Page 13

12

EVANGELINE

T hat deep scratching resonated through the castle halls, a chilling sound, like someone—or something—was dragging sharpened talons down the castle’s outer walls. Outside, the sunlight dimmed, as a dark mist swirled across the grounds.

“How did he…I thought this place was glamoured?” I asked, my voice high. “You said we were safe?”

“We are,” Malachi growled, even as the walls around us groaned again, like mountains grinding together, before another shimmering shield rose, coating the inside of the castle with a layer of pure power. The atmosphere around us went eerily still, a deep, waiting silence broken only by that mournful piano.

Malachi dropped his hand and the music stopped.

“What you just saw was…nothing more than a projection of Ravok’s intentions into my thoughts,” he murmured. “He’s trapped outside the wards. I could have flown us out of here when I sensed his approach, but we are safer behind the wards. You were still lost in my memories, and you had to see everything to understand.”

“I understand Ravok is the fucker who killed my...” My what? Great, great grandmother, ten times over? I needed more information. I needed a fucking family tree.

“All those things he said…” Malachi swallowed again, and for the first time since I’d met him, he looked off balance. “Tell me he was lying about…tasting you. Touching you.” His breath hitched, his words uncertain, the pulse raging at the base of his throat.

“Really? A monster’s trying to break in and this is what we’re going to talk about?” I shook my head. “We should get as far away from here as we can.”

“He’d intercept us the moment we left the confines of these walls. We’re safe enough inside and eventually…he’ll give up and go away.”

“That is a seriously shit plan.”

“Then come up with a better one,” Malachi barked. “Otherwise, tell me you’ve never heard or seen Ravok before today and we’ll move on to killing him.” His expression had gone positively feral, that ring of fire flaring orange casting a glow over the harsh planes of his face.

“Tell me you’ve never heard of Ravok before now, Vicious. Fucking tell me .”

I looked away, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. Malachi’s jaw clenched, tight enough to pop. “You’ve been lying to me?” He demanded, gripping my arms. “Did that fucking monster feed from you, Evangeline? Did he ?”

“No more than you’ve lied to me, so don’t act all high and mighty. And I’ve never seen him in the flesh except when he was hauled out of his tomb looking like a dehydrated piece of beef jerky.”

“Then what was he talking about?”

“This is about Riordan,” I admitted, rubbing my face. We were past secrets now, and I felt almost… cruel in letting Malachi think Ravok’s inuendoes were true, because he was acting unhinged. Almost… jealous .

“He took Riordan over, possessed him for about a week. I needed Riordan, or rather, Ravok to help me rescue Blake from the trap your cronies laid at Ebonshade House. Ravok and I came to an agreement—you know, the ones you vampires love to make?” I muttered, searching his face and not liking what I saw.

“Ravok saved Blake and in return, he got to drink from my wrist. Four sips.”

“ Fuck .” All around us, the ward trembled, dark streaks ripping through the glimmering glamour. “You lied to me.” His outrage was mind boggling, given his ongoing questionable behavior, and yet, I felt a twinge of guilt.

“It wasn’t like we were on the same fucking side, Malachi. Or that I knew there was some super powerful vampire locked in the Darkmore’s basement, waiting for the opportunity to pounce.”

I shrugged. “Secrets get people killed. And now…now I guess you know mine. Surprise .”

Well, not all of them, but one of the big ones.

“You’ve been keeping this from me ever since you arrived.” He leaned in until his nose practically touched mine. “You knew, this entire time, Ravok existed and you chose to hide that knowledge from me?” His eyes widened. “That’s why you made me swear not to read your thoughts.”

“Well,” I shrugged, “it’s not like I know how to shield my mind against you. I had to do something .”

He stared down at me like he was seeing me for the first time and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like being the manipulating, lying one out of the two of us. Kind of hard to stay up on my pedestal of absolute righteousness that way.

“Let’s talk about these memories I saw.” I scowled up at him. “Morvessa was a witch?”

“Her bloodline was, before Ravok turned her. Now they’re a royal house of the Nocturne clan.”

“God, you guys make the shittiest choices in allies, I swear.”

He became a thunderous wall of crossed arms and lowered brows, a storm raging in his eyes as he stared me down. “What aren’t you telling me, Vicious? Because there’s more, isn’t there?” That intense, judgey glare didn’t waver one bit.

