A Meet of Tribes (A Shade of Vampire #45)(36)

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a brief moment. More and more factors began to pile up as potential obstacles. I’d have to go over them by myself, one by one, later tonight in absolute silence.

What really troubled me—and by troubled, I meant tore into me and ripped me apart—was the prospect of Draven dying. Every time my mind ran in that direction, my throat closed up, and my heart thumped agonizingly in my chest.

I shook my head and looked up from the dark green tiles on the floor, where I’d rested my gaze for a few minutes, to find Draven standing next to me, quiet and still. I suddenly felt the urge to hold him and revel in his firm presence just to remind myself of how real he was, of the mind-blowing effect he had on me. He’d become someone very important to me, and I wasn’t ready to contemplate the idea of losing him.

“Anjani, Bijarki,” he said.

Both joined us from the other side of Vita’s bed, their expressions grave and opaque. I was aware that they had their own issues with Azazel, and I realized that everything they’d heard described by the Oracles had had a massive impact on them, on their own hopes for a better future in Eritopia. Their survival was at stake, as was ours.

“I’d like both of you to join me for a private conversation in my study,” Draven told them. “We need to go over everything and recalculate some of our steps before going forward. Given these new visions, I think we’ll have to make new preparations for this campaign.”

Anjani and Bijarki nodded. I noticed the quick exchange of glances between the succubus and Jovi, who was still by Phoenix’s side, along with the Daughter. Bijarki looked at Vita for a brief moment before taking Draven’s arm and placing it on his shoulder to guide him out of the basement.

“I’m coming too,” I said, unwilling to let Draven out of my sight or myself out of such an important conversation.

I moved to follow, but Draven turned his head, enough for me to see the side of his face while his broad back towered before me.

“It’s all right, Serena,” he replied. “You should spend some time with your friends and your brother. This conversation is between myself, Anjani, and Bijarki for now.”

His tone was flat, something I hadn’t heard since my first days at the mansion, long before I’d felt my heart flutter at the sound of my name on his lips and the feel of his body heat consuming me like wildfire.

I frowned but didn’t say anything. I’d felt the line open between us since our first kiss back at the Red Tribe, but something had shifted again. A wall had risen between us, cold and quiet and unyielding. I felt nothing now, as if Draven had shut himself off entirely, once again pushing me away. There was a pang in my stomach and the fear of distance lurking in the back of my head.

I decided to let him have his discussion with Anjani and Bijarki first and talk to him later about this. I’d just started to open myself up, to allow new emotions to take over around him. I wasn’t ready to let him slide back into his Druid shell. Not when I’d felt his lips on mine, his skin against mine, his soul pouring into mine during our mind-meld.

Instead, I turned my back on him and focused my attention on Vita. She seemed a little pale, but it didn’t surprise me. She’d been unconscious for quite a while, and the visions she had experienced were haunting even from her description. I could only imagine what being in them and seeing and hearing everything must have been like.

“Are you okay?” I asked her, hearing Draven’s footsteps disappear up the stairs.

Vita nodded and gave me a weak smile.

“We don’t really know what we’re doing, do we?” she asked, a tinge of dark humor in her voice.

“Would it give you any sort of comfort if I told you that I don’t think Draven knows either?” I grinned, trying to keep my composure.

She chuckled and ran her fingers through her hair, resting her elbows on her slightly elevated knees.

“At least we’re not on our own,” Vita replied. “We’re not alone.”

“That we definitely aren’t.” I smiled. “Besides, you guys are making incredible progress on the whole Oracle thing. I feel so useless compared to you.”

“Don’t.” A shadow passed over her face. “I still don’t know how much of the Oracle gene is in us. Whether we’ll go blind and whatnot. This was the first time I saw the runes on my body, and I don’t know what to make of it. I have no idea whether they will become permanent, whether it will get worse. I don’t know…and believe me, Serena, if you’re feeling useless, at least be grateful you’re not feeling the uncertainty that we’re feeling, not knowing what we’ll become.”

I didn’t have a reply. I hadn’t thought about the impact the runes had on Vita’s psyche. It made me wonder how Aida and Phoenix were faring from that perspective. If they were to go blind, I knew I would do everything in my power to help them, to make their lives easier.

“I’m sorry, Vita,” I said, “but I won’t let any of you fall into a pit of despair over this. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together. Draven’s father was able to help Elissa, after all. Draven will do the same for you.”

She looked up at me and pulled me into a hug. I held her tightly and felt her shudder in my arms. Vita may seem fierce sometimes, but she had moments when she needed reassurance that what lay ahead wasn’t all death and gloom.