
She pointed at the house. “If you hadn’t called me, you would have been inside!”
While Liv might have been right, I was distracted as someone stumbled out of the wreckage, hacking and coughing.
“Cruce!” I shouted, leaving her behind and running forward, ignoring the heat of the flames.
“Huh? Vanessa! Oh, thank the God-King,” Cruce muttered through a cough. “I feared you’d been inside.”
“No, I was, um, outside,” I said. “Where’s Vil? Is he okay?”
My heart was racing with fear. I knew he was a dragon and extra tough, but a literal bomb had blown up half the house.
Cruce coughed again, hacking up some dust and smoke, and then stood up to survey the house.
“Where is he, Cruce?” I repeated, taking a step toward the house, intending to search for him.
He took me by the arm, stopping me. “Go home, Vanessa.”
I glared at him. “What? No. I need to find Vil. Why would I go home?”
“Because there’s nothing you can do here,” he said heavily.
“How do you know?” I asked, rounding on him. “What aren’t you telling me, Cruce?”
He grimaced and glanced at the section of the house that had come crumbling down. Flames were beginning to lap at the visible sections.
“Vil was heading through the Rift,” he said silently.
“So?” I asked, confused.
“As far as I can tell, that’s where the epicenter was.”
Something shattered in my mind. “Vil is … dead?”
“Probably,” he said, sounding like he couldn’t really believe it either. “We’ll dig through everything and maybe get lucky, but …”
He didn’t seem convinced.
“What did this?” I asked, desperate not to think about Vil being dead. He couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. Just hours ago, he’d been so alive, so vibrant. I could easily call to mind the touch of his hands, so strong, and the warmth of his kisses. Vil couldn’t be dead!
But it certainly seemed like he was.
“I mean, I can’t say for sure,” Cruce said. “But if I had to guess, I’d say there’s only one real option.”
“The Nine,” I hissed, fury bubbling up through me. “They tried to take him out.”
Cruce nodded, then stopped. “Or you,” he said, lifting one hand in contemplation.
I went still. “Me?” I looked over my shoulder at my sister, who was looking at the house in shock. “Are you sure?”
“You are more vulnerable than a dragon,” Cruce said. “A bomb like that would be more likely to take you out than one of us.”
“Do you really think they would try to kill me outright?” I asked, aghast at the idea that they were so dead set on getting rid of me they’d try to kill me.
Pun intended.
“I don’t know,” Cruce said heavily. “But I’m going to find out, and when I do, I’m going to tear the spine out of whoever did this.”
I shuddered at the absolute cold steel rage pouring off him as he spoke. I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of that anger.
“What can I do to help?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Cruce said. “Go home. Let me figure this out so that I don’t have to worry about you. I’ll find his body and let you know.”
I slumped. I hated feeling helpless.
But Cruce was right. What could I do that a dragon couldn’t?
Stay in the room with him, my guilty conscience muttered. I glanced at the other side of the house, where Vil’s room was likely untouched. A room we both could have been in if I hadn’t kicked him out overnight.
Was Vil dead because of me?