Vanessa shrugged. “Maybe because you’re getting married.”
Dash groaned. “Yeah, to a heartless doll. You’re the one I want to be with.”
Vanessa finally looked at him, her eyes filled with so much sorrow. “I heard your message. What did you want to talk about? You sounded off.”
And just like that, it reminded Dash of what he needed to do. He took another step away from Vanessa. He schooled his emotions; it had to be done. She was only a step to the top, but even as he said it, flashes of memory of holding her and confessing his secrets to her came to mind.
“We have to break it off,” Dash said. “I wanted to tell you in person.”
“Wait, you just kissed me like your life depended on it, and now you’re saying it’s over? What happened to the love and the promise that you would cherish me forever?” She sounded angry, and she had every right.
“They were just words,” Dash said.
Her eyes watered. “Were the endless nights of talking just words too? The stories of your childhood made up to make me feel sorry for you? Everything you said to me, a bunch of lies?”
Dash wanted to say yes—it would make things easier if she just hated him. But he couldn’t find it in him to do so.
“No, but they aren’t important now.”
Vanessa shook her head. “Yeah, you keep believing that bullshit your mom shoves down your throat. I’m going to fight for us even if you won’t.”
Dash grabbed Vanessa’s hand. “Don’t do anything stupid. She will kill you. I can’t lose you.” It was the truth; Dash would rather Vanessa be alive and not with him then dead and never to be seen again.
Vanessa yanked her hand free. “Don’t worry, Dash, we’re going to be together.” She jerkily wiped away the tears in her eyes. “I lo—”
She didn’t finish her words, but she didn’t have to. Dash knew what she wanted to say, and he wanted to say it back, but he couldn’t. Mother had made it clear he needed to end things. Vanessa must have seen the sorrow in Dash’s eyes. She turned away from him and walked out of the room, leaving a confused and broken-hearted Dash behind. The day was a piece of shit, and he doubted there was any salvaging it.
Chapter Twenty
Snoe
There was one thing Alister Blake had achieved that no leader before him had. He wanted to partner with the vampires and sit on equal footing, not just have a pathetic treaty that barely held back war. The relationship left much to be desired; they still killed each other, that was certain, but now it was not in the masses of war.
Snoe sought more than that. He wanted the vampires’ backing; he wanted to enter any territory and walk out unscathed. That would prove his power, since Snoe didn’t have an actual magical power that would hold any sway over the witches.
Snoe had never traveled down south where the vampires resided, but he’d heard the stories about his father’s achievements down there plenty of times. The amount of money Snoe now had access to was only a tenth of what he would have once he had claims to his heritage once again, but it was enough that it afforded them a limo. . They could only fly so close before risking their lives.
He sat in between Dox and Nyght. Nyght’s auburn hair was pulled to the side and braided. Snoe looked forward to unraveling the braid and having Nyght above him, cocooning him in beautiful auburn waves.
“When we get there, they will try something. It’s only customary,” Snoe said.
Gunner grunted. “I’ll kill them before they are even able to.”
“You can’t do that, even if we want to. Master’s magical ability is little to none, but if he can achieve something no one else has, then the other witches will have to acknowledge him,” Blade said, never one to mince his words.
Snoe nodded. “Exactly. So you can hurt them, even knock them unconscious, but no killing.”
Snoe looked at each of them, and Nyght leaned closer to him.
“We won’t let anyone touch you,” Dox reassured him.
Snoe didn’t doubt them even a little bit.
“You’re our treasure,” Nyght whispered.
The compliment did funny things to Snoe’s heart. He tilted his head up for a kiss. Nyght’s face went red as he leaned in and gave Snoe the sweetest kiss. Snoe pulled back, relaxing the rest of the ride to vampire territory
He needed to be ready for the night and the events that would change everything, solidifying his power and where Snoe stood.
They arrived in vampire territory a little past sundown. The city was alive, and the lights sparkled like the stars. Snoe rubbed his hands on his pants, trying everything to calm his nerves. The fact that he’d secured a meeting with the king of vampires still blew his mind.
It helped that Snoe was offering something that no other witch had dared to. It was reckless and had the potential to blow up in his face, but that only meant it had just as equal a chance to succeed.
The limo came to a stop, and the door opened. It was a humid and sticky night as Snoe stepped out of the car. All seven of his men fanned around him as they stood in front of a large building. It had six white pillars with the door open and a red carpet leading to the entrance. The rumor that vampires had a flair for the dramatics wasn’t wrong.
Snoe rolled his shoulders back and headed toward the door. This was it. There was no turning back, not unless he wanted to go out fighting.
“They are surrounding us,” Blade said.
Gunner growled, but Snoe stayed calm. He had his men—sure, a few dozen vampires who could move just as fast as them was a lot of work, but Snoe had faith that his men would protect him.
“A witch is here,” a man with a deep Southern drawl said.
Snoe ignored him and the multiple eyes that instantly looked to him. Their glowing white eyes always freaked him out. Even in picture books, vampires were the things of nightmares.
“This way, sir. Everyone is at the dinner table,” a butler said.
His neck was covered in bite marks, but his eyes were brown, which meant he was only human. Snoe followed him further inside, and they walked past the vampires in the front area. They all stood there so still that if Snoe didn’t know any better, he would have said they were statues. Snoe kept his eyes forward, walking into a grand room with a large table where only a handful of vampires sat, all dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling was beautiful and shined little rainbows here and there.
A chair was pulled out for Snoe, and he took his seat, forcing his body to relax.
“Will they be needing a seat as well?” the butler asked.
Snoe knew the guys would not sit, and there was no point in trying to make Wolly, Gunner, and Joker behave at the table.
“No, they are fine.”
Snoe turned to regard the one man he’d come to see. The king of vampires, Galyc Vlad, the one man who ran the entire vampire territory. If things went bad, Snoe could be the cause of another war. If things went great, then Snoe would have succeeded at the impossible. Working with the vampires, instead of just tolerating them.
“So you are Snoe Whyte,” Galyc asked.
It wasn’t a question, but Snoe still nodded. “Thank you for accepting my request to talk.”