Sofia, Corrine and I recounted in detail our visit to the police to those who hadn’t yet heard about it. This led the discussion toward speculating on the repercussions of humans and supernaturals clashing on such a wide scale for the first time. I had already mulled over the situation so much in my mind, I found myself tuning out and losing myself in my own thoughts.

When the door burst open and Mona stormed inside, I sat bolt upright.

Kiev shot to his feet and enveloped her in an embrace. She drew away from him quickly. Her hair was disheveled, her face sweaty, as her eyes traveled around the room, falling upon each of us.

“Do any of you know a vampire called Magnus?” she asked, panting.

“Magnus? What? What happened?” several of us asked at once.

She gripped the edge of the table and sat down. “Just answer my question.”

There was a silence as each of us stared at her disbelievingly, then began racking our brains.

“Magnus who?” Vivienne asked.

“I don’t have a surname,” the witch replied. “But I do know that he must be a vampire old enough to have been alive during Lilith’s youth.”

“I knew a Magnus,” Kiev said suddenly. “He visited the Blood Keep briefly during my stay there, a long, long time ago.”

Mona gripped Kiev’s forearm, shaking it. “And?”

Kiev’s eyes narrowed as he called on his memory. “He was also a child of the Elders, like me. He would certainly have been old enough to have been around in Lilith’s younger years…”

“But if Mona doesn’t have a surname, how do we know this is the same person?” Sofia asked, her brows furrowed.

“Describe the Magnus you knew, Kiev,” Mona urged.

“He was, uh, tall. Short, darkish hair—at least at that time. I can’t remember his eye color clearly now… blue, perhaps.”

Mona nodded. “I do believe that’s him.”

“But what is all this about?” I asked, no longer able to contain my impatience.

She stood up and began pacing up and down. “I accessed Lilith’s memories.”

Kiev’s jaw dropped. “Huh?”

“When she made me a Channeler, a bond formed between us. As she probed my memories, I also had access to hers. I took a powerful memory potion to force me to recall them.” Mona stopped pacing and looked directly at Sofia and me. “We must find Magnus.”

“Find him? Why? What if he’s no longer alive?” We all began asking questions at once again.

Determination blazed in Mona’s eyes as she answered, “Magnus must still be alive if Lilith is alive.”

“Baby,” Kiev said. “Slow down. You need to explain what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Lilith was in love with a vampire named Magnus,” she said. “She used that love of an immortal to bind her to this world.”

“Lilith’s immortal?” Sofia gasped.

“No,” Mona replied. “She’s not immortal. Binding herself to an immortal’s love has allowed her to extend her lifespan far, far past its natural length, but it will wear off.”

“When?” Zinnia asked.

Mona scoffed. “I have no idea. But we can’t afford to wait around for it to happen naturally.”

Kiev looked at Mona in disbelief. “That creature, you’re telling us that she’s capable of… love?”

I was surprised to see a flicker of melancholy cross Mona’s face. “Indeed, she is,” she said, her voice softening. “The love she still holds for Magnus is what’s keeping her alive. It’s the only living thing about her—the cause of whatever breath she has left in her decrepit body. Her heart… it’s still beating with that love, even after all this time.”

Everyone was speechless for a moment as we let the witch’s words sink in.

“So what exactly are you saying?” Xavier asked. “We’d have to kill Magnus?”

Mona shook her head. “We don’t need to kill Magnus.”

“Then what?”

“We need to break Lilith’s heart.”

Chapter 39: Rhys

I stared at the giant mound of rubble where our castle had once stood. I knew who must have done this. But there was no time for anger now. I looked around at my comrades, then at the latest batch of young humans we had gathered.

We wouldn’t have much use for that castle soon anyway.

In a matter of days, our ritual would be complete and if Lilith held up her side of things, we would be abandoning both our islands here in the human realm. The Sanctuary would be our new base and, once settled there, we would create gates directly into the human realm to collect blood whenever we needed it.

I supposed that whatever witches had been in the castle when the dragons attacked would have escaped—likely back to our base in the supernatural realm.

I locked eyes with my aunt. We both nodded, understanding each other.

“Julisse,” I said, now turning to my sister. “Take these humans through the gate. If it’s too burdensome to uncover the one here beneath the rubble, just use the one in Stellan’s old island. As for the rest of us, we’ll head right back to human shores. We still have more blood to harvest.”

My commands were obeyed. Julisse turned her back on me and prepared to start herding the adolescents while the rest of us vanished.

When we reappeared again, we were standing a dozen feet away from a tall brown building. Above the door was a sign that read Woods Home Orphanage.