Allegiance (Causal Enchantment #3)(56)

I nodded sadly. “So that means you won’t help us?”

“I didn’t say that.”

I stifled a groan as I looked down at her. Vampires and their cryptic answers. “Sofie wants you to pledge allegiance. Will you do it?”

She gave the slightest shake of her head, crushing the spark of hope within.

“But Lilly … she won’t trust you otherwise.”

“I know.” A shy, childlike grin slid onto Lilly’s face. “But she would if I pledged my allegiance to you.”

Dead silence filled the underground cavern. “I’m sorry … I heard you wrong.” I blinked repeatedly, wincing from the pain radiating from my swollen jaw. It had to be affecting my hearing.

“I said that I will pledge my allegiance to you and then Sofie will trust me.”

Now I stared blankly at her, looking for a sign that this was a joke. But only innocence stared back, waiting. “You can’t do that!”

“Of course I can! I can do whatever I want!”

“But … but …,” I sputtered.

“But what?”

“But … why?” Why would this ancient vampire want to bind herself to me? A vampire would need to be crazy to commit themselves to a human, Mortimer had said. Was a crazy vampire asking to bind herself to me?

“Because I won’t bind myself to Sofie and yet she needs to trust me. I’m not stupid, Evangeline. I know this is serious. If Sofie’s asking me for help, then I know it’s got to be serious … Besides,” Lilly shifted a rock with her feet, “I like you. You’re … nice and … honest. I can tell.” Definitely crazy and clueless. Lilly walked back over to her mother’s coffin. “And you’re not that much older than me in human years. I always wanted a sister. Mama and I found the perfect one just before Viggo killed her.” She turned back. “The girl—her name was Rebecca—she was tall and blond like you.”

In a flash, Lilly stood inches from me. “I can trust you, right?” Those blue irises begged for the right answer. So like a young child, unsure of herself but willing to trade pride and risk of hurt for a glimpse of what she wanted.

“Of course you can trust me. I’m the one who shouldn’t trust you, remember?” I yanked up my sleeves to reveal my injured arm.

Her eyes shot to my stitches. “She hasn’t healed it.” As with most things, this wasn’t a question.

“No … She told you she couldn’t.”

Lilly’s top lip curved into a sarcastic smile. “And you know as well as I that Sofie would make a champion poker player … I had to be sure.”

“Couldn’t you have done something a little less dramatic and painful?”

“It had to be something dramatic enough that Sofie would heal if she could … Sorry. Sometimes I forget what it’s like not to heal instantly.”

“That makes one of us,” I said, cupping my hand against my sore face.

Lilly stood silently then. She was pledging her allegiance to me. I still couldn’t grasp the meaning of this whole “allegiance” concept except to understand that it was huge—monumental—to have her support and protection. I would have an ancient vampire—no, more, I would have a posse of ancient vampires—protecting me, listening to me. Because I didn’t have enough protection … I have a stronger guard than any queen with her army.

I fought to hide the cautious excitement unfolding inside me. This would be unprecedented according to Mortimer. Man! Would his jaw hit the ground when he learned about this! But what would I need to do? What did this require of me? Did I need to give her orders? I didn’t know how to scheme and plot like these shifty vampires.

“Would you do whatever I asked?”

Lilly shrugged and I caught a glint of wariness in her eyes. “Yes, I suppose so … But it doesn’t mean I’m your slave.”

I was already shaking my head. “No, no … of course no.” But I could ask her to do things that I couldn’t do, like gather information secretly … that, I could ask her to do. “Okay,” I nodded after a moment.

Lilly’s giggle carried down the hall. “You’re granting me permission to give you my allegiance? You think that’s how it works?”

“I don’t know how any of this works. And I’m tired of all the bullshit.”

“Fair enough.” Lilly stood straight and faced me. She was a full head shorter, her brow reaching my neck. Again, another shy smile and tilt of her head. “I’m not exactly sure how to do this, either. It’s not something most of us are willing to do. You’re my first.” I watched as her smile disappeared and her expression turned solemn. Bending down on one knee, like she was proposing to me, she reached up to take my hand in hers. Her skin was silky soft. I felt uncomfortable, checking the shadows around us, wondering if anyone could be watching. But Lilly wasn’t nervous or awkward. Her head angled back until I could see her face, candlelight casting a dim shadow across it.

“I, Lilly Hamlin, pledge my allegiance to you. Trust me with your life. Trust my descendants with your life. I will protect and serve you as you wish. I am yours until death.”

A pause and then she was on her feet, her face beaming proudly. “There!”