Chapter 22
We discreetly stowedNash’s body in the van with plans to bring it to Aimee. It seemed only fitting, considering her people had been the ones most hurt by him. What she decided to do with his corpse was entirely up to her. Myself, I might have taken a page from Vlad’s book and piked the bastard’s head on the front lawn to warn anyone else who might wanna mess with the pack. Of course, that sort of reaction came with consequences. Legal ones. People didn’t take too lightly to others stringing up dead bodies in their front yards.
“You got this?” I asked Jaden. We’d agreed that she and Josh would escort Avery back to Aimee, just in case.
“Yeah.” She shot Elias a glare. “You got him?”
I nodded. “If he tries anything, I’ll show him what it means to be a slayer.”
Elias’s lips quirked, though surprisingly, he didn’t offer his two cents.
After a quick hug, Jaden and Josh climbed into the van, and the three of them drove off with Nash’s body in the back. I only hoped they didn’t get pulled over along the way. That would make for an interesting conversation with the local PD.
“Come on,” Elias said. “My car’s parked just down the road.”
Gabriel and I followed him silently. I had so many questions to ask, like how he’d even known where to find us tonight, but decided it would be best to wait until Gabriel had him under compulsion.
Together, the three of us climbed into his car and off we went.
The café Elias chose was a small, inconspicuous place, just a few minutes away from the storage facility. The warm interior glowed softly in the night, a beacon for those seeking to sate any late-night hunger pangs. Inside, the air was rich with the scent of fresh pastries, coffee, and…blood. Huh. I hadn’t expected that. But New Orleans businesses had made themselves quite profitable, catering to vampires. I studied the menu, then paused when I caught sight of the small menu dedicated to their fanged clientele—flavored blood drinks in artisanal bottles that somehow managed to look quite quaint.
Gabriel’s eyes shone with delight at the sight of a cinnamon spiced blood. Despite the evening’s grim circumstances, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of normalcy as I listened to the two brothers bicker over which drink would taste better: blood with lime or lemon. I chose to abstain when they glanced my way. As a non-blood drinker, I didn’t feel equipped even to hazard a guess.
Eventually, the three of us settled into a booth near the back of the café. Me with a strong black coffee and slightly too-dry banana muffin, Gabriel with his cinnamon spiced blood, and Elias with the lemon-flavored one.
Gabriel sipped his drink, then nodded at Elias, who nursed his own. “Ready?”
“Hit me,” Elias said.
Leaning in, Gabriel snared Elias’s gaze. Then, in a low, hypnotic voice, he said, “You will answer every question Maddie asks with nothing but the truth. And when we’re done, you’ll remember it all.”
Elias blinked, his posture subtly shifting to obey Gabriel’s command, then turned his gaze to me.
After a bite of my muffin, I dove in, eager to hear his answers. “Who are you loyal to? Adrian or Gabriel?”
“Gabriel,” Elias replied with no hesitation, his fingers casually toying with his cup. “I’ve always been on his side.”
Relief eased all my fluttering nerves, and I sat back in the booth with a heavy breath. Gabriel’s compulsion at least soothed that thread of doubt within me about his brother.
“Why pretend to be on Adrian’s side?” I asked. “What did you gain from that?”
Elias’s expression remained open and unguarded. “I had to know what you—we—were up against. I saw an opportunity to get close to my father and learn his plans. Otherwise, what good am I? And it isn’t like I could charge in and rescue you two. You saw for yourself how many guards he had on hand. I’m strong, but not even I could take on that many. I did what I could. I told you to give Gabriel blood, which I knew would then facilitate your escape. Afterward, I pulled the guards away and led everyone upstairs to give you the time and space you needed.”
“And Adrian doesn’t suspect you helped us?”
“If he does, he hasn’t said.”
“How did you find us tonight?” I continued, quick-firing the questions.
A snicker escaped Elias, and he leaned back in the booth. “Would you believe it was a coincidence? I’d actually gone there to kill Nash. Turns out, we had a similar agenda. Vamps like him don’t belong in the streets. They belong in the ground. And with Adrian gone, it was the perfect opportunity. Finding you there was…an unexpected bonus.”
