Chapter 30
Elly looks at me in confusion as I lead her to the living room.
That confusion quickly transforms into a flicker of hurt when I bring her up to speed with everything I’ve discovered so far.
She’s hurt that I hadn’t told her sooner about what I found in the twins’ house.
I realize now that it was wrong of me to hold back that information, and seeing the pain etched on her face makes me feel every bit the asshole she so lovingly calls me.
In response, Elly shares the developments on her end over the past few days. It seems we both reached the same conclusion: Nagamaru and the red-haired woman must be siblings.
“You think that finger”—she nods back toward the kitchen—“is from my sister’s descendant? That he sent it as what, a warning?”
“I know it is,” I tell her, my magic confirming it the moment she opened that box.
“But why? What do they have to do with any of this?”
“She looked like you.”
“Excuse me?” Elly recoils, her voice thick with disgust.
“It’s clear that Nagamaru”—just saying his name ignites my anger—“is the one who has been stalking you. It’s possible he came across her, found her likeness good enough, and used her as an, albeit temporary, substitute.”
The way she looks at me mirrors my own thoughts. “So he abducted her, raped her, and then killed her? Sounds familiar.” She’s understandably upset, but she needs to curb her attitude.
“Love,” I growl at her, “don’t.”
Elly huffs but holds her tongue, though it does little to mask her anger and irritation.
“You’ve seen him with Thomas?” She gives me a sharp look. “Then I have to talk to him. If he’s making some kind of deal with that snake, I need to know.”
“Or you could just get rid of him already,” she snarls.
“You know it’s not that simple.”
“Why? Because it could take the whole company down? I don’t give a damn,” she shouts, rising from her seat. “Thomas is going behind your back, making deals with the man who broke into our house and almost raped me.”
Her magic crackles in the air, making the glass in the windows rattle.
“Isabella might very well be bedding the sister who’s actively undermining the company.
They’re ruining the very thing you want to protect.
And still, you want to give them the benefit of the doubt?
They seem pretty guilty from where I’m standing. ”
Her magic lashes out at me, ice-blue slamming against my black. Her rage is like oil on an open fire, feeding her power beautifully. “I don’t care why you think you can’t do what so obviously needs to be done. But if you don’t, I will. I’ll shred them to pieces if that’s what it takes.”
My magic pushes back against hers, urging her to let it all out. She needs to expel this turmoil, no matter how stunning she looks in her fury.
Before long, a crack appears, and a sliver of my magic slips through, wrapping around her and humming against her own.
With each passing second, Elly calms down until her magic fizzles out, leaving her shaking, the weight of her emotions overwhelming.
I rise, taking her in my arms and holding her close.
Elly’s hands clutch at my shirt with such force that the seams strain under the pressure.
“He was going to rape me, Mal,” she whispers against my chest, her body trembling slightly. “And I froze. Completely.” She looks up at me, her eyes misting with unshed tears—tears I know she can no longer shed.
“You’re okay!”
Before I can process what’s happening, a pair of pale arms pulls Elly away from me. I stand there as Désirée nearly hugs my wife to death, oblivious to everything else.
“I’m so glad,” Désirée sobs, while Elly looks utterly confused. “That one time we’re both away unexpectedly, I swear.”
A cough comes from the other end of the living room, and I glance over to see Alix giving me an apologetic grin. “Desi, ma chéri,” he says, “we’re interrupting.”
Désirée abruptly lessens her grip on Elly. “Oh,” she says with an apologetic look and an awkward smile.
“Sorry, we should leave,” Alix says, prying her away from Elly.
“No, it’s okay,” Elly quickly responds, keeping Désirée’s hand in hers. After the anger, hurt seems to hold onto her. She hugs Désirée, who easily returns the embrace.
I gesture at Alix, and he follows me back to the kitchen.
“What happened last night?” he asks when we’re alone.
“Remember the man I told you about? The one who raped her sister’s descendant?”
Alix nods, knowing where I’m headed. I nod at the box still on the kitchen counter, and he hesitantly opens it.
“Don’t tell me that’s her finger.” He grimaces at the sight and smell, quickly closing the box again. “Shit, he was here? Did he hurt her?”
I shake my head. “He didn’t get the chance to, but things could have been a lot worse.”
He deflates but notices I’m not as composed as I’d like to be. “Do you know who he is? How we can find him?”
“I have the means to track him down, but…” I hesitate. “There are complications.” A sigh escapes me as I take a seat at the kitchen table, the vampire following suit.
“He’s my son.” The look Alix gives me is a mix of disgust and disbelief. “He’s also working with Thomas—who knows for what? And worst of all”—as Elly struggled to say this out loud, I now find myself struggling too—“he was contracted to kill her.”
Alix raises a brow at me. “You’re certain?”
I nod, my expression grave. “The traces of magic I found when she vanished were familiar, but I couldn’t place them. Now that my magic knows him, I recognize his signature.”
Alix’s face falls.
“Are you going to tell her?” he asks, glancing at the door, as if he expects her to walk in.
I follow his gaze, my magic reaching out to Elly, gently touching her. Her own gives me a featherlight caress back, assuring me she’s okay.
“I only found her because her energy spiked when she…” My voice drops as I find myself momentarily lost in the memory of the day I found her there, huddled in a corner, a shard of mirror in her hand and her wrists bleeding. “She wasn’t supposed to take her own life.”
The vampire looks at me with sadness in his eyes but remains silent, giving me the chance to work through this.
