Chapter 26
26
M y heart was in my throat as I turned to Henry. He was looking at me with a wary expression. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere else but here, doing anything else but this. How was I supposed to tell him the truth after everything he’d done for me?
“The Tear doesn’t just kill the Dark Witches,” I started, the words difficult to get out. Henry’s face fell, and I could tell he knew where this was going. “My mother wrote it could destroy all supernatural beings,” I finished, my heart sinking to the bottom of my stomach.
The next breath I took went nowhere as I waited for Henry to say something, anything . He didn’t for a long time.
“You lied to me,” he finally said, barely above a whisper.
My eyes pricked with tears as pressure tightened my chest. Henry closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, a look of utter disappointment on his face.
“I thought that you wouldn’t want to help me look for the amulet if you knew the truth,” I explained.
Henry opened his eyes and looked at me. It was hard to hold his gaze.
“I understand why you did it,” he said, but I didn’t feel relief at his words because I knew there was more. “Tell me, if you can find a way to activate the amulet, do you still plan to wipe out vampires along with the Dark Witches?”
I opened my mouth, then clamped it shut. I didn’t want to lie to him again.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
I was beginning to believe he didn’t have to die, but I didn’t know how the Tear worked. I doubted I would be able to choose who died and who didn’t.
Henry chuckled low, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe this was happening. Then, he focused on Celeste.
“What about the White Witches? If the Tear is meant to defeat all supernatural forces, how do you know you’ll survive?”
My heart sank—I hadn’t thought about that. To rid this world of evil, I might have to give up my own life in the process.
“I doubt Celine would have created an amulet that would require her to forfeit her own life to defeat her enemy,” Celeste said. “On the other hand, such powerful magic rarely comes without a price.”
I suppressed a shudder. My ancestors had paid their share. My great-grandmother had sacrificed herself to save her daughter’s life. My grandmother had ended her life to protect the Tear from the Dark Witches. And my mother had died in the arms of a vampire. Now, it was my turn to sacrifice. I didn’t know yet in what way, but a feeling of foreboding invaded my chest.
“Can you cast a spell over the amulet that will show you how it works?” Henry asked Celeste.
“Not exactly,” the witch replied, drawing my attention to her. She then looked down at the Tear in her hand as if contemplating something. “There is a spell I can use that will show us the amulet’s memories.”
“Its…memories?” I asked, frowning in confusion.
“Yes. Each object has memories, so the amulet does as well. I should be able to go as far back as the day its creation was completed.”
Henry and I exchanged a look. That could shed some light on my mother’s death.
“Do it,” I said low.
Celeste nodded and clasped the Tear with both hands. Closing her eyes again, she began to chant, and my skin prickled with goosebumps. Her chanting reminded me of what my mother had done in my dream. The witch chanted for several minutes while Henry and I watched her in silence. Tension rolled off the Lord in waves as a myriad of unspoken things hung in the air between us.
Celeste stopped chanting abruptly, and my breath caught. Her eyes were moving under the eyelids, and I wondered if she was seeing the amulet’s memories she’d spoken about. When she opened her eyes, her features softened as she looked at me.
“Would you like to see?” she asked me.
Surprisingly, I hesitated. I’d always thought I’d give anything to see what really happened in the last few hours leading up to my mother’s death. Now, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I didn’t want to tarnish my memories of my mother with what I might see.
“Will I see my mother’s death?” I asked, bracing myself.
“No,” Celeste replied. “The amulet wasn’t with your mother when she died.”
Henry and I had suspected as much. It must have been with Vincent.
“Okay,” I said, taking a steadying breath. “I’m ready.”
In the end, I had to know what had truly happened on the night of my mother’s death. Too many things were shrouded in shadows of the unknown. I was ready to shed some light on them, to reveal more pieces of the puzzle that was my legacy.
Celeste nodded and lowered the hand holding the amulet to rest on the table between us.
“Give me your hand,” she said. When I reached out, she took my hand and covered the amulet with it. “Close your eyes.”
The moment I did as she’d instructed, images appeared in my mind, similar to a dream, and I watched them play out in my head. A soft gasp left me when I saw my mother’s face. She was alive and seeing her like this filled my heart with deep sorrow but also with glowing warmth. Tears threatened as I watched her work on the amulet, hunched over the desk in her study. She was wearing a long floral dress, which told me I was seeing the night of her death. She was chanting a spell over the amulet, and after the last few words left her lips, she smiled softly, releasing a shuddering breath. Scooping the Tear off the desk, she stared at it in awe, her eyes wide in disbelief. A white glow pulsed three times in the pale-blue crystal in the heart of the amulet before fading away.
“I did it,” my mother murmured. “I can’t believe I did it.”
A startled laugh burst from me. I could feel her elation at finishing the amulet as if it were my own. Hope and pride swelled in my chest just as they did in my mother’s when she realized what she’d accomplished. Suddenly, her smile fell, and her head snapped up to the window above the desk. She quickly stood up and drew the curtains, blocking out the late evening light coming from outside. With trembling hands, she hung the amulet around her neck, hiding it under the collar of her dress, and left the study and then the house altogether.
