Eternal

Luc offered me a tight smile. “If it’ll make you less uneasy, feel free to breach my mind. I’m certain you’ll be assured by what you find in my thoughts.”

“No, thank you.” I rose, pushing back my chair. “Fine. If you say we’re safe, I’m going to sleep. I’m exhausted, and I want to be ready for whatever comes next. Matthew, you should . . . I don’t know . . . probably try to stay awake or something, right? I mean, you probably have a nice concussion there. Aidan, can you keep an eye on him?”

“Of course. You go lie down. Luc will post a guard outside the bedroom window. Get some rest, okay?”

That was it? He was simply dismissing me, sending me upstairs like a child?

With a huff, I stormed upstairs toward the master bedroom. Truthfully, I had no idea why I was so mad. I was frustrated, I guessed. Scared. No one had expected a fight before the fight.

I was so tired, I didn’t bother to change into pajamas. I just collapsed onto the bed and pulled the covers up around me. Before I knew it, I drifted off into oblivion.

* * *

There was a loud knocking somewhere. I sat up, disoriented. The sun had risen, the first lavender light of dawn slanting across the bedcovers. Something that sounded like a doorbell chimed, sending shivers up my spine.

I flung off the covers and leapt out of bed, hurrying downstairs as fast I could. Aidan and Luc were already there, moving toward the door.

“Who is it?” I asked breathlessly. “Not more of them. Please tell me it isn’t more of them.”

“I doubt it,” Luc said. “They wouldn’t be out during the day.”

“Where are the guards?” I asked.

“Gone until sundown.” Luc tipped his head toward me. “Let her answer it. You can’t expose yourself like that.”

“I’m fine. The elixir, remember?”

“Which you should not have taken, not with the threat we’re facing. You need all your capabilities.”

“My capabilities are good enough. Anyway, they can’t destroy the Dauphin, remember? At least, that’s what you keep telling me.”

“She gets the door,” Luc growled.

“I’ll get the door,” I said, slipping between them just as the doorbell chimed once more.

“Your stake,” Aidan said, handing it to me.

“Gee, thanks. Coming,” I called out, hurrying into the foyer with the length of smooth hawthorn clutched tightly in my right hand. My bracelet was fine—no glowing stones, except for the white ones. Harmless. We were safe—I hoped.

Aidan unlatched the lock, and I reached for the brass door handle and turned it, opening the door just the slightest crack as I peered out. “Who is it?” I asked.

“Bonjour!” came a familiar voice.

What the heck? I threw open the door, gaping at the sight before me. Tyler. Oh my freaking God, it was Tyler. Cece. Sophie. Joshua. Marissa.

“Sorry. Max couldn’t come,” Marissa said. “His parentals were not very accommodating.”

“Wh-what? How?” I stammered.

“My aunt works for Air France,” Marissa said with a shrug. “She managed to hook us up with a last-minute standby.”

“I can’t believe this,” I said, blinking hard. I must be dreaming—still upstairs, tucked cozily in bed. Except . . . I was pretty sure I was awake.

“Hey, bestie,” Cece said with a smile. “Did you really think we were going to let you guys fight this battle without us?”

I just shook my head, completely flummoxed.

“This is a bit unexpected,” Aidan said, stepping up beside me. “But please, do come in.”

30 ~ The Dauphin

We’ve been summoned,” Aidan said, glancing up from his cell.

My heart leapt into my throat, my stomach lurching uncomfortably. We’d been sitting silently side by side on the little velvet divan in the master suite for more than an hour, my body fitted alongside his as we waited for the call.

And now I would’ve given anything to ignore it, to continue sitting there long into the night, Aidan’s fingers stroking my hair as I listened to the rhythmic beating of his heart. Cece, Joshua, Sophie, and Marissa were all scattered about the room—Sophie in a chair by the window, reading; Cece and Joshua on the floor near our feet, playing a quiet game of Scrabble; Marissa on the bed, texting Max.

We were prepared. We’d spent the better part of the day formulating our plan, which Luc had communicated to Mrs. Girard. Tyler would actively join in the fight, as would Joshua and Marissa. Their gifts would come in handy. Cece and Sophie would remain at the apartment under the protection of a pair of vampire guards. As much as they hated to be left behind, we just couldn’t find a way to utilize them.

Besides, Cece could project to the scene of the battle and report back to Sophie. There was a chance that her astral self might somehow distract our enemies. At least, that was her game plan.

Cece’s body would remain safely here, under Sophie’s watchful eye. And Sophie—well, her talents might be useful after the fight was over. To assess the damage.

“Someone go tell Tyler and Dr. Byrne,” Aidan said, disentangling himself from me and rising to stand stiffly. “I’ll meet you all downstairs in five minutes.”

“I’ll tell them,” I said, standing on shaking legs and making my way to the library in a daze.

“It’s time” was all I said, my voice quavering.

They both looked up at me, their faces matching masks of fierce determination.

Tyler rose stiffly and, with a nod in my direction, made his way out to join the others. Matthew reached for his shoulder harness and silently strapped it on. Far more elaborate than the one he usually wore, this one held four blades, two at the ready beneath each arm. He’d spent the better part of the long afternoon practicing pulling them from their sheaths, one after another, in rapid succession. “You’ve got your stakes?” he asked as he guided me out of the room, one hand pressed against the small of my back.

I nodded. “Downstairs, in the kitchen.” One for the sheath strapped to my leg and two more for my new shoulder harness. I felt like something out of The Matrix when I wore them all at once. All I needed was a black leather duster.

“Just let me stop in the bathroom first. Tell everyone I’ll be down in two minutes, okay?”

Matthew nodded and hurried down the spiral staircase as I stepped inside the hall bath and locked the door behind me. It took me several tries to pull my hair back into a neat ponytail and secure it with the hair band I’d been wearing around my wrist.

Once I’d finally accomplished it, I took a moment to catch my breath, staring at myself in the mirror, shocked by the image looking back at me. There were dark circles under my bright green eyes, eyes that were too big in a much-too-pale face. I looked like a terrified kid, I realized, not like a kick-ass vampire slayer out to save the world.

I dropped my gaze, unable to bear looking at my cowardly self another second. I just needed to splash some cold water on my face, I decided. That would help. But I was shaking so badly that I fumbled with the faucet, my hand slipping and knocking the bottle of expensive, scented hand soap into the porcelain basin.

Giving up, I gripped the sink tightly, trying desperately to pull myself together.

“Violet?” Aidan called up. “It’s time—the car’s here.”

This is it. You can do this.

One more deep breath and then I unlocked the door and stepped out into the hall. “I’m coming.”

A half hour later, the stretch limo dropped us off at a Metro station in the second arrondissement, where we took a train three stops before getting off and slipping