Chapter 27
“What happened oh my god that took forever I was so worried are you okay?!” Flora rushed over to the portal Tess had just walked through. They were in the main bar—the same room Tess had left to walk onto the Isle.
“I—” Tess wasn’t sure what to say, but it didn’t matter because Flora just kept right on going.
“I mean, I was kind of shipping you and Felix, don’t be mad, he can be annoying but he’s so cute, you know? And Callum seemed all broken and kind of deranged, but then you really brought him out of his shell—”
“How much of my time on the Isle did you watch, exactly?” Tess broke in.
“Tess, it’s literally my job to monitor the vampires! And you were the first human ever to go there, obviously I was gonna keep track of what was happening! When the bridge blew up I was like OH SHIT, but I knew the boat was there, so I was hoping you’d figure it out—and then you didn’t, but anyway it was good Nantale knew about it. God, she’s iconic, right? Omg, and can we even just discuss that Octavia’s been back here this whole time? And now Konstantin has her and Callum both? Oh man, what are we gonna do?!”
Tess’s face fell. “I was kind of hoping you would know what to do?”
“Me?!”
“Yeah, I mean, you did all that magic with the tarot card, and got me out of the castle—didn’t you have some kind of plan?”
“The tarot card?” Flora frowned. “What do you mean?”
“It changed,” Tess explained. She took the card out to show Flora what she meant—except now it was back to its original state, with the blindfolded woman in the circle. “When I was in Isobel’s room, it showed me how to use the dagger to open a secret doorway.”
“That wasn’t me.” Flora looked impressed. “I told you, I can only watch the Isle—I can’t make anything happen there. None of us can.”
“So then how…I mean, who did it?”
“You, babe.” Flora grinned. “The cards told you to rescue yourself. I guess they thought you did a pretty good job.”
“Shit.” Tess shook her head with wonder. “Now I just need to rescue two vampires from their ancient all-powerful sire—and I don’t even know where they are, let alone how to help them. Unless—can you find Konstantin with a spell or something?”
“Not without a possession of his to cast it.” Flora took a sip of wine. “You want a drink? Closed bottle, I know—I can open something for you.”
“Oh,” Tess started. She realized that just hours ago, she’d had a glass of champagne at Felix’s ball and hadn’t thought twice about it. “That’s okay—I don’t want a drink. I kind of just want to get out of this dress, and then figure out what to do next?”
“That makes sense.” Flora nodded. “Let’s go to your place.”
“Oh! Great, you’re coming too.” Tess hadn’t expected Flora to come along, but she wasn’t going to turn down any sort of help.
Flora cast a portal, and a few seconds later, they were back inside Tess’s tiny apartment. Tess suddenly felt ridiculous in her golden gown—as if she were a character in the wrong story, a person without a place. She wasn’t some wily heroine; she was just a grad-school dropout in an unkempt studio with a bed in a closet who may well have lost her job since she disappeared for two weeks. Never mind rescuing her vampire lover and his glamorous sister—she wasn’t even sure how she was going to make rent.
She started unzipping her gown when something knocked against her leg. Right—her phone. She took it out and stuck it on its charger as a matter of habit. She wasn’t expecting many messages from her time away, maybe just a few from people at the hotel asking where she’d been. She threw on some joggers and a cropped hoodie—it was strange wearing regular clothes again rather than some gorgeous bespoke garment made by Sylvie. She went to remove the emerald necklace Callum had given her, then decided to keep it on instead. It made her feel close to him, like there was a chance they could still get out of this okay.
Tess’s phone was buzzing nonstop, so she glanced at the screen. She was shocked to see that she had dozens of messages from Joni, maybe even hundreds. She picked them up and started reading as fast as she could—
Joni met Octavia at Tess’s hotel?!
The two of them had started hooking up?!?!
She was on her way to Gramercy Park to meet August Lirio—whose agent’s assistant was named Fern?!
“Flora!!” Tess shouted. “I think I found something!”
Flora rushed into the bedroom. “What is it!?”
Tess shoved her phone into Flora’s hands. “My friend Joni met up with Octavia. They’ve been working together. Joni was in Gramercy Park yesterday, supposedly to meet August Lirio.”
