Page 12

12

GAIDA

When I walk back into my room after a hot shower, I find it empty. Felix has gone, which is probably a good thing for both of us. He needs time to process what just happened between us, not to mention the whole dying and becoming a vampire thing, and I need to cool off, so I don’t jump on him and finish what we started.

Plus, I have a bit of business to deal with that I would rather do alone.

Getting dressed quickly; I choose my outfit carefully. Black jeans, tight black vest top, sky-high black heels. Badass, but also sexy enough to hopefully get some answers I need.

Leaving my room, careful to avoid anyone who might stop me, that would be Felix, Luke or Dante, I make my way down to the vault where Draken is being housed. I stare at it for a while, having forgotten that I can’t unlock these stupid wards. So much for being an independent woman. I guess I do need a man for something other than sexual gratification.

Wondering how Luke will react when I go to ask him to unlock these wards, I jump when a voice echoes through the vault door.

“My Queen,”

“What?” I snap.

“Why are you here?”

“No reason.”

He chuckles. “You can’t unlock the wards, can you?”

“Why aren’t you more menacing? Ominous? Scary?”

A pause.

“Do you want me to be?”

The question catches me off guard. “Well, no, but…”

“You assumed I would be a monster.”

“I saw you in a vision.”

“What kind of vision?”

“One where you were hideous and performing a ritual to, one assumed at the time, to merge the worlds.” I grimace when I realise I’ve been played.

“So, you saw dear old dad? Vampire monster from your worst nightmares?”

“Yeah, that would be him.”

“I am named after him.”

I narrow my eyes. “Oh?”

“His name used to be Draken. He changed it once he rose to the creature you saw.”

“Arose?”

“He was a normal man once. He was turned by the Blood Queen to be the creature he has become.”

“Really?” Now we are getting somewhere. Too bad there is a door between us. “So, what exactly is the Blood Queen, or rather the one who turned your dad?”

“A deity from a world that you don’t want to even think about.”

“And yet, she is in me.”

“Not her, simply her blood.”

“Same difference.”

“Not exactly. Actually, it’s quite different,” Draken continues, his voice clearer now as if he’s moved closer to the door. “What flows in your veins is her essence, not her consciousness. You are not her reincarnation but her successor.”

I press my palm against the cold stone of the vault door, ignoring the zaps of Luke’s magick against my skin. “And what exactly does that mean for me?”

“It means you have a choice that she never had.”

“Which is? I’d really like to know before your dad tries to stab me in the face again. Thanks for saving me, by the way. I didn’t say it earlier.”

“To embrace the power without becoming the monster. And you’re welcome. I would do it a thousand times to save you.”

I snort. “That’s cryptic as fuck. Why? Do you truly believe we are fated?”

His laugh is warm, almost genuine. “I’ve had centuries to perfect the art of cryptic communication. But I’m being sincere, Gaida. The Blood Queen who turned my father was consumed by her power, driven mad by it. You don’t have to follow that path. Yes, I do believe we are fated.”

“And why would you care which path I follow?” I ask, suspicious of his apparent concern.

“Did you not just hear me?”

“Say it.”

“Because I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.”

A chill runs down my spine. “That’s not creepy at all.”

“I didn’t mean it to be creepy,” he says, and I can almost hear the smile in his voice. “You are the only one strong enough to end this cycle.”

“By destroying your father.”

“Yes, but also to seal the worlds’ veils so they cannot bleed into one another. I quite like living. Don’t you?”

“You have lived locked in a chalice.”

“For a time. But I had a life before then.” He sounds so wistful, I feel myself buying it.

“The Blood Queen doesn’t seal the veils. The one with the Blood Rights does.”

“You.”

“No, Luke.”

“Oh,” he says, like a light dawning. “This all makes sense now. He took them from you. Sucked it out of your blood.”

“Why should I believe anything you say?”

“Because I’m still here,” Draken says. “If I wanted to escape, I could have done so the moment they left me alone. These wards are impressive, but not enough to hold me if I truly wished to leave.”

