Allegiance (34 page)

“But, I touched Caden just minutes ago …” I mumbled, stunned.

I had killed Amelie.

I dropped to my knees beside Julian, sitting on my hands to avoid touching anyone. “I’m so sorry, Julian. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t …” My voice cracked. I expected violent sobs to follow, but they didn’t. I was hollow. He didn’t acknowledge my apology, hunched over and cradling Amelie’s head.

And then a small groan changed everything.

Julian unfurled his body and I saw that life was returning to Amelie. I hadn’t killed her!

“Help me, Eve …” he pleaded, begging me with his glassy eyes. “Make her understand, please. I can’t lose her.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’ll try.” We sat in silence as Julian gently stroked Amelie’s forehead, waiting for life to flow back into her limbs, for her face to round out again, for her lips to plump up, for her vibrant emerald jewels to shine. Most importantly, we waited to see which side of Amelie would greet us—Dr. Jekyll or Mrs. Hyde.

“Oh, Julian,” she suddenly murmured, blinking. “What just happened …”

I recognized the gentle lilt of her voice. Whether temporary or not, whatever had snapped inside her had reset itself and the old Amelie was back. I needed to take advantage of the moment.

“Amelie,” I struggled to keep my voice calm. “Just hear me out. It’s not at all what you think, I promise! Amelie.”

Her head rolled to the side, peering up at me with beautiful catlike eyes. In that split second, I knew exactly what she looked like when she was five years old. Innocent and confused. The words tumbled out of me.

“There has never been anything more than friendship between Julian and me. Caden sensed my tension around Julian and he guessed it was because something happened between us. I didn’t correct him. I let him believe it because it was safer for Julian that way. And I didn’t tell you guys he was the Sentinel because it wasn’t his fault. He was forced into it. He isn’t helping them, Amelie. I promise!”

“It’s true, Amelie,” Julian jumped in. “My parents forced me into it. I didn’t think anything of it back then. I was a stupid kid. I didn’t care. I only knew Viggo and I wanted him dead, so what did it matter?” He leaned in to lay a gentle, lingering kiss on her forehead. “I would never let anything happen to you. I’d kill them all before that happened.”

I could see she was listening, processing our words, and so I continued. “I found out what Julian was when we were at the Tribe and they were healing him. He was undressed and he moved and the blanket moved and then … that’s when I saw it. I swear to you. A complete accident.”

Amelie’s gaze shifted from Julian’s face to mine and back to Julian’s again. I couldn’t read anything from her look—was she weighing our words for the truth or plotting our deaths? And then a tiny quirk of her mouth changed everything. “He does have a cute butt, doesn’t he?”

The air rushed out of my lungs as I exhaled in relief.

“I’m so sorry, Amelie. I didn’t know how to tell you. I was so scared you wouldn’t forgive me,” Julian finally whispered, his fingers running along the length of her cheek. “I don’t want to keep any secrets from you.”

She offered him a small, weak smile. “Maybe you should start talking then …?”

“Talking about what?” Bishop’s deep voice boomed suddenly from the entrance. He appeared in Julian’s room so quickly, I yelped.

Julian, Amelie, and I shared a knowing glance. A silent agreement passed between us. The fewer people who knew about Julian’s marking, the better. There was no need to divulge everything to everyone. While Amelie was willing to listen, not everyone else would. Thank God Max was busy hunting …

Amelie gave the slightest shake of her head. “I just went a little crazy about Julian’s friendship with Evangeline for a moment, that’s all.” I raised an eyebrow and looked at the pile of kindling that, just moments prior, had been a beautiful antique.

She let out nervous giggle and an apologetic shrug. “You know me.”

“I can see that,” Bishop said, eyeing the mess. His attention shifted warily to Wraith. “And what … did he put you in your place?”

She frowned. “No … Evie did.”

A flash of worry pierced Bishop’s beautiful charcoal irises and I shrugged. “I might have, though I don’t know how.” Inside my head, the voice screamed at me.
It’s happening! It’s real!

“Evie,” Amelie’s airy voice grabbed me and I focused on her remorseful expression. “I don’t know what came over me. I wasn’t myself … I’m so sorry.”

