It bobs through the air, never spilling a drop, and lands in Cora’s palm. I stare, mouth gaping, as she takes a sip. It takes every ounce of my self-control to keep from blurting the thoughts in my head.
That teacup just floated!
You just moved a teacup with your mind!
That was magic! You just did real, actual magic. And I saw it!
Cora watches me as she places the mug on her short coffee table, as if expecting me to break. A test, I decide.
When I stay quiet, she settles against the couch.
“The Echo is a vast and wild place,” she says. “There are many peoples here, not just witches and vampires. There are different realms and laws and species. Twenty years ago, Sebastian—King of the Vampires—ruled over it all. He’d grown reckless with power though. Eventually, he paid the price.”
Cora grabs her mug from the coffee table, using her hands this time. She takes a long sip. The grassy tea permeates the air, almost strong enough to conceal the smell of rotting plants.
“Back then, your father led the witches,” she says. “He was the last of the Pruce bloodline, a powerful and respectable family. Despite his refusal to have an heir, most people loved him. It was only the council, particularly Madam Lyrie, who couldn’t stand him. She was the one who took over after his death. When she told the story of what had happened, she claimed your father sacrificed himself to protect the Echo. I always doubted that. The fact you’re here, that youexist, proves I was right.”
“How would my father dying—” I clap a hand over my mouth, stopping myself. “Oops. Sorry.”
Cora studies me silently. Just when I’m sure she’s going to revoke my story privileges, she continues.
“Madam Lyrie was desperate to punish Sebastian and his kind,” she says. “She and the council cursed them to burn in the sun, and they used a blood seal to make it unbreakable. As the last of his line, your father was the obvious choice. Without Pruce blood, the sun curse could not be broken. And without a living Pruce…”
I swallow, staring at the dying plants, rather than Cora. I barely remember my father, but tears still sting the corners of my eyes. I don’t want to imagine it. I don’t want to believe it’s possible.
Is that what’s going to happen to me?
“Sebastian’s mighty empire fell in a matter of days,” Cora continues. “All the power, the success he’d found, collapsed. And until you arrived in Aberlena, I thought he would never get it back.”
I force myself to keep quiet, if only because I want more. I want to know every detail, every secret this place keeps about my father. About me.
“You can ask,” she says.
I look at her, shaking my head softly. For once, I don’t have anything to say. I’m not sure what to ask, where to start.
“You are the only one who can break the curse, Grace,” Cora says. “Sebastian won’t release you until it’s done. Whether that’s months or years, you won’t be set free until the vampires are.”
My mind whirls, each thought flashing too quickly to make sense of them. I’m straining for logic, for hope, for a plan and coming up empty. I’m only staring, realizing what a mistake I made by coming to Aberlena. Promising myselfthat if I can get back there, I’m taking the first flight to New York.
“You can’t run,” she says. I jerk my chin to look at her. Before I can ask if she’s read my mind, she levels me with a look. “If you run, the witches might be the ones to find you next. They’ll kill you faster than they killed your father. Understand?”
I force myself to nod, even as the words refuse to take meaning in my brain.
It’s too much, this is all?—
“I’ll call for Sebastian,” she says. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
7
I SUGGEST YOU COOPERATE
SEBASTIAN
“Sorry, Master,” the servant says. He’s a human, and though he’s only been with me for five or so years, he’s one of my favorites. He’s desperate to be one of us, and maybe after the curse is broken, I’ll grant that wish.
For now, I need him exactly as harmless and submissive as he is.
“Still?” I ask. It’s more a growl than a word, and he slinks away from me, cowering against the wall.