“Why not reach out to us after we escaped?”
“How?” he returned. “Adrian would have noticed. And then I’d be the dead one. I just had to trust that you guys would figure things out on your own.”
“You said you wanted to learn what Adrian was planning. Did you find anything out?”
Elias took a sip of his lemon-infused blood before answering. “Yeah, he’s pretty set on killing you. The both of you. He put all his faith in that damn Academy of yours. He thought it was the perfect setup. He could arrange Gabriel’s death while keeping his hands clean. When that failed, he turned to the witches and their pet demon. Let’s just say he wasn’t thrilled when he learned that you’d killed the creature and obliterated the coven.” Elias’s tone was nonchalant, but I caught the undercurrent of satisfaction, and perhaps a bit of envy.
“How did he initially learn about the Academy’s corruption?”
“That I don’t know,” Elias said.
I guess in the long run, that answer wasn’t important. Adrian had somehow learned about the corruption and decided to take advantage of it. The how didn’t really matter.
There was one last burning question I had to ask, one that I suspected Gabriel would be equally interested in. I fixed Elias with a steady gaze before asking. “Do you want to be king?”
Both vampires fell deathly silent. Elias flicked a glance at Gabriel, then back to me, his expression tight. Bound by the compulsion, he had to answer truthfully, but from the look of his gritted teeth, he didn’t want to. “Yes.”
Gabriel stiffened in the seat next to me. “You do? You always told me the throne held no appeal for you.”
Elias bit out a bitter laugh. “Who wouldn’t want that kind of power? You forget, I was the true heir. You usurped me. I always thought the throne would be mine, but you snatched it up.” He sighed, the edge in his voice softening. “At first, I was bitter. But then I started to see things from Gabriel’s side, and I realized he was right to take the throne. I was a puppet to our mother’s whims, blind to her madness. Gabriel did what was necessary to protect our people. I’m not sure I would have been able to do that back then. My anger faded when I started to realize that.”
Gabriel and I sat silently, processing everything Elias had just said.
Then, breaking the tension, Gabriel announced, “Well, tonight’s your lucky night then. I’m passing the torch to you. Making you king.”
Elias almost choked on his drink, coughing and sputtering in surprise. He grabbed a bunch of napkins and dabbed at his shirt. “What?” he rasped. He stared at Gabriel, then me, then back at Gabriel. “What are you talking about?”
“Which part confused you?” Gabriel asked teasingly. “When this is all done, when Adrian is dead, I’ll hand the crown to you. You’ll be king, and I’ll…” He sighed and leaned back in the booth.
“You’ll what?” Elias pressed.
Gabriel looked at me, a soft smile on his lips. “I’ll stay here, where I belong.”
I blinked back unexpected tears, touched by the simplicity and honesty in his voice.
“I’d meant to discuss this all with you before Adrian staged his little abduction,” Gabriel continued.
Elias sat forward in the booth and rested his elbows on the table, his focus lasered in on his brother. “You want to make me the king?”
“Absolutely. You were the rightful heir,” Gabriel said, his voice carrying a weight of certainty. “And you’re also right that you’ve changed. You aren’t our mother’s puppet anymore, primarily because she’s dead, but that’s beside the point. You’ve also proven that you can stand against our father. I don’t want to be the king anymore. You do. It seems like the perfect solution to me.”
Elias bit his bottom lip, his expression conflicted. “Forgive me for asking this question, but are you only doing this for her?” He shot me a look.
Gabriel’s eyes met mine, and a warm smile curled his lips. “Oh, I’m definitely doing this for her. But it’s for me too. I need to be with Maddie. I love her. Trust me when I say I want this more than anything.”
Elias let out a low whistle. “Wow. I never thought you’d walk away from all that power. I’m not sure I could make the same choice.”
“You haven’t met your mate yet,” Gabriel countered softly. “When that happens, your perspective might change. Things might be different for you, of course. She may want to be queen and rule together. But Maddy’s roots are here, and after everything she’s been through, I would never ask her to leave. Besides, as you pointed out, the position was supposed to be yours. Consider this a course correction for a mistake made six years ago.”
