by E. M. Knight
Quickly, I make myself as small as possible. But our group is the only one approaching the crowd. She picks me out right away.
Our eyes meet.
An inscrutable look passes over her face.
And then, her attention is right back to where it was before, on the conversation she was having with an older-looking vampire at her side.
I scan the rest of the crowd gathered around her. I do not see Morgan anywhere. Nor do I see James, or Phillip, or any of the Royal family.
Only Raul.
He’s decked out in a formal outfit suited for the Middle Ages. But it’s impressive nonetheless. Eleira has on a stunning white gown, and the tiara atop her head sparkles in the night.
Immediately, I get a sense of a new sort of aura radiating from her. Even from so far away I can feel it.
I lick my lips and look cautiously around me. Other than the group of eight guards, nobody is paying me any attention.
They lead me around the outside of the crowd. I end up in a spot a few yards away from everyone else.
“Stay there,” the guard who caught me says. “Don’t move. If you so much as sneeze… this—” he runs a hand over the tip of his spear, “—is going straight through your heart.”
I press my lips together in irritation. Already, without them knowing, I’ve picked the lock on my cuffs. All it took was a little bit of Air and Fire, twisted together in the finest weave and directed just so.
But I cannot make an escape attempt. Not unless the fool actually does try to hurt me.
Well, then he’d find out just what magic can do.
Suddenly, Eleira stands. A hush falls over the group.
“Vampires of The Haven,” she announces. “It is time.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Eleira
The Haven
The secret flow of power crackles through me, feeding me strength through the now-unbreakable bond with the great throne torrial.
“It is time,” I repeat, making my voice strong and loud and certain, “time for us to stop hiding. Time for our coven to be restored to all it was. Time—time for you to feel safe again, feel strong again, and be strong again!”
A cheer erupts from the vampires gathered before me. This speechmaking thing isn’t half as intimidating as I’d thought.
And Raul already said I have a knack for it.
I scan the faces of the vampires below me. I am the most powerful being in this clearing. The most powerful being in all The Haven. Hell, with what I feel, the most powerful being on Earth!
My eyes hitch over Riyu. I have no idea what he’s doing here. But, at least, I am reassured to see him in cuffs.
“Tonight,” I continue, once the applause has died down, “you will witness the birth of a new era. The wards that you remember will be but a plaything compared to the ones I will erect. The Haven will be protected from the air, from the ground, from beneath the Earth—and yes, even through the Paths.”
Another cheer comes from the gathering, but this one is speckled by traces of confusion. Not all the vampires know of the Paths.
Felix cautioned me against extending the wards there, warning that I would lose an escape path should calamity strike.
But I don’t see it that way. The Paths were a weakness that was exploited before. It could be very easily be exploited again.
I’d rather have the nearest entrance to that parallel realm somewhere outside the boundary of The Haven. That way it can be guarded, and an intrusion can be identified and stopped.
“And now—” I spread my hands and feel the power of the Elements gathering in me, “—I fulfill my very first promise to you!”
I grab hold of the currents and throw them up. They surge through me, through the throne, enormous beams of Earth and Air and Fire and Water. They shoot up in a massive beam toward the sky. I feed more and more power into it, give it all the magic I’ve got and then some. I feel it scorching my body, feel my skin burning from the inside, but the vampire within me fights against the damage, letting me resist, letting me heal even as I destroy my own body.
I divert a tiny strand of energy to light the beam up, to make the currents I’m manipulating visible to all vampires. I hear gasps from the crowd, but all my focus is on that focal point high above the trees. All the power feeds into it, roiling, growing, collecting, waiting to be unleashed.
“Eleira,” I hear Raul say, but I’m too far gone to listen.
The magic makes the throne shake. The crystals it’s made of, seeming unbreakable before, strain and tremble. Still, I feed more into the beam, into the collection of the Forces above me.
I close my eyes, concentrate every last bit of strength on giving it more. More, more, more, more! The gasps from before turn into sounds of alarm. The beam is enormous, and it scorches the sky. The trembling crystals continue to shake. One of them bursts, sending blue shards all over me.
Finally, just when I think I cannot stand any more, something in my mind clicks, and I know it’s enough. I cut off the tremendous flow with a savage snarl and look at my creation above me.
In the sky is a spectacular orb the size of the moon. It is bright, so bright, but the light it emits does not do damage to our eyes.
For a moment, the entire Haven is illuminated as if by the sun.
And then, I clap my hands above my head and shoot a strand of Air into the orb.
It absorbs it… and then it breaks.
White, vicious streaks fly out from it, like meteors falling from the stars. The streaks go in the direction I intended, crashing into the earth at eleven spots around the boundary of The Haven.
The ground shakes, throwing dozens of vampires off their feet.
But I am too strong to be affected. I keep my balance and watch, all-but-burned-out, as all the magic gathered in the orb is distributed evenly along the eleven parts.
The shaking stops. The earth goes still. The light above me fades.
“It is done,” I whisper.
And then, the sudden weight of all I’ve wielded comes crashing down on me. I feel hollow, empty, so weak as to be on the verge of death.
