by E. M. Knight
“If you knew what he is capable of, you might be,” I say. “But that is ultimately up to your discretion. There’s more. This is arguably more important, for me and you.”
“What?”
“The Paths are being torn down,” I say. “They’re being destroyed. I anticipate that soon, they will no longer be safe to enter.”
Her brow furrows together. “How?” she wonders.
I can tell she doesn’t expect an answer.
I decide to surprise her with one.
“It’s because of the Dark Sorceress. Cierra. She is using their energy to make portals into the Demon Realm.”
That news concerns Eleira immediately. She comes forward. “How do you know?”
“I saw her do it,” I say. “On my way here I saw her with my own eyes. And,” I swallow, “she saw me.”
Eleira nods in immediate understanding. “That means she’s coming for you.”
“Yes.”
“She’ll come to kill you.”
“Of course.”
“Eleira!” Raul exclaims. “You cannot seriously be thinking of sheltering him knowing that? Cierra is called the Dark Sorceress for a reason. She’s the most fearsome witch who’s ever lived. Keeping Riyu here just paints a target on our back!”
She turns around and regards the Prince carefully. “Are you suggesting, again,” she asks him in a dangerous way, “that I cannot handle myself against her?”
“You’re not listening!” he sputters. “That’s not at all what I said.”
“No, but it’s what you implied,” she fires back. “Over and over again, you doubt me. Why? What have I done to deserve so little respect? When have I ever proved myself incapable?”
“Eleira, it’s not that,” he says. “This has nothing to do with respect. I love you. That’s a feeling that goes much deeper than that!”
“Are you sure?” she asks. “Because the way you show it leads me to an entirely different conclusion!”
Raul’s back stiffens. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, what the hell do you think I mean, Raul?” she explodes. “I mean that I don’t think you love me. Not in the way I used to love you.”
“Used to?” he whispers.
“I’m not blind or stupid,” she snaps. “I can feel the connection lost. Morgan’s gone, your Mother’s dead. You don’t need to pretend to like me anymore.”
“I never pretended…” he begins.
She laughs. “Oh, really? What about the first time we made love? You couldn’t wait to get out of there. In fact you bolted away the first shot you got!”
“Is that what you think?” he whispers.
“Yeah, Raul, that’s what I think,” she answers.
“Then I don’t know what to say to that,” he tells her. “Except that maybe a conversation of this nature should be conducted in private.”
“Phillip and Riyu can hear everything.” She smiles viciously. “All secrets get out, in The Haven, anyway.”
“Fine,” he says. “You have to understand, Eleira, I do love you—”
“Prove it. Kiss me. Do it here, do it now. And tell me what you feel.”
He glances at me, hesitating…
Eleira sneers and turns away. “Right,” she says. “Exactly as I thought.”
Then Raul grabs her hand, spins her back, and seals his lips in hers in a passionate kiss.
Even I can feel the heat of the moment. I start to grow uncomfortable, but I force myself not to look away.
Raul releases her. He holds her by the shoulders and searches her eyes.
“Now do you believe me?” he whispers.
Eleira bites her lower lip…
And slowly nods.
“Sometimes—no, most of the time—I just do a lousy job showing it,” he presses on. “But Eleira, I swear this on my life. You mean the world to me.”
She looks at him for a very long moment.
“I believe you,” she finally says.
Behind them, Phillip manages to actually groan.
The Queen turns again to me. This time, she threads her fingers through Raul’s hand.
“Do you think Cierra is as dangerous as Raul thinks?” she asks, tilting her head to the vampire at her side.
“No,” I say. “She’s more.”
“So then do you concur with his assessment of the risk we are taking on by welcoming you?”
I consider the question. “That depends on how strong the wards are.”
“Impenetrable,” Eleira says immediately.
“How far beneath the earth do they extend?”
Eleira shoots me a grin. “I did not make the same mistake Morgan did. The wards surround The Haven from every angle. We are enclosed in a perfect sphere.”
“Impressive,” I say. “Considering I can appreciate how much magic that took.”
She shakes her head. “You can’t fathom it. Even I could not, not until I… until I did it.”
“But they haven’t been tested yet,” I say.
“No.” She considers me, then says, “Come with me to the wards. You’re the only one around who can harness the same strands of magic that I do. I’d like your opinion on what I did.”
“That, my Queen,” I say, bowing deep, “I can offer in full.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Felix
The Haven
In the safety of my personal study, I retrieve the one and only object that allows me to communicate with the outside world.
It is a torrial, the shape of a bowling ball, smooth and round and black. It’s not entirely unlike the one I presented to Eleira.
I unwrap the cloth holding it. I close my eyes, press both palms into the sides, and open my mind to its power.
The message that was left for me, left through this torrial’s only copy in the world, streamed into my head like a torrent.
Logan is displeased. He gave you the days you wanted and got nothing in return. You must prepare for war.
I rip my hands away, gasping, and wrap the torrial back up as quickly as I can.
My brother’s words echo in my mind.
Prepare for war.
Chapter Forty-Four
The Ancient
The Crypts
I jolt upright as the telepathic link to my torrial informs me my message has been received.
Slowly, my lips curl into a bloodless smile.
Brother, I think. Our time has finally come.
