“I have lived a long time,” he said, “I have been part of New Orleans’ history for over two hundred years, and have had to endure every second of them with the weight of my decisions upon my shoulders. It was easier to carry sometimes than it was at others, but the weight was always there, a constant reminder of my hubris. Hubris I would like to apologize for today. I know an apology cannot right my wrongs, but it’s a start.”
The room was silent. No one spoke, no one moved a muscle; not even to breathe. But, why would they? It wasn’t like they were ever going to break out into applause, or reply to him verbally. This silence was something else he would have to endure, but he endured it with dignity. I was proud of him for what he was doing.
He reached for the champagne glass he had set on a coaster upon the piano. “New Orleans is a big city, and times have changed. It’s important for us now to come together and form a unified, harmonious conclave so that witches and vampires may once again live in peace and share in the riches this wonderful place has to offer.” He scanned for Jean Luc in the crowd. “And to you, Jean Luc, and your family specifically, I would like to issue a personal apology for my behavior. I know I can never take back what I did, but I hope I can start to make amends now.”
To this, Remy did receive applause and nods of agreement from witch and vampire alike.
He raised his glass. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to join me in a toast, we can then get this party into full swing.” Glasses were raised around the room. “To unity,” he said, and the crowd repeated his words before drinking of their champagne.
The music then started up again, a little Jazz Piano, bringing with it a wave of relief to wash over me, taking away the anxiety I had been feeling all night, and finally allowing me to drop my guard. The vampires hadn’t attacked him, the witches hadn’t stormed out—this whole thing had gone well, and now it was time to partake of a cocktail or two, and maybe of some more of those tiny appetizers being passed around on silver trays.
“I will never forgive him for what he did to Eliza,” Jean Luc, who had been standing beside me, said, “But what he just did took courage, and I can respect that at least.”
“I just want everyone to be at peace again. I want things to move forward, not backward.”
“You have done well here. I think your vision will come true after tonight.”
“I hope so,” I said, though my attention began slipping away from Jean Luc, and my eyes started to look for Jared in the crowd. I hadn’t asked them to, hadn’t wanted them to, but I was powerless to stop them. When I saw him, he was talking to another witch, Jennifer, a petite little blonde from one of the smaller covens. He had said something to her that caused her to throw her head back in laughter and place a hand on his arm.
“If you would excuse me,” I said to Jean Luc, and he nodded as I walked past.
I had Jared in my sights. I was going to walk over there and ask for that drink, or maybe I would just get him one, and then we would be able to drink and dance. But going to get drinks now would have only taken more time—time I couldn’t afford to lose. With every smile this woman offered him, I saw my window of opportunity closing more and more.
Then Remy crossed my path, and without saying a word, swept me into a light twirl. I found myself against him, my hand in his, his hand on my waist, eyes inevitably locked. “Mind if I have this dance?” he finally asked.
“Oh, I…” Jared looked at me now, and saw me beginning to sway with Remy, my feet pulling me along even though I hadn’t yet agreed to dance. He asked this woman a question, and the two of them moved out of the main room and through the doors into the patio.
“Were you going somewhere?” Remy asked.
“No…” I said, surrendering to the dance. “It’s okay.”
His lips tugged into a smile. “Good,” he said. “I just wanted to come and thank you again, personally, for all you’ve done. I feel like that weight I was carrying has finally eased up a little bit.”
“Only eased up?”
“I’ll take it with me to my grave, expecting no one else to carry it for me. That is how things have to be. But talking about it openly, and not being killed for it, that certainly helped.”
“I don’t think anyone would have attacked you for what you said.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. Vampires can be merciless when they want to be. Witches, too. But this is a good crowd of good people.”
I nodded as we swayed to the music. I wasn’t much of a dancer, but Remy was, so I let him lead. “Thank you for saying what you did,” I said.
“Hopefully we’ll never have to mention it again,” he said.
“No, I don’t suppose we will, thanks to you. You’ve been a great boon to this city. Everyone here owes you a debt of gratitude, at least.”
“I don’t think I did anything particularly heroic.”
“Modesty suits you, but you should take credit where credit is due. You came here from the outside, took our problems as your own, and untangled the mess.”
“New Orleans’ problems became my own the moment I bought Lumière.”
“That may be so, but you have done more in your short time here to fix the divide not just present between us and vampires, but between us and ourselves, than any other witch who was ever born here. I have been a colossal fool, and you helped me to realize that.”
“Yeah, you were… among other things.”
“I deserve that.”
“You do. And more. But no one can deny what you have done for the city; what you during Katrina, how you tried to fight the storm off with your magick, and then how you helped the people most affected by the devastation. A lot of people owe you their lives.”
“Too bad helping them won’t bring Eliza back.”
“Maybe not, but that isn’t the point.”
My concentration drifted again, and I found myself searching for Jared. I found Nicole, Emmett, and Dean all drinking Hurricane cocktails at the bar. They looked like they were having a good time chatting and laughing. But I couldn’t find Jared.
Remy’s eyes narrowed. “You look distracted.”
My eyes focused on his again. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be.”
“You know… the demon-blood kid is alright.”
“What?” I asked as a smile forced my face to light up, and my cheeks to burn red.
“Jared,” Remy said, “He isn’t a bad kid. You should give him a chance.”
The smile continued to beam out of me, but I rolled my eyes. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but…”
“But?”
“I really don’t know how I feel about him.”
“I think that’s a good reason to go and find out, don’t you?”
“I… guess.”
Remy looked around. “Did he come tonight?”
“You know he did, but he’s… outside with someone else.”
He slipped his hand off my waist. “Then maybe you should go and find him,” he said, with a sly wink.
Remy moved away into the crowd with a smirk on his face before I could protest. The tightness in my chest was real, as were the butterflies in my stomach. I turned around and headed toward the open doors leading onto the patio, feeling like everyone’s eyes were on me as I walked. And maybe they were. All I could do now was hope for a little bit of Remy’s confidence as I stepped into the warm night air in search of Jared.
CHAPTER EIGHT