Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DB Chapter 26 - The End of a Friendship

ALLISON CAUGHT UP WITH Blake in the back stairwell. It was a secret passageway that bypassed the rest of the castle. He had taken pains not to alert the rest of the palace to his presence. That was already more kindness than she could have expected from him.

"Devon?" He asked in alarm when he heard footsteps following him. "Didn't I order you to stay with Vivienne?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tie her to a chair? I dropped one of Julian's Forget-Me pills into her tea."

"And you left her?"

"Your butler was there. He's watching over her now," Allison lied. She knew if he called his people to verify, she would be caught red-handed. But her gamble succeeded. She won this round. He continued because he had no reason to distrust her.

"Go back down," Blake said as he continued up the stairwell. "I don't need you here."

"Wait! Wait!" Allison yelled and blocked his path. She pulled the collar of her sweater down so that he could see the red thread around her neck. "If you die up there trying to break your bond, who is going to help me remove this damned thing? You promised Vivienne to help me escape."

Blake sighed and nodded. There it was — his weakness. He didn't like going back on his word. This was too easy.

He lowered his hand around her neck and closed his eyes. Allison clenched her teeth together. It burned again, but this time it was far worse. It was as though a strip of skin around her neck was being ripped straight off her body. It was truly the worst wax job she ever had.

When Blake finally removed his hand, Allison saw that his palm was red again. Her neck was also sore. However, as she looked at her reflection on the bare metallic rail, she saw that the red thread was gone. She was finally free.

Completely free.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that."

"I didn't either," Blake replied with a half-smile. He was out of breath too, far more than she was. He was holding his injured hand out and supporting it with his knee.

Allison approached him. She held out her arm as though she wanted to embrace him in a hug. He reluctantly opened his arm as well. Even now, he was trying to be polite. After all, she had proven herself trustworthy because she was a friend to them both.

Briefly, a memory flashed before Allison's eyes. In the cafeteria, just her and Vivienne. Do you think you would be my bridesmaid if I ever got married? Vivienne asked. Of course, Allison had replied. I'll even come back from Manna City for it. I wouldn't come back to Lewisville for any other reason.

Sorry, Vivienne. I won't be going to this particular wedding.

But neither will you.

Inside Blake's less-than-affectionate embrace, Allison drew the dagger out from her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she shoved the sharp end into his chest with all her strength. Warm blood gushed out from his chest and filled the space between her fingers.

Red blood.

Human blood.

Allison immediately backed away, even though he hadn't made any move to attack her back. He clutched the rail and dropped to his knees. His bewildered green eyes searched her face for an answer. It was as though he expected her to apologize for making a monumental mistake.

Allison stared back numbly, emotionlessly, as he slowly slumped against the wall. He was human now, but he was still part vampire. A dagger to the chest wouldn't kill him quickly. But it was enough to immobilize him long enough for her to finish the job.

Removing the Thread of Menjure had weakened him enough that Allison had a narrow window to strike and kill him. She had spent all night plotting this very moment. Somehow, by the grace of the gods, it had worked.

He was the one who prided himself on distrusting every single person in his life, but he didn't expect the dagger to come from Allison. Not when she had saved him from the brink of death so many times before. 

Allison stared and waited. She had killed before, but this death was different. She had never had to watch a friend bleed out and die. As much as she hated him, even feared him, she knew that, undeniable, between them was a friendship based on survival. Even if Vivienne was the tie that brought them both together, they had spent the last two years together relying on each other to save the other.

Eventually, his head fell, and his breathing grew labored and slow.

Allison knelt beside him. Even now, she was afraid to touch him, to take the dagger out of his chest, and finish the job. The castle walls were lined with Segais as he had told her in the past. If he really wanted to kill her, he still could, even with only a single breath left in his lungs.

"You're probably wondering why," Allison laughed and wiped a tear from her eyes. She tried not to smear any of his blood on herself. That would be hard to explain to Vivienne later. "As long as you live, Vivienne will never stop obsessing about Aethon. As long as there is hope, even the smallest sliver of the most stupidly unrealistic hope, she will try to break the curse."

Allison laughed again as though he had replied, even though he hadn't said a word. In her mind, she could imagine he would say if he still had the ability to speak.

"You idiot.  You should never have brought her back to Manna City." Allison swallowed back her tears. "It's my fault too. I should never have taken those bullets out of that gun on the pier. I should have let you die. She could have escaped to Remin in peace and left this nightmare forever. What's done is done."

Allison raised her hand to his lips. She still felt air escaping his lungs. For a boy who couldn't survive as a human, he was desperately hanging onto the healing power of that vampiric blood. If only she had something to smother him with.  Allison searched their surroundings.

There was nothing.

If only she could shoot fire from her palms like Vivienne could. No, she just had to sit and wait. There was no putting him out mercifully. The dagger was firmly lodged in his chest, and Allison didn't have the physical or emotional strength to go about digging that thing back out.

"Between you and Vivienne, I pick her. Despite all the money and all the beautiful things your friendship would have given me, I pick my friend. She needs me more than you do."

Allison sighed and rested her arm on her knee. It seemed wrong to sit here side by side, casually chatting as though they were sharing a drink at a bar on Clover Street. Yet, here they were. Friends in life once. Now she accompanied him as he bled to death.

"Do you understand?" Allison asked quietly. "You claim to love her, too. I am trying to save her from you."

She stared at his partially open hand, which lay near her knee. Finally, Allison reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Just let go, Blake. Trust me.  I'll take care of Vivienne. You have nothing to worry about. For the past two years, I've protected her whereabouts from you." Allison chuckled. She squeezed his hand.  "You have to admit, it was always the correct thing to do. Back when we first met, you agreed with me once. Agree with me one more time."

Allison rechecked his lips. Finally, his labored breathing had stopped. He was still. His eyes were closed peacefully as though he were sleeping. Good, he deserved to rest. Allison reached down and checked his pockets. She even searched the hidden pockets in his blazer. She found his cellphone there, but that was all. Everything was soaked in blood. Allison tossed the cellphone back and stood up.

She couldn't believe he carried nothing else with him. No wallet. No identification. No money.

Why would he? What would he need to pay for? Where would he go where he wouldn't be immediately revered and recognized?

Allison sighed. No ring. That was the only thing she had hoped to pilfer from his corpse. She supposed there were certain things that were too precious even for a man like him to carry around freely. And here he was, about to trust it to an easily outsmarted girl like Vivienne Weisse.