Asylum(91)

The joy didn’t last long. My blood instantly turned to ice as my eyes landed on the two well-dressed vampires sitting across from Sofie in the main cabin. Viggo and Mortimer. A wooden box, which I presumed held Veronique’s pendant, sat between them. Of course they were here. They weren’t out of my life yet.

Mortimer’s dark orbs zoned in on me just as the memory of him tossing Rachel into the fire hit me. “Why?” I blurted. I could have been asking anything.

But Mortimer knew immediately what I meant. “I figured I owed you that much,” was all he said, that same vacant stare giving me nothing to read, yet every answer I needed. Killing Rachel was his peace offering.

“She was quite annoying, wasn’t she?” Viggo piped in, rolling his eyes dramatically.

My attention shifted to Sofie, my eyes asking, Is this an act?

Viggo answered for her. “We all got what we wanted. You have nothing more to worry about from us. We have no more use for you.” He added, as an afterthought, “Except maybe that hundred million you swindled from us.”

“She earned it! Leave it be!” Mortimer boomed, turning to level a warning glare at his adversary. What had happened between these two?

“She certainly has,” a new voice said. It belonged to a tiny Asian-looking woman who strolled into the cabin, smiling at me.

My jaw dropped as she handed Sofie a bag of blood and tossed another to Max before sitting down beside Sofie. Max didn’t seem at all concerned; he caught the bag with his teeth and hunkered down to suck on it. Sofie thanked her with a wink, earning a wide-eyed stare from me. What were they . . . friends? What had happened over the last month?

Amelie’s giggle pulled my attention to the opposite side of the cabin, where she sat cradling Julian’s head in her lap, smiling slyly down at him. Julian was still visibly pale and weak from his injury, but he gazed up at her with a goofy grin, so utterly and obviously enamored with her that it was almost comical. “How long was I unconscious for?” I asked absently, frowning as I took in this development.

“Long enough for Amelie to sink her hooks into him,” Caden answered.

That wouldn’t take long. Of course Julian would fall head over heels with Amelie instantly. Who wouldn’t? They would make a cute couple, I decided. Except for the fact that he belonged to a cult that wanted to eradicate every last vampire, and she’d probably kill him the second she found out. Small detail.

“Are you okay with them being together?” Caden asked quietly.

I turned to see a strange look in his eyes. Fear? What was it? I had never seen it before. He must be sensing my anxiety over Julian’s secret identity. I needed to hide it better, or I’d get Julian killed and that wouldn’t help matters. Soon enough, though, Amelie would find out, I was sure. All she had to do was see the tattoo. And then what would happen . . . she’d be crushed. I forced a smile, pushing the thought from my mind, and squeezed Caden tightly. “Of course!”

“Hey, little human,” a hollow-sounding Bishop called out. I turned to find him sitting by himself in a dark corner of the plane, the playful smirk I treasured replaced with a cold, lost stare. There was an empty seat beside him, one that Fiona should be sitting in. Bishop without Fiona was like . . . the world without the sun.

“Can you put me down?” I asked Caden.

He did as asked. Giving his hand a squeeze, I walked over to sit down beside the heartbroken vampire. “I’m so sorry, Bishop,” I whispered hesitantly, a giant knot forming in my throat.

Bishop’s jaw tensed. He gave me a nod and reached out to squeeze my hand. Then he turned to look out the window, his eyes closing—shutting me and the rest of the world out. The old Bishop was gone. Probably forever.

With a sick, hollow ache blossoming in my chest, I quietly stood and walked back over to wrap my arms around Caden, tears welling in my eyes. I fought them this time. There was no time for tears right now. “How did this happen?”

Caden sighed. “Sofie? Where do you want to begin?”

Sofie gestured at two empty chairs beside her. Clinging to Caden, with a wary eye on Viggo and Mage, I walked over with him to sit down.

For the next hour, Sofie and Mage—her new “BFF,” it seemed– told the entire story, from the moment Sofie shipped me off to the mountains to finding a badly-mangled Max in the swamp next to a pile of half-eaten crocodiles. I caught myself glancing over at Julian whenever the Sentinel was mentioned, and each time, I met Caden’s frown. Be careful, Evangeline. You’re going to give Julian’s secret away.

By the time Sofie finished, I was sure all the color had drained from my face. I had to swallow a few times to keep the bile from rising to my mouth as the nausea kicked in. “Ratheus is Earth?” I whispered.