She hissed. “Your blood will never be worth what you ask of me!”
“It’s worth it and you know it.” My irises jumped to violet. “You’re just hoping you can acquire it for free, sometime down the road. But your seer has left for good. There won’t be any other opportunities, because once I leave here I will make sure our paths don’t cross.”
The Queen was one outburst away from losing her mind.
I had a strong feeling this was what Alana had alluded to in the storage room.
I was in a position to force the Queen to act—to do one last task to prove her worth. It had to be this. And I had to think that meant we would be successful getting my brother back. The two had to be tied.
The Queen’s power continued to rocket around the room and the witches started fiddling with their guns and the wolves started to pace.
“Why would I ever risk the Underworld for you?” the Queen countered. “Even for a precious drink of your blood?”
Tally had lost her patience with our pissing match. “I hate to break it to you both, but we need to get moving. I want my witches in a safe place before nightfall. The sorcerers were patsies this time around, bound by their agreement with the demons, but when they come again, they will bring their artillery. They are inferior in strength to us, but they will pack a punch in numbers, and I don’t have time to summon witches from all over the U.S.”
I faced Tally, essentially turning my back on the Queen. The timing had to be right if I was going to make this work. I waited a few beats and then I played my ace in the hole. “If the Vampire Queen drinks my blood, her signature will change. She’ll be under the demon radar, and she’s an asset because … she’ll be infinitely more powerful.”
Everyone in the room went crazy, talking at once.
“Leave us!” the Queen yelled. The vamps froze at her words, but hesitated. “I said go.”
“Meet me outside, everyone, but keep up the vigil,” Tally told her witches.
“Escort them out,” my father told his wolves, including Danny and Nick. “Find any others who were left on the outside. Daniel Walker, coordinate the move north.” James and Marcy walked over. My father nodded curtly once to his second. “We will speak. I will be out shortly.”
James nodded, putting his arm around Marcy’s waist as he led her out.
When everyone except Rourke, Tally, and my father left the room, my father turned to me and said, “What are you talking about, Jessica? How do you know what your blood will do to a vampire?” He knew no real details about Naomi or Ray. He also had no idea my blood had changed Danny’s connection to him so fully I feared it might be permanent.
The Queen stalked to the massive double doors and slammed them shut. Then she turned to Tally. “Spell the room, witch. No word spoken here leaves.”
Tally was about to give her grief but thought better of it. She knew whatever was coming was big. Her fingers moved as she incanted a spell.
I wished for a moment it were only my father and me in this room. It would be so much easier to do this alone. Revealing your secrets to other Sects made you weak. But I had no choice. Tyler’s life was worth it and I was willing to do anything it took.
“My blood breaks bonds.” I cleared my throat. “It severed Naomi’s bond between her and her Queen, which Eudoxia figured out fairly quickly. My blood also changed Danny’s connection to you.” I nodded toward my father. “But what you don’t know is he smelled like me after we had exchanged a very small amount. My blood also connected Tyler and me on a different level. He said it had something to do with our close genetic bond.” I wished my brother were here to explain it. He did it so much better. My heart clenched. “If the Queen drinks from me, I believe it will alter her signature enough, and significantly change any samples they may have on record, so she won’t set off their alarms.”
My father was silent.
I hoped it was a good sign.
“If that’s true, it’s huge.” Tally ran her gaze over me. “I don’t know of another supe who can change genetic markers permanently. If what you’re saying is even slightly true, you could change anyone’s markers, including a human with latent supernatural genes.”
“I believe that’s what happened to Ray. My blood brought out a recessive gene he already had and made it pronounced,” I said. “It’s only a guess, but it makes the most sense given what my blood has already done to others.”
The Queen had seen Naomi for herself, but she didn’t know how potent my blood actually was.
The only unknown was Alana. I had no idea what my blood had done to her other than clear her insanity. I didn’t feel a connection to her and I was hopeful it would stay that way.
All the supes seemed to be connected to me in different ways.
There wasn’t one pat answer and I was relieved. If the Queen drank my blood, I had no idea what would happen. I just knew she would be different. And more powerful. That wasn’t ideal, but I would gladly take my chances if it meant getting my brother back in one piece. Alana had said Eudoxia’s future was vast. To me that meant she would live a long powerful life, whether I interfered or not. Why not give her what she wanted and do it on my own terms? If I did, there would be a greater chance she would ally with us in the future. And the way my future was going, that wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Jessica,” my father said finally, running a hand over his chin. “This news is staggering.”
“That’s why the sorcerers want you.” Tally nodded, like everything had clicked into place for her. “But this is something they can’t take out, because it’s tied up in every fiber of your entire being. It’s what makes your blood so potent. You are a fascinating supernatural, I’ll give you that.”
“By my estimation,” I said. “If Eudoxia drinks from me, she becomes exponentially stronger. And she also becomes something more—something different,” I half taunted, glancing directly at the Queen. This was my bait and I desperately wanted her to take it. “If my life force is contained in my blood, she gets it by proxy, just like everyone else who’s ingested it. There’s also a chance her latent genes will be more pronounced, like Ray’s, if she has any.”
I didn’t have to spell out the possibilities. Eudoxia knew what they were. She also knew I was giving her a gift. One she hadn’t bargained for. Godhood was one thing, but having her fae powers come to the forefront was quite another.