girl beside him. They looked like they could be related. They shared the same high cheek bones and dimpled chins. She was probably his sister, but the sight of the two of them standing alone sobbing meant only one thing. They’d probably lost both their parents. I could see him fighting back his own tears, trying to be strong as his sister whimpered on his shoulder.
Suddenly my anger was pumping through my veins and my hands flew to my chest, grasping the stones that lie hidden. “I’m going to make Baal pay for this.” I growled through clenched teeth.
Arrick tugged softly at my wrists, trying to pull my hands away. “Just not today, Claire. Control your anger.”
“I am controlling it, but I refuse to deny it.”
Okay, maybe I wasn’t controlling it. My future had more than one battle in it, the battle with Baal and his legion of dark vampires, and the battle within myself. Arrick had to be sick of always trying to calm me whenever I let myself get heated, which was pretty often.
“I’m not asking you to deny it. I can taste the vengeance you crave. I can feel the hatred sweltering in your heart. Baal will pay for his crimes. I promise you.” A hint of anger lingered on the edge of his voice. I hadn’t thought he could be as angry as I, but maybe he could mask it better. “I will fight beside you, Claire. No matter what, I’ll help you stop him or die trying.” The certainty in his tone was undeniable. Arrick was pledging an oath to me.
“As will I.” Robin’s voice was so deep with fervor I hardly recognized her. I looked up, startled to see not just the torment in her features, but the rage in her eyes. That wasn’t something I wanted to see.
“No, Robin. I need you to stay safe. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”
She took a seat beside me, dropping her hood and taking my hand. Her red curls stuck in tendrils to the tears on her cheeks. She was pale; paler than any vampire would normally be. Dark circles had formed under her eyes and her body looked frail. All our bodies looked frail. The fasting was beginning to take a toll on us.
“And I couldn’t stand it if I let others fight for me. I have to do this, Claire. Not just for me, or for you, but for my father. I won’t let his death be in vain.”
“I won’t let that happen. I promise.” I pulled her into my arms and held her to me as tightly as I could. I didn’t know how, but I knew there had to be a way. No one was unstoppable. There had to be a way to stop Baal; we just had to figure out what it was.
“I want to go with you to Naos. I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
I pulled Robin away from my chest and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“Let her go,” Mara spoke up. She was sitting a few feet away, a black lace veil shrouding her face. “She will be safer there. There is nothing left for her here.”
Robin began to shudder, so I rubbed her back to comfort her. “What about you?” I asked Mara. Surely, she didn’t plan on staying here. Was she really just casting her daughter away; the only family she had left?
“I will stay with my husband.” There was cold finality in her words.
“But…” I blurted out to protest, but Arrick put his hand on mine and shook his head.
“Leave her be,” he said.
I could only shake my head as Robin began to sob softly. She’d lost her father, and now, in a way she’d lost her mother, too. I knew the loss of a mate was brutal for vampires, but I never quite understood how much until now. Mara would never let Edgar go, and she’d never be able to go back to who she was. Was this what happened to Ana? She was already a monster before Luka died, and it only amplified after his death. After I killed him.
I continued rubbing Robin’s back as she steadied her breathing. Maybe it was better for her to come to Naos than to stay here and watch her mother turn into a shadow of her former self. At least in Naos I could make sure she was protected.
My eyes traveled across the vampires around us as they gathered in