“Well, obviously he needs to be stopped,” Ethan said.
“How we do that is the million-dollar question,” Finn added.
Nobody said anything for a long time, our minds struggling to conjure up ideas.
“We need to fool him into believing his plan is working,” I said. “If we can make it look like the people have all been killed by the chaos, lull Theodore into a false sense of security, then we can get to him and kill him before he has the chance to open up the portal.”
“There’s no way to fake that kind of carnage,” Marcel argued.
“What about a glamour?” I suggested.
“What about it?” Finn asked.
“Well, a glamour makes something look like something it’s not, right? So, why can’t we construct a glamour that makes it look like everyone’s dead when really they’re still alive?”
“Because that kind of magic is far beyond any of our expertise,” Marcel answered.
I smiled. “True, but I doubt it’s beyond Roman’s.”
They all stared at me, realising that I just might be right. Before anyone could say a word, the door opened and my grandfather stepped inside.
“My ears are burning. Has somebody been talking about me again?” he questioned.
***
The rest of the evening was a buzz of activity. I spent most of my time helping make plans while also eating everything I could get my hands on. Ethan smiled and told me it was perfectly normal for me to be hungry all the time. He said that dhampir babies needed far more nutrients than human ones since they developed more quickly.
No matter where I was, he was never far away, always keeping a watchful eye over me. The love I used to see in his eyes when he looked at me had grown even more intense. The way he looked at me spoke volumes. It said he’d die to keep me and our baby safe, and that knowledge assuaged some of my worries.
Marcel was brought to the basement, where Roman magically bound his hands and legs just like he did Emilia’s. There was no point in using regular old restraints for witches and warlocks, who could easily use magic to undo them.
Roman said that the kind of glamour I suggested was possible, but that there was a much better way of achieving a similar goal. He told us of a spell that would allow the humans to be taken over by the chaos mist, but when they died it would be a false death. They would essentially sleep and wake up after twenty-four hours, just like Shakespeare’s Juliet, Roman told us. And because this was a spell he’d designed himself, and one which had not been attempted before, Theodore wouldn’t recognise it.
He informed us that he would require a day or two to gather what he needed and then swiftly departed. Not long after Roman was gone, I started to feel sleepy, so Ethan picked me up and carried me to our bed.
I slept soundly, and I knew it was because Ethan held me through the night.
When I woke up, he was gone, but I wasn’t alone. Rebecca sat at the end of the bed. She hugged a pink teddy bear to her chest, looking happy that I was finally awake.
I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “Rebecca, what are you doing in here?”
“Amanda’s still sleeping, and I’m hungry.”
Ah, I’d forgotten Amanda had sort of been relegated to Rebecca’s unofficial carer.
“You could have woken her. She wouldn’t mind,” I said, getting out of bed and walking to the wardrobe to find something to wear. Finn had brought my stuff from his place, so I had all my clothes in Ethan’s room now. I felt weird with how fast things were moving with us, but I couldn’t seem to find a way to slow the momentum. Besides, now that I was pregnant, there was no hope of taking things slow.
Rebecca got a shy look in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.
“What’s wrong, honey?” I asked, pulling out a long black skirt and a lacy off-white top.
“I think there’s a man in Amanda’s room with her,” she whispered conspiratorially.
My eyes widened. “A man?”
“I saw him go in there last night. The vampire with dark hair.”
Now my eyebrows practically shot right up into my hairline. “Lucas?”
Rebecca pursed her lips and twisted the hem of her top. “I don’t know his name.”
Yeah, it was definitely Lucas. I quickly dressed, washed my face, and brushed my teeth, while Rebecca followed my movements and played with a gold charm bracelet on her wrist.
“That’s pretty,” I commented. “Did your daddy give you that?”
She nodded. “He said it belonged to my mother.”
Huh.
Once I was done getting ready, I told Rebecca to stay put and that I’d be back in a minute. Then I marched straight to Amanda’s room like a woman on a mission. I didn’t even bother to knock. I simply pushed the door open and strode inside. The blinds were drawn, the room encased in darkness. For Lucas’s sake, I presumed.