“That’s right. You’ll let him know, won’t you? Since you work for him.” Tilda paused, smiling at the tension she’d created by casually dropping her knowledge of their identities. She didn’t seem inclined to care beyond the enjoyment of proving her intelligence. “Through Mary’s marriage,” she continued, smugly, “we will unite the fae and the dark uprising.”
Tucker’s head swiveled around. “What now?”
Tilda’s delight increased with Tucker’s distress. “We fae have subdued our abilities to appear less threatening long enough. We want to play, too.” She gave an exaggerated pout. “Those leading the dark uprising welcome all the power they can get. We intend to give it to them and take back the influence we deserve. Maybe a victory will be enough to draw our oh-so-perfect relatives back from the Faerie realm. I suppose only time will tell.”
“Hold up, hold up, hold up.” Tucker massaged the center of his forehead. “You’re going to send Mary to something called the ‘dark uprising’?”
“Yes.” Tilda smiled. “Their leader awaits her arrival, along with the marriage decree. Do have her there by this time next week, darling.” She tossed the red envelope to Elias and he caught it in mid-air. “Pass on my regards to the Queen of Shadows.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Roksana felt like she’d been dropped into an episode of Black Mirror—and that was saying something considering she was a vampire slayer by trade, not to mention a recent acquaintance of several ill-tempered fae. As she stood at Elias’s side and watched Tucker help Mary the Mad into the passenger side of his Impala, as if the girl was made of glass, the soundless night surrounding them seemed two dimensional. Unreal. Her consciousness had been shot full of holes. Now it let in light from unexpected sources.
“Did you know?” she asked Elias, tonelessly. “About the dark uprising?”
“Jonas told me about it only last night,” he said, clearly expecting the question. “But I knew nothing about the fae’s allegiance. Hell, I knew nothing about them at all until now.”
There was no question in her mind Elias told her the truth. That moment in Enders when she’d been thrown to the slayers to carve up like a turkey, the remaining barriers between herself and Elias had fallen. In the midst of her fear, she’d reached for him, needed him. His eyes had told her their own tale in that split second.
He’d have died defending her.
She’d never experienced more absolute trust in anyone. Not in her entire life.
A battle was coming. Bigger than any she’d ever fought. More important than a single slayer stalking vampires at night, taking out one or two on occasion. If this dark uprising attempted to overthrow Jonas…and the slayers took advantage of the conflict to assert their own agenda…the loss of life could be tremendous in every corner.
“If Jonas has to fight the uprising…will you fight with him?”
He looked over at her. “Of course.”
Even as a fissure formed in her heart at the very possibility of Elias being hurt or killed in a war, his unspoken question hung in the air between them.
Which side will you take, Roksana?
She planned to plead with Inessa to spare Elias, citing the fact that he’d actually saved her life that night in Vegas. Wouldn’t that mean something to her mother? That her daughter’s life had been spared because of this man’s actions? If it didn’t mean something to Inessa—and Roksana’s heart ached over the possibility—she’d offer to complete countless missions, even tracking down her own elusive father and dragging him to Moscow if Inessa wished it. But even if Roksana’s request was granted and Elias was spared, she would still be left in her limbo, wouldn’t she? Caught between her legacy and the man she’d fallen for.
Where do I belong? What the hell do I do?
Self-disgust roiled in her belly, flooding her mouth with the taste of acid.
“Be calm. We have enough to worry about right now,” Elias said, voice steady. “We leave for Moscow before the sun comes up. One thing at a time, okay?”
“We can’t ignore the fact that a war is brewing.”
He mashed a fist against his chest. “We have to fight our war first.”
Roksana looked down at the red envelope in her hand. She didn’t even know what was inside and somehow it felt like a time bomb, ready to go off. When allegiances and power hung in the balance, the smallest thing could make a difference. Thankfully, the contents of the envelope would be in her mother’s hands. Safe.
Why didn’t she feel reassured as she should be by that?
“Will you open the envelope before handing it over to Inessa?”
“No.” Resolutely, she shoved the envelope into her back pocket. “The game piece is for her eyes alone. Those were my orders.”
Elias cut her a sideways glance, but said nothing.
Her confidence waned. “You think I should look?”