“She did, but you know what? He didn’t register his precious angel with the Undead Coalition. He was too paranoid. Me? He registered me right away. I was the only member of his clan listed on his records. When he was killed, the UC knocked on my door, not hers.”
“They blamed you for his death,” Addie realized. “They punished you for it.”
“They found me locked in the basement of his manor. It was obvious I had never been allowed out. I was filthy and half starved. I barely knew how to feed. They didn’t care. About any of that. They only cared they had someone to pin his murder on.” Her gaze zinged to Boaz. “Sentinels, the lapdogs of the Society.”
An odd sort of coil surrounded a tree in the distance, the color right to be vines, but the thickness… Boaz needed to get closer to tell for sure, but he thought maybe it was their break.
Addie stepped forward to steal her attention back. “What did they do to you?”
“For one hundred years, they kept me in a room with only a bed and sink. I was given books to read, which was a mercy. It kept me sane and current on the world.” She quit twirling her hair. “Do you know what kept me going every second of every minute of every hour of every day?”
“Revenge,” Boaz supplied, having moved too far to escape her notice much longer.
“No.” A frown knit her brow. “Love.”
“Love?” Addie echoed, her voice gone soft. “I don’t understand.”
“Then you’ve never been in love.”
Boaz couldn’t believe his ears. “You tracked Cass across the country so that you could be together?”
“In the sweet hereafter,” she agreed. “This isn’t what she wanted. It’s not what I wanted either. Why should we continue to exist like this? I came for her, to end it. Then we can be together, as we were meant to be, not as we are.”
He realized then that, despite her outer calmness and rational conversation, Serena was out of her ever-loving mind.
Twenty
I had worked with Cass often enough to understand Boaz was letting me draw Serena’s focus while he attempted to get close enough to take her out. It was nice, that he trusted me to do the job and didn’t coddle me, but I wished I could fist the back of his collar and drag him back to safety.
“Cass has adjusted to her new life.” I noticed the warmth on the horizon and took a step forward. “You will too.”
“I don’t want to adjust.” She eased toward me. “I want this to end.”
From the corner of my eye, I watched Boaz moving in at an angle. “What if Cass doesn’t?”
“You think because you love her that you can speak for her?” Serena scoffed. “We were lovers when we were both mortal, when we both had hearts and souls and dreams. She’s a shell. That’s all. She doesn’t care about you. She’s as vacant as I am.”
Had Serena spent any time around Cass, she would have realized fast that Cass was anything but vacant. She was vibrant and alive in a way that few people, and no vampires I had ever met, were. Maybe it was a reflection of her holding on to her humanity, refusing to let go of the parts of her Delacorte stole when he had her turned against her will, or maybe it was simply her.
“Where is she?” We were out of time for games. “Where is Cass?”
“She’ll be at peace soon.” Serena removed a wooden stake from her belt. “I’ll be waiting for her.”
“No.” I lurched forward.
Too late.
I was too late.
Serena stabbed herself through the heart.
“Where is she?” I screamed, running to her, grabbing her shoulders. “Where is she?”
With a tired smile, Serena began to disintegrate before my eyes, until I was holding ash in my hands.
“Leave her.” Boaz pointed through the trees. “See that? Might be nothing but—”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I couldn’t bear to stand still a moment longer. I sprinted in the direction he indicated, toward odd vines wrapping a tree.
No.
Not vines.
Ropes.
Unsheathing the knife at my hip, I ran full out, eyes on the coming sunrise. “Cass?”
A faint voice murmured on the other side of the tree. “Addie?”
Tears blurred my vision as I reached her and began to hack at the ropes that bound her to a small rise overlooking a gorge. The tree stood about a foot from the crumbling edge, offering her no shelter as the shadows baked off into nothing.
“Hold on,” I chanted over and over. “I got you.”
Once she was free, she slid down onto her knees, too weak to move. Her skin was already pinkening.
Kneeling beside her, I gathered her into my arms. “What did she do to you?”
“Stake,” she panted. “Gut.”
Cass must have fought back too hard for Serena to restrain her without inflicting mortal damage. Immortal damage, more like, since she had given her enough wounds to bleed her dry. Cass could heal, if we got her to shelter, but not without help.
“You’re going to have to drink from me.” I angled my head to make it easier. “You’ll have to do it fast.”
“No,” she murmured. “I promised you I would never do that.”
“Extenuating circumstances, Cass.” I cupped the back of her skull and guided her down. “It’s okay. Promise.”
The flash of pain I expected never appeared, but the scent of blood overwhelmed my senses. “What…?”
Boaz had stuck his wrist in front of Cass, and she had been too hungry to resist.
Avoiding their intimate moment, I averted my gaze from where their skin met and sought his gaze. “Where do we take her?”
“It’s too late.” His voice came out tight. “We’ll have to bury her.”
“Bury her?” I clutched at Cass. “Will she be okay if we do that?”
“She’ll be safe from the sun, and she doesn’t have to breathe. She’s not technically alive, remember?”
He allowed her to feed precious seconds longer then forced
