Page 89 of Vampire's Hearth

I shrugged, fighting back another wave of tears. “Maybe not. But she’ll probably make it my fault if she leaves. What am I going to do, Jade? How am I supposed to handle this? I was supposed to have more time with Amara. I was supposed to learn from her.” I lowered my head to her shoulder. “And now I don’t even have him.”

“We’ll find him,” she whispered.

“But how? We don’t even know who took him or where they went. How are we supposed to find him?”

Jade shook her head, thinking. “You were dowsing when you found him in the first place, right?”

I nodded before dropping my forehead into my hand, my elbow propped on my knee. “But I was searching for the Cure,not an O’Cillian vampire. Amara said something was blocking our magic from finding them, and she’s right. Up until a few days ago, I couldn’t see the O’Cillian crest. It wasn’t until I drew it that I could see it.”

Jade’s eyes grew wide. “Do you think that is why we haven’t been able to find this vampire or even figure out his name? Do you think he is an O’Cillian?”

I raised my eyes to hers. “Their friend Declan mentioned one brother, Aiden. Mac shut down the conversation about him before it ever started.”

Jade’s face fell. “Then how do we find him? We know he’s in Charleston, but going there would be suicide.”

“Conall,” I muttered under my breath.

“What?”

“Conall. He and Mac were trying to stop the vampire. It’s why Mac wanted to find the Cure. Maybe Conall will help us, if only to find Mac.”

Jade smiled. “It’s worth a try. And besides, we need to find out what Amara meant when she mentioned the essence of the O’Cillians being connected to the Cure.”

I sighed, feeling the weight in the constricting of my throat. “I still don’t understand that part. Why would it take a vampire to find the very thing hidden from the vampire?”

Jade shrugged. “But hidden from us too. And we’re supposed to be protecting him. Do you think there is more in the grimoire?”

My shoulders sagged. “The grimoire… I’ll have to find it.”

Jade’s eyes perked up. “It’s not that hard. Amara left it in the mothers’ room.”

I sighed again, knowing that even though Amara was gone, her secrets—and the answers I needed—still lingered in the shadows, waiting for me to uncover them.

Jade and I walked to the mothers’ room and knocked.

“Come in.” The voice belonged to Evangeline.

“Hey, Mom,” said Jade as we walked in. The room was smaller than the bridal suite but otherwise almost identical, a place for the mothers of the bride and groom to freshen up and change. “What are you doing in here? Why aren’t you in the library?”

“I just needed to lie down for a minute,” she said, rising to a seat. Evangeline’s eyes were red and swollen from her tears.

She stood from the chaise she was in and crossed the room, reaching out to take my hand. “Rory, there’s one piece of business we have to attend to that I want to tell you about, but we can handle it later.”

I nodded, silently encouraging her to continue.

“When your aunt died, I became the executor of your trust. The terms are the same as those under Amara. Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

She gave my hand a squeeze. “Now, I’m sure that isn’t why you came in here. What can I do?”

“We were looking for the grimoire,” I said.

Evangeline pressed her mouth into a thin line. “That makes sense. You are the only one who can open it now, but it isn’t in here. She put it in the library.”

A smile crept to my lips. “What better place?”

“Let’s go find it.” Evangeline forced a smile.

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