I smiled and winked, though it did nothing to dislodge the stiff rod of tension rammed along my spine. “I deserved it. Well … maybe not the whole dresser-launching part.” Amelie’s lip curved into a pout. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. But in her defense, if she’d kept something like that from me, I’d be angry enough to launch furniture too.

“And you decided to play darts with fancy daggers as well?” Bishop added, pointing at the protruding ivory-and-diamond handle of my Christmas present. In an instant, he was across the room and yanking it out. “What’s this from?”

“It’s mine!” Suddenly desperate to reclaim my gift from Caden, I stalked over, my palm out in front of me. “Hand it over.”

He gave me that wide grin of his as he tossed the dagger into the air, letting it spin before catching it in his fingertips by the blade. “You sure you should have a weapon? You’re bound to hurt yourself with it.”

I snorted.
You have no idea how right you are.
“Yes, I’m sure. I need it.”

With newfound caution, he carefully gave it to me handle first, his fingertips grazing mine. I sucked in a gasp, my eyes widening as I peered up at him, watching, waiting. Nothing happened. No shriveling, no collapsing, nothing. My breaths started to pass a little easier.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, averting my gaze to Amelie and Julian. They were a thousand miles away, communicating through glimpses and caresses and whispers. If only I could get Caden to listen long enough for me to explain. “Come on.” My feet slid backward, heading out. I
need
to find Caden. I
need
to explain.

“See you two … much later?” Bishop grinned at Julian, oblivious to the near tragedy—how close I had come to being a dresser pancake, Amelie a shriveled corpse, Julian dismembered—now only something the three of us would know. And Wraith.

I followed Bishop and Wraith down the stairs to the foyer, my movements sluggish, my spirit hollow. I barely registered the delicate sound of holiday harps or the scent of cinnamon wafting through the air. Neither did anything to fill the void in my heart. Caden thought I’d betrayed him. I
did
betray him. I lied to him, allowed his imagination to torment him over something that wasn’t true.

We trailed along the empty, cold halls. A feeling of … absence lingered in the air. Mortimer and Viggo had to be in New York by now, along with Lilly and her crowd. Caden was … I don’t know where. I prayed he was by the tree, cooling off. I don’t know what I expected for Christmas morning in Nathan’s chateau with a bunch of vampires, werewolves, and a wraith, but I’d had higher hopes than this.

Bishop and I walked side by side in silence to the glass room, our arms briefly nudging but otherwise without contact, much to my relief. When we stepped in, when I saw that Caden wasn’t here, my heart plummeted further. Mage was there, though, looking out over a blizzard. “Have you seen Caden?” I blurted. With a furtive glance at Bishop and a check of my tone, I added, “He was worried about Amelie. I wanted to tell him that everything’s fine.”

Mage whipped around to face me, surprise touching her brow. Studying me with arms crossed over her chest, her black eyes narrowed. “Evangeline … do you feel different today?”

That infamous question. It meant something monumental had changed. “No, I don’t,” I answered truthfully. “Well, I feel crappy after all that port last night. Why?”

She shook her head, her gaze traveling down the lengths of my limbs. “I can see magic on you. It’s weak but it’s there.”

I help up my arms in front of me. Still long, still skinny, one still stitched up. No magic. “Is that bad?”

She sighed. “I don’t know yet. We need to ask Sofie.”

I nodded. Another surprise. Maybe this so-called magic was what I had inadvertently used on Amelie earlier. Brushing that problem aside, I focused on the bigger one at hand. I forced a smile and told myself to act indifferent for Bishop’s sake. Inside, my organs were roiling.

“Come! Enjoy the festivities!” Mage exclaimed, striding toward me with her arms held out. Her feet faltered suddenly, her black eyes landing somewhere over my left shoulder. On Wraith. She must’ve weighed her options and chose not to test him because she stopped where she was, instead gesturing to a side table laden with silver trays of pastries, deviled eggs, a well-stocked shrimp tree. In the center sat a small roasted pig surrounded by baked figs and assorted cheeses.

“I’m sure you must be hungry after last night,” Mage said, a tiny hint of disapproval in her voice.

I patted my vacant belly. “This is a little excessive, don’t you think?”