My knees give way, my vision goes black, and I collapse.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Raul
The Haven
I hear the words fall from her lips, but my mind barely has time to register them as I see the woman I love swoon and fall.
I leap up to catch her.
I don’t know what she did, but it’s… it’s a disaster.
Half the Incolam are on the ground, clawing at their eyes and screeching with pain. The stronger vampires, who were able to resist the bright light better than their weaker kin, are still mostly in a daze, looking around with dumb, vacant expressions.
At least, it is night again.
I look at Eleira’s limp form. Her eyes are closed. A singed sort of smell drifts from her body.
The only ones unaffected by the spell she cast were Felix and me. I thought I saw some sort of protective shield blast out around Eleira. It was only for a short moment, mere milliseconds, but however long it lasted… was enough.
I half-thought my eyes deceived me, but while she worked her magic, very strange markings appeared to glow on Eleira’s skin.
“Eleira,” I say. I hold her to me. She is out cold.
The other vampires begin to recover. Some of them pick themselves off the ground. The last of the shrieking ends.
Felix bounds to me. “We have to get her to a safe place!” he commands. I hear the angered voices of the other vampires. “Now!”
“I agree,” I say. I scoop her up in my arms. I look up at the sky, trying to determine whether the spell succeeded… but there’s no way to tell.
“Take her to my study,” Felix says. “I’ll stand here and command the guards. We need to control these vampires. We cannot have a riot!”
“Do you think she did it?”
“There’s no way to know.” He pushes me by the shoulder. “Go!”
Fast as I can, I race toward the stronghold, leaving the other vampires behind.
I hear their voices trailing after me, demanding an explanation, some sort of confirmation that the spell worked, but I ignore it all.
My focus is all on the girl dangling from my arms.
I reach the entrance to the underground fortress. Quickly, I kick open the doors and race inside. I’m at Felix’s rooms in a heartbeat. I open the door…
And find Phillip waiting for me.
He’s uncuffed, unchained, and completely alone.
“Hello, brother,” he says in a dangerous sort of way. “I thought I heard some commotion out there.”
He looks at Eleira hanging in my arms. He sneers. “Serves her right.”
My anger flares. I want to rush him. But I cannot forget that I am responsible for Eleira, now, too.
Phillip looks at me funny. “You think I will hurt her? I cannot, remember? Bound by that oath and all.”
He walks over to Felix’s desk and reclines on the chair.
“Don’t just stand there,” he says. “Come in. Put her down.” He points. “That couch over there looks like a fantastic spot.”
Warily, I walk through the room. “What do you know?” I ask. “How did you get free?”
Gently, I set Eleira down on the cushions. She gives a minuscule sigh when I let go.
I take that as a good sign, at least.
“Eleira called all of the vampires to gather for her,” Phillip says casually. “That includes me. Unfortunately, that explanation didn’t seem to be very convincing for the guard set to watch me. So,” he looks at his nails. “I killed him.”
“What?” I stiffen and go on high alert. “How? The oath—”
“Says nothing about me using my hands.” Phillip smiles. “I strangled him. Too bad. I remember him as a good soldier for us. When I was Captain Commander, that is.”
“You know the punishment for murder,” I growl.
Phillip laughs. “What, is she going to sever my soul from my body? Please. Eleira’s soft. She is nothing like Mother was.”
“She is better.”
Phillip sneers. “Of course, you would say that. But you don’t really believe that, do you? Your heart still belongs to Liana. It always has. Eleira’s her substitute, but she’s no match.”
“You’re talking about things of which you know nothing,” I say, my anger growing stronger.
“And, of course, Eleira can never replicate what Mother did. How did the grand ceremony go, by the way?” His lips curl up in a predatory way. “I heard the screams.”
“Eleira channeled a vast amount of magic,” I say.
“Oh, yes. I can see that,” Phillip mocks. “It took a lot out of her, evidently. Even with the great torrial at her disposal.”
He sighs. “But that’s not what I asked. Was she successful? Is The Haven… ‘safe’?”
I look at him straight in the eyes. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But you need to leave. If Eleira discovers you here when she comes to—”
“Oh, look,” he cuts me off. “She’s up.”
I turn my head and see Eleira gingerly pushing herself up on the couch.
In a flash, I’m beside her. I grasp her hand. “Are you all right?” I whisper. “You fainted. I brought you here. How do you feel?”
“F… fine,” she manages. She gives a weak little cough, then looks around. “This is Felix’s chamber.”
“He thought you would be safest here.”
Her eyes land on Phillip. She bolts upright.
“What’s he doing here?” she hisses.
Phillip raises his hands in front of him. “I promise, Eleira, I harbor no ill will.”
“He killed the guard who was watching him and broke free,” I say, tightening my grip on Eleira’s hand. “Give me the word, and I will destroy him.”
Eleira turns her head to me, wide-eyed. “He’s your brother,” she says.
I shake my head. “The Phillip I knew is long gone. Whatever Morgan did to him corrupted him beyond repair. He broke the law. Many times. I cannot give him a free pass. Not any longer.”
“Harsh,” Phillip mutters. “But, I’ll admit, fair.”
