by A. M. Hudson
He scratched his cheekbone. “It’s not to be insulting, my love. I just…you’re only nineteen.”
I wanted to be insulted, but I was a little bit too happy for that.
“What?” he said. “Why are you smiling?”
I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thank you, Da—son.”
“For what?” He laughed, patting my elbow.
“You’re right. I'm not ready to have a baby, but I…I just didn't want to let everyone down.”
He squeezed me tight. “I know.”
I smiled into his neck. “You always know.”
“But, for now, I need you to continue this fake relationship.”
“Why?” I gasped, sitting back.
“It gives me time. While the people are waiting for you to turn up pregnant, they’re not hassling for a wedding or pushing you to bare a child. They’re at ease. If you ‘break up’ with Jason, they may actually force you to fornicate with a man of their choosing, and something tells me it might end up being Walter.”
“Walter? Why him?” I nearly threw up.
David laughed. “The House want him in power. He’s one of the people we’ve been watching closely.”
“But he's Lilithian.”
“I know. Exactly why no one would suspect him.”
“Isn't he sworn to the throne of Lilith?”
David smirked, sniffing once. “Can you keep this to yourself?”
I nodded eagerly.
“You can't tell Jason—or think it around him.”
I nodded again.
“Walt doesn't have a Mark.”
“What?”
David sat back, making himself comfortable, as if he was Jason. “I snuck into his quarters and saw it for myself. He’s pretending to have taken an oath. In fact, I bet if you compelled him to do something, he’d do it just to keep that pretence up.”
“So, what, you think he wants the throne?”
He nodded, squinting in the sun. “Yep.”
I clicked my tongue. “All this royalty and conspiracy stuff really sucks. Will there ever be any rest?”
He laughed and sat up again. “When Drake is gone, yes, I trust that things will change. And…I actually feel better knowing my brother is watching over you.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “He’s one of the most powerful vampires here, Ara, and that’s…partially why I want him to pose as your partner.”
“So you want him with me twenty-four-seven?”
“Not that often.” He reached out and tickled my ribs, making me squirm; I grabbed his hand and held it tight. “But, yes, for the most part, I want him with you—especially now we no longer have your personal guard.”
I looked down. “Do you think I was stupid to do that?”
He lifted my chin. “No. I don't.”
“Mike does.”
“I know. But, I had my suspicions for a while that Mike’s intentions with those guards may not have been professional.”
“So, you think he’s, like, stalking me?”
He laughed aloud. “I think he’s…he’s not used to letting you go off by yourself. He’s always been there—always been your…bodyguard. Even when you were kids. And, I know you liked that because he made you feel safe—he was almost like the father-figure you needed. And that’s a twisted way to look at it, I know, but I believe he’s having a hard time not being the number-one man in your life.”
“You think he’s not over me?”
“I think he is. But it’s a habit for him to be this way with you. And you pulling against that, trying to grow up—go out on your own branch, it’s got him panicked.”
“Like he's gonna lose me?”
“Or just…that things will change.”
“But they have changed. We’re vampires.”
He shook his head. “Not much has changed, Ara. You’re still under his wing. You’re still his little ‘baby girl’.”
I smirked. “Are you jealous?”
He scoffed, straightening his collar. “With a face like this? I got no need to be worried about Mike.”
My mouth opened wide for the breathy giggle his sexy self-appreciation forced from my lips. “I love it when you play around like that. I miss that version of you.”
I saw his heart melt a bit in the warmth of his eyes. “I miss it, too. I miss us.”
“Me too.”
“Are you coping okay—being alone all the time?”
I sat back, clicking my thumbnails over each other. “Yeah, for now. But I miss having someone to talk to, you know—someone who listens and doesn’t roll their eyes at me if I ask a stupid question.”
“What kind of question?”
I looked right at him. “Don't roll your eyes at me, okay?”
He touched his chest. “Promise.”
“Okay. Well, um, Drake never made an oath. So…how come Ja—you could be compelled by him?”
He rolled his eyes, exaggerating the move, and we both laughed. “No, um, it’s actually because, without a true queen—a pure blood that’s connected to the Stone—an oath made to any ruler would be upheld—even the president of the Untied States.”
“Oh, so, now that I'm queen, Drake would have to kill me to get allegiance back?”
He nodded.
“Okay. And…when you’re king, you’ll be One with Mother Nature, too?”
“Yes, because you actually swear me in by your blood—as the one true king.”
I nodded. “Cool.”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “It’s pretty cool.”
“So, like, I cut myself and bleed on your blood—that sort of thing?”
“Something like that.”
“Thanks,” I said softly, and slowly wound a finger under his, then slipped my hand all the way into his palm.
“For what?”
“For not rolling your eyes at me, like, well, for not meaning it.”
He laughed. “Ara, I love you. And I know how your mind works—” He tapped his head. “You miss things. It doesn't make you stupid; it just means you were thinking about something more important at the time.”