That gives me pause. “So why stay?”

“To help you. To guide you. To see if you’re truly different from the others.”

“The other Blood Queens?”

“Yes. There have been seven before you. Each failed at the first hurdle.”

“Which was?” My heart thumps wildly while I wait for his answer.

“The walker of two worlds, who also happens to be pure. There aren’t many of those around.”

“I have one.”

“I know.” His voice has turned almost reverent. “This is why you will succeed where they failed.”

“If Felix dies, I will kill you after I’m done with your dad.”

“I would expect nothing less than the loyalty you show to those you love. We have that in common.”

“You don’t love me. You don’t know me.”

“Oh, but that is where you are wrong. I have watched you live, Gaida. Watched you grow up and become this powerful woman.”

“How?” I croak.

“Through the chalice. Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?” I whisper.

“Where it was stored.”

My blood runs cold. “No,” I say, my voice hoarse. “Where?”

“Close your eyes and look around your room.”

I gulp and do as he says. I stumble back when I see the ornate chalice on the high bookshelf in my bedroom. One of two bookends. Clearly, one was more than just an inanimate object. “My parents put you in my room?” I choke out.

“Mr DuLoc was right to kill your father. He wasn’t a nice man. Why is it that fathers can never do right by their children?”

“How do you know Dante killed my dad?”

“I know everything. I have the sight.”

“The sight?”

“Some can see the future. I can see the present. All-seeing, everything that happens. It is a curse.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmur and actually mean it. That must be a nightmare.

After a beat, he says, “Thank you. That means a lot.”

“Open the door, Draken.”

There’s a long pause, and I think he’s going to refuse me. Then I hear the wards break and a soft click as the door swings open slowly.

“Do you trust me?” he asks quietly.

“Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes.”

“What happens to you when your father is destroyed?”

“Then my work is done.”

“Answer me,” I demand.

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

“You die.”

“Die is so final, don’t you think. Cease to exist sounds better. Will you miss me?”

“No,” I say defiantly.

He chuckles. “Liar.”

“Look, I don’t have the bandwidth to mourn you when I have to focus on saving Felix. If the original Blood Queen turned your dad and he turned into a hideous monster, what hope does Felix have?”

“He will be as you want him to be. You are a kind, generous being, Gaida. You are considerate and care when perhaps you shouldn’t. You are not corrupted by power. Your boy will be just as he is now.”

“Are you sure?” I whisper. “I can’t take a chance if he will come back as a beast. He won’t want that.”

“He will remain exactly as he is now, only stronger, faster, more powerful. He will be the same Felix you love, Gaida. The sire bond will ensure that.”

“Intention is everything?” I ask with a bitter smile.

“Always. It’s the very basis of how magick works.”

“Turning isn’t magick.”

“Isn’t it? A dead creature comes back to life to live, to love, to breathe; you don’t think that is magick?”

I blink. “I guess I never thought of it that way before.”

“I wish I had more time to teach you all the things you should know, my Queen. But time runs short.”

“Don’t make me be sad about you dying.”

“I’m not making you be sad, Gaida. That is all you.” He comes closer and cups my face. I let him because I don’t want to push him away. “You will do brave things, my Queen. You will be bold and beautiful and strong. It is my deepest regret that I will miss it all.”

“Stop it,” I stammer.

“Gaida.” Luke’s voice is a soft croak behind me.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I say. “He is my fate, and he will die.”

“I know.”

I stumble back from Draken and fling myself into Luke’s arms with a sob that wracks my entire body. Blood tears pour down my face. Luke’s arms tighten around me, and he lets me cry on his shoulder for a man I don’t know, don’t love, but somehow will miss deep in my soul when he is gone.

“Take her away from here,” Draken murmurs to Luke. “She needs your comfort.”

“Thank you,” Luke murmurs, but I don’t know what he means. I feel his magick wash over me, and I crumple when we land in my bedroom, crying for something I’ve lost that I didn’t even know I had to begin with.