A Fragile Alliance
Sienna
Hours have passed, and I’ve done what I could. Aunty Ri and the others have been located. Miraculously, everyone survived, albeit some with injuries; they were blocked off and held back by the Indomitable, too.
Tents have been set up, and the drakaths are lurking like ominous sentries. “Are they just going to stand there?” Jayce’s voice comes from behind me.
“I don’t really know what to do with them,” I admit sheepishly.
A small, faint smile graces his face when I turn to look at him, and he nods slowly. “I can only imagine… It’s not every day you get an army of mindless monsters simply existing and awaiting your command.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” I hum, smiling dryly. It is weird, and kind of creepy if I do say so myself.
Jayce’s hand finds my waist, and he tugs me closer. “You should go get some rest; I’ll join you soon.”
I look up at him, noticing the way he phrases his words, being careful not to order me. We will figure that out later. There’s got to be a way that he won’t walk on eggshells around me. I don’t want that.
I nod. “When are you going to rest? I know you’re in charge right now, but you’ve been doing a lot all night,” I whisper.
“I just need to-”
“She’s right; we pretty much sat this one out and left it to you.
So, both of you go get some rest; I’ll take over from here,” Uncle Liam says.
But before Jayce can even respond, I sense powerful auras, and we all turn, readying ourselves for anything, when the Vampire Princess, Anya Petrova, walks towards us.
She’s flanked by several vampires, each one looking as dangerous as the next.
“I am here for my brother,” she says in accented English. Her eyes are hard; her lips pressed in a tight line.
“We are sorry for your loss,” Jayce says quietly.
She scoffs. “Are you? We will rethink where we stand… The Crown Prince was vital for this treaty; with him gone, we shall see now.”
She stops when Prince Mikhail’s body comes into view. My heart clenches in sadness seeing her eyes soften at the sight of his body. For one jarring moment, I imagine myself in her position, and it breaks my heart.
She simply swallows, her lips pressed in a thin line. And then she gives the order in Russian to take the body of her brother. “Otvezite moyego brata.”
“You can see we also lost many men,” Uncle Leo says quietly.
She looks at him and raises an eyebrow. “And yet you are alive.” Then she looks around at the rest of the vampires and gives the command to move out. “Vydvigayemsya!”
So, they’re really leaving…
I watch as the vampires obey her, lifting the makeshift bed the Prince lies on, and they all turn in unison and walk back into the blizzard the way they had come, along with most of the manpower we had here.
Leaving behind only the silence and the howling wind.
“You didn’t push that much,” Jayce remarks to Uncle Leo.
“The alliance was through Mikhail. Right now, even I don’t know where they stand. But the dome is gone, the beasts that were within are tamed, and it’s a win for us, even if the cost was fucking heavy,” he replies, looking out across the blizzard.
“And not to mention we now control the army that can destroy them,” Raihana murmurs. Leo nods before taking out a cigarette.
“Yeah, and that,” he murmurs. “You can fill me in on the rest tomorrow. For now, go rest.”
Jayce glances at me, then nods, and I’m internally relieved because it’s been so exhausting, but there are things we can’t delay, like Vincenzo’s identity.
It can wait until tomorrow, Jayce’s voice comes into my head, as if knowing what’s playing through my mind. I hesitate but nod; I guess it can. He frowns, and I smile.
I think you have to mean the command… I didn’t feel anything compelling me to agree, I say softly.
He looks away and then nods. Good to know. He places a kiss on my forehead before leading me to our tent for the night, and I deactivate my Schattenblüte and pull on one of the shirts someone had left.
Whispering a spell beneath my breath, I create a small sphere of flame and place it beside the makeshift bed. Warmth immediately begins spreading through the tent, the snow beneath it slowly melting whilst the fire itself remains untouched by the moisture.
“Impressive.”
I glance over at him to see him pulling on a fresh pair of trousers, his hair still slightly damp from melted snow, and despite how exhausted he is, he looks more relaxed now that we’re finally alone.
“Just a small trick,” I reply with a faint smile. “It should keep us a little warmer.”
“Being a witch can be handy.”
I smile and nod in agreement. “It can be.”
My smile fades as my thoughts drift back to Heaven and to Endora, to the way she took control, the anguish in Heaven’s eyes when she realised she lost control, the uneasy reality that Endora can push through.
I wonder if she’s spoken to Aunty Ri yet, or if she’s still beating herself up over it. I sense Jayce watching me and look up to see him walking over to me and reaching for my hand, his thumb brushing across my knuckles.
“She’ll be alright.” He already knows what’s on my mind.
I sigh heavily. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her look like that before.”
I haven’t either. His reply comes through the mind-link this time.
He pulls me into his arms, and I rest my head against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat soothing.
I can still hear the sounds of movement from the camp outside, despite the late hour.
Every so often, I hear the distant shriek of a drakath, and it still feels surreal knowing they belong to me now.
I’m not sure that belongs is the right word, but regardless, they are my responsibility now, and that’s a lot to take in.
“Come on, you need to sleep,” Jayce murmurs as he pulls back the blanket that’s lying on the ground and sits down, pulling me down beside him. He lies back, tugging me into his arms, and my heart skips a beat the moment he buries his head into my neck, inhaling deeply.
“You were incredible out there,” he murmurs.
“I don’t think I was that incredible; I could have lost myself…”
“Sienna.” He’s lifted his head now, and I tilt my head back until I can see him.
“You faced Velasara, took control of the Will, commanded an army of drakaths, discovered your element, somehow stopped Vincenzo from enslaving you and closed the tear in the veil. I’d say that’s fairly impressive.”
“I love how that narrative omitted how you were part of all of that.” I cock a brow.