“Not with a pack of hungry wolves. Sofie wanted you all well fed for Christmas morning.”

Speaking of which … “Where is Sofie?” She should’ve appeared out of thin air by now. I looked around, expecting to find minty eyes watching me from some unseen corner. Then I remembered that Wraith was here. Maybe she couldn’t handle being near me.

“She was pulled away for an … urgent matter,” Mage answered cryptically.

Yes, definitely avoiding me. Disappointment piled onto my anxiety. “Will she be back today?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Mage picked up an enormous platter as if it were an empty paper plate. “Eat!”

I used to be hungry. Before Amelie discovered Julian’s secret, Caden all but condemned me, and Amelie tried to squash me. Anything going into my stomach was going to come right back up. “I will … soon. Thanks.”

Bishop helped himself to a carafe full of red liquid, filling a wine glass with it.

I cringed, memories of the thick, sugary port still fresh. “Please tell me that’s nonalcoholic, Bishop.”

He grinned, taking a sip. “It’s not port.”

“Come,” Mage’s cool hand slid into mine. She led me to the twinkling Christmas tree where a myriad of pretty paper-covered parcels filled the space beneath. “There are a few things under there for you,” she said with a smile, prodding me with nimble fingers. “Go on. It’ll be a good way to distract you while you wait …” I didn’t miss the wink. For Caden, she meant. How did she always know? I nodded and gingerly walked over to the tree, more because I needed a diversion than because I was expecting or wanting Christmas gifts. The end of the world was coming, I was turning into a hideous goblin, and Caden hated me. Sitting here and unwrapping pretty little boxes seemed silly in comparison.

And yet, there was tiny flicker of hope within me, some tiny bud of simple delight in this act.
I forget what Christmas morning feels like …
Kneeling down in front of the tree, I let my attention drift over the colorful packages.

“Oh, here,” Mage swooped in to grab a tiny black box. She thrust it into my hand. “This is from Sofie.”

My hand partially recoiled, panic rushing through me. The last time Sofie handed me a tiny box, a hundred-and-twenty-year-old curse bound itself to me.

Seeing my hesitation, Mage chuckled. “This one isn’t cursed.”

Inside was a piece of paper. I unfolded it to find Sofie’s beautiful scrawl staring back at me.
Filled with those who love you. S
.

What did this cryptic little note mean? Had Sofie exhumed my mother’s bones and cremated them to fill the box? Brushing the morbid thought aside, I lifted the note and unfolded the soft velvet cloth. Déjà vu rocketed through me as I found the heart-shaped pendant sitting inside. The shape was the only similarity. This one was twice the size as the original, and thick, made of what looked like platinum, encrusted with a coat of crushed, multicolored diamonds.

“Wow,” I murmured, lifting the chain to let it hang in the light. Its brilliant sparkle danced along the walls, even in the dull incandescent light from the lamps.

“You’ve got to be f … you’re kidding me, right? Another heart-shaped pendant?” Bishop crouched down to study it. “Is this supposed to be funny? What will this one do to you?”

“What more could it possibly do to me?” I answered. Still, I placed the pendant back into its box and set it on the coffee table. I wasn’t in a rush to put on anything heart-shaped again …

Bishop let out a mock sigh of exasperation. “Well … way classier than what I got you,” he said, sliding a long, silver package across the floor in one fluid motion. I caught the mischievous smile and my senses started to tingle.
This can’t be good
… When I peeled the paper back and spotted the Victoria’s Secret logo on the top of a pale pink box, my wariness increased tenfold. I lifted the top cover and upon seeing the hot pink lace, I slammed the box shut, my face matching the color of the seductive outfit.

“Bishop!”

“What?” he answered, shrugging. “You had no issues with that stuff before. Remember, that one night you wore it and we—”

I gasped. “That wasn’t me! That was—” I bit down on my tongue to stop myself just before I said her name, breaking Bishop’s delusion, setting him back into his dark place of misery. It had been Fiona wearing her trademark hot pink outfits for Bishop. As if it weren’t bad enough that the Fates had implanted Caden’s memories of me into Bishop’s head, now they had taken some of his memories of Fiona and swapped her out for me! Bishop’s brain was a hot mess of delusions.