Chapter 19
DARCIE
The undeniable feeling that something bad is going to happen hovers throughout Thane’s office. The dread coagulates in the air, pressing down on me like a weighted blanket I can’t shirk off.
I sit in the oversized leather chair in the corner with a soft beige blanket tucked around my legs, staring at Des and Alex standing in the corner, speaking in low tones.
Neither so much as glanced my way when Gregory escorted me into the room this morning, only one night after I successfully threw my consciousness into the past through Des’s mind.
The same can’t be said for Thane.
The leader of the Immortal brothers has not looked away from me since I sat down. His intense, assessing stare is nothing short of unnerving. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. I’m not sure I want to.
“Are you certain you’re warm enough?” Gregory asks.
I look over my shoulder at my vampire bodyguard and force a grateful smile that I’m sure comes out strained.
“I’m good. Thanks.”
I don’t mention that the chill in my bones has less to do with my incredible feats of magic, but rather my continued emotional turmoil regarding a certain broody Immortal.
His lips tighten, and his eyes hold mine. “You will tell me if that changes. Yes?”
“Yes. I promise.”
With a firm nod, a stoic mask slips into place as he resumes his guard duties, scanning the office, eyes catching on Thane, who sits behind his heavy wood desk in the center of the room.
I blow out a breath when Lome and Eshe walk into the room. They immediately cross the space and settle onto the couch situated in front of me.
“About time,” Thane huffs. He flicks his fingers, and the office door shuts with a gust of wind.
Lome shoots his brother a cheeky grin. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Sure, you are.”
Eshe gives me a small smile before turning her attention to her brother-in-law. “Now that we are here, care to tell us what this meeting is about?”
“And why isn't it limited to family?” Lome adds, his gaze shifting between the two vampires in the room.
“We are here to discuss Darcie,” Thane says. “And both Alexander and Gregory will need to know what we decide in order to keep her safe.”
I stiffen.
“What about Darcie?” Eshe’s eyes narrow.
“All of the latest revelations, of course.”
Once again, Thane’s loaded stare lands on me.
This time, I meet it.
“First, let me say, I am glad to see you looking well,” he says. “It’s a relief that the Nightsbane clan was able to sense your distress and come to your aid.”
For the first time since Bella was taken, I glimpse the old Thane. The considerate, steadfast Immortal who dragged me into their world by finding me in Brunswick, but always tried to do what he thought was right by his family and me.
I swallow. “Thank you.”
He lowers his chin. “How are you coping with everything you’ve learned? Did you suspect your mother was Jennifer Bane?”
“Um…no.” My gaze darts to Alex, who gives me an encouraging nod. “I knew her as Jennifer Abernathy.”
Thane’s eyes sharpen. “You had no inkling of her true identity? That she was a witch?”
I scowl. Obviously not.
Alex speaks, “As I have already told you, Jennifer kept her heritage a secret from her mortal husband and Darcie.”
A pang of sadness hits me when I think of Dad. Silently, I thank the Creator that he is spared the pain of seeing his ex-wife again.
“How do you know that?” Lome leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees, staring at Alex.
Beside him, Eshe looks equally as curious for Alex’s answer.
“Because I helped Jennifer place the mental mask on Darcie,” Alex answers without blinking.
Mental mask?
A gasp tears from my throat as I’m thrown back in time.
My fingers curl into my mom’s skirt. A man kneels so we’re at eye level. Hair dark as ink, eyes winter blue.
“She’s a beauty, Jen,” the stranger says. “She looks just like you.”
My grip tightens, wary. Mom tells me never to talk to strangers.
“And she’s sweet,” my mother says, stroking my hair. With a sigh, she adds, “Just like John.”
The man looks up at her. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
My mother’s hand stills.
“Yes. I want a normal life for her. For our family.”
“So this is his doing?” The man’s voice chills.
I press closer to my mother’s leg.
He huffs. “He doesn’t approve of what you are.”
“He doesn’t know,” she whispers.
I tilt my head back. My mother’s face twists. “I never told him.”
“Creator, save me. Are you serious, Jennifer?” The man scrubs a hand down his face and stands. “How could you marry him without telling him?”
“Don’t lecture me, Alexander. I left that life a long time ago. Telling John the truth would open wounds I worked years to close. We’re happy. He makes me happy.”
The man, Alexander, lets out a breath and drops his crisp blue eyes to me again. His troubled expression clears, and he smiles. “Do you like jokes, Darcie?”
I press my cheek into my mother's skirt but nod.
“Which flowers talk the most?”
My face scrunches together as I think.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
“Tulips,” he says with a chuckle. “Because they have two lips.”
It takes me a second to understand.
Then I giggle.
“Flowers don’t have lips,” I tell him shyly.
“You’re right.” He rocks back on his heels and gives me a wink.
Then he says to Mom, “I will help with the mask, but I sincerely hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Thank you, Alex.” She steps forward and throws her arms around him.
I release her skirt and shift back, watching Alexander’s eyes close with a heavy sigh as he returns her embrace. “You’re welcome, Jenny. Always.”
The memory dissolves.
My fingers clutch the blanket on my legs as tightly as I’d clutched my mother’s skirts.
The others are talking. About what, I don’t know.
My eyes fly to Alex. He marks my attention immediately, and his already pale face drains of color.
“Darcie?” he asks.
“Why?” The word scrapes my throat. “Why would you do it?”
The rest of the room quiets. All eyes press into me, but my focus rests on the vampire I thought I could trust.
His eyes soften. “Because Jennifer is my friend, and she asked.”
