Chapter 17
DARCIE
The ballroom is the same as I remember.
The wood floor is spotless. Polished. The ornately decorated walls echo the silence that’s descended over the room. Though the chandelier above seems dimmer than before.
And I can hear the rapid heartbeats of the seven cloaked figures fanned out in front of where I stand in the dais.
Wait… what?
I try to look at my hands, but I am not in control of my eyes.
Because they are not my eyes.
Back in my room, I’m sure my physical body gasps.
I did it…I am in Des’s head. I know it from my position on the dais, standing between Lome and Thane with my strong jaw clenched.
My vision is limited to what Des sees. And right now, his attention is focused on the warlock, Master Ben, who rambles.
“Jennifer Bane is our strongest clairvoyant,” the warlock says, voice careful as he answers a question I have missed. “She sensed something amiss with the girl. Their connection allowed her to trace the location.”
“Connection?” Des drawls. A shiver races down my spine as the deep cadence tickles my mind. “You mean the fact that she is her mother?”
Every single cloaked figure in front of me stiffens, including the woman who abandoned me. She and Master Ben are the only ones with their hoods down, and the deep lines creasing her eyes hint at her distress.
“Charmian,” Thane’s voice cuts into the air. “How long have you known?”
My vision flicks down, noting Thane’s hands are curled into fists.
The Immortal lifts her head high, not at all frightened by the ire wafting off Thane. “Known, what?”
He snarls. “That the infamous Jennifer Nightsbane is the mother of the young woman under the Council’s protection?”
Infamous?
Charmian doesn’t blink. “One day.”
Des clears his throat. “And yet, you did not retrieve her, despite knowing we have been searching for her.”
Silence falls, loaded with implications I do not understand.
Nor am I sure I want to.
Charmian tilts her head to the side, holding my stare—Des’s stare with a pointed one of her own.
“As Master Ben has shared, Jennifer only recently returned to the Nightsbane Clan. I am not in regular communication with my offspring. I was unaware of the change in her clan status.”
The disbelief that spikes through Des might as well be mine.
“And what status is that?” Des shifts his gaze, lingering on my mother, whose chin dips in measured deference. “Active?”
“She has repented her abandonment and resumed her role on our council,” Master Ben answers.
Repented?
Does the clan punish those who leave?
“And then she came here?” Lome grumbles. “But only after the girl was in the worst pain imaginable.”
The normally affable Immortal crosses his arms and glares at my mother with unveiled loathing.
“What sort of mother abandons their child to endure their awakening on their own?” he asks. “Especially when I suspect you heard rumors of the young woman in our care.”
“A bad one,” my mother finally says. She sounds like me, only more mature.
She takes a single step forward, breaking the V-formation of cloaked figures.
She raises her head and meets Des’s stare. My stomach tightens.
“I’ve heard rumors about your alleged connection to my daughter,” she says, and the word daughter is a physical blow, “but I did not hear anything about her powers emerging. Not a whisper.”
Des doesn’t blink.
My mother is smaller than I remember. Petite. Our hair is the same color, as are our eyes. All of my features, aside from my height, come from the woman whom I haven’t seen since I was a child.
I study her expression.
The wide set of her eyes.
The pleading gleam in their blue depths.
I believe her.
She didn’t know about my powers.
But how is that possible?
“Surely, you knew her magic would surface by her twenty-first birthday,” Des counters, sharing my thoughts. “Yet…you left her to cope alone.”
Accusation hangs heavy in the air.
My mother lowers her gaze. “I did not believe she would have powers.”
Why not?
“This is neither the time nor the place for this conversation,” Charmian interrupts, flicking her fingers.
My mother steps back into the V-formation.
Charmian shifts her attention to Master Ben. “Is there something else the clan wishes to ask?”
The warlock clears his throat. “When we spoke with the vampire king, he requested our assistance in searching for Lord Thane’s wife.”
Des dips his chin. “That is correct.”
The warlock’s gaze slides to the right. To Alex.
“The Nightsbane Clan does not like to involve ourselves in Immortal feuds,” Master Ben continues, voice low. “But King Alexander has been an invaluable ally over the years, and he insisted we lend our help.”
King Alexander?
Des turns away from the vampire. I want to scream for him to look back so I can judge Alex’s expression.
Thane shifts forward. Hope and desperation mix with his next words. “Your assistance will be greatly rewarded. We are eager to find my wife.”
My head spins.
