Page 69 of The Doctor and the Devil
Rafael threw me a glare as his older brother closed the door behind him, but I flung myself at him before he could deny his embarrassment.
23
MINA
April 28, 1768
Château du Diable
I was comfortedwhen everyone appeared recovered in front of the door to the greenhouse. The mood in our strange group was subdued, but nonetheless relieved. Étienne had given me a brotherly once-over, checking to make sure the gaping wound in my chest and my savaged throat had completely healed. Once he was satisfied, he began telling me all the best places to get good blood—evenvirginblood—which I knew had peculiar healing properties. Antoine, for his part, materialized before me and threw his arms around me for quite possibly the most unexpected embrace of my life. Even Charlotte looked at him as if he’d grown a second head for a moment, then some understanding seemed to dawn on her, and she patted his back gently.
“I’m glad you’re alive. Er, undead,” he said. “I was—am—unprepared to lose another…friend.”
Charlotte had told me about the loss of his sister and nephew—it had been one of the things that set their love story in motion.
“Thank you, Antoine,” I said, touched by his admission. I’d wanted siblings when I was a child, and it seemed that now, throughout everything we’d endured together, I’d found them.
“Yes, yes, we’re all glad Mina isn’t worm food,” Charlotte scoffed. “Darling, have you tested out your abilities yet? Can you change shape? Do you subsist on blood, or meat, as well? Can you fly like Rafael?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I am becoming aware of some gifts. Others feel…possible, but I haven’t tested anything yet.”
“Yes, well, you have time,” Rafael encouraged.
“Perhaps,” Daphne said, warning in her tone. “The Order will strike again, hard and fast. We need to come up with a new plan.”
Charlotte suddenly noticed the carved wooden door in front of us and the beautiful reliefs of Hades and Persephone.
“Rafael,” she said, intrigued. “Is that…Mina?” Now that she said it, the resemblance was impossible not to notice.
He coughed.
“I don’t believe it!” she shrieked, laughing. “Honestly, Mina, it’s so romantic I could die all over again. Antoine, my love, why haven’tyouever had a door carved with my likeness as a goddess?”
Rafael covered a smirk and opened the doors, once again revealing the exquisite underground greenhouse. The gasps and whispers of appreciation added a little bounce to his step, and I was glad for my friends—as mismatched as we all were.
In the back of the greenhouse, tucked beneath several massive tropical trees, sat a large circular table. It had been set with pitchers of blood for the vampires and dishes of raw meat for Charlotte and Antoine. The sun had only just set, and the warm sherbet of the sky cast the entire space in a delicate pink and purple glow. Two maids set about lighting candles and torches along the walls. We all sat down around the table for our bizarre little dinner party.
Rafael offered me a glass of blood, but Charlotte’s raw steak smelled equally enticing. I reached out to pluck a cube of meat from her plate and sampled it—heavenly.She raised a brow at me, and I shrugged. Yet another new trait for me to log.
Daphne downed her glass and stood.
“As I said, they will come for us again. They will not stop, but they will not be stupid, either. The way I see it, we have two choices. We can eliminate the threat or try to turn the king against them. He’s the only person with power over them,” she said.
Laszlo chuckled. “With the greatest respect, Duchess, the Order has existed in some form long before your king. They will spring up again whether he agrees with their politics or methods—or not.”
“I agree,” Rafael said. “Laszlo and I have left them alone for long enough, and they came for both of us. They came through all of you to get to us. It is time for them to understand who they’re dealing with.”
“Does that mean impaling?” Charlotte whispered to Marguerite.
Marguerite paled and scooted closer to Laszlo.
“The Draculs are right,” said Antoine. “I never wish for violence, but we cannot risk them coming for any of us again.”
“Mina, your judgment has weight here,” Étienne said over the low din of conversation. “Laszlo and Marguerite suffered terribly at their hands, but your human life was effectively ended by their cruelty.”
Charlotte turned to me. “Darling, I know you didn’t want to get involved with them before. I know you never trusted them. But I also know how you feel about killing. If you wish for us to find another path, I will stand with you.”
All seven sets of eyes fell upon me, but for once, the weight of expectation didn’t feel like an impossibly heavy yoke around my neck. Charlotte was right—I didn’t want the killing. I wanted humans to have as much of a chance at life as vampires did. I feared of a future with Rafael and me on the run—like Laszlo and Marguerite. I didn’t want to hide away from the world, constantly looking over my shoulder for threats. And as I considered the people around this table—the pain the Order had caused, directly and indirectly. I wanted futures for my friends as much as I wanted my own. I knew what my answer would be.
