Page 87 of The Child of Rue Royale
“I’ve wanted to kill that bitch for so long. I knew I should have done it years ago.” She looks like a teenager when she says it, and I realize she doesn’t understand the gravity of this betrayal.
“This is a huge shock to Bastian’s family. We need to tread lightly and give a little time for them to come to terms with this.”
“Our own aunts tried to have you killed. I think I know a thing or two about shock and betrayal. There is no time! What are they doing?” She waves her arm toward the door. “Holding Oksana captive in their dungeon? We need to act swiftly. The aunts want us dead, and who knows what they are plotting now, and why the hell didn’t they kill Oksana?”
Too many questions, not enough answers, and then I remember the chalice.
“You stole the chalice!” I yell. “You have to take it back.”
“They are gone for the weekend, don’t worry,” she says, flitting her hand in the air.
“How do you know that?”
“For one, Violetta put it on the coven thread—some sister spa weekend she and Rosemary are having in Florida, and for two I duct-taped an AirTag under Violetta’s car. I’ll make the drive back first thing in the morning.” Her lips purse, like she’s pleased with herself.
“You are crazy,” I say, staring at her blankly, my eyes burning.
“I thought Jade could hear Oksana’s thoughts,” Mother says through her hoarse voice.
“Yeah, well Violetta and Rosemary probably have a weird block on her too. Some things could go through, but Jade didn’t hear about this. I know that. She would have told us.”
“She would have,” Mother agrees.
A heavy sigh bellows out of me, exhaustion pulling on every limb. “Okay. Let’s sleep tonight, and then tomorrow we’ll meet. Oksana isn’t going anywhere. I can’t devise a revenge plot when I feel like this. I need my baby, I need my man, I need sleep.”
Surprisingly, her mouth lifts into a half smile, and her hand falls over the side of my head. “Wow. You are really leaning into this family thing.”
“Mother,” I say, pulling her hand from my head in frustration.
“No! I’m happy for you. I’m…it’s all I wanted for myself. All I could want for my daughter.”
“Really?” I say, her words seeming to disarm me.
“Of course.” Her incredulous eyes match her voice. “Of course,” she repeats, kisses my forehead, and hands me the baby monitor.
Down the hall from our bedroom, a light glows from the spare room. I tiptoe down, my senses suddenly heightened. Paranoia will be my constant companion until we have Rosemary and Violetta taken care of. I duck my head into the room, but there’s no witch or vampire come to kill us. It’s Bastian, sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.
“Hey,” I whisper, stepping out of my shoes and walking to him.
“I just needed a minute and didn’t want to wake the baby.”
“Do you need to be alone?” I ask, stepping back, but he reaches for me and pulls me closer.
“Absolutely not. I just…I can’t believe she did this.” He tucks his lips between his teeth eyes looking up to meet mine.
“Do you feel conflicted? Because she was manipulated?”
“She tried to kill you, Aster. And ended up killing me. Manipulated or not, she should have to come to us first instead of letting him infiltrate her mind.”
“Well, she hated me and wanted to be a vampire enough to do what she did. She’s in love with Cassius and has been for a long time. And love makes you do crazy things.”
“Cassius would never turn her. He hated himself so much for turning me. Maybe if she had known the secret we’ve kept, that he turned me and not Nicola, maybe she would have understood how much he hated it.”
“There’s no going back now, Bastian. What’s done is done.” My hand stretches across his shoulder, the heat of his skin still new to me.
His chin rests between my ribs, his green eyes holding me prisoner. Like he wants me to whisper a secret or prayer. Like he wants me to fix all his bleeding wounds. And I wish I could.
That warm hand slides down the back of my knee, pulling it onto the bed. “Come here,” he says softly, sliding the back of my other knee on top of the bed until I’m sitting on his lap, my skirt stretched around my hips, my hands on his shoulders, moving to cup each cheek.
