Lost in Shadows

Chapter Fourteen

"Elizabeth."

A moment after speaking her name, there was a rapping on the door. I opened it and ushered in my surly friend and Sky. Charlotte had retreated to a corner, her knee shaking with agitation.

"Didn't you want me here to keep bad shit from happening?" Elizabeth scowled. "Everyone is talking about you. Although it's not like anyone actually knows you. Most are calling you Lilith's son and his wild blood promised. No matter what, it's too much drama."

I bobbed my head. "Good."

"Good?" An incredulous look came over Elizabeth. "Let me try your blood promised. There must be something about her blood that makes you lose your fucking senses. It's the only explanation."

I leaned against the door. "My mother always likes drama."

"Isn't that exactly why you ghosted her and your unhinged family all those decades ago?" Elizabeth pushed her fiery locks back. "You don't like her games."

But I knew how to play them. "Do you remember when I told you I was an actor?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I laughed for like ten minutes. You're not exactly Brad Pitt."

Sky poked her. "Don't be mean. I bet Luke was great. It would have been awesome to see him on stage in a Shakespearean play or whatever they had back then that wasn't Shakespeare."

I scrunched my nose. "How old do you think I am?"

"Luke." Charlotte's pained voice cast on a shadow on the light moment. "Please."

I rubbed my head. "Sorry. What I was trying to explain is that there is one thing that Lilith likes about me. I wasn't her first choice to join her family. But she thought I might be useful because of my work. She's a fan of drama."

Elizabeth groaned. "You realize she can hear everything you say?"

I gave a half shrug, as if it wasn't a problem. "There's no reason to hide now. She knows why we are here. I let her down when I joined the family. She was expecting a bold performer who would take risks. Instead, I stayed in the shadows far away from the stage. Tonight I showed her I can walk right into trouble. Whatever she wants, I'll do it. If she can free Anna."

Elizabeth's forehead creased. "Do I even need to bring up that plan is shittier than all your other plans?"

I moved closer to her. "Lilith will help. You don't understand our bond. You couldn't because you lost Robert at the beginning." She flinched, but I couldn't hold back. "You've been alone. You've held on to me because you wanted to pretend that you had someone. That you wouldn't spend the rest of your existence by yourself."

Elizabeth gave me a withering look. "You're a real asshole."

"But I'm never alone," I said. "My mistake was forgetting I had her."

Elizabeth whirled around toward Charlotte. "You're fine with this?"

"I can't let my sister die here," Charlotte said in a quiet voice.

"You don't have to worry anymore," I said.

Elizabeth threw up her arms. "You told me that Lilith wants a price for everything."

I nodded. "I'll be the price. And what I would ask of you is to get Charlotte out of here once it's dawn. I might not be around to do it."

Elizabeth trembled in fury. "I always knew you'd do anything possible to destroy yourself. But you've always cared about keeping what little humanity you have left. You'll flush it all down the toilet because of this plan."