“I played a small part, nothing worth mentioning.”
“I never knew you to be so modest,” I tease. “It was a team effort.”
“Alright, if that makes you happy, it was a team effort, although I stand by what I said; my part was small,” he replies.
“A team effort. Full stop,” I say before my smile slowly fades and then add, “How do you think they’ll take it?”
Jayce frowns slightly. Vincenzo? I nod. His expression hardens. Only tomorrow will tell.
The answer isn’t particularly reassuring, because even without a blood test, the truth is pretty clear. Tomorrow, everyone will learn that the leader of the Indomitable isn’t some faceless monster; he’s Grandpa Al’s son…
And that means by default, if anything happens to Grandpa Al, he’d become the leader of the Night Walkers Pack. That is frightening, but somehow, it’s still not the most frightening thing about him. It’s the way he was so delusional.
I think about the certainty in his voice when he spoke about the gods and his ideals. The way he so confidently has people favoured by the gods he ultimately wants to destroy on his side.
A shiver runs through me, and Jayce pulls the blanket up around me.
“Enough thinking. Try to get some rest.”
“Says the man who’s definitely still thinking,” I counter.
He gives me a smile, one that says I’m right. “I’ll sleep once you do,” he murmurs as he leans down and claims my lips in a hot, burning kiss, one that heats me up far more than the small flame. I kiss him back as I feel the stress of the day wash away.
When he moves back, he brushes my hair back and looks down at me. “Now sleep.”
I nod, curling into him. The warmth of the fire fills the tent whilst the wind continues to howl beyond the canvas walls.
Tomorrow will bring questions, arguments, and difficult conversations, but tonight, there is nothing more we can do.
The survivors are safe, the barrier around us is holding, and for the first time in what feels like forever, it doesn’t feel like something is looming above me.
So, I curl closer against Jayce and allow myself to simply relax into him, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my ear as sleep slowly begins to drag me under.
Tomorrow can wait.
For tonight, this is enough.
We were in Russia for two more nights before we were able to organise everything and return home. With the vampires leaving, there were extra things we had to take care of alone, and the manpower had drastically fallen with so many of our own dead.
It’s midafternoon, and Jayce and I are entering Leo’s office.
We’ve given our written report, but there’s one detail that we all left out…
Uncle Liam, Aunty Ri, Dad, Azura, and Uncle Leo are present.
More than Jayce wanted, but it’s something that eventually everyone will learn.
Royce had asked one of Leo’s men to carry out the blood test against Grandpa Al’s blood with Vincenzo’s.
With his status, there would be fewer questions asked, although I’m certain Uncle Leo was probably notified.
“What the fuck is this about?” Uncle Leo asks, his eyes sharp as he looks between us. “Where’s Royce?”
“He should be here soon,” Jayce says quietly, arms folded.
Aunty Ri looks up at me, and I smile, looking away.
Heaven hadn’t told her, saying it would only worry her, and there was nothing she could do about it anyway.
She has already returned to the Academy, but I’m worried about her.
I’m hoping she tells Aunty Ri soon, because even if she worries, she needs to know.
I also haven’t told anyone else about my pregnancy, so much has been going on that I haven’t had the chance.
There’s a knock on the door before it’s opened, and Royce walks in, holding a sheet of paper in his hands. He glances at Jayce and me, and I instantly know from the grave expression on his face that it’s a match. My stomach sinks as he looks across at Dad and the rest.
“What is going on?” Dad asks, a concerned frown on his face.
Royce looks at Jayce, who exhales. “During the fight with Vincenzo, there was a small part that I omitted… During the fight, his mask came off. Darling?” He looks at me, and I nod, walking over to him and whispering the spell, reflecting his memory of the battle around us to the moment the mask slips off, revealing Vincenzo’s face.
Everyone in the room looks stunned, and not in a good way. Aunty Ri gasps, Dad freezes, Uncle Leo’s eyes widen, his face paling, Uncle Liam runs his hand through his hair, and Azura swears.
“And we confirmed by a blood test – he is who he says he is,” Royce finishes as Vincenzo declares himself the son of a king, his voice echoing around the room.
“Fuck.” Leo is the first to speak as Aunty Ri grabs Dad’s arm and drops onto the table beside her. Azura’s heart is hammering as she shakes her head.
“Kia and Al do not need more shit.”
“No, they don’t,” Uncle Liam says.
Leo motions for the reports, and Royce passes them to him. “Have you told Sky?” he asks as he scans the paper before tossing it onto the table, his eyes flashing.
“No,” Royce answers.
Dad takes the paper and scans it before he passes it to Uncle Liam.
Uncle Leo nods, massaging his temple, and Azura moves over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “We have to tell Al.”
“I fucking know,” Uncle Leo growls.
“He’s our cousin,” Aunty Ri states, the part that’s probably playing on everyone’s minds.
“Yeah…” Dad murmurs.
“Doesn’t mean he gets a free pass to do shit; we leave it to Alejandro to decide,” Uncle Leo says as he leans back, placing his hand on top of Azura’s. “The question is, who’s telling him?”
Silence fills the room as the elders all look at one another until Aunty Ri stands. “I will.”
The men look at her and nod, clearly not wanting to do it.
“Fine. Everyone else, keep this on the low until then,” Leo orders. “Fucking hell, what a clusterfuck.”
And for once, I echo the sentiment, because this is one big mess that makes things so much harder.
How do you tell someone that their son’s biggest enemy is his own brother? That the very man he’s been wishing dead is his own son?
My heart squeezes painfully for Grandpa Al and how the truth will affect him.
I’m not looking forward to it, and by the looks on everyone’s faces, no one is.