She could see Drew standing in the crowd. All of the Elle members had been relocated and the remaining Elle sleeper agents had been brought in—including Prisha, who had given them a place to stay after everything had fallen apart over New Year’s. The anti-vamp cult looked pretty pissed to be standing so near Beckham’s circle, who had apparently called in some favors. Now the vampires were a solid thirty strong. All in all, she was looking at her own little army. A terrifying thought, to say the least.
She cleared her throat and tried to recount all of the reckless and crazy ideas she’d implemented since becoming Beckham’s blood escort. It was a long list that culminated with this moment. And if she had been able to get through all of that, well, public speaking shouldn’t be that bad. Shouldn’t being the optimal word.
“Thanks, everyone, so much for coming,” Reyna said, her voice barely above a whisper.
A groan of dissent came from the crowd. She was losing them. She was losing them already. She needed them to rally with her to do what must be done. But they’d already decided. They were going in. She could do this much.
“I said thank you for coming,” she shouted into the crowd. The silence was swift and secure. Her stomach flipped. Sweat accumulated on her brow. But she continued. “Many of us here are from different walks of life. We have different beliefs. We have different values. We want different things. The truth is that many of us may not even like one another. We may even hate one another. But none of that matters today. Leave all of that at the door. Because today we don’t fight just for ourselves, we fight for humanity, for equality, for freedom.”
A cheer rose up from the crowd. Reyna’s eyes swept Beckham’s secret hideaway and the people applauding her speech. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. These people were going out to fight with her. They trusted her to make this work. It was daunting, but also…incredible. So many people from so many places, all here, now, willing to work together.
“You know your mission. We’re armed. We’re prepared. We’re ready to take this fight to those who have so long ruled from on high. Today we take back our world. Let’s do the damn thing!”
She pumped her fist into the air and grinned at the sea of people cheering with her. So much excitement as they all went into battle. Her heart hardened against the consequences. She couldn’t think about what could go wrong or else all she would do is fear that she had made the wrong choice moving forward. And it was clear that there was really only one choice: the right one.
Beckham held his hand out and she hastily jumped off of his kitchen table.
“Was that okay?” she asked, her legs shaking still.
“No one could feel your anxiety but me,” he assured her.
She blew out a breath. “Good.”
“Hey, good speech!” Drew said, appearing at her side and throwing an arm around her. “When did you learn not to throw up when you addressed a group?”
“Very funny!”
“I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile. But her eyes flittered over Drew’s shoulder. “Where’s Laura?”
Drew cocked his head to the side. She followed his gesture and found that Brian and Laura had snuck into the room to listen to her speech and see everyone off. They’d had a tear-filled reunion once Reyna and Brian had made it to Beckham’s place. Brian was on the mend and Laura was there every step of the way to help.
“Come on,” Drew said.
They moved across the room together. Brian had an arm around Laura. She was beaming and he gave her a tentative smile as if he wasn’t sure this was reality. His eyes were shadowed, memories of his time as a vampire and the torture he’d endured from Harrington would follow him for a long time, maybe forever. As it would follow Reyna too. She understood that look.
“What a speech,” Brian said.
“You did really great,” Laura said. “Though, I wish none of you had to go.”
“I know,” Reyna said. “But we do. We have to end this.”
“Give him an extra bullet for me,” Brian said fiercely.
She nodded and then pulled Brian, Laura, and Drew in for a hug.
“I hate to say this, but I have to go,” Drew said. He pulled back and ruffled Laura’s hair affectionately.
“Thank you for taking care of her,” Brian said, holding his hand out. They shook, an unbreakable bond forged between them, and then Drew left.
Reyna kissed Brian’s cheek and left him to be alone with his wife. She knew they needed time together. And she needed to be here for the army.
Drew filed out with the rest of the Elle members, as well as the heavily armed anti-cult crew. Reyna had had more than a few choice words with Everett’s asshole friends about joining the team. The only good thing was that they were super paranoid, so they had guns galore and knew how to use them. And none of them wanted to see Everett’s death be for nothing. Including Reyna.