Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
My father steps in. “None of you can stay. The Council voted twenty minutes ago. The Vampire plane has aligned with Torin. I have guards at every access point, but by morning they will have warrants to extradite you both to the Seelie plane. We don’t have much time to get you out of here.”
Beck shakes his head. “You can’t get us out. They’ll be on us the minute we leave the Dellacourt building. You can’t save us, Uncle Don. It’s fate that we came back here just as this happened.”
Cian’s mouth turns down. “Save Meg. Beck and I will find a way. Torin will wait to kill us. He’ll want to make it public.”
My mother stands and grasps my father’s hand. “Please, Don. You have to help them. We can’t turn them over. They’re all I have left of my sister.”
My father looks down at Mom, love shining in his eyes. Gods, I love my parents. I turn to Kaja and send out my own love. My parents taught me how to love. I always thought their wealth and position was the greatest gift they gave me, but now I see things differently. My parents’ passion informs my own. Kaja is a song in my soul.
“I would never turn them over, wife. They’re my blood, too. Dante and I have been talking to Mr. Taggart. We’ve come up with a plan.” Dad waves to the servants.
The door opens and Taggart escorts a petite female inside. Vampire Meg walks in, and all eyes shift her way.
“I found our brat and she’s agreed to help us,” Taggart announces.
“Holy shit, that’s me.” Meg looks at the mirrorlike version of herself.
“That’s so cool,” they both say in unison.
“There are two of them,” Cian breathes as he and Beck step up. “Will you look at that, brother? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Beck slaps at his brother’s chest. “No. I know what you’re thinking. And you’re crazy if you think she’s going to do that. I’m thinking that’s twice the trouble.”
Real Meg turns, her face in a perfectly outraged mask. “Cian Finn. That is not happening.”
Vampire Meg smiles at the brothers. “I don’t know. That might be fun.”
Meg’s eyes narrow.
Vampire Meg pales. “Or not.”
“And they call you the smart one,” Beck huffs under his breath.
Taggart nods my way. “I’ve got the other two in a hovercar on their way here, and Roan is in place. We’re ready when you are.”
Kaja comes to my side, and she slips her hand into mine. Just touching her brings a feeling of peace. I kiss her hair and pray I never run into her twin. One Kaja is all I can handle. “Vampire Meg has agreed to pose as the queen. We found a set of vampire twins with the proper coloring. In thirty minutes, they are going to flee the building. Shortly after that, Beck, Cian, and Meg will leave quietly from the ground. We have a hovercar and a group of soldiers waiting to take us to the west door. It will be guarded, but William Roan assures me he’ll kill anyone who tries to stop us.”
Beck turns to me. “It sounds dangerous.”
“Everything is dangerous from here on out, cos. You know the way this will go.” I squeeze Kaja’s hand.
Cian puts a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Yes. There is no other path, brother. I know you wanted to live peacefully, but Torin won’t allow it. And you know what he’s doing. If he has his way, he’ll purge the Seelie plane of undesirables, and then he will go after the other planes. We can’t duck this fight anymore. It’s time to stand. It’s time to claim what is ours.”
Beck seems to grow taller. He takes his place at Meg’s side, the three connected in ways most people can’t dream of. “Then we’ll go. We’ll meet with Fergus and see what happens.”
My mother hugs all three of them. “We’ll work from here. We’ll do everything we can.”
Cian shakes his head. “You have to be careful, Aunt Alana. You can’t let them know you’re helping. If it comes to it, you have to renounce us.”
My father takes my mother’s hand and pulls her into a comforting embrace. Susan and Colin stand.
“It won’t come to that,” Susan says. “We have power, Ci. Once the Council realizes what our sunscreen can do, they will back off. We won’t be able to openly defy them, but we’ll have their balls in our hands, if you know what I mean.”
That’s my sister, a ballbuster to the end.
I’m going to miss her.
“We need to move out soon. I want to be on our way the minute the decoys leave.” I had a bag packed for both of us, but we won’t be taking much. I’ll learn to travel light.
The room erupts into chaos as my parents and sister begin to argue. I listen to all the reasons I shouldn’t go with a patient ear. This is why I didn’t mention this part of the plan until now. Meg starts in on how it’s too dangerous, and Cian tells me to stay behind as well.