“I know I should tell her,” I finally reply, “but the situation has both of us on edge, and I don’t want to add to that. Not right now.”
“He’s your son, D. That changes everything.”
“It changes nothing.” My words are hard and unwavering. “He hurt her, and I will not stand for that.”
“You’re going to kill him?”
“Not yet. The woman we’re looking for is likely his sister. I’m hoping we can use him to find her.”
“Him being your blood explains how he was able to get inside,” Alix says, and I nod in agreement.
The doorbell rings, and I frown. Elly walks down the hallway, opens the door, and holds a package when I step out of the kitchen.
She looks at me as if to ask if I know what’s inside, but I shake my head.
Her expression changes from uncertainty to unease, seeing the contents of the previous package.
She places the package down and begins to open it. Her eyes widen in disbelief. “She does look like me.”
I stand beside her, and a growl escapes me when I see what’s inside. A female head—the same female my magic showed me, whose finger is also in our possession. Again, it’s accompanied by those flowers, ensuring there’s no mistake about the sender.
“He’s definitely your child,” Elly says dryly, referring to how I brought her Nikolay’s head.
Alix cackles behind me, the sound cut short when Désirée slaps him.
“But seriously, what’s his goal here? Win me over by sending body parts?” Elly sounds as disgusted as I feel.
I pick the package up from the floor and make my way through the kitchen, grabbing the smaller one still sitting on the counter. I refuse to keep either in the house a moment longer.
“Mal,” Elly says, following me back into the kitchen. “I’m not going to sit around and wait for him to decide to stop by again.”
“I don’t expect you to,” I reply, my hand already reaching for the doorknob of the side door. “But we can’t just—”
She bumps against me when I come to a sudden halt.
In front of my feet, right outside the door to the small tiled garden, lies another box.
I carefully set the ones in my hands outside on the tiles and then open up the third one, a bad feeling creeping up on me.
My stomach turns when I see what’s inside, and I can practically feel myself pale.
“Move, you asshole.” Elly huffs and puffs behind me.
Somehow, she manages to wiggle past me, sucking in a breath at the sight inside the box. A blanket lies folded open, revealing an umbilical cord wrapped inside. Scattered around it are more of those blossoms, and everything is drenched in blood.
Without uttering a word, Elly rushes back inside, nearly colliding with Alix and Désirée. The confusion on the vampires’ faces quickly morphs into disgust when they catch sight—and scent—of what’s inside the box.
“Don’t bring that inside,” Désirée growls, baring her fangs.
She doesn’t need to tell me twice. I know better than to bring this kind of death into the house. I cover it again, close the box, and shove it as far from the door as possible.
“That’s just sick,” Désirée spits, and I catch the flicker of hurt in her eyes.
Elly rushes back in, a pile of papers in her hands and a deep scowl on her face. “He’s interfering with the curse.” She dumps the stack on the table, pointing at a crossed-out name. “She,” she starts, “was pregnant. Her due date has been crossed out.”
As she speaks, a thin black line appears through another name farther down the page.
“There are others like her. Both they and their children are gone. The mark in my hand hasn’t reacted to their deaths, which means they haven’t been accepted by the curse.”
Her eyes fill with worry as she continues. “I don’t know what impact this will have on the spells that set us free. For now, they’re still being fed and the curse is still collecting enough death to be a sufficient sacrifice. But if he continues to kill them…”
“A resurrection without its debt paid off.” Désirée looks between us, concern etched on her face. “That’s dangerous.”
“Do you think he knows?” Alix asks, frowning.
Elly glances at him over her shoulder. “I have to assume so. It’s too specific to be random.” She turns to me, seeking answers.
I have no clue either.
“This is bad, Mal. Really bad.” Her voice begins to tremble with hysteria. “I’ll need a backup for the curse—a contingency plan in case it falls apart. Maybe a way to stop it altogether, but figuring it out could take days. Weeks, maybe longer.”
I reach out, cupping her face in my hands. Elly grabs my arms, her grip firm, signaling her need for action.
“This isn’t how I hoped this would go,” I say.
Elly cuts me off, her voice barely more than a growl, her eyes blazing with anger. Her nails dig into my skin, and I chuckle softly.
“You misunderstand, love,” I whisper, leaning in to rest my forehead against hers. “I merely wanted more time to see how we would proceed. But he forces our hand. I won’t take any chances—not when it comes to us.” I place a gentle kiss on her brow, and she begins to calm.
“I have a tracking spell for his sister’s magic.” She briefly reveals the spell on her left middle finger. “It’s not very accurate, but it might help.”
I take her hand, inspecting the tracking spell. “It’s perfect. I should be able to track him with the blood I took earlier, but combining it with your tracking will make it stronger.”
“As long as they share the same magical signature?” she questions.
“Siblings are plenty alike in that regard. The combination should suffice.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Désirée asks, looking lost yet frustrated alongside Alix.
I shake my head, then turn my focus back to Elly. She has exchanged her worry for determination. She’s already summoned the full tracking spell, the magical energy swirling over the palm of her open hand.
I weave my own magic into it, adding bits of blood magic. A black shimmer sends soft vibrations through her ice-blue energy, the two magics reacting perfectly—like this is how they were meant to be. Together.
Then it clicks into place, settling back beneath her skin.
“That was... ticklish,” she says with a soft smile that strains at the corners.
She’s not okay but too proud to admit it; I can tell. So I return her smile and take her hand in mine. “Let’s go.”