Wild Hearts (Blood & Judgment #1) (20 page)

“Agreed,” Draven says.

Cahl leans down and whispers in my ear, “Rest assured that I
will
tell you all about her death. Just not now.” He rights himself, squaring his shoulders as he addresses Draven and Ember. “What I
do
need to reveal now is the one thing that will put your minds at ease; that will prove to you that I am your ally now.” His eyes stray to me for a second and a weird look comes over his face that I don’t understand. He looks away and goes on, “I ignored the connection during my first encounter with Aria due to the heat of battle and my overarching duty. But she possessed my mind such that I realized I needed to investigate the root cause. That was when I discovered that she was Alessandra’s daughter. I knew of her existence, but the Jurisdiction had claimed she had perished as a baby. They made a fatal error in sending me after a ‘particularly powerful wolf,’ as they referred to her. They
knew
she and Ember were…special…of Ambassador blood. But what they were unaware of was
my
connection to her.” He takes a beat and then looks right at me as he says, “Alessandra had marked Aria before she was even born…as mine. She was chosen for
me
.”

“What?” I basically shriek like a maniac.

“Uh…seconded,
”
Ember says. She still hasn’t retracted her vampire, keeping it out to show what she is, probably. Like we could fucking forget.

“Why…why would my mother do that?”

“We were friends. I helped her escape imprisonment in the Realm, so she could come here to…create you. So, she gifted you to me and created a magical connection between us, upon your conception, that bound us together.”

“Gifted me? I’m not property!”

He shakes his head. “That is not what I meant to imply. I apologize. I am saying it incorrectly.”

Ember blows out a breath. “Jesus, what is wrong with you two control freak assholes?” she asks, giving Draven a death stare before shooting Cahl with the same. “We are not yours to claim. This
you-are-mine
crap is really starting to piss me the hell off.”

“Right there with you, babe.” This is crazy.

“Aria and I decide who we fuck around with. End of story,” she goes on.

As if to stress that, she makes an overt display of eyeing up Cahl, who is standing here in nothing but a pair of boxers.

Draven catches it and, in the next second, he snaps his fingers and Cahl is clothed. Cahl seems oblivious to all of this interaction and eyes his new outfit with a questioning look. Dark jeans, a white ribbed t-shirt and a black leather jacket. Mmm…nice.

“Why not a suit?” Ember asks, amused at Draven’s jealous reaction.

“Because I know that’s what
you
like.”

“Well—” she says, eyeing Cahl again. She has a look of utter distrust in her eyes, making it clear to me why she won’t get rid of her vampire. It irritates me. We
can
trust him.

Draven grabs her arm and warns, “Do not test me, woman. Believe me, you won’t like the outcome.”

She grins with a quick flash of her fangs, clearly liking this dark side of him. “Don’t be so sure.”

Draven lets go of her and asks Cahl, “You said Alessandra came here to
create
Aria? What did you mean by that? She knew about the prophecy and came here to attempt to fulfill it?”

For the first time ever, I hear Cahl laugh. It’s a deep, throaty laugh. “There is no prophecy.”

“Excuse me?” Draven demands.

Ember slumps down on a nearby couch and folds her arms across her chest. Her eyes are flashing in anger and she is baring her fangs at us. “Oh, this is going to be good. What lies are you going to tell us now? I am a Seer. I have had
visions
of a prophecy.” She looks at Draven. “Draven’s mother was also a Seer and she told him all about it.”

Draven walks behind the couch and lays his hand on her shoulder. Shockingly, it calms her down instantly. She retracts her fangs and claws as she looks up at him. “Let him explain.”

Cahl looks at me, probably for my reaction.

But I don’t have one.

I’m too shocked by all of this. I’m just standing here frozen, my mouth open, and pretty much looking like a completely dumbstruck idiot.

He shifts uncomfortably in his new clothes, frowning at them for a moment, before saying, “All will be explained.” A somber look clouds his features as he starts recalling the past. “Alessandra, although Queen and equal ruler of my realm, was forced into submission by the King. Allowing his own darkness to consume him and desiring sole power, rather than sharing power with Alessandra, he amassed an army of followers and challenged her. These followers became what you all know as the Jurisdiction. As you are aware, it is the
governing body
that controls our army—the Ambassadors. The King and his followers desire power above all else. They have conquered many realms and the human realm is their current point of focus. However, the Tainted are an obstacle to their goal. They possess power. Half-human, half-supernatural blood. That is why they are hunted. The Tainted—warlocks, witches, vampires and werewolves—are the only beings that possess enough power to provide a resistance to their will. They must eradicate them in order to achieve their goal of conquering your world.”

“We know this already,” Ember says.

“Except the parts about my mother,” I tell her.

“Right….”

Cahl just ignores the interruption and goes on, “Alessandra despised this agenda and her forced submission.” He smiles at me. “She was strong and willful, like you.”

I don’t know why, but I blush like a fool. Argh. I can’t seem to control my reactions around him.

“She and two of her closest allies devised a plan to bring down the King and the Jurisdiction.” He looks at Draven. “Your mother, Orna.” He eyes Ember. “And your mother, Traela.”

That is enough to shut Ember the hell up for once. She gapes at him in shock while Draven stares at him with narrowed eyes as he tries to absorb it all.