I smiled down at our hands. “It’s hard, you know.”
“What?”
“Being the fool.”
He squeezed my hand. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean…everyone thinks I'm an idiot. No one trusts me, or my opinion, and I just feel like—” I looked up and shrugged. “What am I even doing here?”
By command of a slight tug of his hand, we stood up and he wrapped his arms over my shoulders, kissing the top of my head. “My love, you don't see what other people see. You haven’t stopped to look back and realise what you've achieved.”
“I haven’t achieved anything.”
“Haven't you?” He tilted my chin up. “Did you not give Eric the dream he always wanted; did you not give hundreds of vampires a new home, did you not turn their loved ones immortal? Have you not seen the rescue and freedom of four hundred tortured Lilithians, and have you not changed the lives of those Damned, so dramatically that when I went to see them, one of those kids hugged me—actually hugged me, having remembered me from fifty years ago when I gave him an extra cup of blood?”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He smiled down at me. “And look at you, my girl in the yellow dress. You’re still her—still that same girl, but you’ve changed so many lives. Look how far we’ve come from that first day at school when I accidently called you Ara-Rose in the library and nearly bit my own tongue off for it.” He stroked his thumb over my locket as I laughed lightly. “Don't tell me you're not worth anything, Ara, because you are the blessing in so many people’s lives, and you don't even know it.”
I bit my lips in, unable to see through my tears.
“Come here,” he said, and pulled me in for the tightest, most loving hug I ever had. “I'm sorry I can't be here to tell you this every day, but you know I love you, and you know I am always here for you.”
I nodded into his shirt, letting myself cry, safe and loved in his arms.
* * *
As the conversations died down and the candles burned to the last, waxy remains under the wick, I looked over at Arthur and smiled. He shook his head, as if my mere presence annoyed the hell out of him, and I felt my gut sink.
“Hey?” Jason landed in Mike’s empty chair. Morgaine didn’t even bother looking up this time; she just sighed and pushed her peas around her plate with her fork.
“Hi.”
“Don't worry about Arthur,” he said quietly, reaching under the table to take my hand.
I curled my fingers over his. “I don't like it when people are mad at me.”
We both looked up at Arthur then, who turned his head a fraction, breaking himself away from a conversation.
Jason gave me a reassuring smile. “Hey, why don't you come to the lighthouse with me tonight? It might cheer you up.”
“Maybe. I have been meaning to—” I stopped then and watched Arthur stand, shaking his head, and walk away. As he passed, I looked up, hoping he’d at least make eye contact. He didn't.
“Stop feeling bad, Ara.” Jason slid closer in the seat, leaning his elbow on the table, practically face to face with me. “In human years, he’s nearly twice your age.”
“He’s only thirty.” I frowned.
“And you're nineteen.”
“That's hardly twice my age.”
“I know—but it sounded more repulsive.” He sat back in his chair. “He’s like my father—it’s disturbing to me that you’re friends with him.”
“Jase?”
“I'm sorry. I know that’s unfair, but it’s also that…clearly, you’re hurt by his not speaking to you, and…I don't like that. I don't want you to be sad.”
I stood up. “I'm going to talk to him.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to sort this out.”
Jason folded his arms, entertained. “You just can’t leave anything alone, can you?”
“Not when people are hurting, Jason.” I shook my head and walked from the room.
“Wait—” He grabbed my arm. “What about the lighthouse?”
“I’ll meet you there after.”
He stayed put, his eyes burning into my back as I walked away.
“What do you want to know?”
I drew a breath. “I was thinking about some of our earlier conversations, and I remembered you said that you used the war as an excuse to turn Jason and David.”
“Correct.”
“And…it was their idea to go, right?”
“Jason’s, yes. I believe David followed so as not to appear a coward.”
“Really? I was under the impression he followed to protect Jason.”
“What gave you that impression?”
“David.”
Arthur frowned. “Hm. Why do you ask, anyway, my dear?”
“Well, when we first met, you and I, after the…the whole kidnapping thing, you said something about the blood feud—about it being the reason you changed them.”
His shoulders slowly became straighter all the way across. “Did I?”
“Mm-hm.”
“And?”
“Well, then you also said that Drake had made a deal with you, that if he let the boys live here after Arietta died, you’d change them when they grew up. So, it’s connected, right? Drake wanted the boys immortal because he knew, even then, that they had something to do with this prophecy—and the prophecy has something to do with the feud?”
“To be honest, Amara, I'm not so sure now.”
“Why?”
“Many things have come to light since that day, and what I knew then was only half of what I have come to learn since.” He moistened his lips. “For many centuries, I gave this prophecy little thought. I knew it foretold a child and the involvement of knight blood, and in the back of my mind, wondered if it spoke of myself and my blood—my heir. But I never believed it would come to fruition—until Drake strangely requested I turn the boys.”
“How did that change your belief?”