“I’m not going to sentence the only other member of our coven who can do magic to death,” Eleira says. “Whatever Morgan did can be corrected. I can do it. Trust in me.”
Phillip laughs. “Dearest, it’s far beyond the scope of your abilities. Truth is, Morgan didn’t do anything to me. This—” he looks down at his hands, “—is who I am. It’s who I’ve always been. I simply contained it, tempered it, controlled it before.”
He addresses Raul. “Our Mother opened my eyes to my own capabilities. Do you know why for so many hundreds of years, she’d treated me with nothing but disdain? Because she knew, Raul, she knew that I was the strongest of her sons. She knew that I was holding back. It was a misguided, completely wrong mindset for me to possess. I see the truth now, however. And if you want to rise to your full potential, I suggest you stop resisting the darkness, too.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I hiss.
“Please. Let’s dispense with the niceties. Eleira is Queen. She deserves to know.”
Her eyes narrow. “Know what?” she asks.
“How Raul failed Liana. And what became of her in the aftermath.”
“No,” I warn.
“He’s never told you, has he?” Phillip asks Eleira. “He never said how much he lied to protect his precious girl. How much trouble he caused to the coven. How it almost brought Mother to ruin.”
“Phillip,” I say firmly. “Stop.”
He ignores me. “I’ll spare you the mundane details,” he says. “We’ll get right to the meat of the story. Raul claimed he loved Liana. And he turned his back on all of The Haven, on all of our people, to save her.”
“Enough!” I say.
“Do you want to know what happened to her, in the end?” Phillip asks. “Do you want to know how spectacularly my older brother failed her, all while letting her be the near-cause of our ruin, for many, many years?”
“You promised me,” I say. “You promised me this would never leave your lips!”
Phillip looks at me with something akin to pity. “Things change, brother dearest,” he says. “Eleira, in the end, despite all of Raul’s efforts, Liana was condemned to become one of The Convicted. And there she toiled, for so many years, in the horrific confines beneath the Earth, existing only in misery and pain, while Raul continued to enjoy all the splendors of our lifestyle above ground.
“He did not go see her once, the supposed love of his life. He could not face his failures. He simply chose to pretend she was dead. But she was not, was she, Raul? She lived until the moment we were forced to destroy The Convicted army.”
Eleira looks at me. There is outright horror in her eyes.
“Is this true?” she whispers.
My stomach turns over in a knot. I look at the woman I love. I see the earnestness, the compassion, the pleading in her eyes.
I see the accusation, the hurt, and the hate.
I turn away and drop my head.
“Yes,” I whisper.
Eleira gasps.
Phillip laughs.
And just like that, I know I’ve lost her.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Eleira
Felix’s room in the stronghold
Raul flees the room before I can get so much as a single word in. When the doors close, and I’m left alone with Phillip, I feel a staggering amount of confusion at what I just learned.
I feel, in some ways, absolutely betrayal by Raul.
“A shame, isn’t it?” Phillip asks softly. “To keep all that from you? I don’t think he’d ever intended for you to know.”
“I only ever asked him for honesty,” I say under my breath. “He swore he’d give it. No matter what.”
“You’ve only been with us for a very short time, Eleira,” Phill
ip says. “How much about any of us do you truly know?”
I turn my head and look at him. I feel the moisture building in my eyes.
“Are you angry with me?” he asks. “That I would reveal the truth to you so… indelicately?”
I note that Phillip has not moved a single inch closer. I appreciate that.
“No.” I grip the edge of the sofa and push myself to my feet. “No, I thank you. For telling me what you did.”
“We are truly, still on the same side,” Phillip whispers. He bows his head. “Release me from the oath. I have proved myself loyal to you. I will continue to be so, but let it be through honest freedom of will, not coercion.”
“If you think I’d so readily forget what you did to me, along with Morgan, you are mistaken,” I say. I take a probing step forward, trying to discern how much strength I’ve lost.
After waking up here, following the casting of the great spell, I feel a definite diminution of my abilities.
Could I have burned myself out? Or is this just a part of the delayed recovery process after doing what I did?
I don’t know, and there’s no precedent, so I have to be absolutely careful.
Phillip jerks straight. “Then don’t hold me prisoner, at the very least. I can help you govern. More than you know. All the knowledge I had before, of magic, of computers, all of it—it still remains with me. Use it! Let me help transform you into a Queen far better than Morgan ever was.”
I cross my arms. “And how do you intend to do that?”
“By being your trusted servant. By lending you my powers. You were right when you said my ability to wield magic is important. Imagine it to be even more so, should our weaves be made collaborative.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, there is a synergy between the female and male strains of magic. You believe you can harness all the powers of the Elemental Forces. What I’m telling you is that, yes, you can… but only on the female side.”
He draws a circle in the air, and splits it with a single slash. “It’s like the ancient symbol of yin and yang. Blood magic is not what I use. It is what awakened me to my powers, yes. You see the miasma.” He gestures at his eyes. “But it had to be done to activate the male magic latent in me. You and I both draw on the same Elemental Forces, but we use their opposite sides. You are as blind to the male half of them as I am to the female.”
