Chapter Thirty
MELANIE
Max and Cora’s plan wasn’t long term. I knew that, they knew that, but none of us wanted to say it out loud. Master wasn’t a mere man with an axe to grind, he was a powerful nightmare with endless time on his side. Even if we somehow eluded him for decades, Cora and Max would eventually age and tire out, and then he’d find me.
It was inevitable.
I had to come up with an alternative plan that didn’t get us all killed.
I sat down on one of the oversized sofas in my hotel room and shut my eyes. My hands shook and my skin moistened with sweat, but there was no other choice. I had to contact him, to let him into my mind.
Within seconds, I was standing in the center of an empty street. The surrounding air was engulfed in swirling black clouds and the only light was a dim street lamp beside me. If I was going to allow him into my head, I had to create a setting that was fictional or from another time, so he wouldn’t know where we were. I chose the street I grew up on.
“I knew you’d come back to me,” his voice echoed around me. Hearing him again chilled me to the bone. “They always return.”
I couldn’t see him, so I had to speak into the void. “I’m here to make a deal.”
He snickered like a hyena. “Negotiations? After murdering one of my girls?”
I swallowed the heaviness in my throat. He had no sentimental feelings for Tiffany, but if it created an excuse for him to hurt me, he would gladly take it.
“You’ll like this offer,” I said. “I’m willing to turn myself over to you. Tonight. You get everything you want.”
Master was silent and then purred, “And?” He knew there was a catch.
“In exchange for a promise that you leave my friends alone, especially Cora. That means telling Molly she can’t lay a hand on her, even when I’m gone. No threats, no stalking, nothing. Just let Cora live her life out in peace.”
Once again, he was silent.
“Does that sound like a fair trade?” I asked.
I couldn’t see him, but somehow I could feel him smiling. “It does,” he replied. “Now, come home to me.”
I slipped into a pair of boots and zipped up my coat, ready to make the long walk through the snow and to Master’s mansion. He showed me the location, and with my speed, I could be there in twenty minutes. Maybe sooner.
But first I had to say goodbye to Cora.
She was downstairs by the fireplace sipping cocoa. Thankfully, she was alone.
“I thought that was you,” she said to me as I crept down the stairs. “I figured you went to sleep.”
“I tried, but it didn’t take,” I replied as I left the staircase and met up with her on the couch. “I had a lot of thinking to do.” I scanned the room, suspicious that Cora was out here by herself. It seemed too convenient that I would have this final moment with her alone. “Where is everybody?”
“I think Max is trying to get a hold of Brinly to make arrangements for us to go back there. The desk clerk lurking around eavesdropping has him paranoid. It’d be a super strange phone call to listen in on.”
I sat down next to her. “Cora, I need to say this and get this over with quickly. I’m leaving.”
She almost began to laugh until she saw I was being serious. “And where exactly are you leaving to?” Cora knew the answer already, but she was forcing me to say it out loud.
“We came to an agreement. You and Max won’t have to spend the rest of your lives looking over your shoulder.”
“Hell no. No!”
“I’m not here for a shouting match, I’m here to say goodbye.”
“I won’t let you do this.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Cora’s mouth extended wide to yell for Max, but before she could get the words out, I grabbed her by the face and locked her in my gaze. “You’ll say nothing,” I instructed. Cora’s body relaxed and the tension in her face faded, leaving her in an almost catatonic state. “Know that I love you and that this is the right decision for all of us. You’ll sit here and not tell anyone where I am until I’m gone.” I stood up from my seat and looked back at her. She was completely zombie-like. I brushed my fingers along the apples of her cheeks and whispered, “One of the perks of losing me before is you’ll know how to deal with it better this time. I’m sorry.”
And then I walked out of that hotel.
I trudged through the snow outside and toward the forest, my face stinging from the cold air hitting my tears. I tried to keep it together and not focus on what would happen to me or how it would make Cora feel when she came to. It was all too much.
This was the right thing to do, and I had to remind myself of that. It’s just that I agonized over the idea that I’d be dying alone. My first death was something I hadn’t prepared for, but at least I was in Cora’s lap, feeling the warmth of her hands on my face as I slipped away. This death, however, would be the furthest thing from that. It would be violent, it would be lonely, and it would hurt Cora all over again.
I had to hold it together.
Suddenly, I heard the snow crunching behind me. I stopped in my tracks, knowing damn well someone was standing behind me. Someone fast enough to catch up to a vampire.
“Don’t do it,” a trembling voice called out. I turned around and
