Page 12 of The Clash of the Damned
She holds her hands up in peace, her false bravado quickly fading. “Some things happened this evening…with my family, and it’s time you and I spoke. There are things you need to know. Once I’m done, I’ll leave you alone, outside of our shared family responsibilities. Deal?”
I hesitate for a moment longer than needed, my old feelings getting in the way. Empires always do favors for each other, but it’s never out of the goodness of their hearts. “What do you want in return for this information?”
“Nothing.” Amelia chews at her lip. “I owe you answers.”
Curious as to what she’s referring to, I decide to let her in and gamble if it will undo all the progress I’ve made. “Let’s make one thing clear. I don’t care what we had, and the only reason why I’m not killing you for what you did to my mother, is I can’t afford a war with the Rogues. Despite this invitation, you’re not welcome in my home or my life. Understood?”
“Lead the way,” Amelia says softly, and I ignore the downcast look on her face. The days of me being won over by her emerald green eyes are gone, and I scan the fob to get into my building with her close behind. The elevator ride to the top floor is awkward silence as I try to get a handle on my anger. Finally, just when it feels like I’m about to lose it, the elevator opens into my new apartment. Another change I’ve made since the sit down. It’s smaller than what my parents had, but it’s as modern, clean, and open. I needed a fresh start if I was going to have any chance of healing.
“Take a seat at the couches; I’ll be right there.” Briefly, I consider offering Amelia something to drink–that’s what my mother would expect–but that would also imply she’s welcome. I doubt my mother would graciously welcome her murderer into her home, so chivalry be damned.
Grabbing my bottled blood, I sit on the couch opposite her, my leg bouncing as I wait to hear what is so important. “You look different, thinner. Are you drinking enough?” She motions to my bottled blood.
“You don’t get to do small talk with me, not anymore. Say what you came here to say, or get out.”
“When I started working with Dominic, Alyssa was my only target. I hated lying to you, but it was necessary. If Sebastian and I had been caught…I didn’t want you caught up in the middle. When Dom came across his father’s black mail notes, things changed. Dimitri Hart kept meticulous notes on the spells he had to perform for influential people. I imagine he thought it was an insurance policy. Neither Dom nor I expected to find your mother’s name on this list. It was the only one out of place.”
My shoulders feel tense, like I’m bracing for the blow. “Why didn’t you tell me back then? We could have handled it together.”
Amelia looks away, like my question pains her. She’s always carried her emotions in her eyes, and now, there is a haunted look that never quite leaves them, a mirror of the grief I’ve been trying to work through. “Losing you is my biggest regret, and if I could change things…Wondering what could have been won’t help either of us now.” She pauses, like she’s trying to collect herself.
“According to Dimitri’s notes, your mother had your memory wiped after she came to him in a panic. She had a hit placed on you with one of the Undead families, and she didn’t go to the Rogues as she needed to keepit in house. Going away for business was a way of maintaining her cover. But that all fell apart when they went for your dad, not you.”
My fingers grip into the cushions on the couch as I hear her words. I want to believe they are lies, but instinctively, I know they’re not. I’ve always felt off about my memories surrounding my father’s death, and I never understood why. Seeing my tension, Amelia asks, “Do you want me to stop?” Shaking my head, I encourage her to continue. I need to hear this. “When things didn’t go to plan, your mom panicked from what we could see, and she ran to Dimitri. His part in this was helping your mom cover it up. The only way they could do that was by wiping your memory. When your mom realized that you were stronger than them, she backed down. She couldn’t figure out a way around your strength.”
I almost forget to keep breathing.
“I became concerned and started watching your mom, more-so when she re-entered society. I didn’t fully trust that she would let it go, especially when you two had always seemed close. No one ever pays attention to the help, which is what she thought I was on the odd occasion she saw me. When I saw her meeting with the Dramont family to make plans to finish what she started, I knew I had to act. She had to die, Luca. She was never going to stop until you were dead.”
The silence between us is deafening, until I finally break and ask the one thing weighing on my mind. “Why did she do it?”
“That’s a good question, one I don’t ever think we will ever have the answer to,” Amelia says. “But if I have to guess? I think she was scared of you. You’re one of the most powerful Undead I can find any record of, next to Drusilla. Your mom wasn’t ready to give up her power, and while I think she loved you in her own way, she loved her power more.”
Amelia gets up and walks over to my TV, turning it on to a news report. “You haven’t answered anyone’s calls, but you need to know about this.” It’s a repeat news report, but it seems to be all anyone wants to talk about if the bulletin is to be believed. A pretty blonde woman walks onto the set in a pastel pink suit. The headline flashing across the screen reads: “Supernatural creatures are real and walk among us.”
“Sebastian and I ran into issues at a standard clean up job this evening; it shouldn’t have been that difficult. Things are changing for us and our world, and I want you to be ready for it.”
“Care to elaborate?” I ask as I rub the back of my neck in frustration.
“We have a religious problem. I believe our ancestors would have called them witch hunters. Eden is the leader of The Children of Christ, a position she took over after her father was assassinated by us. It started when she and Brooklyn had a disagreement at school.”
My eyes widen as I make the connection. “So now she’s picking up her father’s mantle?”
“Correct. There are Supernatural bodies popping up all over the city. This time, Sebastian and I have nothing to do with it. And if you listen to the interview, Eden and her cult take full responsibility. She says they’re doingGod’s work.”
Finally reaching my breaking point, I look up at Amelia with as much venom as I can muster. “Get out,” I tell her. She looks at me in surprise. “What, did you think I was going to fall back into your arms after you told me this? Now that you’ve come to save me from myself and this cult? Even if it’s all true, you still lied to me. You could have come to me with this information and we could have figured it out together, but you took that option away from me. Get out. I never want to see you again.”
She doesn’t argue, but she stops at the front door and turns over her shoulder to look at me. “I’ll respect your wishes, but really, it’s a pity you don’t want to be part of my life. I’m fucking fabulous.” On that note, she walks out of my life again, something she’s become familiar with.
Chapter 10 | Too Blessed To Be Stressed
Luca
Time seems to slow after Amelia leaves. I watch the sun rise through my floor to ceiling glass windows, but when the light becomes too much, I lower my blinds until I’m surrounded in darkness. The logical part of my brain knows I’m in shock, again. The rest of me can’t find the energy to care. My whole life I thought I was the lucky one, that while the other heirs had shitty parents, I had hit the jackpot.
None of it was real.
I don’t know what’s a bigger betrayal, hearing what my mother really thought of me, or hearing the memories I have of my father’s death, the ones I’ve cried multiple tears over, aren’t my own. There is no rule book on how to navigate grief, and I know I’ve been doing my best. But every time I think I’m going to be okay, I get hit with something like this. When does it end? I haven’t cried since that night, since I heard Mom was taken from me. Is this why? Did I instinctively know and didn’t want to admit the truth to myself?