“Because, for Drake to request such a thing directly contradicted the agreement he and I made in the days before I became immortal.”
“What agreement?”
“That if I was to be his loyal, eternal servant, I would honour the promise to my dying brother, and watch over his family and their descendants for the rest of eternity.”
“And not turn them into vampires?”
“Correct. My brother knew what I was about to become. He was also given the option, but he believed vampirism to be sinful lifestyle. He chose to die along with many others in those following years.”
“What did he die of?”
“The Black Death.” Arthur looked down at his open palm. “In my new state, free of human limitations, I was able to comfort many people as they passed—most of them had already watched their own children wither, and die. And when my brother took his last breath, a part of me wished I had gone with him. But I had made my choice, and I kept my promise to watch over his bloodline, until I broke it for the sake of David and Jason.”
“So, how did Drake’s request to turn them make you connect the boys to the prophecy?”
“Drake is a man of honour; he upholds his word, no matter what. For whatever reason he needed those boys immortal, it must have been of great importance to him. I concluded that it had something to do with this prophecy.”
“And, so, you thought David was the Knight the prophecy spoke of then?”
“Yes.”
“Because he was born first?”
“Yes.”
“But your interpretation of the scrolls was different to Morgaine’s, wasn't it? So why did you think David was the one?”
His eyes flickered. I could see he hadn't expected me to be so alert, and I was starting to wonder if he was getting caught up in his own lies. “I have reasons for keeping my interpretations to myself all these years.”
“What reasons?”
“I wasn't sure who I could trust.”
“Why?”
“Because Drake told Morgaine about the prophecy. He very rarely confides in a person for the sake of an eased conscience. I had no way of knowing what he had truly said or even offered her to either help fulfil the prophecy or see no one ever heard of it.”
“But you want it to come true?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think we can trust Morgaine now?”
“I'm still not sure. But as long as her aim is to see you safe and in power, then it seems we all have the same agenda.”
I looked down at my hands, seeing the history, the lineage, the ancient ancestral connections in all the fine lines. “Did…were you searching for a Lilithian—or did you just stumble across me?”
“I wasn’t searching, but I believe Drake was. However, we found you purely by accident.”
“What about Amara—my grandmother? Was finding her an accident?”
“One of Drake’s scouts found her,” Arthur said. “So I have no way of knowing.”
“Did you know David hadn't really killed her?”
“Yes. I actually went to kidnap her from the orphanage, but she had already been adopted—and her family, when I searched for them, had disappeared.”
“What happened to them?”
“Back then, I suspected that Drake had discovered David's lie and taken to kill the child and all humans who knew she existed. But, David was never arrested for lying, so I had to move on with the belief that Drake was unaware, and the hope that maybe Vampirie had found the infant, instead.”
“Okay, none of this makes sense.” I scratched my eyebrow. “Drake knew about this prophecy—told Morgaine of a child that could kill him, and then made sure the only man who was capable of fathering that child was turned into a vampire, and gave the only remaining Lilithian at the time to a newbie Council leader to kill. I thought he was trying to stop this prophecy from happening—not help it alon
g.”
Arthur nodded to himself, then smiled. “I never quite understand why Mike has so little faith in you. You’re a very clever girl.”
“So, I'm right? He could have just killed David when he was born if he didn't want this to happen.”
“Yes.”
“Then this isn’t just about Drake being afraid of a vampire-hunting kid.”
“My dear, it would take a lot more than a powerful child to turn Drake in fear.”
“So, why does he want me dead—my child dead? And why did he kill David if he thought he was the prophecy knight?”
“What have you concluded about David's death, at this point?”
“That Drake wanted him dead because of the prophecy, but that he couldn’t let anyone else know about it, so David died under the disguise of laws he’d broken—by associating with me.”
Arthur breathed out through his nose. “The truth, my dear, is what I already told you—that David broke the law. Drake himself could not change the outcome of that.”
“But, if David's the prophecy knight, then…”
“Or perhaps he’s not.”
“Then…who?”
“There is a word in the prophecy. You saw it—saw that the whole document is written in hieroglyphics. That language has no real base. Some say the English language was based on that of the Ancients, but I see no real evidence of that aside from the pattern of words. But there was one rune, between son of and knight, that may depict firstborn, however, this could also mean many things. In my own interpretation, it can mean ‘a’ son of knight, and I believe Drake also reads it this way.”
“So, in your interpretation, the knight could even be Jason?”
Arthur nodded.
“Or you?”
He nodded again.
“Do you think there’s any possibility it could be a contract?”
He rubbed his stubbly chin. “It’s a clever theory. And, in truth, there may be some fact there. I noticed that same mark and thought nothing of it. Our laws and filing systems changed so much over the centuries that it took a person who studied our society as subject in History to point out something I should have seen. But, if we focus on that, we lose sight of what’s important, and right now, killing Drake is at the top of the priority list—especially if that is, indeed, a contract.”
