“I guess our wedding plans will be put on hold for a while,” Cadence said, taking his hand in both of hers. It always surprised her how smooth they were despite decades of battles and other hard work.
“I hope, by September, all of this will be put far behind us.” He managed a small smile.
“Maybe, but it seems silly to be picking out flowers and cakes when we’re gearing up for… Armageddon.”
“True. But I’ve never been a fan of Ben Affleck.”
Cadence snickered and tried not to roll her eyes. “Don’t you think it’s crazy to keep planning when the world is crumbling around us?”
“Is it? I hadn’t noticed. Seriously, Cadence, we’ve got the upperhand here. Holland is just one person—one very evil, menacing person--but still there’s just one of her. We’re not going to put our wedding plans on hold just because she’s fuming over her lost lover. One thing I’ve learned over my many… many years… is you can never let a Vampire dictate how you live your life.”
The fact that he’d let plenty of Vampires dictate his life, and she could argue that he still was since he was constantly working, was swept away as she realized he was trying to say he still wanted to marry her, no matter what. “I am sorry about the portal. But I’m not sorry Elliott’s here.”
“I know. I’m not either.”
“And… if I had it all to do again….”
He interrupted her. “If we had it all to do again, I’d go with you this time.”
“You would?” She was shocked to hear him almost admit she’d made the right decision.
“Sure. When I see how much it means to Brandon to have him here, to Cass, to you… how could I think otherwise?’
“And what about you? You’re kind of fond of him, too, aren’t you?”
Aaron smiled. “Oh, he’s all right I guess. Enough about Elliott, though. Jamie’s cooking dinner for his girl tonight. I thought I might do the same.” He stood, pulling her up with him.
“You’re going to cook? You?”
She followed along with him, hand-in-hand, as he headed for the door. “Okay… maybe not cook exactly.” He turned to face her, leaning against the exit. “Reheat maybe. But, the fact that I asked Mrs. Carmanati to make your favorite, Chicken Marsala, should count for something, shouldn’t it?”
Grinning at him, she stepped forward, thinking that had been the dish that they’d had the night the portal had originally come up. She might not remember everything about everyone, but that stuck in her mind for certain. This must be his way of saying it was all behind them now—all except for one monster and her army. Just a small complication.
“You know I love you, don’t you, Aaron Joseph McReynolds?” she asked, leaning in.
“You know I love you, too, don’t you Cadence Josephine Findley soon-to-be-McReynolds?”
“I like the sound of that.” Cadence couldn’t help but beam as his lips came down to meet hers. In the solace of his arms, there was no threat of destruction, and for now, there would be no planning for annihilation, just the comfort of knowing they would always be together, no matter what, until she took her dying breath. But that was decades away, and as his kiss intensified, Cadence focused on becoming his wife, all thoughts of Holland and her mass of terrors fading away.
* * *
Across the ocean, though weeks had passed, Asteria continued to writhe in pain and desolation, calling for Perses, knowing he would never return and that she’d allowed him to walk right into his own demise once again. Asteria would never forgive her own foolishness, but perhaps more importantly, she vowed Cadence Findley would pay this time—and pay dearly. This time, she would spare nothing to ensure the Vampire Hunter’s blood would be spilled to the very last drop. “I will hunt you down and destroy you!” she screamed into the night before collapsing on her bed in a fit of hysterical tears. She would avenge Carter this time. Nothing would stop her. Not the Vampire Hunter or her fiancé, certainly not the child who invaded her mind.
Asteria continued to thrash about as she had been doing since Carter’s demise. No tears streaked down her cheek as she was incapable of creating them, but that didn’t make her anguish any less real.
The creak of her bedroom door drew her upright. They all knew better than to disturb her. She looked straight into the spectacled eyes of the lunatic doctor and prepared to shriek at him when he said, “Your Majesty, sorry to disturb. But… I think I’ve found something.”
Her words bitten off, Asteria’s eyes shot up. “You’ve found something?”
“Indeed. I think… I think I know how we can kill them.”
Asteria’s misery was replaced with glee. “Show me. Now.” She was up off of the bed, her long red dress straightening out around her as she crossed to the door.
Hines hesitated in the entryway. “You do realize, we’re still in testing mode.”
Looking down at him, Asteria met his eyes. “Dr. Hines, if you have something that can allow a Vampire to kill a Guardian, that changes everything. Do you have it or not?”
Hesitantly, the man nodded. “I… I do.”
His tone wasn’t convincing, neither was his face, but that was exactly what Asteria needed to hear. She broke into a smile. “Take me to it.” If this worked, she’d be able to turn the Ternion on its ear at last, finally giving the Vampires a true advantage. Killing the Hunters was one thing, but taking out the Guardians as well…. “I really can rule the world,” she whispered as she followed Hines down the hallway. Visions of chaos, fire and brimstone, entered her mind and then receded to images of herself on a throne, all the people of the world bowing down to her. If what Hines promised was true, it could be a reality soon enough, and nothing would stop her from seeing it through, most especially not Cadence Findley and her inconsequential team of weaklings. “You want annihilation, I shall bring it to you!”
Hines turned to face her and the pair broke into maniacal laughter. It had taken a few weeks, but Asteria was finally feeling like herself again, ready to take on the world, and to bring every single creature to its knees.
