Page 41 of Savage Sacrifice (The Savage Six #4)

BLAZE

T he moment my mind becomes alert, I know two things.

One. I didn’t get enough sleep. An hour max.

Two. I’m not alone.

I can hear the thrumming of another heartbeat, smell the sweet floral scent in the air, and feel the accusatory look raking over me. That means it can only be one person. I spend two seconds considering whether I should stay asleep or not, but it’s pointless. She’ll already know I’m awake now.

“Mother,” I breathe, not bothering to open my eyes as the bed dips at my feet.

I don’t need to glance to know she’s making herself comfortable with her back against the wall and her legs crossed at the ankles, her hands folded in her lap.

“Let yourself in, why don’t you?” I grumble, reluctantly prying my eyes open to find her in the exact position I predicted.

She rolls her eyes at me dramatically as she waves me off. “Please, I’m your mother,” she insists, and I cock a brow at her.

“I could have been touching myself.”

Her nose crinkles in disgust as she looks at me. “You’re so gross.”

“You could be sitting on stains right now,” I press, observing her eyebrows knitting tightly as she attempts to take a calming breath.

“How did I raise you?” she mutters, at a loss, and our eyes lock, amusement quickly dancing between us as we speak in unison.

“Dad.”

“You definitely have his genes, alright,” she adds, the curl of her lips as sweet as ever when she talks about her devoted.

I should have expected this: her showing up unannounced once she met Polaris.

It’s really a predictable Beatrice move, but deep down, I love her for it.

Although she ruins my whole energy, growing up as a vampire in a dog-eat-dog world, where your parents love each other so much it’s sickening, really leaves you struggling to decide who you are.

My father was a slaughterer during the day and a loving husband and father at night. Maybe that saying should be reversed; after all, he was a night stalker. But where does that leave me? As the only child of loving parents? I’m supposed to be a deadly vampire.

I do a much better job of it when they’re not around. I remember who I am, what I’m capable of, and what I should stand for. When my mother is nearby and I catch a glimpse of their love, it softens me.

Folding my arms behind my head, I cast a pointed look in her direction. “Why are you here?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Want to guess why?” The look she gives me in response surpasses mine, and I sigh, glancing up at the ceiling as I clear my throat.

“Because your son has a devoted, one he didn’t tell you about because she’s a witch from Florentine’s and he knew his father would be disappointed.”

My words linger in the air for a moment, and although I can sense her gaze on me, I don’t dare look. “Are you referring to the same man we just discussed? The one you get your crudeness from?” she clarifies, and I roll my eyes.

“You know what I mean,” I grumble, glancing in her direction to find her lips pursed and confusion clouding her gaze.

“I actually don’t.”

“Then you wouldn’t understand,” I insist, and she folds her arms over her chest.

“Try me.”

I hate it when she says those two words. Try. Me. I already know she’s going to prove me wrong and confirm that my silence and avoidance of them has been for nothing.

“I know my father protects the vampires every night, so confessing my devoted is from another faction didn’t feel wise,” I admit, and her lips draw into a sad, almost disappointed smile.

“Who is my best friend?”

My eyebrows gather in confusion at her question, but I indulge her with the answer we both know. “Kristy.”

“Who is Kristy?” she asks, and my eyes widen at her.

“Your best friend, we just said that,” I grumble, and she rolls her eyes at me.

“Duh. But what is she?” she presses, and I stare at her, bewildered.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“She’s a witch, Blaze.”

My jaw falls slack as I stare at her. “A witch?” I repeat, and if I thought she was looking at me like I was stupid before, she definitely is now.

“How long has she been my best friend, Blaze?”

“Since you attended Trinity Falls.”

“Do you know how I met her?” she asks, and I shake my head. “She was your father’s friend first.”

Oh.

Before another word can be said on the matter, my cell phone vibrates on the nightstand, drawing my attention away. With a sigh, I glance to see a text has come through from Wylder.

Wylder: SOS!

Wylder: What the hell! You said we could trust that guy.

Wylder: I just got here to trade back shifts with Fangtastic fucking Freddie, and he’s not here, and Bryony’s gone too.

“Fuck.” I chuck my cell phone down on the bed.

“Blaze,” she says with a gasp, and I roll my eyes.

“Mother.”

“What’s wrong?” she asks as I swing my legs over the side of the bed and rush to my feet.

Thankfully, I slipped into a fresh set of clothes before I opted to lie down. Hurrying toward the door, I stick my feet into my sneakers as I answer my mother. “Bryony’s gone.”

