Page 87 of Blood that Burns
I’m surprised she’s even here today. Julian has had her mostly sheltered in her room.
“What would you have us do?” Count Westoff asks.
“Search every estate. Find the missing girls and help them like we helped the others.” Marina hurls the words at every vampire in the room, snapping my attention back to the present. “Stopping the auction was a start, but if we can save more humans, we have to.”
“Maggie!” Marina’s tone is harsh as she demands my attention.
She has enough passion on the subject for both of us, which is why I remain silent. That and the numerous eyes of vampires that are currently fixed on me.
Unlike her, I don’t have any ties to the auction. I never went through that—thank God. It’s not that I don’t care about the girls whose lives were stolen, but I think it’s a fool’s errand. It’s been days since the last auction and months since the one before that. The probability of any survivors is slim.
“Maggie,” she barks again. “Surely you have something to add.”
I sigh, not wanting to get involved. “Hmmm.”
“Could you please tell them I’m right?” Marina’s hands come to her hips as she lasers her eyes into mine. I sit up, knowing I’m about to cause an argument, but Marina isn’t always right, and I’m done pretending that she is.
A lot has happened since I jumped from the cliff in Liberty. One of the biggest changes is that Marina has found her voice. And she uses it... too much at times.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Marina.”
“What?” she bellows. “How can you say that? Those are humans you’re wanting to abandon.”
“Going on a hunt for strangers who are likely dead isn’t what we need to be spending their time on, Marina. I know you care and so do I, but what’s done is done. We have to focus on the new bites and vampires who side with Byron’s agenda.”
Her eyes lower to the floor and her voice goes soft. “What if it were me? If I hadn’t ended up with Julian, would you be saying the same thing?”
I suck in a breath. The thought of my sister being tortured at the hands of an evil vampire is more than I can bear. Those girls aren’t Marina, and we don’t even know if there are any left to be saved, but I get what she’s saying. Someone out there is grieving their loss, possibly still searching, and at the very least, we could provide closure to those families.
Which brings me back to the fact we should be spending more time finding our own damn family. Molly is most important to me.
“It’s very unlikely we’d find survivors,” Vzar says, coming to my aid. “Those who’ve learned the Crown’s stance on the auctions have likely... disposed of any remaining evidence.”
“Evidence? You mean human women?”
Vzar grimaces in response, and I have no doubt Marina is ready to unleash her fury on the poor guy, so I decide to reciprocate his help.
“I understand why you want to bang down all of their doors, but it’s dangerous, Marina. Vzar is telling you you’re unlikely to find survivors, and he’s probably right. It could start a war that would end everyone’s lives.”
“A war? How would that start a war?”
I sigh, knowing we have our work cut out for us. When Marina gets something into her head, it’s an uphill battle to change her mind.
“Stopping the auction is one thing, but going door to door and searching their homes is going to lead to a vampire rebellion against the Crown. Those who were on the fence over which side to take will want to preserve their privacy and will likely join whoever will continue Byron’s plans.”
“He’s said he acted alone,” she snaps. “He lost. He’s going to die a traitor.”
“He said the council members didn’t aid him. That doesn’t mean he acted alone, Marina,” Law adds. “Other vampires are likely involved. Those that frequented the auction and would have something to hide. They won’t take kindly to a raid.”
“And for what?” I jump in. “If all the humans are dead or hidden, we start a war for nothing.”
“Sacrifice a few for the good of the many,” she says, voice filled with sorrow.
“Life isn’t always fair, Marina. We have to make choices that benefit the majority.”
I sound heartless and I hate it, but we don’t get to live in a fantasy world where everyone is saved.
She says nothing to that, but I see how her shoulders drop in defeat. I hate the thought of leaving innocent girls to die and families to never know what became of their loved ones, but I stand behind Julian and Law’s words. It’s too dangerous. But maybe...