Aaron licked his lips, and an unsteady feeling rose up in Cadence’s stomach. “There is.”
She inhaled and settled herself into her seat, ready to accept whatever it was he had to say, though something told her it would be hard to digest.
“I haven’t told you before… because… I didn’t want to upset you needlessly. But, now that he’s back, I do feel like you should know.”
“What is it?” The question came out slowly, like it didn’t even want to be asked, and he let it sit between them for a moment, let it dissipate like the fog when the sun peeks from behind the clouds.
“Drew didn’t just find that flyer at a gas station. She was invited to the Eidolon Festival. By Carter.”
The breath in Cadence’s lungs felt like lead she could not choke down as the implications of what he was saying nearly suffocated her. Formulating a question at this point was out of the question so she waited for him to continue, which he did.
“Drew Peterson was the type of girl constantly looking for a good time, you know that, right?” Cadence managed a nod. That was the Drew she knew and loved—a little wild—though she’d never done anything too awful, not to Cadence’s knowledge. Possibly a little weed, a lot of underage drinking, and likely more sex than Cadence needed to know about. “When Carter first approached her online, it wasn’t difficult for him to gain her interest, both in him personally and with what he described to her as a group of people interested in the occult.”
“The occult?” Cadence choked out. “But why would Drew….”
“Power, I guess,” he shrugged. “I think it was Carter himself who lured her in more than anything else. He made up the story she passed along to you, the one about finding a flyer, about searching for the location online until she’d stumbled upon it. She knew exactly where she was going that night and who she was going to meet. She just didn’t know what he was or what he wanted.”
Cadence had to look away. The fact that Drew had been aware that they could be in danger the whole time seemed so impossible to believe. “That’s why… when he stepped out of the parade, she so readily went with him.”
“Yes. She’d seen his picture and expected him to be there. She didn’t know what he was planning to do with her or that she was only bait, part of his elaborate scheme to lure you there so that he could destroy you before you even had a chance to Transform.”
Despite the lack of turbulence, Cadence felt like the plane was spinning. Her head began to ache. “So… he told her to get me there, although I’m assuming Drew didn’t know why. And then, he lured her into the woods, intending to get me to follow.”
“Yes—thinking that it would be just as easy to kill you as it was her. Although, I’m not sure he ever really intended to kill her. I think he wanted to turn her. Not that it matters now.”
“It doesn’t.” For a brief second, she wondered if it was possible Drew was actually somewhere undead, but she had been at the funeral. She was positive Drew had died that night and had not Resurrected. Almost.
“Obviously, he was in for a rude awakening when you ended him in less than five seconds.” Aaron’s pleased tone would’ve normally made her smile, but under the circumstances, she continued to scowl in disbelief.
“And you knew all of this going into it?”
“We’d intercepted the messages, yes.”
“Which is why you couldn’t save her?”
“Well, technically, since she’d chosen to enter the woods with him of her own accord already, there wasn’t anything I could do. Not at an Eidolon Festival. But the fact that she’d come to the festival looking for trouble didn’t help my cause any.”
“And Holland knew this?” She wondered why Carter’s girlfriend would allow him to go off into the forest with another woman, but then, Vampire relationships seemed to be abnormal to say the least.
“She knew and thought it was foolish. I think she was hoping you’d turn twenty-one without ever knowing who you were. Then, you’d be no threat to any of them.”
“Because I wouldn’t have been able to Transform.”
“Right.”
“But you wouldn’t have let that happen, would you? Or my grandma?” She looked at him now, directly into his pristine blue eyes, hoping he’d answer her honestly, even if it might smart.
“I would’ve likely tried to wait you out, or let Janette make that decision. But I don’t think I would’ve been able to see you turn twenty-one without letting you know you had an option. That I was an option.”
His words were a reminder of one of the more significant pieces of information he had omitted from her for longer than she felt necessary, the fact that he’d started developing feelings for her long before she even knew any of this world existed, much less that he had been watching her from afar for years at the request of her grandmother.
After letting the information about Drew sink in for a few minutes, Cadence decided there was nothing more she could do about it now, so she pushed it aside. “Well, thank you for telling me about Drew.”
“I’m sorry it wasn’t earlier.” His lips were a thin line, and she could tell he meant what he said, even though she had no understanding of why he hadn’t ever brought it up prior.
“As for Carter, what do you think his angle will be this time? Do you think he’ll listen to Holland and wait until she has all her cogs in place?”
“No.” His answer came quick and definite. “If Carter thinks he has a chance to get vengeance, he will most definitely try to take you out.”
It’s what she had expected to hear. “We’ll just have to be ready then.”
“He won’t be as easy to defeat this time, though. Keep that in mind. He will be stronger than any of those monsters we encountered the other night. Not only is he a demonic Vampire himself, Holland will do whatever she has to in order to preserve him.”
“Do you think Elliott and I can take him on our own?”
“I think you can take him on your own.” The look in his eyes confirmed he meant his statement. “But it will not be easy, and of course, I won’t let you try it.”
“Difficulties are not new to me, as you know. Nothing in my life has been easy ever since the moment I rushed him in the woods and ripped his head off. As a matter of fact, I think that was the last easy thing I’ve ever done.”
Cadence knew her enemies well enough to understand they’d stop at nothing to take her out, which meant she had to be stronger, faster, and smarter than them. The first time she’d faced Carter, she’d done so all alone. This time, however, things would be different. Being able to defeat him on her own was one thing; knowing she wouldn’t have to made it even easier to walk into the proverbial forest to slay the monster.
