Page 112 of Possess Me at Midnight

Silence falls. Then Ice and Bram both face me, wearing almost identical questioning expressions. What the hell were you thinking? they ask. About the future. About Ice living to see the next sunrise.

“Why call Shock?” Bram barks. “Of all people, the one who’s the least trustworthy?—”

“He may have aided Ice’s escape from Mathias’s dungeons."

Bram pauses, then turns a glare on Ice, who shrugs.

“I don’t recall much, except that he left my chains loose and my door open, whether by oversight or design… I don’t know.”

“Right now, Shock’s loyalty isn’t my concern,” I reiterate. “Ice is. I must be there in case he needs me. Bram, we can’t afford to let him lose energy and thus, the challenge.”

My brother sighs, works his jaw. “I don’t like it.”

“No,” Ice protests. “There is no force on earth that will induce me to put you in that bastard’s path.”

His protective nature has often been both tender and sighworthy. Now, I just find it exasperating. “There’s no force on earth that will induce me to stay away. Come prepared to fight dirty, Shock said.”

“I will fight and be watchful for Mathias’s treachery, but I can’t risk breaking the rules. The Councilmen in favor of Mathias will be looking for any way to discredit me. I will not cheat.”

I swallow. Yes, Ice has a noble streak an ocean wide. He won’t want to win any way but fairly. Unfortunately, Mathias won’t be quite so picky.

Too bad for both him and Bram. I’m going. In fact, I’m already devising a scheme. And I’ll be prepared to fight dirty on Ice’s behalf—whatever it takes to keep him alive.

Ice

Fog rises in eerie drifts, curling around the huge wrought-iron gates of Blackbourne’s estate. The Council elder and his family think everyone else is beneath them and shut themselves off from the world. I wonder briefly if a Deprived has ever crossed these gates as anything more than a servant.

My insides knot as Bram, Sterling, Sabelle, Tynan, and I all send our magical calling card, requesting admission. Moments later, the gates slowly part. Blackbourne himself walks toward us across the brown grass, through the ghostly white mists.

“You’ve arrived.” He looks over the group with a sharp eye. “I wondered, Rion, why you brought your sister, but I see from Rykard’s signature that he Called to her. You claimed he was no ally of yours.”

Bram stiffens. “I can hardly stop him from babbling pointless words. You’ll notice that my sister has not Bound to him. Nor will she.”

“But—”

“Carlisle.” Sabelle steps forward and wraps her hand around his arm as Bram wanders off for reasons I can only guess at.

She moves through this sphere of privilege, gliding beside Blackbourne with natural grace. It’s obvious she belongs in this rarified world. The easy confidence in her posture, the way she instinctively knows exactly what to say… It all drives home how far apart our stations truly are. I’m reminded that, no matter what happens today, she’ll always fit in with these people in ways I never will.

I swallow the urge to do violence and force myself to watch and listen.

“Do you imagine that my brother is eager to see me mated to Rykard?”

My pride stings. Yes, I understand it’s in everyone’s best interest for Blackbourne to believe there’s zero chance that Sabelle and I will unite. But the careless ploy still makes me eager to prove to everyone else that Sabelle is—and always will be—mine.

“Eh…no.”

“Bram is still my guardian, so…” She smiles faintly in his direction. “Is your son Sebastian still unmated?”

“Indeed.” Blackbourne relaxes and smiles back.

I grit my teeth. I want to kiss her in front of everyone here, put my arms around her and demand she Bind to me instead of intimating that she would welcome attention from a dodgy bastard like Sebastian Blackbourne.

“The others are on the lawns behind the house,” the Council Chancellor directs. “Come with me.”

Have Spencer, Camden, and Mathias all appeared together? Battle lines have been drawn, I suppose. Purposely, I haven’t spent a great deal of time thinking about what precise spells I’ll use to defeat Mathias. I have hexes in my arsenal. I want to see his fighting style and adapt. For now, I contemplate what would most allow Gailene to rest in peace and pray I find an honorable way to win this seat. And someday, Sabelle.

Fear rattles me. Not fear of Mathias, actually. Fear of failure, of letting Gailene down again, of leaving this battle unfinished. Of never holding Sabelle again. Fates too terrible to contemplate.