“But—that’s where the meeting of the witches’ council was.” Flora’s jaw dropped as she scanned Joni’s texts. “Fern?! Fern doesn’t work for a literary agency, she works for the fucking coven!”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Tess said eagerly. “It can’t be a coincidence, right? If Joni was meeting Fern yesterday, and Konstantin had Octavia tonight—”
“Fern was working with Konstantin—and probably Felix too—to trap her.” Flora gave Tess a dark look.
“Do you think Fern is with them now?” Tess’s heart was pounding. “Is there any way to find her?”
“Oh, I can absolutely find Fern.” Flora whipped out her own phone.
“With magic?” Tess asked.
“No.” Flora held up her phone, which was open to the Find My Friends app. “Fern shared her location so I can always make her a portal.”
Damn, Tess thought. It’s good to be home.
Joni had no idea how she’d ended up trapped in a creepy-ass attic with Dorian Gray vibes, but she did not care for it one bit. She’d had a spectacularly crappy twenty-four hours: showing up to meet Fern at a fabulous townhouse where Fern insisted that Joni just had to come and see the view from the top floor. At first, Joni thought maybe Fern really was flirting with her, but that went out the window pretty quickly when Fern locked Joni in the attic instead. Joni banged on the doors and yelled and screamed, but no one heard—except for two big men who showed up hours later and tied Joni to a chair, which is where she’d been ever since—meaning she missed her job interview, she was really fucking hungry, and she was, if she was honest, pretty worried about her imminent death.
And what about Octavia? Was she here? Was she even alive? And what was this place, exactly? Who were the people holding Joni? Fern had to be involved, but there were those men around too. Joni had no idea who they were or how Fern was connected to them—nor did she know why they’d kept her alive or how long they planned to continue to do so. She figured they must want some kind of information out of her, maybe about Octavia? But no one had asked her anything yet; in fact, no one had spoken to her at all.
Joni could sometimes hear movement and voices from the floor below her, but it was too muffled to make out anything useful. So she spent hours trying to undo the knots binding her to the chair—she hadn’t made major progress, but maybe if they left her alone long enough…what? She could try to squeeze herself out of the small attic window? Maybe find a fire escape, or somehow get to the roof of a neighboring building? It wasn’t a solid plan per se, but it was all she had. She kept working at the knots, little by little, wondering if they were really getting slightly looser or if that was just wishful thinking.
But she was pretty sure she was actually losing her mind when a circle of icy blue light appeared in the attic and Tess and some goth woman walked through it.
“Tess?!” Joni whispered. “What are you—how did you—what the fuck?!”
“Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?” Tess knelt beside Joni and started furiously untying the ropes. There was something different about Tess—she seemed more self-assured than Joni ever remembered her being. She always thought of Tess as quiet, a person you were lucky if she let you get to know her. But this person seemed decisive and confident. Had she been like this in all the time since she’d left Joni? Or was the development more recent?
“I’m okay,” Joni answered. “Just scared out of my mind. And deeply confused about how the fuck you just walked into this room from a mysterious floating circle?”
“Portal magic,” Tess said, as if this meant literally anything to Joni. “Flora’s a portal witch.”
“Hi!” The goth woman waved. “I’m Flora.”
“Okay?” Joni wasn’t sure how to react to this, but then she took a closer look at Flora. “Hey, you look kind of like…”
“Fern?” Flora tilted her head. “She’s my sister.”
“I hope you don’t mind my saying she’s a real bitch.” Joni gritted her teeth.
“I don’t mind at all,” Flora said affably. “Fern’s the worst!”
“So obviously she’s not some agent’s assistant—she’s a witch?” Joni asked. “Is that who’s holding me? Witches?”
“Vampires,” Tess corrected. “Konstantin.”
“He’s not dead?” Joni’s eyes went wide—she was being held captive by one of the most powerful and dangerous vampires who’d ever lived?? “So, what’s the plan, we just gonna blue circle our way out of here?”
“Exactly.” Tess pulled at a particularly stubborn knot. “But first we have to rescue Callum and Octavia.”
“They’re here too?! Is Octavia okay?!”
Tess turned to Flora. “Are they?”
Flora nodded. She was moving her hands in a circle over the floor—Joni wondered if she was doing some kind of spell to get them all out of here.
“Finally.” Tess exhaled as she got the main knot binding Joni undone, and Joni’s arms were free. Joni stretched out her arms, then set about rubbing her wrists and shoulders.
“Fuck, that feels good.” Joni sighed.
“I’ll have your ankles in a second,” Tess promised.
