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Victor nodded again. “Yes, as far as we know. His brand of magic is incredibly rare, and no one in our coven has ever come across a scenario where a vampire with art magic didn’t follow the rules to this extent. To his credit, Sebastian didn’t know what he was doing until you arrived two days ago. But instead of simply destroying the paintings of you, he has chosen to risk the coven in search of a different solution.”

“What do you mean?” Isabel’s knees felt weak with all the extreme emotions, but she fought to stay on her feet. She needed to understand the whole situation before she could make a plan to fix it. Because that was her job as his wife, right? To clean up her husband’s messes?

“Sebastian has gone to attempt to get more information about his magic from the original coven.”

Her white-hot anger was extinguished by the icy grip of fear. “You mean…he’s gone to break the treaty? And you let him go?”

“I am not a dictator, and you know that. I told him the consequences should he choose that path. And I sent Remus to either convince him to change his mind, or to drag him back before he can actually put the coven in danger.” Victor’s eyes lit up with the mirth of someone who fully believed everything would always go their way. “Don’t worry. Sebastian may be a wayward son, but Remus is a rock.”

Thatdidmanage to lower Isabel’s anxiety level a few notches. Until Victor continued to speak, that was. “However, should both of my sons fail me and Sebastian succeeds in breaking the treaty, he will no longer be associated with my coven. We will make no efforts to save him from the consequences of his newest actions. And, should that happen, you also will have no association with us.”

“You can’t kick me out, Victor! I’m alone with next to no money, no way to get back to the airport, and nowhere to go until my flight home if something happens to Sebastian.” Isabel’s knees finally gave out, and Josephine lunged forward to hold her up.

“You can’t be like that, Victor! She’s my sister! I lost her once already, and I’m not willing to lose her so soon again.” Josephine’s eyes blazed as she gently supported Isabel. “If you remove Aurora from the coven, you’re going to have to remove me as well. We came to you together, and we’ll leave you together.”

Victor’s face was unreadable as he considered Josephine’s declaration. Isabel managed to regain control of her legs and took her weight back, but she continued to tremble. What-ifs blew through her mind like a hurricane while her sister and the master vampire stared at each other.

And then…Victor smiled. “Loyalty is one of the most prized traits in my children,” he chuckled. “Loyalty and the willingness to protect our family members. Blood is what connects us all, so I suppose by blood you'll still be connected. Should my son lose his place among us, you will be allowed to remain through your sister. But should you choose to join Sebastian in exile instead? Then even blood will no longer bond you to us.”

CHAPTER30

Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, Romania. 11 June, 2007

Sebastian landed flat on his back with the sickeningcrunchof bones shattering against stone. The breath whooshed from his lungs and, for a moment, he thought he’d managed to overcome his immortality. Lights flashed in his vision and he felt his consciousness fading.

Yet his curse kicked in and began knitting the torn flesh and bone back together. It was an excruciating few minutes, feeling the bone shards creeping back into place and the white heat of accelerated healing welding them in place. He let out a low groan, which was met from laughter from above.

“That eager to get into the dungeon, brother?” Remus called down, only his face illuminated in the small amount of light that reached the dungeon stairs. “Don’t mind me taking the long way. You can take a catnap or something while you wait.”

The mocking tone made Sebastian’s teeth itch to retort, but any words were cut short by thesnapof his femur shifting back into place. He let out a piercing scream of pain, which only earned him more laughter from above.

While Remus slowly made his way down the perilous stairs, Sebastian managed to sit up and begin breathing again. Another minute passed and he could stand, albeit leaning against the slimy stone wall. He watched his brother’s flashlight bob closer and closer, until the two men stood side-by-side. “I see you’re up,” Remus snarked. “Alright, then. Fourth cell on the left.”

They passed three gaping black mouths of crumbling stone and entered the fourth, where Remus began casting his light around in search of the secret entrance. “It should have a small carving in one of the stones…” he muttered, running his fingers over the walls. “Ah, here we go. Hold the flashlight.”

Sebastian accepted the light and pointed it at the stone Remus indicated, while the other vampire opened a vial of blood and dipped his finger into it. He then traced the outline of the carving, a simple dragon, with the blood. The room began to rumble and the wall dropped halfway into the ground, revealing a small bowl carved into the top of the stone.

Remus poured the remaining blood into the indentation, and it quickly soaked in. With another rumble, the wall lowered completely and allowed the pair to enter. No sooner had they passed the threshold than another rumble heralded the closing of the entrance. “Don’t worry. I brought two vials,” Remus said, despite Sebastian showing no signs of worry.

Wonder, though? The still-burning lights of the enchanted torches lining the hallway reflected in his wonder-filled eyes. There was a sense of reverence he felt as he walked down the stone passage toward what promised to be an untapped treasure trove of forgotten knowledge. The air was cool, but dry, as if some enchantment had been placed on the space to keep the climate right for preserving ancient texts.

There probablywassuch an enchantment. His vampiric ancestors held a far stronger power than the modern day Turns, for whatever reason. Perhaps the books inside held the answer to that question as well? They turned a corner and the passage opened into a massive cavern, lined floor-to-ceiling with rows and rows of shelves filled with leather bound tomes.

“There better be some sort of organization system, or we’re going to be here for an eternity,” Sebastian groaned, staring at the thousands upon thousands of books. The thought of having to search them manually for the information he needed was nearly enough to make him give up. Maybe it would be better to just destroy the paintings than continue to fight for another solution? It made him sick to consider, but so did knowing Isabel would continue to suffer until he acted.

Remus nodded, but walked past Sebastian into the library with glittering eyes. “This is the mostamazingplace I’ve ever seen,” he whispered with reverence dripping from his words. “I can’t believe our people would leave so much knowledge behind to rot.”

“It’s not like the coven was just moving because they got tired of the scenery,” Sebastian replied. His eyes swept up toward the cavern’s ceiling and found it had been elegantly painted to look like the heavens. The moon and stars even gave off light. “If we manage to stumble across the book explaining how they’ve kept these torches burning and those stars shining for a thousand years, we’re taking that knowledge with us, too.”

“Agreed.”

And with that, the search began. Sebastian walked over to the closest set of shelves, while Remus disappeared into the maze of stacks. The wood was carved with delicate scrollwork, still pristine after all these years. He was almost unwilling to touch it, should his fingers somehow mar the craftsmanship. But with his mind focused intently on the information he needed to find, he began pulling books out, observing their contents, and putting them back.

While putting the third book back on the shelf, his hand brushed the wood and he had the strangest sensation that he was looking in the wrong place. His head tilted slightly and he purposefully pressed his palm to the wood again.Not here,he distinctly felt.

Well, that was strange. But perhaps helpful? He gripped the end of the next set of shelves, only to get the same feeling. “Hm. I guess it would take less time to test this by just touching each set of stacks than to attempt to figure out the theme of them,” he whispered, and began doing just that.

Ten minutes passed, then fifteen, thirty, and an hour. Sebastian considered giving up and just believing he was making up the feeling, but then…it changed. His hand rested on yet another shelf and this time, a feeling like warm static tingled in his palm. His heart fluttered and he began trailing his fingers along the shelf, feeling the tingling grow stronger.Here,he felt, and stopped in front of a book titledVampyre Majik.