“They designed a
failsafe
. A Circle of Three. Three beings who would be bred from a Tainted father and each woman, creating three beings stronger than all other Tainted
and
with abilities that
my
kind do not possess. For example, we cannot transform into beasts like werewolves. Nor do we possess extraordinary speed like vampires. Our enhanced strength is not natural to our species; it is magically induced. Also, unlike warlocks, who can wield all types of magic, we cannot wield light.”

He takes a beat and then goes on. “The intention was to enact the failsafe plan immediately, however complications interfered. Ember’s father stole her away from Traela and murdered her to keep the power of a gifted being for his own gain. Orna crossed into the human realm once the uproar back in my world over Traela’s death had subsided. She met Draven’s father and bore him. Alessandra had intended to go with her to find a wolf, however, the Jurisdiction acted swiftly after news of Orna’s entry into the human realm spread and she was imprisoned. It took me a long while to reach a position where I was able to free her and bring her here to create Aria.”

“Holy shit,” I gasp out.

Ember twists her body to look at Draven. “How old are you?” she asks rudely. “Assuming any of this is true, it sounds like your mother wasn’t that far behind mine with this…failsafe mission.”

“One hundred and thirty.”

“What?”

Draven cocks an eyebrow at her. “Too old for you? You’re two hundred.”

“No, I…it’s just a surprise. But you’re not…
for
me. This is all crap. Especially the part where I had to find Aria first. I could have looked for you decades ago. Why Aria? Why did I have to wait so long?”

“It makes perfect sense to me,” Draven argues. “However, you are right, sweet vampire. I will need to verify this. And you ask a good question. How come I was last? We could have had many decades together.”

Ember grimaces at his endearment, but doesn’t say anything. She just pales and stiffens even more. Uptight bitch.

“Maybe because you are the power source?” Ember says after a long pause. “Maybe I needed to find Aria first to solidify our partnership?” She looks at me with a curious gaze that makes me uncomfortable.

“How can you verify this? All of our mothers are dead,” I ask, completely ignoring everything else.

Draven flashes that arrogant smirk of his. “By contacting the dead, of course.”

Before I can respond, my phone buzzes in my jacket pocket. I pull it out quickly and glance at the call display. It’s Carter.

“I have to take this.”

“What? Aria! Can’t it wait?” Ember asks.

“This is my
pack
,” I grit out. Of course she wouldn’t get it. She’s all about herself. She doesn’t have people to take care of. She doesn’t have people relying on her.

I walk outside into the hall and answer the call.

“Carter. What’s up?”

“Tony.”

Great. Just what I need right now. “Tell me.”

“He’s moving heaven and earth to find you. He wants to make amends, apparently. He’s gonna sniff us out in the process, Aria.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“He’s at his club. It’s his spies who are doing his dirty work.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll deal with him.”

“Aria, I—”

“He’s already betrayed me and this is just another nail in his fucking coffin.”

“What are you gonna do?” he asks, nervously. It’s pretty damn obvious what I’m getting at, but I guess he just doesn’t want it to be true. He doesn’t want me to have to do it.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

Before he can try to talk me out of it, I hang up.

I slide my phone back into my pocket and turn to head back into the living room.

Cahl’s standing in the doorway, his arms folded like a damn bouncer.

“Kill whom?” he asks. Actually, the way he says it, it’s more like a barked command for me to tell him and let him in on my
private
business.

“Pack matters,” I answer. “I need to take care of something.”

“I will go with you.”

“No.”

“Your wolf is unstable after your recent shift. You will need assistance if you encounter a situation that aggravates it.”

Taking on that asshole, Tony, definitely qualifies as one of those situations
.
“Fine,” I say, without thinking. What?
Fine?
Why did I just agree to a babysitter? What just happened?

He smiles. “Good,” he says, stepping aside so I can walk back into the living room.

“Gotta jet,” I tell Ember and Draven.

Ember shoots to her feet. “Like hell, you are. You’re needed here.”

“She’s right, Aria. The moment you step beyond my wards, you are in danger,” Draven adds.

“And we need all
three
of us to take down this Jurisdiction crap, remember?” Ember says, giving an unsavory snarl at Cahl.

I tug at my hair in frustration. “My pack needs me to take care of something. It won’t take long. Relax. Besides, I know how to take care of myself.”

“And I am accompanying her,” Cahl chimes in.

That shuts them both up for a few seconds.

“Fine, but make it quick. We have work to do,” Draven says.

Ember nods in agreement.

I narrow my eyes at them. So, they’re suddenly fine with me going because
Cahl’s
coming along? Fuck them. I don’t need goddamn back up.

Argh! Getting into an argument with them over my frustrations is a waste of time right now.

And, unlike Ember, I can recognize when other things matter more than my personal feelings. Brat.

I turn back to Cahl. “Let’s go.”

He just nods and follows after me.

Chapter 19

~Aria~

I come to a stop outside the rear entrance to Tony’s club and turn to Cahl, who’s basically right on my heel. He has been ever since we left Draven’s mansion.

“Wait here. I won’t be long.”

“No. I am accompanying you inside as well.”

“You can’t. They’ll smell you. His wolves.”

He grins and holds his arms out to the side. “Smell me.”

“What?”

“Smell me with your wolf abilities.”

Fine. I step forward and draw his scent to me. I screw up my face in surprise when I don’t smell anything at all. “You used that black magic, foggy thing again, huh?”

“Of course. Always be prepared.”

I roll my eyes. “God, you really are a damn Boy Scout, aren’t you?”

“Boy Scout?”

“Soldier type.”

“For many years,” he answers, matter of fact and not getting the point at all.