The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires

Milo stopped before us, his head tipped to the side as he looked at me. "Consider this, Beloved…you have completed the seven steps of Joining, but you have yet to finalize it by making a sacrifice. You look surprised that I am so familiar with the rules governing Dark Ones, but this plan has been a long time in the making. Do you think I would go to the trouble of arranging for Bael to curse Theo if it was not important to gain leverage for just such a situation as this?"

"You bastard," I screamed, lunging forward to throttle him. Only Theo's restraining hold kept me from strangling Milo…that and the sense of calmness and love he poured into me. "You planned this?"

"Of course. The downfall and subsequent complete restructuring of the Court is not something to be undertaken without some thought."

"Well then, you've gone through a whole lot of trouble for nothing," I spat, still wanting badly to attack him for what he'd done to us. "There is another way for me to get Theo's soul back. I will not become a virtue."

Milo heaved a mock sigh. "You still don't understand, do you? Even if you refuse to become a member, thereby saving the Court, you will have damned Theo to an eternity without his soul."

"I'm his Beloved. All I have to do is make a sacrifice on his behalf, and I'll get it back—" I started to say.

"Exactly." Milo smiled, and my stomach turned over. "You see it at last. You can save the Court of Divine Blood, or you can save Theo's soul—but only the act of sacrificing the former will grant the latter."

Chapter 23

Tell me that Milo is insane.

The silence that met my question was disconcerting.

Tell me he isn't right.

Theo looked thoughtful. Everyone else, myself included, looked stunned to the point of insensitivity.

Tell me I don't have to choose between your soul and the continued existence of the whole, friggin' Court.

The existence of the Court is not your responsibility. The present hierarchy, however…

There has to be some other sacrifice I can make. This can't be the only thing.

Theo's silence was incredibly unnerving.

Theo? Surely there must be something else?

I don't know, he said at last, sorrow filling my mind. I don't know enough about Dark Ones to know if just any sacrifice will work, but I suspect… His sigh wrung my heart. I suspect, sweetling, that it is that which would cost you the most that will be the act necessary to fulfill the last stage of Joining.

The weight of the world seemed to descend upon me, pressing me down into the earth until there was little left of me.

Portia, I meant what I said. Just having you in my life is more important than anything else. You are a smart woman. Do not allow Milo to manipulate you into something you will later regret.

I sent Theo a sad smile, and straightened my shoulders.

"This is ridiculous," I said, watching the mare. They were consulting each other, but the looks on their faces didn't give me much hope that their game plan was to clap Milo in irons and dismiss his troublemaking attempts with nothing more than an airy wave and an amused laugh.

Terrin glanced my way. I focused on him as a relatively sane person, someone who made a lot of sense when I'd spoken to him. "I may not be an expert on the social structure of the Court, but I can't believe that all it takes to bring the whole thing down around your ears is the antics of two people."

"This is an unusual situation," Terrin said slowly, his eyes guarded. "That's not to say it's without precedent—the Court has survived several renascences in its history."

"What was it you were going to tell me when I was called away by Portia?" Theo asked him.

Terrin's face grew dark. "I wished to explain to you the dangers I felt Portia was in. I didn't imagine that things would come to a head quite so quickly, or I would have warned you earlier."

"I don't understand," Sarah said, joining our little threesome. "Milo wants to remake the Court? Why doesn't the sovereign simply say no?"