Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DB Chapter 24 - The One To Tell You

VIVIENNE WENT OFF to change into something more appropriate than her boyfriend's shirt. Allison found Blake sitting in the lounge. He, unlike his girlfriend, had dressed in his usual all-black outfit and brushed his hair.

"Did you ever think that bringing her to Manna City was a bad idea?" Allison asked as she sat down on the couch beside him. She made sure there was a distance between them.

"Constantly," he replied quietly.

"If you give her this ring, you'll forever take away her chance at a normal life," Allison whispered. "She doesn't know what she is choosing. Don't you think she deserves the truth?"

He was silent after that. Allison saw him staring out the window in the city. She knew what he was thinking. He knew bringing Vivienne back to Manna City was wrong, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her here. It was selfish, and he believed giving her that magical ring would make up for how short and tragic their marriage would be.

Now, as long as Vivienne knew about Aethon, it would always be an irresistible ray of hope. Vivienne would never let Aethon go. Allison thought long and hard about it all night. Now she knew what she had to do.

"She knows," Allison whispered.

"Did you tell her?" Blake asked, emotionlessly. His tone was suddenly ice cold. Allison knew that even though he showed no signs of anger, deep inside, he was already distancing himself from her. He didn't take well to betrayal.  He was a boy who had known nothing but betrayal by every parental figure, by every single adult he had been told to trust. Now, he was being betrayed by the few friends he had allowed into his confidence.

Oh, Vivienne, the gods help you if you ever betray this one's trust.

No wonder he had chosen a girl like Vivienne. She was loyal to a fault.

Allison hesitated. Although she had rehearsed all night the words she would say, her throat clamped up. With her next words, she would set everything into motion. All their blood would be on her hands.

"I understand if you did," Blake continued, softly. "It was wrong of me to ask you to keep it from her."

Even though his words were kind, Allison felt every hair on the back of her neck prick up. She knew she should have asked him to remove Maglania's thread first. Now, she was in no position to ask for any favors.

"No, it wasn't me," Allison muttered, her voice was so low she wondered if he even heard it. Perhaps, she should have lied and admitted she had done it for the sake of her friendship with Vivienne. Perhaps that lie would have saved many lives.

"Julian?"

"No, he has been lying to you, but not about that."

Blake finally turned to her. Allison met his eyes. It was hard to stare back, knowing the weight of her answer would mean the death of all her friends back at Sulia Palace.  Her eyes grow warm with tears. She wished she had lied and claimed it was herself or Julian. Blake behaved like a madman occasionally, but he didn't expect perfection from his friends. He would have been angry, but he would have forgiven them. Perhaps he would have made some snide comments, perhaps he would have demoted them at Tercel, but eventually it would be water under the bridge.

No one would have died.

Her tears told him everything he needed to know.

"Maglania spoke to her. Did she do it through you?"

"N-no," Allison whispered, her voice breaking. "You sealed the Menjure. The fault wasn't with you."

"How?"

"Through your bond. She spoke to Vivienne through her dreams. Vivienne knows everything."

He stood up wordlessly and headed for the elevator. Allison wondered if Blake really had so much faith in the strength of the bond between him and Vivienne that it couldn't be intercepted by Maglania. He was mentally strong and able to guard his thoughts. Vivienne had never practiced doing such a thing. Vivienne was desperate for any crumbs of information. She practically rolled out the red carpet for Maglania to invade her mind.

Allison stood up and followed Blake out of the living area. Vivienne appeared in the hallway leading to the east wing. "Are you leaving? I thought we were in the middle of something."

Allison could tell by the panicked tone in Vivienne's voice that she sensed Blake was behaving strangely. His mood had turned sour, and now he was ignoring her.

"Where are you going?" Vivienne demanded, blocking his way. This time, she was the one begging him to stay.

"I'll explain everything tonight," Blake whispered. It wasn't to keep Allison from overhearing; instead, he was trying to stall Vivienne's desperate line of questions. "Julian will be here soon."

"I don't want Julian!" Vivienne snapped. Her eyes were wild with anger now. Allison could see she was putting the pieces together of what had happened. So Vivienne wasn't as dim as everyone assumed her to be. "I want you to stay here."

"That woman spoke to you through your mind, and you kept it from me," Blake hissed. It was his turn to glare back at her. Vivienne backed away in shock and ended up pressed up against a wall. "How can I keep you here if I can't trust you?"

"Trust?" Vivienne laughed as she shoved him squarely in the chest. "You don't tell me anything. Are you the only one in this relationship who is allowed to keep secrets?"

Allison was proud of Vivienne. She had finally developed a spine. Even Blake saw that she had a point.

"Stay here," Blake repeated. He grabbed Vivienne by the shoulders and physically moved her out of the elevator's path. "Devon, make sure she stays here if you want any more help from me."

After Blake left, Vivienne turned her attention back to Allison. Perhaps she was wondering how Blake expected an ordinary girl like Allison to keep a fire starter hostage. Blake knew that Allison had never dabbled in the Black Waters or Nectar. Vivienne's fire would have no effect on her. After Blake left, Allison saw Vivienne's posture suddenly deflate. She even developed a slight hunch again. Physically, Vivienne was always the taller one, and she always tried to make herself seem shorter around Allison, as though she were acknowledging Allison's social superiority.

Around Blake, Vivienne seemed taller, stronger, as though his presence gave her the confidence to become someone else entirely.

Now, she was just Vivienne Weisse again, as frail and helpless as she ever was.

"What is he going to do?" Vivienne asked, tugging at the sleeves of her cashmere sweater. As expensive as it was, Allison knew Vivienne would nervously pick at it until it was a ball of loose threads just like her sweaters back home.

"He's going to retrieve the necklace or break the bond in the process. He thinks he's going to go murder Maglania, but he's not." Allison shrugged. "She can handle him. She always has."

"In the process, he's going to kill your friend Belig?"

The bluntness of Vivienne's questions took Allison back. She didn't expect Vivienne to care about a girl she had never met. Not just any girl, a vampire who was enslaved to Maglania, her enemy.

"Yes," Allison muttered. "Maglania will call her Sentinels to keep him from reaching her. He will kill every last one of them. He's in such a rage. To him, they're just ants to be trampled underfoot."

"Julian is here," Vivienne stated, her voice suddenly cheerful. "He can drive us to Sulia. I'll make sure Belig is safe."

Allison scoffed. "You would fight the boy you love to save a friend of mine that you don't even know?"

"He won't fight me," Vivienne said. "If he does, only Blue Fire can put up a fair fight against his Segais. Your friends won't have to fight. I know they're only slaves to Maglania's will. They're innocent."

"You two really are the most chaotic couple I've ever met," Allison muttered and pushed the button to summon the elevator.  She noticed the dagger that Vivienne had been showing off yesterday, sticking out from behind an antique vase. Allison grabbed it and handed it to Vivienne. "Keep this close by in case you come across a monster your fire can't kill."