“You mean thanks to your sire,” Elias countered. “I wasn’t the one who truly killed you, Kara. I told you Gabriel would betray you.”
“And a good thing he did,” I said. “You could say I’ve had a change of heart.”
“Congratulations,” Elias said sarcastically, bearing his fangs. “Now, I believe you have something of mine. I’ll kill at least a few of you before I go down if this breaks out into a fight. It might be you who dies, little hummingbird. Or it might be Gabriel. You can avoid all of that.”
Jasmina turned to me. “Give Olivia to Elias, Kara.”
Freesia stepped forward. “You cannot! Elias killed June! He must—”
“My order is not to be disobeyed,” Jasmina said firmly.
My hand was frozen around Olivia’s. Gabriel used our blood connection to gently loosen my grip.
“Don’t go near him,” Gabriel warned. “Wait for him to turn around.”
Olivia jerked her hand away from me and went to Elias. He opened his arms, and she ran into them.
I tightened my hand on the stake, waiting for my opening.
But then there was the smallest, sharpest intake of breath as Elias’s arms closed around Olivia.
Olivia stepped back, horror in her eyes.
Elias looked at her, stunned, before looking down at the stake protruding from his heart.
Elias’s eyes went to Gabriel, and then they shifted to me. They pooled with anger, sadness, and finally, relief. He reached a hand out and hesitantly stroked Olivia’s cheek.
“Lucy,” Elias whispered.
He dissolved into ashes.
Olivia dropped the bloody stake. “I-I . . . I k-killed him,” she said, her face as pale as bleached bone. “I killed him,” she repeated in disbelief.
Jasmina nodded. “It is done.” She looked at Gabriel and me. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“It’s us you should be thanking,” Thomas said as he approached with Inola. “Actually, more my wife than me. It was her idea.”
Inola’s black eyes were fierce. “He deserved worse.”
Jasmina went to Olivia. “Elias had to die. Olivia, you were the only one he was going to let his guard down around. Inola and Thomas came to me with the idea of Controlling you, a method once used on Kara against Gabriel.”
“We couldn’t tell you two,” Thomas said to Gabriel and me. “You both are too rash; one of you would have given it away. My guess is it would have been Red, but that’s beside the point. Elias was dangerous and unstable, and we had the only person he cared about. We had to let him believe he was going to live and leave with Olivia. It was the only way to prevent bloodshed.”
Freedom. Relief. Happiness. Gabriel’s emotions mixed with mine, and my eyes misted. A single tear fell down my cheek.
It was over. It was finally over. Gabriel was safe. I was safe.
Olivia leaned down and touched the ashes.
“I would have gone with him willingly,” she said. “I was going to leave everything behind, including Harry, to give him a chance. He was so . . . vulnerable.”
“He was unstable, Olivia,” Inola said. “He would have ended up killing you.”
“I don’t believe you,” Olivia said, tears choking her words. “You’re the monsters, not him! He just needed a chance! You made me kill him. . . .”
Jasmina nodded to me. I went to Olivia and took her drooping shoulders.
“You’re not going to remember any of the events from this place. You’re not going to remember the existence of any of us, including Elias. You spent the week shopping with friends in New York City. . . .”
***
Olivia was back where she belonged with her memories altered. It was my hope she would never again be bothered by the dark world of vampires.
Gabriel and I had agreed to check in on her from time to time. If she ever needed help, we would be there for her. To many, it was probably a poor repayment of what we’d done to her. Maybe it was. But like Gabriel, I couldn’t bring myself to regret what had happened.
And I was finally where I belonged—in the comfort and safety of Gabriel’s arms. There was nothing else to fear, no one in our lives trying to destroy us or what we had.
Four months later, I stood in front of the vanity mirror and adjusted my dress.
“It’s too short,” I said.
Inola tugged at the dress. “It is not. Besides, you have gorgeous legs.”
“Do all vampires get married in black?”
“They do when they choose the vampire ceremony. Are you getting cold feet?” she asked, worry in her voice.
I rolled my eyes. “How can I get cold feet when I’m technically already married? And I’m pretty sure doing this will be a piece of cake compared to everything I’ve been through. Speaking of cake, I can’t wait to eat some.”
“Vampire ceremony,” Inola said. “If you wanted cake, you should have asked for the human ceremony.”
I widened my eyes in mock horror. “No cake? Thomas told me he would bake us a giant chocolate one.”
“Well, Thomas has been on puppy duty since you and Gabriel have been . . . busy.”
I smiled and looked down at my feet as Gabriel’s humor swept through me. While I had originally decided to never have another dog, Gabriel had ended up buying me a Chow-Chow puppy as a wedding present. It had been difficult at first, and I still felt a little guilty about owning him, but I loved new baby.
“I don’t think Thomas minds. He seems to really love Cedar,” I said.
Inola smoothed my curls. “He loves Cedar more than he loves me right now,” she grumbled.
I giggled, turning around and hugging her. “Thank you for helping me get ready.” I squeezed her tighter. “I love you, Inola. I’m so glad you and Thomas are in my life.”
She patted my back. “And I love you, child. You’ve been a headache, but you have become very dear to my heart. Thank you for doing this for me.”
I pulled away, cracking my knuckles as Gabriel’s anticipation washed through me.
“Someone is getting impatient,” I said.
Inola smiled. “I
