Anomaly (Causal Enchantment #4)(39)

“Veronique is alone!” He jerked at his arm but I wouldn’t let go.

“Still feeding like a feral animal, I’m sure,” I assured him.

“She’ll be angry when she finds out she was left alone there.”

“Not as angry as she’ll be when she finds out you abandoned me to this mess to sit and watch her in that state.” I honestly didn’t know if that was true, but I knew it would stay his urge. Upsetting Veronique was the one thing Mortimer had never been able to handle.

His tension dissipated. “No longer than sunrise.”

Sunrise. What would the city look like? How far would the fledglings have scattered? How much would the world have seen by then? Too much to hide the truth, ever? If we waited until sunrise and could still not find Amelie, then what? Had we waited for nothing and given doom a stronger foothold on this world? These questions pounded down on me in quick succession, all pointing in the direction of one answer.

We couldn’t wait. Not for one vampire.

But Evangeline …

Mage’s heavy glare weighed on me. She knew as well as I did that my weakness was that girl.

I didn’t know what to do. “It seems like everything we’ve done has only made things worse. Now we’ve lost one, we’re missing two, three more are at risk …” I wrapped my arms tight around my chest.

“There is much more at risk than three,” Mage reminded me. I knew what she’d do. She wouldn’t hesitate for a second. She was a true leader, ready to make the hard decisions. Me … All of my motives and choices were still made based on what would keep my girl happy and safe. And until I had her in my sights again, my ability to make the impossible decision was paralyzed.

I kicked the edge of the statue. I winced through the pain, my eyes trailing the bronze mushroom as it sailed across the park.

And landed at Evangeline’s feet.

Chapter Eleven – Evangeline

By the look on Sofie’s face when our eyes met, I wasn’t sure if she was going to hug me or strike me down with bolts of fire.

An instinctual part of me cowered next to Julian as she closed the distance with lightning speed. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the mine? Are you insane?” The questions fired out of her mouth, giving me no chance to answer before she wrapped me in a fierce hug. It lasted only a minute and then she released me. “I told you to stay away! You can’t be here!”

I’d never seen Sofie so frantic before. Whatever was going on, and I’d now seen firsthand to know that the situation was grim, Sofie was finally unraveling.

This probably wasn’t the right time to inform her that I could compel vampires and heal humans. Given what we’d seen and heard, what I could or couldn’t do hardly mattered.

Mortimer, Mage, and Lilly sidled up to loom behind Sofie. No Caden, though, I was dismayed to see.

“How are you two even here?” Mortimer’s piercing eyes shifted from me to Julian, and back to me, narrowing. “I know there’s something off about you, Evangeline, but Julian, we left him feeding like a wild animal …” His hawkish gaze swung to the left with the sound of squeaky wheels. A homeless man pushing a cart down the path approached. All eyes locked onto us.

“How are you able to withstand that?” There was accusation in Mortimer’s tone, as if I’d done something to make this happen. In Julian’s case, that was true.

“I don’t know,” Julian admitted. “Maybe because I’m more focused on finding Amelie. I’m glad someone is,” he added icily, “seeing as you guys are just sitting around, doing nothing to find her!”

“Caden is out looking for Amelie right now,” Sofie muttered, her displeasure with that prospect painted across her face. “Bishop and Fiona are with him.”

My stomach twisted. Going out there, with all those fledglings and the military, was dangerous. What if Caden went missing too?

“When will they be back?”

“Better be by sunrise,” Mortimer said under his breath.

My eyes drifted to Lilly, standing quietly next to Mage. She told me the city was lost. What if they didn’t make it back by sunrise? That meant … “Sofie, you can’t give Isaac the go-ahead! Not until they’re all out!” My body trembled as I lunged forward, grabbing her hands. “Please! If I lose them all, I’ll—” I choked on the words.

The veil over her eyes lifted for just a second to disclose sadness before dropping with a hardened gleam. “Calm down. I will not give Isaac permission to do anything yet.”

“Promise?”

Her jaw tensed visibly. “I promise.”

My head dipped as I accepted her word, relieved. Sofie had never let me down. She’d never stopped trying. She’d never given up. She wouldn’t give up now.

“Where could Amelie be? How could she just be gone?” Julian pressed, his voice desperate.

Sofie shook her head. “I have no idea, Julian. Honestly.” Her mint-green eyes scanned the darkness, and I sensed the air of suspicion swirling around her. Another batch of sirens called out into the night; another set of blood-curdling screams made us cringe. “Let’s find a less visible place to wait.”

Chapter Twelve – Sofie

“This one.” I pushed through the entrance of the monstrous glass building, the small heels of my boots clicking against the lobby’s tile floor. “Mortimer, can you please get us into the penthouse with minimal disturbance. Take Evangeline and Julian with you.”