“Don’t blame Joely,” Marco says.
“Why shouldn’t I blame her? It’s her fault.” Van turns on his heel and storms across the room pacing like a caged animal.
Marco looks at me and his eyes are so sad. “Allbright brought up the wolves. He did that all by himself.”
I want to go to Marco and tell him how sorry I am for causing any trouble but I don’t feel sorry. I don’t feel sorry at all.
“Yeah, and why did he do that?” Van shakes his head and mumbles to himself, “She should have kept her mouth shut.” Then he glares at me, still pacing the room. “You should have kept your mouth shut!”
Outside the room, people are shouting. It’s hard to make out what’s being said, but throngs of them are moving past the door, marching and chanting. It’s like a mob has erupted and chaos reigns.
I close my eyes and try to stay calm. “I get why you’re upset.”
Van laughs. “Upset? I am so beyond upset. Upset? I am light years beyond upset.”
“I couldn’t handle another lie. Everyone is so full of shit and nobody knows what’s really going on. They are going to just build another Vessel! I had to say something.”
“You’ve put everything in jeopardy.” Van’s anger simmers down and now he just seems exhausted. He drops into a chair and holds his face in his hands. “Fuck.”
“I’ll fix it. I’ll…”
He looks at me like I am crazy. “Fix it? You just told a couple hundred people that the Society of Ancient Magic is killing students and now you’re going to fix it? You just forced Allbright to make everyone go wolf hunting and now you’re going to fix it? How are you going to do that, exactly?”
“I’m sor—” I stop myself before I can say the words. No. I am not sorry. I am tired of moving through the world under everyone else’s agenda. Kate feels I am worthy of her attention now because I am one of them. For her it’s conditional. For Eliza it wasn’t a problem as long as I was lower on the totem pole than she was. For my father I had to stay small and powerless, and for my mother… No. Just no.
I push my shoulders back and stand up straight, my chin high and my eyes locked on Van. “Look, I don’t want you guys hurt, I don’t want anything to happen to any of us, but this is bigger than just us. And I know how much your brother means to you but there’s more at stake here than just your vendetta.” It’s hard enough knowing that Van is so angry, but now even Marco and Angus look worried.
But I don’t back down. “You act like I’ve forced your hand, but nothing has changed. Nothing I’ve said puts you in danger. You’re stronger than all of them. Don’t stand there and tell me that you’re afraid that a bunch of mages are going to find the wolves. If they do, one of you is stronger than twenty of them.”
It stops Van in his tracks.
“You guys are so much more capable of defending yourselves than any of them. Nobody else here can protect themselves against a vampire. You can. You have. You said yourself that you’re immune to whatever power was inside that Vessel, none of the mages with Ancient Power can say that. You need to think about other people for a change.”
Van blinks and looks at me as if I’ve slapped him. “But, you’re with us. You’re the Nightbird.”
I walk over to him and stop in front of Van, challenging him. Power surges through my body, emanating around me with a crackle of electricity.
“Whoa.” Angus steps around me as Marco touches a finger to the field of energy glowing over my skin. He pulls back as if he got a shock.
“I am with you—all three of you—even though you’ve made it crystal clear that you want nothing more to do with me than what is needed to finish this thing with Underwood. That’s fine. Deny me all you like. I can take it. But I won’t stand by and let them continue using people—killing people to stay in power. Not when I can do something about it.” I’m not afraid.
“Joely,” Van stammers as if trying to find the words.
“I’m here because I want to be. Not because of your prophecy and not because I have nowhere else to go. Fate may have thrown us together, but I still chose you. And once your mission is completed, I will still be here. I will still choose you. I will always choose the three of you.” I grab the door, swing it open, and step out into the foyer. The crowds are gone and the mansion seems quiet, but I have to get out of here.
I need to think. I need to be away from Van. I have to find a way to fix what I’ve started, though I don’t know how to take back words once they’ve been said.
Angus calls out behind me, “Wait! Joely!”
I turn to him, but the door is hidden under a concealment spell. I hurry to the exit before any of them can catch up to me.
Outside the mansion, it’s absolute mayhem.
“Oh my god.” I cover my mouth and take in the scene.
Hundreds of people are clustered on the grounds, shouting and yelling at each other. Wisps of magic fly through the air, sending people flying and knocking branches off the trees. I duck as a wild ball of orange flame sails toward me. It smashes into the stone wall and disintegrates into a thousand dots of light.
Porter Allbright stands near the road, a group of people surrounding him. He’s speaking to them and waving them to follow him as he marches them through the gate and into the street.
I don’t see Professor Gilvray anywhere, but there’s so much chaos it’s impossible to tell if he’s still here. A line