Chapter Forty-Five
Beatrice
Location Unknown
Under cover of eternal night, hidden away in a cave deep beneath the Earth, I hold my hands out for the four infants before me and feel the rows of their tiny fangs prick into my skin as they draw on fresh blood.
“Yes, my sweets,” I whisper. “Logan was a fool to forsake me. But you are my lovers now, and when you grow, the five of us will be unstoppable.”
They suckle on and on and on.
Chapter Forty-Six
Dagan
The outpost
“Are you telling me that despite the curse you cast on me, you cannot see what happened when I was saved by The Ancient?” I demand.
Beth purses her lips in annoyance. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, and exactly what has confounded me for so long! Whatever happened in the time you were in your room, after the demon attack, is invisible to me.”
“So your curse failed. That means you can undo it!”
“No.” She scowls. “It means it was interfered with. Why or how, I cannot tell.”
“I can’t believe it,” I shake my head. “The one piece of information that would have proved useful to me, you don’t have.”
“If I knew why, I would tell you!” she stresses. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. Our eyes are not on the past, but on the future.”
“And where will that future lead, I wonder?”
She smiles mischievously. “I thought we already agreed. I’m going to show you to the outside covens.”
> I take a deep breath… and give her my consent.
“But when we arrive,” I warn. “Not one word about The Crypts. I do all the talking if the subject ever comes up.”
“If they let you,” she quips.
I glare at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She grins. “You’ll see.”
Epilogue
Phillip
The Haven
After Eleira releases me, under condition that should I ever try a move like I did again, I’ll be killed, I give another oath—and am bound once more—not to ever threaten her with physical, mental, or psychological harm.
Before she takes Riyu to the ward barrier, we start the generator again. When it’s running, and I feel a little prickle of pride, I beg my leave.
Eleira grants it. I walk away slowly, casually.
Yet as soon as I’m out of sight, I break out into a dead run.
I have to get to where my guards left Mother.
I race to the spot and drop to the ground, throwing the leaves and dirt away, digging for the entrance.
A heavy, sealed, door lies below the surface. It’s iron, lined with silver, ingrained with obsidian.
I rummage through my pockets for the key. For a moment, I’m scared I no longer have it.
Then, my fingers find the twisted metal, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I pull it out and stick it into the lock. I turn it forty degrees left, one hundred eighty right, and then exactly four-hundred-forty-four left again.
Good thing my vampire senses allow for such precision.
The sealed door pops opens. I take one quick look around and drop inside.
Once I’m in, a cold chill washes over me.
This area is protected from magic. The currents do not extend here. We have our own reservoir, however. Mother made sure to collect enough of the Elements in case something unfortunate happened.
I glance over at the wall, where the bodies of the four vampire guards who brought her here lie. I had to kill them after their task was done. I had no choice.
I could not risk word of Mother’s survival leaking out.
I turn my eyes to the huge marble slab in the middle of the room. The ancient runes, intricately carved around it, are faintly glowing.
They are drawing on the magic in the torrial reservoir and feeding it into the body that lies atop the slab.
Slowly, I walk over. A thin white sheet covers Mother’s fragile form. I dare not disturb her, not when I know how precarious her condition is.
I bring both hands out and let them hover just an inch over her chest. I close my eyes and focus deeply on the vibrations being given off by her body.
They are the only things that let me know she is still alive.
I feel them. But only just.
Yet, they are marginally stronger than when we first put her here.
That should give me some hope. But it’s not enough. Given how powerful she was, both as a vampire and a witch, and how much time has already passed, her recovery should be moving along faster.
I mutter an oath. It’s the damn demon blood that’s corrupting her body. The demon blood she claimed was key to everything is now killing her.
I refuse to let that happen. Mother revealed it all to me. She gave me the gift of Blood Magic. She opened my eyes to my true potential.
Above all, however, she is the only one who will lift me from this damn oath.
I turn away. There’s little I can do now. The torrial, and the marble slab, are doing their work. They are sustaining her.
But for how long?
I drop down so that I’m eye-level with the runes. I trace a finger over them. If only I could read the ancient language. If only I knew what they said!
Maybe then, I would be better able to help her.
Because right now, at this moment, she is the only ally I have.
Eleira, left to her own devices, will destroy The Haven. She will be the end of us. The girl isn’t conditioned to rule. You cannot just make up the centuries of experience that Mother has through a little bit of strength.
That is why I need our Queen back. Our true Queen. The only one who can actually lead this coven to its full glory!
“I will save you, Mother,” I promise. “Come hell or high water, you will emerge from this prison, and you will have command of your kingdom back.”
I leave her. The transfer of power through the throne torrial to Eleira could not be better for my purpose. It means that the girl is bound to The Haven, whereas the true Queen, when she returns, will have freedom to traverse the whole world!
As I’m climbing out, a new thought occurs to me.
Maybe I don’t know how to resurrect Mother. But there is someone out there who does.
An evil smile creeps onto my lips. Who better to ask for alliance than the only non-vampire being who has been alive for five centuries or more?
Who better to ask than my own Mother’s sister, than the Dark Sorceress herself, than… Cierra?
And with Riyu now bound to us, I have the perfect bargaining chip to make the meeting between us happen.
~ The End ~
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