Hasn’t Thane been adamant about not including half-breeds in the search?
Things must have gotten worse for the manic Immortal to change his tune.
“I am sure.” Master Ben glances at Charmian, as if he needs permission to say his next words. “But my clan cannot afford to make an enemy of Adir. He is…formidable.”
“No.” Des’s voice is cold. “What you cannot afford to do is sit on the sidelines. If Adir topples the Council, no human or half-breed will be safe. He and his lesser Immortals will grind this world down for power until there’s nothing left but husks and ruins.”
Master Ben’s face pales. “It cannot be as bad as that.”
“I’m afraid it is.” Charmian’s eyes trail over his face, then the other six cloaked figures. “It is why I insisted you heed King Alexander’s invitation to come speak with us. The Nightsbane clan cannot afford to stay out of this conflict.”
“Mother Charmian?” A quiet female voice rises from the rear of the formation. “Why not request another clan’s involvement? Nightsbane grows smaller with every generation. We cannot afford to lose any more members.”
Lome scoffs. “As if you would be doing the fighting.”
The hooded woman bows low.
“There will be danger,” Charmian says, sparing Lome a scowl.
“Make no mistake about that. But Nightsbane is the strongest clan, and the one with the most clairvoyants. If anyone can see Bella’s location, it is one of you.
You know the other clans will not take the risk.
And even if they did, they do not have the abilities of Nightsbane. ”
“I propose only three of us stay behind to help the alliance,” a masculine voice calls out from behind Master Ben. “The rest of us must return to the clan.”
Thane steps forward, teeth bared. “That is not enough.”
“Our three strongest, then,” the man continues, voice wavering. “If they cannot find your wife, no one can.”
“I said, that is not enough!” Thane’s shout echoes through the room. He makes a move as if he’s about to lunge off the dais and punch the warlock.
Des moves in a blink. His hand grips Thane’s bicep.
“Calm yourself,” Des hisses. “This is not how we get what we want.”
Lome grabs Thane’s other arm.
“She is my wife,” Thane bites back, fighting his brothers’ holds. But something about his body looks weak. Tired. “We need to get her back.”
“We will,” Lome whispers. “Just hold yourself together.”
Thane’s head falls forward.
Charmian clears her throat. “The three most powerful members of the Nightsbane Clan will assist the Alliance in finding Bella. Take it or leave it.”
“We will take it,” Lome says. “Now, please show yourselves out.”
Six of the cloaked figures turn on their heels and step toward the door, eager to escape the volatile ballroom.
“There is one condition.”
All movement stops.
Des’s narrowed glare locks onto my mother. “A condition?”
“The Nightsbane clan will take the girl under our wing,” my mother replies. “We will train her. Where we go, she goes.”
“Absolutely not,” he snaps.
She flinches, but doesn’t give up. “Darcie is one of us, and she is going through a dangerous awakening. She needs to be surrounded by those strong enough to guide her through the transition.”
“I don’t care. Darcie is not leaving this mansion.”
My mother presses her lips together. “Fine. She will remain here, but we will train her. That is our condition.”
A sudden ache pulses in my chest.
Why care about me now?
After all these years?
“Agreed,” Lome speaks for his brothers once again. “But only if the clan's members aiding the alliance relocate to Greece to help us whenever we have need.”
“Done.” She bows her head.
Des’s chest heaves.
He hates this.
I can feel the distrust radiating off him like heat from a fire.
“What does Darcie think about this?” my mother asks.
“What?” Des snaps.
“What does Darcie think about this?” she repeats into the stunned silence.
“How are we supposed to know?” Lome counters.
My mother’s knowing eyes remain on Des. “He might know.”
Des’ spine grows rigid. “How?”
“Because,” her eyes shine with knowing. “She’s currently in your head.”
Every cloaked figure jolts.
“What?” Master Ben stomps next to my mother’s side. “How do you know?”
She holds Des’s stare.
My stare.
“I can feel her.”
“Well, send her back,” Master Ben orders, his pitch rising. “She should not be traveling consciousness so soon after a healing coma.”
Apparently, my mother agrees.
She lifts her hand and points her palm toward me.
A faint pressure pushes against my mind.
Des doesn’t flinch. “What are you doing?”
“Returning Darcie to her own mind,” she says, thrusting her hand out and locking her elbow.
I am tossed back into a vortex of darkness, tumbling through a void, unable to breathe.
Until my consciousness slams me back into my body with a painful thud.