Allegiance (Causal Enchantment #3)(73)

“God! Give a girl a wraith and some crazy powers and she thinks she runs the show …” Amelie muttered. Crazy powers …? She stuck her tongue out at me at the same time as she hooked arms with Julian, dragging him away, seemingly recovered from whatever had hurt her before. No, not whatever, Evie. You. You hurt her. After I dealt with Wraith, and with Lilly, I’d find out what I had done to her.

My demands hadn’t moved the rest of them. Caden’s mouth opened and then clamped shut with a furtive look at Bishop. He was trying not to appear too possessive but he was dying to argue with me. I wouldn’t give him a chance. I wouldn’t give any of them a chance.

“Leave now!” Manners were useless with them.

“I’ll go check on Sofie.” Mage’s dark eyes drifted in the direction of the courtyard. “This must be … difficult for her. And keep Wraith away from Julian,” she reminded. “He won’t bounce back to life like the rest of you.” With that, she quietly walked to the same door Sofie had all but stumbled out.

“We’ll be around the corner if you need us. Just holler,” Bishop said, throwing a warning glare at Lilly.

Are you about to do something stupid and get yourself into trouble? Seeing as that’s your usual MO these days, Max asked. He still hadn’t forgiven me for my earlier escape. I’d have to make it up to him. But not now.

“How can I possibly do something stupid? I have Death chaperoning me. I think I’m good.”

Max sauntered away with a snort, leaving Lilly and me alone.

We stood in the hall, four feet away from Wraith’s entrance. Wraith filled the doorframe with his looming presence. He said nothing, he did nothing. He just waited. For an order. For someone to kill.

“You’ve wanted to ask me something since the cemetery,” Lilly whispered with a timid smile. I couldn’t help but gape at her for a moment.

I swallowed, nodding. Once these words left my mouth, there would be no turning back. Someone out there would know what I had done, what I was hiding. They could judge me and I was afraid they’d be right. Either way, I had no choice. I needed help. Warily, I checked over my shoulder for eavesdroppers.

“They’re out of range, if you whisper,” Lilly confirmed in a low hum.

Still, I leaned in until my mouth was next to her ear. She waited patiently as I took a deep breath. “I need you to find a way into Viggo’s place.”

Lilly frowned. “Okay, but you told me to listen to Sofie and Sofie says to stay—”

“Her sister isn’t in the tomb anymore!” I hissed and then caught myself. Baby blue eyes expanded with shock. I watched her struggle to replace the veil of calm. I noticed she had a harder time doing that then the adult vampires.

“How do you—”

“I’ll explain later,” I said. “But I know. I know they’re torturing her. And I know that no one can find out what’s happening, Lilly. I mean no one. I’m trusting you to help me get her out.”

I watched her set her jaw, deep in thought. Tiny hands clasped onto mine and squeezed. “Okay, Evangeline,” she agreed with a curt nod and a comforting smile. “I’ll find a way in there without raising any alarms. I promise.”

“I mean it, Lilly. No one can know. I don’t even want you telling Kait or the others. I need you to do this one on your own. This is just you and me, kid.”

Her mouth twisted pensively, the wheels turning in that twelve-hundred-year-old brain of hers. “Just you and me.” She liked the idea of that, I could tell by the twitch of a smile across her lips. “You can count on me.” She leaned in to give me an awkward hug—like she hadn’t given one in a century and didn’t know how—and then she vanished.

I wasn’t alone for two seconds before Bishop, Caden, and the others showed up.

“What was that all about?” Caden pressed.

“Oh … stuff.” How was I to answer that? I dropped my gaze to the floor and spotted a full bottle of port by my feet. Bishop must have put it there before we discovered Wraith’s hideout. I grabbed it and rushed to bring it to my lips, taking a long, intense swallow.

“Evie! Tell us!” I avoided all eye contact, instead studying Wraith. There he stood, waiting patiently, staring.

Wiping a dribble off my chin, I finally threw out the first thing that popped into my head. “Ratheus.”

“What about it?” Amelie asked.

“Um … I wanted to make sure she knew how bad it was.” That was the one thing I knew about that she didn’t. Still, it was a feeble attempt at an excuse and I knew it the second I caught the glimmer in Caden’s eyes. He said nothing, but I could tell he didn’t buy it.

None of the others picked up on it, though, ready to move away from this spot. Bishop let out a heavy sigh, draping his arms around my shoulders to clasp in front of me. Leaning in, he whispered, “Next time, I’ll believe you when you say there’s a secret door, okay? How about you don’t feel the need to prove it?” His lip grazed my lobe, sending shivers through my body. Shivers that he shouldn’t be able to give me. Shivers that only felt right when it was Caden giving them to me. Shivers that Caden couldn’t give me while this game of the Fates existed. Maybe he’d never be able to again, if my metamorphosis finished.

“So what was that back there?” Amelie asked.