“The girl from the basement? She shouldn’t have been there to begin with,” she states, and I whip my gaze to hers, horror running through my veins.

“Did you let her go?”

How else would she know who I’m talking about?

She shuffles to the end of the bed, standing as she stretches her arms above her head. “Of course I did. You can’t have the center of the entire Renegade Coven holed up down there.”

“The fuck I can’t,” I blurt, frustrated, and her lips pinch in irritation.

“Blaze!”

“Mother,” I retort. Pressing my fingers into my temple, I will myself to remain calm. “Do you realize what you’ve done?”

She lifts her hands in surrender. “Obviously not, so how about you explain it to me? If I agree, I’ll chain her back up myself.”

How is this happening to me right now?

We finally start heading in the right direction, and my mother, of all people, releases the one person we need.

“Okay, when?—”

The ringtone from my cell phone cuts through the air, cutting off my thoughts. I spy Polaris’s name on the screen, but before I can get to it, my mother snags it off the bed, bringing the device to her ear.

“Oh, hello, my devoted-in-law,” she preens down the line, her smile contagious.

“Mother,” I snarl angrily, and she gives me a withering look.

“What? I like her,” she insists, but when Polaris’s soft voice comes through the line, my mother stills. “Polaris, dear, what’s wrong?”

Wrong?

What does she mean by ‘what’s wrong?’

“Hand me the cell phone,” I mutter, extending my hand, and she turns away, thrusting her hand in my direction to keep me at bay, and I snarl at her in irritation. Not that she cares, she’s too busy listening to whatever Polaris is saying.

What she should be saying to me.

Fuck.

“Polaris, don’t cry,” my mother breathes, and my entire body comes alive.

“Crying? Why the fuck is she crying? Pass me the damn cell phone,” I snap, but my mother doesn’t even bother to look in my direction.

If anything, she turns farther away, the device tucked between her ear and shoulder as she soothes my devoted.

“Talk slowly, that’s it, dear. You’re doing great. Let me help you.”

All I can hear is hysteria, which has rage rattling through my bones, so I try to swipe my cell phone from my mother’s grasp, but she slaps my hand away, offering me another scornful glare.

“He’s there?… Okay, good… Good… Perfect. Blaze is here, I’ll bring him with me, okay? We’ll figure this out together. You won’t even have to count to ten, dear, okay? And the others know. Alright. You handle that, I’m coming.”

Dropping the cell phone from her shoulder, she offers me the device with a sad tint to her eyes.

“It’s useless to me now if you’ve ended the call,” I grumble, and she rolls her eyes at me again. Instead of giving me any kind of explanation, she heads for the door, leaving me to gape at her in confusion. “What the fuck is going on?” I grumble, and she turns back to me with a heavy sigh.

“Your devoted is a witch who has a coven that you’re a part of, that also includes four wolves. The same fantastic devoted girl also died for her blood kin and is back from the dead because the curse is fucked. Sound accurate?” she clarifies, and my mouth runs dry as I offer a single, sharp nod.

“I know all of that. Why is she crying?”

She shakes her head. “I’ll tell you on the way, I promised her ten seconds.”

“You can tell me now,” I insist, and she gripes under her breath as she swings the door open.

“The wolves are on their way now, too,” she states, obviously trying to encourage me to get a move on, and although I take a step toward her, I’m not going anywhere until I understand.

“Mother,” I warn, and she pouts, her nostrils flaring as she steps out into the hallway.

“Because The Crow paid her a visit.”

Fuck.

“Asher was with her?” My heart thunders, panic for my Amica Mea sending me wild.

“Yes.”

“And?”

She rubs her lips together nervously. “And there’s been another sacrifice.”

“You know about the sacrifices?” I ask with a frown, and she plants her hands on her hips.

“It was Asher.”

My gut twists, hating the fact that Polaris has had to go through this without us there. I also don’t feel good for Asher. Having experienced a sacrifice myself, I know the consequences it brings.

“What did he have to do?” I ask, even though I don’t want to know, not really.

My mother clears her throat, inching down the hallway, and I know it’s because she wants to get to Polaris. I do too, but I need to know what I’m walking into.

“Wield the chains,” she states, and I frown.

“Wield the chains,” I repeat, but it still doesn’t make sense, even though there’s something about it that sounds familiar. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Neither do I for sure,” my mother offers, reaching the top of the stairs before she turns back to look at me. “But Polaris thinks…”

“She thinks what?”

“He took the role of The Crow.”