Page 16 of Cry of Blood and Joy
She sniffed, the sound wet and broken as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Her eyes were still glassy with unshed tears, and I could see her trying to pull herself together, to be strong when everything was falling apart around us. “How? I don’t think we can stay here.”
“No, we can’t.” I glanced toward the windows where the afternoon light was already starting to take on that golden quality that meant evening was approaching. In about an hour, the sun would set, and the shadows would deepen—making it safer for Steve to travel but also giving Angelo’s people better cover to hunt us. “Eventually, Angelo will look here. The sun will go down soon, then we’ll leave.”
Joy’s hands twisted together in front of her. “And go where?”
“I have money,” I said, running my fingers through my hair as I considered our limited options. “We can go to a hotel. Someplace where Angelo wouldn’t look.”
Her brows furrowed, creating small lines between her eyes that made her look older than her years. “Where wouldn’t Angelo look?”
I shrugged, the gesture feeling inadequate for the gravity of our situation. “I thought about it after I left Keir’s. A dump. Someplace in a bad neighborhood.”
“That could be dangerous.” Her hands trembled as she stepped back from me, eyes wide.
I stepped closer, my hands finding her shoulders as I looked directly into her frightened doe eyes. “I’m a vampire and so is your brother. Nobody will hurt you and definitely not us. We’ve survived worse than street criminals and junkies.”
Doubt flickered across her face. “Won’t Angelo guess that? That you’d hide somewhere low-rent because it would be the last place he’d expect?”
“Maybe,” I admitted. I rubbed the back of my neck. The muscles there were tight with tension, a reminder of how precarious our situation had become. “But it will give us time for you to practice controlling your emotions, learning to manage the shadows before they manage you.” I gestured toward the cracked wall where Steve still lay sleeping. “New Orleans is a big city—lots of places to hide, lots of noise to cover our tracks. Angelo’s people are good, but they can’t be everywhere at once.”
Joy’s eyes followed my gesture, and I watched her wince at the sight of the destruction she’d caused. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, knuckles white with the effort of holding herself together.
“But if we have to flee,” I continued, “we’ll go north.”
“Where?” The question came out breathless, tinged with the kind of desperation that made my chest ache.
I’d been turning this over in my mind since leaving Keir’s mansion, weighing options and discarding them one by one until only the most dangerous possibility remained. “I’ve thought about this—really thought about it.” I clasped her clammy hands, stilling their nervous trembling as I looked directly intoher eyes. “Legacy Academy. It’s a school for supernatural beings in the mountains of Colorado.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “A school?”
“Anton Lange is an ancient vampire—older than me, older than Angelo, older than almost anyone still walking this earth. He’s the headmaster of Legacy Academy.” The memories of my last encounter with Anton flickered through my mind—respect earned through blood and time, debts owed and favors granted. “That place is fortified with wards that have been building for over two centuries. Not even Angelo could break through those protections, not without an army and months of preparation.”
I squeezed her hands gently, trying to convey confidence I wasn’t entirely sure I felt. “According to Keir, Morden is a master of the shadows, but he’s not available. Anton might be able to help. He’s seen every kind of supernatural ability imaginable, and he’s got resources Keir doesn’t.”
Joy searched my face, and I could see her weighing hope against fear. “Would Anton help us? Why would he risk angering Angelo?”
“I suspect because you’re an Unseelie,” I said carefully, watching her face for any sign that the truth was too much. My throat felt tight as I forced myself to continue. “Anton’s ancient—he’s seen what happens when powerful supernatural beings lose control. A rogue Unseelie with your abilities terrorizing the city would be bad for everyone, including him. He’d want to help you control your powers before things get worse.”
Joy’s face went pale, the color draining from her cheeks until she looked almost ghostly in the afternoon light filtering through the dusty windows. Her hands pulled free from mine, and I immediately missed their warmth.
“Or else he wouldn’t allow me to live, would he?” The question came out in barely more than a whisper, but I heard thesteel beneath her fear—she was bracing herself for the answer she already knew.
Fuck.I wanted to lie, to tell her everything would be fine, that Keir and Anton were different from other supernatural leaders who would see her as nothing more than a threat to be eliminated. The words sat on my tongue, sweet and false, begging to be spoken. But she was my mate, and she deserved better than comfortable lies.
My jaw clenched so hard I heard my teeth grind together. “Anton has options,” I said carefully. “He’s helped others learn control before. But if someone proves too dangerous…” I paused, watching her face. “There’s a place called the Hollows. A supernatural prison for beings who can’t be trusted in this world.”
I reached for her again, desperate to offer some kind of comfort, but she stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself like armor. The distance she put between us was wider than the Mississippi.
“So if I can’t control my powers, Keir will kill me to protect his people. If we go to Anton, I could go to prison.” Her laugh was bitter, broken. “And if Angelo finds us first, he’ll kill me for what happened to Serenity.”
I watched something die in her eyes—that last flickering hope that maybe, somewhere in this world, there was a place for someone like her. I lifted her chin gently with my fingertips, forcing her to meet my gaze. Her skin was soft and warm beneath my touch, still damp from the tears she’d shed. I caressed her jawline with my thumb, tracing the delicate curve as if I could somehow smooth away the fear etched there.
“I will never let anyone harm you,” I said. The words came from somewhere deep in my chest, from that place where my lonely heart had somehow learned to beat again. “I’d die protecting you.”
Instead of the comfort I’d hoped to give her, fresh pain flickered across her features. She stepped closer and clasped my hand between both of hers, her fingers trembling as they wrapped around mine. The warmth of her touch contrasted sharply with the cold dread I could see building in her eyes.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispered, her voice breaking on the words. Her grip tightened on my hand as if she were afraid I might disappear. “Don’t you see, Enzo? Everyone I love gets hurt because of what I am. Steve’s already paid the price, Serenity’s in a coma, and now you’re talking about dying for me.”
Her eyes filled with fresh tears, and I could see the self-loathing building there like a storm. “Maybe everyone would be safer if I just... if I wasn’t here anymore.”