Elias leaned back. He ran a hand through his hair, then blew out a heavy breath. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”
Gabriel nodded. “I am. This isn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. Maddie and I discussed this the night before Adrian abducted us. I promised her I would give up my crown and move here to be with her, and I intend to keep that promise.”
“Alright,” Elias murmured, his eyes wide as though he still couldn’t believe this was happening. “If this is what you want, then yes, I accept. I honestly never expected this.” Then he burst out laughing. “Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t take Adrian’s side, huh?”
Gabriel laughed with his brother, but I merely forced a smile. Maybe it was just too soon for me, but I didn’t find that joke funny.
“Speaking of Adrian,” I said, hoping to steer the conversation back to the topic at hand. “What are we going to do about him?”
Elias picked up his drink and braved another sip, this time not choking on it. “He’s a vampire, so you slay him. Isn’t that what you do?”
I glanced between the two of them. “Listen, there’s no one I want to kill more than Adrian. After everything he’s done…” My blood heated just thinking about it. I still remembered the feel of that demon’s claws wriggling inside my chest, of the liquid silver boiling me from the inside out, the pain of watching them inject Gabriel with holy water over and over. I owed Adrian so much agony and misery, and I wanted nothing more than to make that happen. But… “Well, he’s your father.”
“Don’t look at me,” Gabriel said. “I want him dead as much as you do. Funny how your opinion of someone can change when they harm you and the ones you love.”
Elias smirked. “Adrian was always good to me. But I understand what needs to happen here. Neither you nor Gabriel will be safe until he’s dead. He forced me to choose, and I’ve made my choice.”
“Then I guess as long as everyone’s on board,” I said. “Gimme the deets.”
“The deets…?” Elias repeated.
“Details,” Gabriel informed him, winking at me.
“Ah, yes.” Elias relaxed into the booth, his demeanor almost too casual for someone who was betraying his father. “Adrian’s holed up in an old mansion off Esplanade Avenue. Two stories, balcony wrapped with wrought iron lacework—very ‘New Orleans,’” he said, adopting a terrible southern accent that didn’t suit his British one at all. “And he’s not alone. He keeps four guards with him at all times. Four daywalking vamps during the day, and another four at night.”
I frowned at the addition of daywalking vamps. “No humans anymore?”
“He changed things up when you escaped. If I had to guess, he’s scared you’ll come after him during the day. So he upgraded.”
“Damn it, I really hate smart villains,” I grumbled. “Because I absolutely would have suggested we go during the day. Open the curtains, and voila, it’s roasted vampire for dinner.”
Both Elias and Gabriel looked equally horrified and disgusted by my quip.
“Guess that means we’ll go at night then,” I continued. “No point going in without you two.”
“Oh, and we so appreciate that,” Elias drawled. “He is our father, after all. We deserve to be there.”
“We deserve more than that,” Gabriel growled. “I will be the one to stake the bastard.” He shot me a look that brooked no room for arguments.
I didn’t want to fight about this, but I also wanted a piece of Adrian. “We’ll just have to see who gets to him first,” I said, my eyes narrowing in a challenge.
After a moment, Gabriel laughed and shook his head. Then he glanced at Elias. “You should head back. We don’t want Adrian getting suspicious. What’ll you tell him about Nash?”
Elias considered that question for a moment. “I think I’ll tell him the local werewolf pack got their claws on him. And thanks to you handing his body over to the alpha, it won’t be a lie.”
Clever.
“Write down the address for me before we leave,” I told Elias. “We’ll head out about an hour after sunset. Try not to act suspicious tomorrow night, but keep Adrian inside. And make sure to unlock the back door for us. Oh, and if we show up only to learn he’s left town, I’ll be pissed.”
“And we wouldn’t want that,” Elias teased.
“No, you really wouldn’t,” Gabriel said in a dangerous voice.
With a clear plan in mind, we rose from the booth and left the café.