Chapter 231

Almara’s Pov

Delfino comes back with exactly fourteen seconds to spare. Next to him is Edward, his right-hand councilman. Instinctively, every nerve in my body tenses. I can’t help but be repulsed by his scrawny statue and black beady eyes, just soulless and void of any warmth.

“Good timing,” Arthur mutters. Walks to the door of the cell and we all stand close behind him. Delfino straightens his back and gestures towards Edward standing at his side. Iknow it isn’t possible, but he somehow looks older.

“You remember my college, Edward,” Delfino says with great pride, as though presenting to us a prized possession.

The last time we saw Edward, he was trying to keep us all in jail. We all grunt our acknowledgment of him and the smile on Delfino’s face falls. “He is here as witness to the agreement we come to today,” Delfino says moving this along.

“Is there any other unbiased witness?” Robert asks, cocking an eyebrow at both of the councilmen.

“No,” Delfino says flatly. Unfortunately, he’s probably telling the truth. Everyone here wants us dead, there’s not a single soul out in the world that doesn’t have an opinion of either side right now.

“So, how do we do this then?” I ask.

Delfino extracts a long scroll from his sleeve that’s rolled up and pinned together by a red ribbon. “We draw up a contract, also serving as a temporary truce until the common enemy is destroyed,” I nod. “Each side will present their demands and we negotiate,” Delfino continues.

“First,” Arthur holds up his hand, “We want to see our parents.” Arthur looks at me and I nod in agreement. “We can’t draw up a contract without first knowing members of our pack are unharmed,”

Delfino and Edward exchange glances and Edward closes his eyes and gives a gentle yet affirming nod to Delfino.

“Fair enough,” Delfino says though he doesn’t sound happy about it. He shimmy the key ring out of his pocket and just before inserting the key in the lock, he pauses and holds each of our gazes. “Let this be a test of trust. Shall any of you attempt an attack whilst on our walk, the deal is done and the war rages,”

“Deal,” Arthur says and casts Robert a harsh glance. Robert squints his eyes back at Arthur, but doesn’t say anything.

“I’m going to put the chains on you so should anyone ask we are escorting you all back to a cell,”

“No way,” Arthur barks. “How is this a test of trust if you have us locked up?”

“I won’t fasten the locks, but don’t move too quickly or they will fall off and the cover will be blown,” Delfino says and pulls the cell door wide open. Robert is the first to pass through and gets real close to Delfino’s face and snarls.

“Drop it, Robert” Arthur says, stepping up behind him and pushing him out of Delfino’s face. I follow Arthur and Cathy behind me. We file into a single line and Edward wraps the chains around our wrists and fastens them only barely. If we needed to, we could rip them apart.

We’re led through a long maze of concrete flooring and stone walls. We must be through the back side of the castle, I can’t imagine this dreary passageway is how visitors and guests travel. Then again, vampires aren’t exactly known for their etiquette.

The hallways are dimly lit, and there’s an ever-present dripping sound echoing through the walls. We pass by a few other empty cells that look no different than the one Arthur and I were in, except maybe bigger.

We make a few turns and eventually come to a change in the décor of the castle. The floors are black and white marble, and the stone walls are accented with dried plants and rose bushes protruding from the corners of where the walls meet the ceiling.

Guards give respectful nods of greeting to Delfino and Edward and then spit at our feet. Robert growls once and Arthur whips around, his eyes like daggers.

Luckily, no one stops to question us though they may look at us curiously, everyone seems to be too preoccupied with the task they were set out to do. I keep my eyes focused on the back of Arthur’s head and count the kicks in my stomach.

Eventually, we come to an arch in the wall, Delfino steps aside and lets us pile in first. When we’re in the new hallway, Edward and Delfino come in and press a button on the wall which causes a metallic door to slide shut.

We pass by a few more empty cells until eventually we come up to one at the end of the hall and I see a hand dangling lazily outside the spaces of the cell. My heart skips a beat as I recognize that hand. Mom!

Even just by her hand, I can see how weak and tired she is. It takes everything in me to resist dropping the shackles and running to her. We’re finally at the homestretch, I don’t want to make any sudden movements that cause a line of defense to react.

When we reach the cell, I see my mother and my father. My heart lifts with joy for only a brief moment, just to be completely dropped and shattered as I see their broken spirits. “Mom, Dad” I choke back tears.

“Almara!” They gasp in unison.

“Mom, I’m so sorry I didn’t wait for you. I don’t know what happened when I got there I just-”

“Shh, put it out of your mind darling,” My mother soothes, stroking her thumb against my hand. I don’t even remember slipping my hand free of the cuffs and coming up to her door, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the reassuring touch of a mother’s love.

“What happened?” I ask in a hushed, broken whisper, my eyes blurred by tears.

My father comes and places one arm around my mom and holds his other hand up to the door. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect Grace,” My father says fighting his own tears. I shake my head.

“It’s not your fault,” I say. I turn to see Delfino and Edward looking bored, while Cathy, Arthur, and Robert stand by and give us our respective space. “Can we let them out of this cage?” I ask.

Delfino shakes his head. “You may have passed this trust test, but I don’t know about them. Not until the contract is signed.”

“Contract? What contract? What is he talking about sweetie?” My mother asks and I turn back around to face her. Her cheeks are sunken and dirt is cakes in the wrinkles on her face, and she looks so tired.

I look at Arthur for support. If I open my mouth to speak now, I’ll just cry. Arthur steps forward and begins to explain all that he can. The original plan and how we got separated from my mother, the trickery of the familiars from the beginning, and the soon-to-be-signed deal made with Delfino and Edward.

“Wow,” my father says, stepping away and rubbing his chin with his hand that I only now notice has a bandage wrapped around it, except the closer I look then I notice that it’s not a medical dressing, it’s a shred off of my mother's shirt.

“It’s a lot. I know,” I say. “What happened to Grace?”

My father lets out a huff of air. “We were at your house when the announcement for Grace was made public. I wanted to take her and run as far away as we could.” My father stops himself short and gathers his composure.

“When I opened the front door, after we had packed up everything, the familiars were already at the front door,” He says, a stray tear rolling down his cheek. “They took her out of my arms and I fought,” His eyes harden and his face turns red with anger. “I fought back,” then his shoulders shake and his composure is lost. “They knocked me out and next thing I know, I woke up here,”

My mother puts a loving hand on his back. “I went to look for him, as you know after we had met and I never made it back to our waiting spot. I got captured, but” my mother shrugs and gives a sad smile, “I found my mate,”

“And we’re going to get Grace,” I say and put my hand back on their cell door. My parents lock eyes with me and give a firm nod in agreement.

“We’re with you,” My mother says.