Page 51 of Until the Heart Stops
“I am already covered in it,” Lilith answered, kneeling beside me and pressing her forehead to my temple.
She did not say anything more. Instead, she breathed with me, placing her other hand on my chest and sending her affection through our bond. I leaned into it, closing my eyes and banishing the sight of her on the ritual table sitting in the center of this very room. In its place, another image blossomed, the Covenant and most of its most loyal members.
Eamon had barely finished the words“Your master isdead”before Atticus, my maker’s closest confidant, had attacked. There had been no offer of mercy, no acceptance. Over half of the coven members had fought while the others stared with wide eyes, indecision clear on their faces.
That was the half we did not kill.
We had agreed it was better for Seth not to join us immediately as there were many who would have recognized him and attempted to flee. But when he had quietly stepped into the room those who lived all but crumpled. Iris, another member of the seven who made up the true Covenant, lay prostrate at his feet, weeping into his robes, before he placed a hand on the back of her head and she crumbled into ash.
Lilith had fought beside us. She was competent, though I’d known she could hold her own from the night we fought the venefica nest. However, the knowledge didn’t stop me from protecting her back and keeping close, even though it drew more attackers my way—vampires who believed that destroying the fledglings who had turned upon their maker would restore some order to the world.
“And the rest of you?” Eamon asked now.
I looked up. A little over seventy immortals stood against the walls, staring with mouths agape at the carnage before them. The doors had been barricaded and, though some of them could have broken through, none did.
“I do not wish to destroy more of my kind. In fact, I wanted to offer peace. To offer them a chance,” he continued, taking a deep breath, the pain clear in his voice. “They did not take it…and I will mourn them for the rest of my existence.”
The same as I.
Seth stood beside Eamon, a hand on his shoulder.Mateo, I realized, hovered a little behind me and Lilith in a protective stance. We had not asked Henry to leave Gabrielle’s bedside, nor his coffin where he’d rested with her yesterday.
A female took a tentative step forward, her black hair—a similar texture and length to Seth’s—streaming down her shoulders. She twisted her hands in front of her before forcing them to her sides. “Mael Auguste destroyed my maker.” The words were the perfect harmony of grief and anger. “I only wish to kiss the feet of the one who freed this world of him.”
Seth stared at her for a long moment. Beside me, Lilith froze—she did not want anyone to know her involvement, and Mateo and I shared the sentiment. That knowledge would only put a bigger target on all our backs.
“I do not think it wise to reveal their identity,” Seth answered.
The female frowned. “Then should I honor you?” She turned to Eamon. “Or you?”
Eamon visibly recoiled at the question. “I do not deserve such an honor.”
“Nor I,” Seth agreed.
A male vampire I was familiar with stepped forward. He ran a nervous hand over his auburn beard and cleared his throat. “Then who will lead us now? You, sire?” He asked the question to Seth, using the term as a sign of respect.
Seth shook his head. “No, my child, I am not equipped to lead.”
We had not yet discussed how the transfer of power would take place. But I’d assumed it would be Seth. I wrapped an arm around Lilith’s waist and pressed a kiss to her blood-splattered cheek. The warmth of her fittedagainst me burnt away the rest of the horror. She was safe,wewere safe—for now, at least.
“A leader should be chosen by all, not merely those in this room,” Eamon said, taking the time to look each immortal in the eye.
We did not want to depose one tyrannical ruler for another. If there was anyone who would ensure this next era would be one of peace, it would be Eamon.
“When my brother came to power I did not do enough. My failure was in looking for the best in him, in hoping with time he would see the error of his ways.” He shook his head. “I was wrong and, in that hope, I did nothing to stop him. Centuries ago was not the time for hope, it was the time for action. But now? Now is truly the time for hope, the time when we can dream up this new world and then see it built. We must come together, we must decide how we want our future to look,together.”
The immortals in the room murmured.
I think it’s clear who the new leader will be,Lilith commented silently through our bond.
My lips twitched. I turned to regard her as she watched Eamon.
I think you’re right. But he will fight it,I answered.
She huffed a small laugh.The greatest leaders are the ones who do not take power out of greed, but are given power through a sense of duty and community.
My brows ticked up in surprise and she shrugged.I read that once inThe Great Wars of Hyemur.
Tucking her tighter against my side, I kissed her temple, unable to stifle the spark of excitement at the prospect of our new life together. There was so much I needed to show her, gifts I had yet to give her, and the preparations I had made that were close to completion in case this day ever came.