“Didn’t you care about the innocent child whose mind you were messing with?”
“Of course, I did. But Jennifer is your mother, she had every right—”
“No.” My tone hardens, and my hands shake. “She had no right to mess with my memories. And neither did you.”
Silence falls.
Des’s gaze burns the side of my face, but I don’t take my eyes off the vampire who is so willing to keep my mother’s secrets at my expense.
And to think, I considered him a friend.
Lome clears his throat. “So…am I right to say that Jennifer tried to hide Darcie from the Nightsbane clan?”
Alex holds my stare for another moment before finally looking away. “Yes.”
“Why?” Eshe asks.
“That is Jennifer’s business.”
I want to cross the room and shove the vampire into the shelves of books behind him.
Gregory shifts behind me, coming to stand at my side. His hand rests on my shoulder, both in comfort and restraint.
“I know your mother, Darcie,” Alex says. “She will tell you all you want to know.”
I don’t believe it.
But I’m over this conversation.
I swing my eyes to Thane.
The Immortal leader sits back in his leather chair, fingers steepled in front of his chest, eyes swirling with thoughts only the Creator knows.
“So my mother is a powerful witch,” I clip. “What else do you wish to discuss about me?”
The sooner this ends, the sooner I can escape this room before I scream.
And before Des’s stare brands the side of my face.
Thane taps his fingers. “Your training. Three of Nightsbane’s strongest members will help you master your powers.”
“I know. I was there,” I remind him dryly.
“Yes.” His eyes flash. “An impressive talent. Perhaps, once you hone the ability, you can use it to assist the alliance.”
It’s always about what I can do for him.
“So,” I press on, “three witches will help train me while working for you. What else?”
Across the room, Des clears his throat.
My attention stays on Thane.
With a displeased grunt, Des says, “Our allies haven’t been able to find any trace of Adir or Bella.”
I frown and finally look at him, pretending my heart doesn’t ache when I meet his eyes. “I know.”
The tension in his shoulders relaxes. “We believe Adir is using a cloaking spell to hide his location, but it must be powerful for none of our allies to have found it.”
“Okay?”
Seriously. How does this involve me?
“We need the Nightsbane clan to travel with our scouts to search for the cloaking spell.”
Understanding dawns.
“So take them. My training can wait.”
“They will not leave you unsupervised,” Alex says. “If only to observe your abilities and assess how much of an asset you may be.”
I bristle. “I’m not property.”
“No, but Nightsbane considers you an unofficial member of their clan. Now that they know about you, they are not going to let you out of their sight.”
A headache blooms right between my eyes. I rub my brow. “So, what? How do we get them to search for Bella while also training me?”
No one speaks.
An idea comes to mind.
My eyes meet Des’s. “I’ll go with them.”
“Absolutely not,” Thane says, the words sharp as a blade. “You are not leaving this mansion.”
“If the clan won’t leave me alone to search for Bella, let me go with them. They can keep tabs on me while also helping the alliance. It’s a win-win.” And the simplest solution.
“It most certainly is not,” Thane snaps. “The moment you step off this property, you’re in danger. Not only do the rebels believe you are Des’ One, but now they are also aware of your abilities.”
I fight off the shiver that tries to ripple down my spine.
“I have a bodyguard.” I motion to Gregory. “And you can send more with me.”
Thane jerks his head and opens his mouth to speak.
Lome interrupts, “Darcie is right. We’ve searched for weeks with no luck. We need Nightsbane out searching.”
“We can use precautions to conceal her identity,” Eshe joins in. “No one but those in the search party will know Darcie isn’t in Greece.”
Thane doesn’t relent. “It is out of the question.”
“I say it isn’t,” Des says.
All eyes swing to him to find his back ramrod straight and his arms crossed.
“We will not take the risk,” Thane barks. “We already lost Bella. We will not risk Darcie.”
“I say we will,” Des counters. “But it will not be a risk. We will send her with a strong entourage, including the clan members. She will be protected.”
“You have no say.”
“If Darcie is who you believe she is, I am the only one with any say.”
The room quiets.
My heart stumbles, and my ears ring.
“Is there something you wish to confess, Des?” Thane murmurs, a thread of hope twines with suspicion.
“Let her join the task force, and we shall see.”
My throat goes dry. What is he doing?
Thane studies his brother like he can peel back his skull and read what’s written in his mind.
“You are willing to risk her?” he asks at last, gaze cutting between Des and me.
I hold my breath.
“For Bella.” Des nods. “Yes.”
Longing flashes across Thane’s face.
A path forward rolls out under my feet, one I am determined to follow.
I will travel with a search party. I’m tired of being stuck in the mansion, making little progress with my powers. I will train while the others search for my friends, and I’ll find a way to do it even if I have to sneak out under the Immortal leader’s watch.
The waiting stretches taut as a bowstring.
Thane’s jaw works, conflicting desires warring across his rigid features until he finally speaks.
“Very well.”
I release a heavy exhale.
Gregory squeezes my shoulder.
Thane adds, “But we must decide who we trust to keep Darcie’s location a secret.”
“I already have some ideas,” Des says, his narrowed eyes locked on the hand resting on my shoulder.
“Good.” Thane’s stern gaze returns to me. “We should also take a moment to pray to the Creator that this isn’t a mistake, and that we aren’t walking right into Adir’s trap…again.”
And with those words, my earlier dread sharpens and twists around my chest in a warning impossible to ignore.
But I must.
For Bella, I will endure whatever comes next so the alliance can find her.
She would do the same for me.