Chapter 30
30
S unset arrived too soon and not soon enough. I’d tried to get some sleep—I’d given it my best effort—but in the end, I had been unable to quiet my racing thoughts. So, I washed my face and got dressed in a thin, sleeveless gown that hugged my lithe form. The dress was the color of champagne and parted on my right thigh, granting easy access to the dagger I’d strapped there. The gown was a statement. The clan leaders would soon arrive at the estate, and I didn’t want to cover myself up in their presence. I wanted to look confident—to show them that I could be one of them.
I will be one of them, I thought, staring at myself in the vanity mirror.
My chest constricted as anxiety threatened to swell. I quickly tamped it down. My mind was made up. Dwelling on what was to come served no purpose.
A soft knock sounded on my door, and I was grateful for it because it pulled me from my thoughts. Henry walked in a moment later and froze mid-step, his eyes shamelessly roaming over my body. When I arched a brow, he cleared his throat, averting his gaze. Suppressing a smile tugging at my lips, I quickly dragged the brush through my hair, deciding to leave it down.
“The clan leaders will be here soon. I assumed you would want to come to the meeting, and seeing how you are already dressed and ready, my assumption was correct,” Henry said.
“Yes, I want to be there,” I told him, my fingers brushing the outline of the dagger.
“I also need to get the clans’ permission to turn you,” Henry said, his voice almost breaking on the last part.
“Right.” I swallowed thickly.
“Sophie—” the Lord started.
“Let’s go then,” I cut him off, hooking my arm around his. I would not have another discussion about him turning me. I couldn’t.
“You look nice,” Henry murmured as we left my room and strolled down the long hallway.
A strange flutter stirred in my chest at his words. Things felt different between us now, ever since what had happened at the witch’s cottage.
“Thank you,” I replied, staring straight ahead as we entered the foyer on the way to the study.
Henry stopped suddenly, his brows pinching, as his gaze flicked to the front door. A second later, a knock sounded, echoing in the large, open space.
Henry’s eyes darted to me as he said, “Someone is here to see you,” just as Ezra entered the foyer and hurried to the front door. He promptly opened it, revealing Waylon on the other side.
My brows lifted in surprise as Waylon walked in, halting abruptly when he noticed Henry and me.
“Lord Duval.” He gave a curt nod. “I’d like to speak with Sophie,” he said in a clipped tone, sounding agitated.
“It is up to Sophie if she will speak with you,” Henry replied, his voice laced with ice.
Frowning at his tone toward Waylon, I said, “I will speak with him. I’ll see you in the study.”
Henry’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything else as he nodded and walked off.
“Follow me,” I told Waylon, turning back toward the hallway leading to my room.
He didn’t look at me as we walked, tension rolling off him in waves.
“So, this is where you’ve been staying,” he said, taking a sweeping glance around my bedroom once we were inside.
“Yes,” I replied. “What are you doing here?” I asked without further ado.
I suspected I knew the reason why he was here and wanted to get through this as quickly as possible.
“Your father told me about what you were planning to do,” Waylon said, confirming my suspicion. “Or, rather, what you were planning to have done to you,” he bit out, anger flashing in his eyes.
I gritted my teeth. “It’s my choice.”
“And it’s the wrong one!” Waylon shouted, startling me.
I’d always known he had a rough side to him, but I’d never seen it directed at me before.
“My father accepted my decision, and that’s all that matters to me,” I declared, and Waylon bristled at my words.
I hated hurting him, but what I’d said was the truth. Waylon was a friend, and I cared about him, but in the end, it didn’t matter what he thought.
“You hate vampires,” he seethed, rage mottling his features. “And now you’re willing to become one of them?”
“I’ll still be me.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
I didn’t know if I would still be myself. Henry had said I wouldn’t be at first, but I hoped I would find a way back to what made me who I was and quickly so I could help him fight the witches.
“You don’t know that!” Waylon snapped.
“You’re right, I don’t,” I conceded. “But I do know that I have to do this. I have to try to save my people.”
Waylon’s face fell as he stared at me. It was clear his anger had deflated.
“Why is it your task to save everyone?” he asked quietly.
“Because it’s my destiny,” I said without hesitation.
I knew it was the truth. I could feel it in my heart. Perhaps I did have a connection to the world around me because of my White Witch blood. Maybe that was why I had this knowledge deep inside me that I was meant to do it—to make that sacrifice.
Waylon’s eyes glistened as he dragged a hand down his face.
“I will never accept this,” he said, exhaling roughly.
“I can live with that,” I proclaimed, surprised to find my voice steady.
Waylon looked at me as if he didn’t know me, and perhaps he didn’t, not truly.
“You should leave,” I threw over my shoulder as I left the room.
The six clan leaders were already gathered in Henry’s study when I walked in.
“What is she doing here?” Moreau hissed as I strode deeper into the crowded room.
All the vampires were standing, and their tension and unease saturated the air, letting me know Henry had already told them about the impending war.