“Okay, fine, I may have fed Riordan a second time, in order to knock him unconscious with a bunch of tranquilizers.” I cringed slightly, because honestly, that sounded terrible. “Long enough for Fiona to exorcise that bastard in a blood circle ritual, which honestly, I thought worked, up until recently.”

“Exorcised Ravok in a blood circle…” Malachi repeated like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How did you sneak all this under my nose?”

“I don’t know, maybe you were too busy with your own sneaking to notice?”

But he wasn’t listening, his body stiff as he stared off into space. “He not only knows you exist—he’s seen you? Talked to you?” His mouth twisted into a grimace. “And he knows what you taste like, which means he’s tasted your power, he knows you have magic.”

“Magic that was bound by my mother,” I pointed out. “You’re the only one who’s seen my magic. Really seen it.” Which I doubted was a good thing, but the way Malachi was acting, I felt like I had to throw him a bone, though I wasn’t sure why I even bothered.

“Look, we stick to the original plan. You teach me how to control my magic, and we use it to kill him. That was a solid, straightforward approach. Moderate chance of success, medium chance of survival.”

A hideous crackling skated up the walls, over the roof, and while Malachi’s glamour wavered, his wards didn’t break. Outside, it was pitch dark, as if even the sun had flickered out.

“He wasn’t supposed to even know you existed.” Malachi’s dark stare looked like he wanted to kill something. “You were supposed to be my ace in the hole, Vicious, and he’s known about you all along.”

“That doesn’t matter,” I insisted. “He knows nothing about me. I was careful, every time we interacted. I hid everything from him.”

“Ravok sees everything, remember?” Malachi said bitterly. “He’s hunted your bloodline for centuries, Vicious. You are his endgame, and…that’s why he broke out.” His narrowed gaze flashed to mine, filled with betrayal. “He discovered your existence.”

I swallowed. Okay, that made sense, especially once I replayed the first time he’d stared at me out of Riordan’s eyes, that utter shock of recognition.

I thought you were all dead , he’d said, with a flash of cunning greed.

“How could he see anything, trapped beneath the castle, locked away in all that iron?” I demanded. “You never should have put him in there. This is all your fault.”

“My personal failings no longer matter, not with everything that has transpired. The element of surprise is gone, and now even my best…”

“Explain what you meant when you said I was invisible. I’m assuming you meant he couldn’t see me in these…visions of his?”

“When Aoife was forced into that alliance, she wove a spell of protection over her eldest daughter, Rhiannon, hiding her from Caine. No matter how hard he searched, he—nor any of his Elders—could ever find her. All of her direct descendants were protected by this magic, including you and Angel.”

“But then he found out I existed, right under his nose.” Or rather, above him in the castle that had become his tomb.

“You are no longer a weapon I can train in secret, Vicious. You are the prize Ravok will move heaven and earth to possess.” His narrowed gaze tracked along the walls, to the doors, a slight frown creasing his forehead.

“He’s not at full strength yet, right?” I followed the direction of his attention, but saw nothing but landscape paintings and Chinese vases balanced on pedestals. “We still have time?”

“Not enough.” Malachi rose, crossed to the window and peered out. “Not if he’s strong enough to come here, trying to break through my protections. He believes he’s recovered enough to challenge me.”

His eyes rested on me, cold as a winter wind. “He’s here for you, Vicious.”

I ignored the rattle of fear in my ribcage, the way my heart stuttered and raced.

“So take the block off my magic and let’s see what I’m capable of. That’s better than sitting here waiting to die.” I peered out the window, but could only see swirling darkness. “You said my magic can kill him.”

“With training and control, and a certain amount of luck, and if he didn’t see us coming, this might have worked, but now…now,” with a shudder, he looked down at me, the ring of fire around his pupils guttering away to nothing.

“I’m taking you back to Crimson House. I will do what I can to slow him down, but you must take your sister and hide. Tell the king and Marten everything you’ve seen and…”

Malachi never finished because the entire side of the room ripped open, like something out of a disaster movie, and through the gaping opening, Ravok appeared, a dark silhouette outlined against the mangled, ruined gardens, like some kind of haunted specter.