But her plan hadn’t worked.
Maybe she’d been too late to act.
Because Tucker now stared unseeing at the ceiling, his face a mask of death.
Grief stabbed her in the gut, turning her limp and she toppled sideways onto her back, her hand still joined with Tucker’s and wrapped around the amulet.
Vaguely, she saw that her scream had ripped holes in the roof of the manor. And through those openings, she watched as the sky parted with white light so intense, it hummed with shrill pulsations. Her sight started to fade, fade more, until she dropped into the darkness completely. But not before she witnessed her father drop down into the manor, surrounding by the Assembly, regal and untouchable, his face lined in otherworldly fury.
Chapter 23
Tilda rushed toward her husband with open arms, but froze mid-step when the air set like hardened clay around her and she could move no farther. Confusion and panic collided in her chest, but she couldn’t speak to question why her husband delayed their joyful reunion. She was so elated to see him again after so long, especially dressed like a royal and wielding such power, that she didn’t stop to consider the fact…that the marriage ceremony hadn’t been completed. The noble act was not yet done, but they were here now. Summoned.
And not looking the least bit happy about it.
“I left you to tend our daughter, Tilda,” boomed Anton. “And yet she lies lifeless on the ground.”
“Lifeless? I—” Tilda stepped around the wall of vampires to find Mary lying prone in her wedding gown where she’d been standing only moments before. Prior to the manor being attacked by Jonas and his army of vampires and slayers. She’d been so distracted by the interruption of the ceremony, not to mention the presence of the slayers—some of whom she used to entertain nightly at Enders—that she’d missed what caused her daughter to fall.
Lifeless, her husband had said.
That couldn’t be right, though. As powerful as he was, there had to be a mistake.
Tilda rushed forward now, recoiling at the sight of Mary’s haggard complexion. There was no life in her eyes, her skin hanging from bones that stuck out at odd angles.
In her hand was the amulet. Hadrian’s amulet.
Lord.
Lord, her daughter…was she dead?
Frantically, Tilda threw herself down beside Mary and felt for her pulse.
Nothing.
No, it wasn’t possible.
No, they’d been on the verge of having everything. Here they were, the three of them reunited. They could go home now. She’d been planning for this day for years. She’d thought of nothing but reaching this end. Mary…she’d wanted it, too. Yes, of course she had.
She patted her daughter’s chest, sobbing when she found it caved in. “No,” she breathed, noticing for the first time that Mary’s hand wasn’t the only one clinging to the amulet. Tilda’s hand shot out, intending to pull it away and—please God—rouse her daughter, but she knew the power it wielded. The results were on display in the most gruesome fashion imaginable. And Mary wasn’t the only victim. There was a vampire beside her, lying in the exact same position, the life drained out of him.
Though his features were distorted in death, she recognized him.
“Tucker,” she whispered, leaning away. Her first reaction was sadness. Grief on behalf of her daughter and this vampire who’d obviously loved one another. But then…anger.
Bitter outrage.
He’d ruined everything.
“Husband,” Tilda rasped, staggering to her feet and facing his dark expression. “Our daughter was supposed to be married today—in a noble act! With this union, she will…she w-would have aligned us with the vampires seeking the throne. Our influence in the underworld has waned greatly since you left, but the alliance would have seen it restored.” The hall was ominously silent around her. “When you returned to claim us, it would be to the sound of cheers and glory. To hold a position of power here on earth once again would be—”
“What need do we have of earth and its trivialities?” snapped her husband.
Tilda started, alarm trickling into her chest. “You have come here to bring us home,” she said, gesturing to the hopeful fae crowding in behind her. “We’ve found a way to maintain power even while so few in number. In the absence of our own kind.” Her voice cracked under the strain. “There is nothing more noble than finding a way to…to keep from going extinct!”
“The only noble act that has been demonstrated today is between my daughter and this man who lies beside her. Their anguish reached through the barrier between our worlds and shook me. Yes, it was Mary’s strength of character and lioness heart that summoned me here.” Anton looked down at Hadrian where he sat slumped against the wall, curled in on himself. “Not marriage to this imposter.”
Outrage rose in her middle. “You might lead the assembly, but you cannot judge me. Not as a fae. Definitely not as a mother. You abandoned us. You have been gone her entire life.”