“She has a reason for being here,” Henry said as I came to stand by his side.
“And what might that reason be?” Stern challenged, standing a few feet away to my left.
“I’m sure we will find out soon enough,” Camilla interjected from my right. “One thing I don’t understand,” she said, looking at Henry. “Why would the Dark Witches attack now?”
Henry looked at me, and I met his deep blue gaze. He side-glanced at Stern before his eyes returned to me. There was a silent question in them, and I gave a slight nod, letting him know I was prepared for what would happen next.
“They bided their time because they thought we had a means to destroy them,” Henry explained, turning back to Camilla.
A murmur swept through the room at his words. I saw Stern grow incredibly still, and all my muscles tensed as I watched him.
“My mother created an amulet that could destroy the Dark Witches,” I said, not taking my eyes away from Stern. I was talking to him as I said, “I know what you did.”
“You little bitch,” he snarled, lunging at me.
A heartbeat later, his eyes froze in shock as I thrust my dagger into his chest, piercing the heart. The room faded to black as I stared into the twin pools of darkness, seeing my own reflection. I also saw my mother, Rory, and countless others who’d died at Stern’s hands or at the hands of his minions. Stern opened his mouth as if to say something, but the only sound that came out was a low hiss as his features became sunken, his flesh drying out on his bones. Another second, and he was gone, caving into himself. The moment was over quickly, and I was glad for it because I realized that no amount of suffering I could have inflicted on Stern would bring back my mother or Rory. I didn’t revel in his death like I’d thought I would, though I did feel relief that I’d rid the world of such evil. My hand trembled slightly as I lowered the dagger and sheathed it at my thigh.
“What have you done?!” Moreau exclaimed, baring his fangs.
Henry growled next to me and moved to block me from the Lord of the West, but I stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Stern killed my mother,” I said, looking around the room at the remaining five clan leaders. “And he was the one turning people into rampant vampires terrorizing the cities at night.”
“It’s true,” Henry chimed in. “He had tunnels under his estate that the turned used to move between the regions.”
Another murmur swept through the room.
“Are the turned still on the loose?” Camilla asked.
“No.” Henry shook his head. “I think I killed them all.”
With his voice deeply sad and his eyes haunted, he didn’t sound proud of the fact. What he’d done weighed heavily on him, and I had to fight the urge to reach for him to offer a comforting touch.
“I think we can all agree that Stern deserved to die,” Camilla said casually, looking around the room. “But couldn’t it have waited until after the war?” Her gaze landed on me. “Now, it is one less of us to fight the Dark Witches.”
When Henry stiffened next to me, I glanced at him, but he didn’t meet my gaze.
“I will take his place,” I said, and all the heads in the room swung to Henry.
Tension bracketed the corners of his mouth as he said, his voice rough, “I will turn her,” he paused, looking at the clan leaders, “with your permission.”
Camilla chuckled low. “Such a Duval thing to do—to follow the rules despite everything.” She gave me an assessing look. “You will have to get her acclimated fast if we want her to join our ranks in the war.”
“I am aware,” Henry said calmly. “And I am willing to do it.”
He did look at me then, and I gave him an appreciative smile. He didn’t smile back, but his eyes softened just a fraction.
“I vote yes,” Camilla said, her voice ringing out in the study.
“I vote no,” Moreau spit out. “I don’t trust her. I don’t want to have to watch my back if she is turned.”
Henry smirked bitterly. “You will have to watch your back even if she is not turned. I know you and Stern were close and that you agreed with his line of thinking on how the Empire should be run. Don’t think I have forgotten.”
Moreau’s eyes widened in shock, and he took a step back as if trying to put more distance between himself and the Lord. Excitement sparked in my veins as I glanced at Henry. He could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be. Trying to hide the look of admiration on my face, I squared my shoulders and waited for the rest of the clan leaders to vote.
“I know she will be a new vampire, but having one more in our midst could make a difference,” said one of the clan leaders—a tall and slim female with a golden-brown complexion and wide-set, amber eyes. “So, I vote yes.”
The two remaining clan leaders—a petite female with creamy skin and copper locks and an older male with silver hair—nodded in agreement and voted yes as well.
My breath caught as the realization sank in that now my fate had officially been sealed.
Moreau scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air with frustration, but the rest ignored his outburst.
“Everyone should send their humans to my domain in the North,” Camilla said, looking at the other vampires. “When will you turn her?” she asked, her ice blue eyes on Henry.
“Tonight,” the Lord replied, his voice strained.
Camilla’s gaze flicked to me as a strange smile touched her lips.
“We’ll leave you to it, then,” she said, her voice deep and smoky.
“We’ll be in touch,” the golden-eyed vampire said before sweeping from the room with supernatural speed.
The others bid their farewell as well before leaving the study in the same manner.
Silence stretched between Henry and me as we both seemed lost in our thoughts for a few minutes.
Snapping out of it before my emotions could rise and sweep me under, I turned to the Lord and said, “I’m ready.”