Joni opened her mouth to say thank you but got completely distracted when the floor disappeared beneath Flora’s hands, opening a window to the room where Octavia was sitting at a table with two other vampires, drinking red wine. One was a man who looked strikingly like her—that must be Callum. The other was so large and terrifying, there was no question in Joni’s mind that he was Konstantin.
“Can they see us?” Joni whispered to Flora.
“No,” Flora explained. “It’s just a vision portal, like one-way glass.”
“If you were alive, why didn’t you tell me?” Callum demanded. “I searched Prague for days. You disappeared without a trace.”
“I had to.” Konstantin’s voice was cool and even—not a hint of remorse. “If anyone had known I was alive, I would have been sent to the Isle with the rest of you.”
“So you knew we were going to be sent to the Isle, and you just let it happen?!” Octavia’s voice was more vulnerable than Joni had ever heard it. “Why would you let them trap us in that terrible place?”
“You told me in Seoul that you wanted to be apart from me.” Konstantin shrugged. “I simply granted your wish. Do you see now that I was right? That your lives are better when you stay by my side?”
“I don’t understand.” Octavia shook her head, her voice faint. “How did you know about the Isle in the first place?”
“Fern told me,” Konstantin replied. “Useful witch. She wants to be the head of her coven—and she correctly gathered she could get there faster with my help than on her own. Witches and vampires working in tandem, coming out of the shadows, claiming our rightful place as dominant over all other creatures on Earth. An intriguing idea, no?”
“Fucking Fern,” Flora whispered.
“So you used me to fake your death in Prague?” Callum set his jaw. “To avoid being sent to the Isle?”
“Exactly.” Konstantin nodded. “After you were sent to the Isle, it took Fern and me nearly a decade to work out how to bring you back. My blood bond with Octavia was enough to bring her to New York. But I needed both of you—and two red diamonds—to open a portal strong enough for the others to walk through it. Once we realized your blood bond was the key, it was a simple matter of Fern using her telepathy to communicate with Felix. Felix was meant to bring you to his castle so we could open the portal together, but the arrival of the human complicated things. Fortunately, Felix was able to use her to lure you there.”
In the attic, Flora and Joni both looked at Tess. Tess was gripping one of the ropes binding Joni so tightly her hands were shaking.
“Hey,” Joni said. “Are you okay?”
Tess shook her head—her eyes were wet.
“But if you needed us, why tell Felix?” Octavia demanded, her voice ragged. “Why didn’t you just tell us? Why did you let me wander New York without my powers, thinking I was alone?”
“Because I no longer trust you!” Konstantin slammed his hand on the table so hard that everything on it shook. “You betrayed me in Seoul, and again in Prague. You’ve always been stronger than Felix, smarter, more talented. But my plan required absolute loyalty, and in that, my dear progeny, you are both sorely lacking.”
“So what now, then?” Callum set his jaw.
“Now?” Konstantin grinned, and Joni caught a flash of his fangs. “Now’s the fun part. The part where you show whose side you’re really on. If you choose correctly, we become the three most powerful creatures on Earth, with an army of vampires to do our will.”
“And if we refuse?” Callum asked.
“I’ll need you nearby to transport vampires to and from the Isle,” Konstantin said casually. “All points of entry to the Isle are being permanently closed—even Bar Between. The only way on or off the island will be through the portal you opened tonight. Vampires will have two choices: to be allowed home if they swear to follow me, or to stay trapped on the Isle if they don’t.”
“You want to use us to trap other vampires, the same way you trapped us?” Octavia said softly. “I’m not doing that.”
“Then you’re welcome to stay in this townhouse, guarded and bound in chains,” Konstantin growled.
Tess whipped around toward Flora. “They’re closing the entry to the Isle from Bar Between?!”
Flora nodded gravely. “The coven voted last night. I tried to stop it, but Fern convinced them it was the only way to protect our world.”
“But Fern’s working for Konstantin!” Joni protested. “She doesn’t want to protect humans, she wants to give him limitless power over us!”
“We didn’t know that at the time!” Flora huffed. “We should probably have another meeting.”
“You think?!” Joni screeched—and then she realized her feet were free. “Oh my god!”
She leapt up out of the chair and took Tess’s hands to pull her to her feet as well.
Tess looked at Joni with trepidation. “Joni, I need to say, I mean—”
But Joni didn’t need Tess to struggle through all the hard things they had to say to each other—not here, not yet. She threw her arms around Tess and hugged her close.
