Page 42 of Last Hope
“Keep her here,” Damien said.
“No one has time to babysit,” Maria declared in annoyance.
Ezzy, at that age, had felt the tears begin to surface, felt them nearly spill over.
“I’ll take care of her,” Isis offered. There was no pity in her voice for the girl; there was no hesitation or any other emotion that Ezzy could have deciphered at the time. But now, as she looked back and remembered her best friend, the tone in her voice spoke wonders.
Damien had nudged Esmeralda forward, towards Isis. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman Esmeralda had ever seen in her life, she fathomed. So tall, with beautiful, dark skin and dark eyes that reminded Ezzy of cats. She liked cats.
Isis had knelt down to Ezzy’s height and smiled warmly. “I’ll look out for you,” she had promised. “We’ll be the best of sisters.”
And she pulled Esmeralda into a hug.
And as the years had gone by, they were very much like sisters. Isis had practically raised Esmeralda like a daughter although they never seemed to see each other as “mother and daughter” but as blood sisters.
Isis had helped Ezzy with her homework whenever she needed it, helped her dress, and learn new things every day. Their bond became more than that of best friends. They were closer than that, relied on each other for so much more.
Isis had been there for Ezzy throughout everything. She had been there for her as a child, she had been there for her when Damien Santiago had betrayed her and set Rogues on the Santiago mansion to kidnap her, she had tried to save her from Damien when hedid.And Ezzy had been there for as long as she could have been for Isis the moment Caesareon had begun hunting her.
But this time, there was nothing Esmeralda could do for her best friend. There was no evil she could fight, no where she could hide her. Not when the decision was set. Isis was going to turn herself in and her life would most likely end.
Esmeralda wanted to fight to the ends of the earth for her. She would have and Antonio would have as well. But she wouldn’t let Viktor suffer her same fate. She wouldn’t leave him in a world without parents, to be raised as she had; wondering who Antonio and Esmeralda were, without even so much as a picture left behind to remind him of the life he had. No, she couldn’t.
Her heart ached with the impulsive need to rush to her, to stop her from further foolishness. But the fight in her was gone. Isis’s letter had sucked from her the will to help, the will to rush off and save her. It wasn’t what she wanted, and Esmeralda knew that when Isis gave up, that it was the end of everything. All that was left to do now was to fulfill her dying wishes.
To not stop her.
And to look after Anya.
Esmeralda reached for the letter, read it again and again until she had every last word memorized and she ripped it to shreds. The pieces drifted sadly towards the ground, falling next to the splatters of her tears.
Goodbye, old friend.
Goodbye.
24
The ground where the grand mansion once stood was charred. The only evidence of its existence was the rubble and ash that now blew onto grass and pavement. Isis wondered if the marred bones of vampires were being breezed in front of her feet. She wondered if they were the ashes of her old lovers, of people she had considered friends for so long.
She stood among the ashes of what had been Santiago mansion with a sort of distant sadness as if she didn’t really have the energy or the will to feel anything anymore. Her hands were in the pockets of her brown trench coat, belted at the waist. Her dark hair was loose and flying freely against every inch of her face and shoulders.
The night chill sliced her cheeks in a violent manner but she ignored the cold, it didn’t matter to her. These would be her last few hours of life, and what a more fitting way of spending them than by being amongst death.
Isis quickly guarded her thoughts against Anya. She stole a quick look back at her Soul Mate. She was standing by her car, looking out at the burnt remains of Santiago mansion. Othello and Lucinda were in the backseat of the vehicle, staring straight ahead in silence.
Isis’s heart broke for them, and guilt seemed to flood through her once more. It was difficult to look at those sweet children and not blame herself for their orphanage. If she could, she would have handed them a knife and made them pierce her heart with it but they had already seen too much death.
With one last look at the sad remains that had once been her home, she turned her back to it and walked over to Anya.
“Let’s go.” She hopped into the passenger’s side and slammed the door closed, Anya followed suit shortly after.
“Where are we going now?” Anya asked as she started the car.
They couldn’t exactly go to any of Isis’s or Anya’s apartments. If Caesareon’s men found out she was back in town these would be the first places they’d look for her and she couldn’t endanger the defenseless any more than she already had.
“To a friend’s.” Isis decided and gave her the address.
They drove in absolute silence until they arrived at the home of one of Isis’s old lover’s—one who hadn’t been a part of the coven.
