Page 26 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“It was a calculated error.” Sabine didn’t sound the least apologetic. “I thought the Drakes and I were after the same thing.”

“Why would you think that?” Thea asked, her lower lip quivering. More than anyone in this room, she knew the cruelty that came at the hands of that family.

“Because they sent me the grimoire,” she said flatly. “I was wrong.”

There was a time when I might have celebrated hearing her say that, but not today. There was nothing worth celebrating in that revelation.

“So, why tonight?” Thea pressed. “What undid the counter-curse?”

She turned gentle eyes on my mate. “You did.”

A heavy silence descended over all of us.

Thea finally broke it. “Why test us? Why try to force us apart? Isn’t it good that magic has woken up?”

Dominic shifted in his seat. “For many it is,” he said.

“Many creatures have wanted it back—have missed it,” Sabine added wistfully.

“But?” I prompted.

“Our magic isn’t the only magic to have awakened.”

“You mean, not just vampires but witches?” Thea asked.

“I mean, witches, werewolves, Gods, monsters. Only Fae magic was untouched by the curse, but even they will feel its dawning. Every creature that draws on magic just had the scrap of power inside them ignited into an inferno and the creatures who slept through the curse are awake now, too.”

“Slept through it?” Thea repeated. “But the curse lasted for centuries. What creature could survive that?”

“Pray you never find out. The world has forgotten magic, but magic has not forgotten the world. Not all those who were held by the curse should be freed,” she warned.

And we had awoken it. “And you knew we would…”

“I tried to stop it,” she said, “but that was as pointless as catching air with my hands.”

“Why?” Thea blurted. “Why stop it? Why stop us?”

My mother looked down her long nose at her. “Because I knew the price you would pay. The price my son would pay.”

“I would pay it again,” I murmured, placing a hand on Thea’s shoulder.

“Oh, my child, do not delude yourself. You have not paid the full cost yet.” She turned away.

I still have questions. Thea’s shocked voice sounded in my head.

Me, too.

“You said earlier that love might be behind Ginerva’s death. What would love have to do with it?” Thea asked Dominic. “If the Queens loved each other like sisters, why would one of them hurt her?”

“Perhaps it was not the love they shared.” He shrugged. “Or maybe I’m wrong. But it’s clear the court has suffered without a third Queen. If they were behind Ginerva’s death, there had to have been a powerful motivation for their actions.”

Thea’s eyes flashed up to me, her thoughts moving too fast for me to latch onto any single one.

“My point is that you cannot trust them,” Sabine interjected. “You must find out what happened to Ginerva. Few could have gotten close enough to her to take her life.”

“What about all her lovers?” Thea asked flatly, still preoccupied with that piece of my history.

Apparently, I was going to need to take her to bed and erase any doubt she had about who held my heart.

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