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“Ashe!” I stare at Eris, wild-eyed.
She nods, eyes half-lidded with satisfaction. “There she is,” she says, standing from where she was crouched in front of me and snagging her own cup from the tray. “So, shall I catch you up from the point you passed out from shock after exiting the wards? You can say thank you any time for waiting for you, by the way.”
I set the cup down with a tight smile directed at Darcelle, before I rub my temples. An ache is forming behind my left eye and it’s directly related to the demon in front of me.
“I think—” I cut myself off and move my fingers to pinch the bridge of my nose. Finally I let out a breath, shaking my head in hopes to jostle more understanding out of the dark crevices of my mind. Failing that, I shoot a narrowed look at the demon sitting there, blithely drinking some sugary concoction. “I need you to explain what the hell is going on.” I gesture to her. “How are you like this? I felt you die!”
Eris smacks her lips and cradles the drink between her hands while giving me a look better suited to a misbehaving child. “You didn’t feel me die; stop being so dramatic.”
I scoff and Darcelle settles on the other end of the couch, taking up an embroidery hoop and threaded needle. They give Eris a pointed look before turning their focus to their project.
Eris rolls her eyes, sighing loudly as if she hadn’t just accused me of being dramatic. “Yes, I was dying because of Aeternaphiel’s siphoning blade. When you found his soul—cunning bastard—you also found where I was being siphoned to. I was able to guide you to use a blade that’s called—” whatever she said twisted in my ears, sending chills along my spine, and a coil of despair to tighten around my organs. She must have noticed because she frowned in annoyance. “Forgot how sensitive you mortals are.”
Even Darcelle tutted at her this time. Eris holds up a hand as if in apology, but everyone in this small room knows better.
“Essentially, the blade is a bond breaker,” Eris comes up with. “That’s an understatement of an explanation, though. It’s from another realm, not even my own. Aeternaphiel should not have it. It doesn’t so much as break bonds as devours them. Undoes them so completely as to erase them from existence. It could never have killed his soul. By the time you and your mate got there on your, frankly, idiotic scheme, I’d been in the room long enough to know nothing in there could kill him. But I did know that blade would sever me from him and free me. So I had you do that.”
“So glad I lost my mate while freeing you, idiots we are.” My retort is dry as sand.
“Dramatic.”
“Eris, we talked about this,” Darcelle says, not bothering to look up from where they threaded the needle into the white cloth. A gentle caress of magic, like the touch of a falling leaf, matches the rhythm of their stitches. “The vampires will be here soon.”
That has me sitting up straighter. “The Nightshades?”
Eris sneers. “No, some other clan of vampires have taken over in the couple of hours you’ve been drooling on Darce’s couch.”
I close my eyes, gripping the edge of the couch, and focus on taking deep, hard breaths. When I’m certain I won’t explode at the demon, I open my eyes and give her a hard look.
“I would greatly appreciate it, Eris, if you could hurry the fuck up and get to your point.”
Eris blinks for a long moment, her eyelids closing horizontally rather than vertically. Then she grins. “I knew I had a good influence on you.”
“Eris,” I growl her name.
“Yeah, yeah,” she huffs and takes another long drink. “The long story short? The blade severed me from Aeternaphiel, along with some other bonds. What it also did was sever the spells protecting his soul. As far as he knows, nothing is different. Only way he could tell is if he inspected the spells himself, but he doesn’t have that type of power. I doubt he has a pocket warlock hidden away. He’s never liked being around others with any sort of power. Can’t lose a pissing contest if you’re the only one who can piss.”
A hollow twang, almost tangible but not quite, has both of us looking at Darcelle. They set their embroidery to the side and stand, smoothing down their billowy pants as if wearing a formal gown. “That would be the vampires. I’ll see them up.”
I don’t see the look they give Eris, but given the demon sticks out her tongue at the witch before nodding, I can imagine it.
I slump against the couch, blindly grabbing my tea, the mug’s warmth seeping into my palms. I’m grateful to not have the heightened senses of a vampire. It means I have a few more moments to erect walls around the ache in my soul. Goddess, leaving Ashe behind the way I did.
I press the heel of a palm into my eye, gripping my tea tightly with the other hand. If I drop the mug now, it might be the final thing to break my sanity. Now is not the time to be clumsy.
The moment Ambrose enters the room, even without looking, I can tell. The vampire king has this energy, the same energy of a beast of the night lurking in the shadows. But when I look up, it’s Eloise hurrying over, concern and sympathy in her eyes. Ambrose’s mate sinks next to me on the couch, immediately taking me into her arms.
Goddess, I don’t realize how much I need a hug until the shorter woman has me squished against her. A sob hiccups free and Eloise hums with understanding. She runs her hand through my hair, gently avoiding any tangles.
“We’re getting him back, Cassandra,” she murmurs, fierce yet tender. “We don’t abandon family.”
“Unless they refuse to grovel at Ambrose’s feet,” Eris snarls. The air turns frosty. Heart caught in my throat, I look up to see the vampire king and demon in a glaring match. At some point, Eris had gotten up and now she stands with her arms folded, looking at Ambrose in condemnation.
Ambrose is a mountain, impervious to the storm of Eris’s anger. “You speak of Ezra. It is ... unfortunate what happened to him after he left?—”
“After you exiled him, you mean,” Eris interrupts.
“However, he made his choice while knowing the consequences,” Ambrose continues as if she never spoke. “That being said, we will not abandon him in his current condition.”
