A Little White Wedding Chapel, the same venue where Brittney Spears tied the knot so many years ago, was just as garish in person as Cadence imagined it would be when she’d seen it online. But standing in front of a justice of the peace, holding the hands of the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on, while Elvis sang, “Love Me Tender,” in the background, Cadence couldn’t think of a place she’d rather be.
It had only taken a few minutes at the courthouse for them to get their certificate, thanks to fake IDs that would pass as real anywhere on the globe. As far as she knew, the government actually thought she was born a year earlier than she had been, and Aaron was born in the 1990s, not in 1829. The woman who’d given them the documentation had made the remark that they had to be the most stunning couple she’d ever waited on, and if they had a baby, she’d die to see pictures. Cadence had only grinned—unable to wipe
Asteria looked out the window of the apartment where she was staying at a dark alleyway, full of garbage of both the living and discarded debris variety, and wondered how she’d wound up here. In the distance, the lights of Budapest illuminated the sky, though all she could see from this vantage point were a few dim streetlights that highlighted the rundown architecture of Terezvaros. In an adjoining room, the laugh track from some stupid television show interrupted her thoughts. It was just as well; in the past few months she’d become abundantly aware of the fact that often times her thoughts were not her own.She dropped the thin orange curtain and backed her way to the twin sized bed she’d been sleeping on the last several weeks. After Nello and Venette determined she was no longer safe at the castle, she’d fled here, only Hines alongside her. Leaving her baby behind had been both heartbreaking and a relief. As much as she loved Perses the Younger, a
Cadence sat on the sofa in her apartment looking over the seating arrangement her mother had been working on while she was in Las Vegas. The wedding was only a little more than a week away now, and while everything looked fine, initially, she and Aaron had planned for Aurora and Elliott to be seated at the same table—and now that needed to change. Since they were both in the wedding party, they were supposed to be sitting at the round table in front of where she and Aaron and her family would be seated. But now that things had changed, she was trying to figure out a way to place them further away from each other.“Maybe Elliott should sit at the head table with us...” she muttered, checking to see if there was room. “He is the best man....”A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought, but she moved his pin up next to Aaron before she stood to answer it, thinking that would remind her that she needed to make sure the arrangement wo
Deciding to stay as neutral as Sweden, Cadence said, “Well, we all have our way of handling certain situations.” She was aware that he had gone to see Amanda, that that is why he hadn’t come straight back to headquarters, and while she was dying to ask him what was up with that situation, she’d decided he’d tell her when he wanted to. She’d thought maybe that’s why he was here, maybe he wanted to tell her he was getting back together with Brandon’s mom, but the tension in the air indicated it was something else.“I guess so,” Elliott muttered, shaking his head. “Well, I know it’s not quite your birthday yet, kid, but I’ve got something for you.” He dug into the pocket of his black jacket and pulled out a small box. “I’m not sure why I’ve decided to give this to you now, but on the way home, I had a long time to think, and I just thought it would be better if you had it sooner
Aaron opened the door to Christian’s lab while knocking on it, expecting to see the tech guru sitting behind his giant computer analyzing data or messing around with his test beakers on the table behind the monitor that took up much of his desk. Instead, the other Guardian was in the back, in a small space he used to install the IACs, looking at something through the large magnifying glass he used to see into a person’s eye while he was installing the miniscule computer chip. Despite the knock, Christian didn’t look up, so Aaron waited a second before entering, saying his name quietly at first so as not to scare him and potentially make him ruin whatever he was working on. When that didn’t work, he tried the IAC, which was ignored. “Christian?” he finally shouted, standing about two feet away from the man in the lab coat.Christian jumped, knocking the magnifying glass with the small instrument he’d been holding, dropping whatever he&
Opening the oven door, Cadence peered inside, trying to decide whether or not the chicken was done. She’d cooked it for as long as the recipe said to, but it wasn’t “golden brown” on top. Or was it? She sighed and closed the oven again, resetting the timer for five more minutes. There was a reason she didn’t cook much. Not only did her husband never eat, she was terrible at anything that involved a stove. Still, part of her wanted to improve her domestic skills now that she was married, so she’d decided to try something different and actually cook a meal—chicken and two sides. So far, she was thinking she would’ve been better off ordering take out or heating up one of the entrees from the freezer.The front door distracted her from her cooking disaster. She gave the mashed potatoes one more quick stir before she headed into the living room. “Hey, honey,” she called in her best fifties-housewife voice. “How was
“It’s really not a big deal, but I’m sure you’re not going to be happy about it. So... I just want to remind you that this doesn’t change anything. The wedding is going on as planned. It’s just... I’m going to have to take a little detour on the way to Iowa.”Her eyes were as round as the dinner plates he’d just put in the dishwasher as she studied his face. She could feel her eyeballs bulging. “A detour where?”“To West Virginia. Just for one night. I’ll be in Shenandoah by August thirtieth. That gives us three days before the wedding. It’ll be fine.”“But we’re supposed to be up there a week before the wedding,” she reminded him. “I have everything planned. We are supposed to leave on Saturday. That’s in three days.”“No, I know. And I can go with you on Saturday. We can be there most of the week. I’ll just have to le
Mika Ito hung up her desk phone and slid the burner phone she’d been given a week ago out of the bottom drawer, looking around to make sure no one else at the newspaper was watching. In all of her years as a Vampire, never once had she broken a single rule, and she wasn’t about to start now. There was no sense angering a group of people who could easily hunt her down and destroy her without a second thought. Yet, something about using a specific, untraceable phone to contact the man who’d gotten in touch with her about the Eidolon Festival seemed shady, and she didn’t want anyone at all questioning what she was up to.Of course, none of her coworkers were aware of what she was. She’d hidden it well over the last five years. Originally, when she’d been infected at a night club right out of college, she’d thought the world was over, that she may as well turn herself in and let a Hunter destroy her. Luckily, the man who’d accidenta
Dr. Hamish Stewart straightened a number of artifacts on his desk and peered out through the glass in his office door, trying to decide whether or not to let the students waiting there come in to ask him questions. After receiving the news he’d been looking for, a titillation crept through his skin, and he was afraid his joy might take shape in the form of pointy teeth, something he usually had control over, but given the situation, hiding them might be slightly more difficult.There was no reason for him to call anyone to let them know the plan had been set in motion. In fact, doing so would be quite dangerous. When he’d originally been contacted, he was told precisely what to do—find out as much information as possible on the blood moon, organize a team that could not be tracked back to him or the man who’d messaged him, and find a way to utilize his discovery to get rid of certain members of LIGHTS once and for all. Now that they had permission for
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were