“I’m so happy to see you,” she whispered into Tess’s hair.
“Well, yeah, I’m saving your ass.” Tess laughed, but her voice was thick with emotion.
“That’s not why I’m happy,” Joni said, hugging her tighter. “I mean, I’m not not happy you’re saving my ass, but—you get it.”
“I do.” Tess buried her face against Joni’s shoulder. And even though this was undoubtedly the strangest day of Joni’s life, it felt really fucking good to be hugging her best friend.
“Guys,” Flora hissed. “Konstantin just left—this might be our only chance.”
Tess and Joni broke their hug, but they stayed clasping hands—Joni had lost Tess too many times before. She wasn’t ready to let her go.
Flora moved her hands over the portal on the floor, then slowly pushed it up into the air. Now, instead of looking at Callum and Octavia from above, it was as if they were staring face-to-face—but Callum and Octavia still couldn’t see them. Until Flora muttered an incantation and moved her hands again, and the portal sparked and shimmered, icy blue like it had been when Tess and Flora walked into the attic.
Callum and Octavia’s eyes went wide as Flora, Tess, and Joni clambered through the portal.
“Are you okay?” Joni rushed over to Octavia. “Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine.” Octavia’s tone was blasé, but Joni could see she was really afraid. “What about you? Did anyone hurt you?”
“No, I’m okay.” Joni wanted to kiss Octavia, but she thought that would be pretty awkward in front of her brother. But when she turned to look at Callum, he and Tess were kissing passionately.
“Uhhhhh…. you guys want to tell us what’s going on?” Joni sputtered.
“There’s no time,” Callum said. “We have to get out of here, right now.”
“Good,” Tess agreed. “Where are we going?”
Callum and Octavia exchanged a look, and then Callum turned back to Tess.
“Not all of us,” Callum said, as gently as he could. “Just Octavia and me.”
“What?” Tess looked like he’d just slapped her. “You’re going to leave us? You’re leaving me?”
“I don’t want to,” Callum pleaded. “Please understand, the things Konstantin will make us do—”
“So fight him!” Tess shot back. “Fight back, take control, do something to stop him!”
“It’s not that simple,” Octavia said coolly.
“Why not?” asked Joni.
“Because he’ll kill you both,” Octavia snapped. “Especially if he knows that you matter to us. He doesn’t allow us to be loyal to anyone but him.”
“I know it doesn’t feel this way, but us leaving is to protect you.” Callum took Tess’s hands. “You’re no threat to Konstantin. If we’re gone, he’ll leave you alone.”
“Are you sure about that?” Tess’s voice broke. “And what about Nantale, and Sylvie, and everyone else? You’re just going to leave them on the Isle forever because you’d rather run away?”
“It’s the only way to save ourselves,” Callum said. He tried to pull Tess in for a hug, but she shook him off.
“So you’re only going to think about yourself? No matter who it hurts?” Tess was holding back tears. “Maybe August Lirio was right about you. You really are the villains.”
Callum looked devastated—but Tess did too. It was honestly hard for Joni to tell which of them was feeling worse.
Octavia tugged on Callum’s sleeve. “We’d better go before he comes back.”
“Do you need me to make you a portal?” Flora asked. “I can send you anywhere you want.”
“It’s safer for you if you don’t know where we’re going,” Callum responded. “Tess, I…”
But Tess just stood there, her arms folded, tears streaming down her face.
“Just go,” she said stiffly.
Octavia approached Tess gingerly. “Tess, Callum and I are so grateful for your help—yours and Joni’s both. Now that I have my powers back, we’ll wire you both some money as soon as we can.”
“What?” Tess frowned. “I don’t want that—I don’t care about that.”
“I know.” Octavia looked at her sadly. “But right now, it’s the most we can do.”
Octavia looked at Joni then, and it was awful but predictable. Joni had never really thought Octavia would stick around after she got her powers back. It sucked—it maybe sucked worse than any breakup Joni had ever had. But it wasn’t surprising.
“Bye, Octavia,” she said quietly. “Stay safe.”
It was hardly a satisfactory resolution, but they were out of time—and besides, what else was there to say? So Joni, Tess, and Flora just watched as Callum and Octavia opened the window and easily scaled down the side of the building, their remarkable strength and speed fully restored now that they were back together. Once they hit the ground, they sped off into the dark so quickly that Joni couldn’t even watch them disappear.