“Someone needs to go after Melanie,” my father wheezed out. I had no doubt the stake had punctured a lung. He would heal, but it would take time and the skills of a healer.
“She’s gone, Father. We’ll deal with her later.” I stepped over the two guards and went to stoop over Jerrod’s still body. As tempting as it was to give him a few well-placed kicks, I held back, choosing instead to bind him with the silver chain. Melanie’s other guards were human and had died from the injury my father inflicted in his attack, likely breaking their necks with lightning fast twists.
Once confirmed, I joined Matthias at the broken window. Only a few shards remained in place and the night air whipped into the room, scattering paperwork onto the floor.
“It looks like everyone’s scattered,” he said.
I couldn’t bring myself to ask if either of them had seen Athena or Jupiter or Aunt Gemma. All I could do was hope that those I loved had made it to safety.
A sob clogged my throat and Matthias clenched me tightly to his chest. He placed one hand on the back of my head and cradled me gently. “It’s over now, Lacey.”
I let my eyes close and tears slid down my cheeks. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I should have told you what we’d planned.”
“I should have told you.”
My father’s breathing was labored but evened out. He’d gone into a healing state—a vegetative, coma-like state to accelerate healing.
I stared at him, my cheek still against Matthias’s bare skin. “He’s going to be okay.”
“He is.”
“I wonder why I even care. I’m not sure that I should.”
Matthias didn’t question me. For some reason, that comforted me. He didn’t shrink away from what most would see as an ugly question. “Like it or not, this is the world we live in. People like your father and my mother are the ones setting the rules. But it won’t always be like that. We don’t have to wish for their deaths to wish for a better world.”
Loud voices startled us and we separated. A horde of SPA agents were on the scene, running with flashlights or orbs of magical light as they scoured the grounds, taking anyone they came across into custody. Another team swept in to start tending to those wounded on the ground.
“We need to get a healer up here,” I said, pulled away from Matthias’s embrace.
He wound an arm around my shoulders and we left the study. We went outside and surrendered ourselves to the SPA agents. Matthias went with one of the agents and Agent Bramble took me aside. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Lacey. When did you leave Beechwood Harbor?”
“A few weeks ago,” I told her. My gaze drifted over the unfolding scene and I sighed. “Just long enough to start World War III, it seems.”
“From what I can tell, it could have been a lot worse,” Agent Bramble said. “There are some casualties, but we’re working to help the injured and I imagine the majority of them will survive.”
I bobbed my head, my throat too thick to speak.
She asked me a series of questions and I helped her put the pieces together. Agent Bramble was a hawkish woman, in the best possible way. Not a detail escaped her notice and while she was far from warm and fuzzy, she still managed to put me at ease. We’d worked together on another vampire-related fiasco back when I’d lived in Beechwood Harbor. Prior to dressing for the evening, I’d slipped a piece of paper with her number on it into one of my gloves.
“We’ll be here working through most of the day. Will you be nearby, if we have more questions?”
I looked across the property, scanning the faces for Matthias. Dozens of vampires and humans were corralled by the SPA agents. Some getting medical attention, others being interrogated. As I searched for Matthias, I saw Melanie pass before the headlights of an SPA vehicle, her hands cuffed behind her. My heart jumped. She was still alive.
Agent Bramble noticed my sharp inhale. “That’s your sister, correct?”
I nodded. “What will happen to her?”
“We’re taking her to our New York headquarters.”
“I don’t know why she did this,” I said, not expecting a reply.
“In my experience, people who do things like this are usually after attention. From my understanding, your sister was publicly shamed and then shunned from your circles. I’d imagine part of her motive was revenge, but another part of it may have been her way of proving herself.”
I thanked Agent Bramble and told her I’d be staying in the haven, at the Poseidon. After the night we’d had, I figured neither of us would want to be alone.
Matthias was waiting for me near the front door of the mansion. His hands were in the pockets of a hooded sweatshirt bearing the SPA logo. “Your father is with the healers,” he told me, gesturing back at the house. “He’ll make a full recovery; it’s just a matter of time. But, I gave them your cell phone number to call for updates.”
“Thank you.”
He held out his hand and I took it. “I told the agents I would be staying at your building. I hope that’s all right.”
“Of course.”
Matthias held my hand tightly as we walked toward his SUV. “So, what happens now? I assume there will be a rematch since the fight got cancelled.”
I shook my head. “The tournament is done. In exchange for the information about Melanie and her friends, I bought myself eight years of freedom.”
“Eight years of blissful singleness, huh?” he teased, smiling for the first time all night. I ached at the spark of light in his eyes, not realizing just how much I’d missed it until it appeared again.
I returned his easy smile. “Something like that. I suppose I’ll need some time to plan the wedding. Oh, and ya know, find the right guy.”
“Got any candidates in mind? Or should I say suitors?”
“No. You absolutely should not.” I playfully narrowed my eyes, then smiled. “I figure I’ll start with some first dates. See where that takes me.”
He chuckled. “Well, in that case, do you have plans for tomorrow night?”
I grinned up at him. “I could probably move some things around.”
We stopped at the driver’s side door. Matthias backed me up against the car, away from prying eyes, and leaned down until his lips met mine. The kiss swallowed me whole, shining a floodlight on the dark and ugly night. I gave myself over to it and returned it with equal fervor.
We broke apart, breathless, our dark eyes fixated on one another.
“You know,” I started. “There’s a pretty good chance I’m free right now.”
“Best news I’ve heard all day.” He grinned and kissed me again.
Epilogue
“On this All Hallow’s Eve, I can’t think of a more fitting reason to gather together than to join two of our own in marriage.”
The words reverberated over my skin and sunk deep into my flesh. Matthias’s eyes held my own, reminding me over and over again of all the reasons why I was standing where I was, swathed in a gorgeous vintage wedding gown of lace and satin.
In the past, when I’d looked through bridal magazines or attended other weddings, it seemed that it was some kind of unattainable fairy tale. I’d known that running off and getting married wasn’t going to be possible. There was a part of my heart that shut off the hope for it, for fear of being brutally disappointed.
I’d never imagined standing at the alter and finding myself looking up into the face of a man and feeling like he’d been standing there waiting for me all this time.
The faces I’d missed the most since that April night when I’d slipped away from Beechwood Manor into the darkness were smiling at us from the front row: Holly, Evangeline, Lucy, Posy and her husband Earl, and even Adam.