I had a feeling I knew where she was headed as I watched her hurry through the streets of New Haven. The night had descended by the time she arrived at the Duval Estate. A servant I didn’t recognize opened the front door and let her in. She strode through the foyer in the direction of Henry’s study. Back then, it had been Vincent’s study, I realized when she rattled her knuckles on the door and walked in.
“I did it,” my mother whispered, quickly closing the door with a soft click. “It’s complete.”
She drew up short when she turned around and saw Vincent wasn’t alone. Stern stood by his desk, a dark and malevolent presence.
“Eloise,” he purred, his pitch-black, fathomless gaze roaming over every inch of her body.
All color drained from my mother’s face.
“I’ll come back later,” she said, turning to leave.
“No.” Vincent stopped her, his voice rich and deep. “Stern was just leaving.” He gave the Lord a pointed look, letting him know it was a demand, not a request.
“You and your favorite pet are up to something,” Stern drawled, looking between Vincent and my mother.
“She is not a pet,” Vincent said through his teeth, his tone icy and cold. “Get out,” he ordered Stern. “But remember what we discussed. The Selection is in two days, and you will not choose another child.”
“We’ll see.” Stern shrugged. “My region, my rules,” he added nonchalantly.
“The rules are the same for everybody,” Vincent bit out.
“Then, perhaps it’s time we changed the rules,” Stern said, a maniacal gleam in his eyes.
“You are a psychopath,” Vincent said, a look of disgust on his face.
“And you are delusional if you think everyone is content to live like this. We rule this world, Vincent. It’s time we started acting like it.”
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of my mother, his face mottling in a mockery of a smile, revealing his deadly sharp fangs.
“Eloise,” he purred my mother’s name again before sweeping out of the room.
“He’s such a monster,” my mother said, visibly shaken-up.
“That he is,” Vincent said, approaching her in a few long strides. “Is it truly complete?” he whispered.
The portraits I’d seen of Vincent did not do him justice. He was stunningly beautiful, with flawless, chiseled features and piercing amber eyes.
My mother nodded and pulled the amulet out from under the collar of her dress. She then took it off from around her neck before handing it to Vincent.
His slender fingers folded around the Tear, and he stared at it in shock for a moment before lifting his captivating gaze to my mother’s.
“I need you to hold on to it,” she said low. “I will talk to Thomas and Sophie tonight and explain everything,” she paused, swallowing thickly. “We will activate it soon.”
Vincent stared at her for a few moments in silence.
“There is no rush,” he finally said softly.
“Yes, there is,” my mother answered shakily.
“Eloise—”
“Don’t…It has to be done. It’s the only way.” Fear and determination shone in my mother’s eyes. Was she scared the Tear wouldn’t work? Why did Vincent seem hesitant? Was it because she was going to destroy all supernatural beings, including vampires and White Witches?
“Okay.” The Lord nodded. “Henry is away in Fairview, but he should be back before the Selection. I would like to speak with him and Isabelle before we do anything.”
“I understand,” my mother said. “Vincent, about the Selection…Madam St. Clair is sending Sophie…”
“Say no more. She will not be chosen.”
“Thank you.” My mother pressed his arm in a gesture of appreciation.
“Be careful,” Vincent told her, his eyes searching her face. “I can’t believe you did it,” he added with a short burst of laughter.
My mother smiled, genuine and warm, and my heart squeezed. I remembered what it had been like to be on the receiving end of those smiles. It had always felt like being kissed by the sun.
“I can’t believe that soon we will be able to defeat the Dark Witches and give the humans their world back,” my mother said, her eyes glimmering with tears.
Vincent seemed to be at a loss for words as he looked down at the amulet again and shook his head in disbelief.
“I will see you soon,” he told my mother, his own smile bright and sincere.
“Goodbye for now, my friend,” my mother said before she slipped out the door, leaving the amulet with Vincent.
“I always knew you could do it,” he whispered fondly, staring at the door for a few seconds after it had closed behind my mother.
He chuckled and wiped a few tears from his eyes before turning away from the door.
The setup of the study was almost identical to how Henry had it, but instead of Vincent’s portrait on the wall covering the safe, it was Henry’s striking features.
Vincent walked over to the portrait, stopping before it.
“I can’t wait to tell you,” he murmured, staring at it. I could see the love for his son shining through on his handsome face. “You will be so happy. Your heart has always been in the right place, and I am so proud of you,” he added, getting choked up.
My heart cracked open, and deep sorrow spilled out, filling my chest. Henry had never gotten to hear those words because my father and I had lied about what had truly happened to my mother.
Vincent cleared his throat and took the portrait off the hooks, placing it on the floor, resting against the wall. He then proceeded to open the safe, using Henry’s birth date as the combination. The Lord placed the Tear in the safe, and his gaze lingered on it for a moment before he closed the door, plunging the world around the amulet into darkness.
The next time the safe door opened, it was Stern’s face on the other side. His black eyes darted around the secret compartment until his gaze landed on the amulet, and his brows knitted. He grabbed the Tear and closed the safe with a faint thud. The amulet was in Stern’s pocket all the way to his estate as the vampire crossed the distance between New Haven and Santoria with supernatural speed.
Once he was at the mansion, he descended to his underground lair and took the Tear out of his pocket. Standing in the middle of the cavernous room, bathed in the flickering light of the dozens of candles, he just stared at the amulet for a few minutes as if trying to figure out what he was looking at. With a smirk, he lifted his eyes from the Tear and moved to the shelf of skulls that would forever be etched in my mind.
“I don’t know how you were able to resist the compulsion, but I will find out what this amulet is,” Stern said to one of the skulls—a gleaming white one that looked fresh.
I breathed through the nausea as bile rose up in my throat. Somehow, I managed not to faint or vomit as I realized the skull was my mother’s. My heart was a heavy stone in the pit of my stomach as I watched Stern root around his lair until he found a medium-sized chest. He dropped the amulet inside it and shut the lid. The next time the lid opened, it was Henry reaching for the Tear. Knowing what happened next, I opened my eyes and took my hand off the amulet. Tears were rolling down my cheeks, and I quickly wiped them away.
The amulet’s memories hadn’t showed what had happened to my mother, but it wasn’t difficult to fill in the blanks. My mother had gone home, where she’d waited for my father and me. Perhaps she’d sensed she was in danger. Celeste had said the world whispered things to the White Witches sometimes. Perhaps the world had whispered to my mother that something was coming.
I imagined her finding a blank sheet of paper on her desk and drawing a sketch of the Tear. She’d then found a pen and written: Josephine’s Tear is an amulet that can destroy the supernatural. Maybe she’d heard a noise then and gotten spooked. She’d hurriedly scribbled Vincent Duval and power of three on the paper and hid it beneath the floorboard just before Stern had shown up. He’d tried to interrogate her, but she’d been able to resist his compulsion just as I had done when Henry had tried to compel me. Stern had bitten her then, intending to frighten her, but got carried away as he had with Rory. He’d ended up killing my mother. My father and I had lied and said Dark Witches took her, and Vincent had gone to the Black Forest to try and save her. After he’d left, Stern snuck onto the Duval Estate, broken into Vincent’s safe, and stolen the Tear.
I inhaled deeply, finding my center before releasing a shuddering breath.
“You need to see this.” I glanced at Henry, who was watching me, his expression unreadable.
“Here.” Celeste dropped the amulet into the palm of my hand. “Show him.”
“Me?” I frowned in confusion.
“Yes. The spell I have cast is still in effect and will draw on the magic inside you,” she explained.
Hesitantly, I turned to Henry, extending my hand to him. His jaw was hard as he eyed the amulet in my palm. I wondered if he was as unsure about looking into the past as I had been.
“Trust me,” I said and immediately regretted it. “Not the best choice of words,” I admitted, as he gave me a look that said, “You think?”
“You won’t regret it. I promise,” I tried to reassure him.
Another moment passed before he let out a rough exhale, giving in. His large hand swallowed mine as he closed his eyes, his brows pinched in concentration. I knew he started seeing the memories when his brows lifted before slamming back down again. While he watched the memories, I watched him, my gaze gliding over his face bathed in the soft glow of the oil lamp. His features were not as refined as Vincent’s, but he was still beautiful. I’d never truly let myself acknowledge that before, too blinded by my hatred for his kind. The planes and angles of his face were near perfect, and I had to fight the urge to reach up and trace the high and wide cheekbones and the firm square jaw with my fingertips. I knew when Henry was seeing the last of the memories because his expression became pained, and his throat bobbed as he swallowed thickly. Tears glistened in his eyes when he opened them, looking at me from beneath the thick black lashes.
“Thank you for showing me,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.
I nodded, placing my other hand on top of his resting on the amulet. His gaze softened as he stared at me, and I momentarily got lost in the deep blue of his eyes.
I snapped back to reality when Celeste sucked in a sharp breath, bracing her hands on the kitchen table. Dropping Henry’s hand, I turned to the witch. The Lord did the same, briefly flexing the hand I’d just held.
“What’s wrong?” I asked Celeste.
Her cerulean eyes seemed to glow as she tilted her head as if listening to her surroundings. I wondered if the world was whispering to her, and if so, what was it saying?
“You need to leave,” she finally said, and Henry and I exchanged a glance.
“Leave?” I asked, confused. “We need to figure out how to activate the amulet.”
“There is no time. You can leave the Tear here with me if you want, and I will work on it, but you two need to return to New Haven and prepare.”
“Prepare for what?” Henry asked.
“War,” Celeste replied, and my heart sank.