Page 25

25

DANTE

The scrying mirror on my desk flares to life with my father’s face, his expression precisely as cold and disappointed as expected.

“Your actions have dishonoured the DuLoc name beyond repair,” he says without greeting. “The execution of Aurelius Aragon, regardless of justification, has placed our family in an impossible position.”

Behind him, I glimpse my mother, her face turned away.

“Your mother has not stopped crying since the news reached us,” Dad continues. “Until this matter resolves itself, you are not to contact any family members or access DuLoc resources.”

“I understand,” I reply calmly.

“Do you?” His voice sharpens. “Centuries of careful alliances, destroyed because you couldn’t control yourself.”

“I made my choice. I would make it again.”

His jaw tightens. “Then you are no longer a DuLoc.”

The mirror goes dark. I place my hand against its cool surface, feeling the finality of the moment. Family loyalty ended with a single stake through Aurelius Aragon’s heart.

No regrets.

I would kill Aurelius again without hesitation to protect Gaida. I would choose her over my family any day of the week now. She is it for me.

The DuLocs have married strategically, formed alliances carefully, and maintained their position in vampire society through calculated decisions for seven centuries. No DuLoc has ever acted from passion rather than pragmatism.

Until me.

I leave my room, heading toward the central courtyard where Gaida agreed to meet me. The corridors of MistHallow feel different today. Cooler, with shadows that seem to linger longer than they should. Students pass me with worried expressions, huddled in groups, conversations stopping when I approach.

The incident in the north wing this morning has everyone on edge. An entire classroom temporarily vanished, returning thirty minutes later with the students inside, insisting only seconds had passed for them. Luke called an emergency staff meeting, attributing it to magickal artefacts going wild.

I know better. I felt Gaida’s energy spike at precisely that moment, though she was nowhere near the north wing.

In the courtyard, I find her sitting alone on a stone bench, staring into the central fountain where water flows upward rather than down. None of the passing students seem to notice this impossibility, their eyes sliding past as if compelled to ignore it.

“Interesting trick,” I say, sitting beside her.

Gaida startles slightly, the water immediately returning to its normal downward flow. “I wasn’t doing anything,” she insists, though the brief flash of confusion in her eyes tells me she’s not entirely certain.

I study her carefully. Her appearance hasn’t changed, but something about her feels different. An energy beneath her skin, a presence within her that wasn’t there before, and the biggie. I can’t read her emotions anymore. We are back to how it was before we blood-bonded. I’m not sure if I’m happy about that or not.

“I can’t feel you,” she murmurs, as if reading my thoughts anyway.

“Me either.”

“Does that make you sad?”

“Not sad, worried.”

“Me too.”

“How are you feeling today?” I ask, keeping my tone casual.

“Fine. Tired.” She hesitates, then adds, “Having strange dreams.”

“What kind of dreams?”

“Places I’ve never been. People I’ve never met. But they feel familiar somehow.” She rubs her temples. “They feel like memories, but they can’t be mine.”

I take her hand gently. “Have you spoken with Luke about this?”

“Not yet. He’s busy dealing with the multiple incidents. He is Headmaster. They are looking to him for answers.”

“Felix has been researching the Blood Queen’s power. Has he found anything useful?”

“He barely leaves the library. Says he’s close to something important.” Her fingers tighten around mine. “Dante, I’m scared. Something’s happening to me. I can feel it, like there’s someone else inside my head, watching, waiting.”

Before I can respond, a group of first-year students enter the courtyard, laughing too loudly, trying to pretend everything is normal. One boy shoves another playfully, causing him to stumble toward us.

“Watch it!” the boy shouts, catching himself before falling.

The casual display of aggression, insignificant as it is, triggers something in Gaida. Her eyes flash crimson, her entire body tensing beside me. The air around us thickens, pressure building like the moment before bad magickal things happen.

“Gaida,” I say quietly, “breathe.”

She doesn’t hear me. The fountain water freezes mid-air, suspended in impossible arrangements. The stone beneath our feet trembles. The students stop, finally noticing that something is wrong.

“Everyone leave,” I order, my voice cutting through their confusion. “Now.”

They hesitate until the first crack appears in the courtyard flagstones, a jagged line racing from Gaida’s feet toward them. Then they run, shouting for help.

“Gaida,” I try again, gripping her chin, turning her to face me. “Look at me.”

Her eyes have gone completely red, no white or pupil visible. “The barriers are too thin,” she says, but the voice isn’t entirely hers. It carries an ancient resonance, layered beneath her normal tones. “They were not meant to remain separated forever.”

“Actually, yes, they were,” I say dryly, trying to remain calm, normal in the face of this uprising.

And an uprising it is. The Blood Queen is showing through the cracks.

The sky above darkens unnaturally, and the fog thickens around us. Through the cracks in the stone, I see flashes of other places, other realities.

“Gaida, listen to me. You’re stronger than her.”

For a moment, nothing changes. Then her eyes meet mine, recognition slowly returning. The crimson glow fades, confusion replacing it.

“Dante?” she whispers. “What’s happening?”

The pressure subsides. The cracks stop spreading, though they don’t repair themselves. The fog disperses, returning to normal misty formations. The fountain water splashes down, soaking the courtyard.

She looks around at the destruction, horror dawning on her face. “Did I do this?”

Before I can answer, Luke appears at the courtyard entrance, deep in the shadows, his expression grim. Felix stands beside him, clutching an ancient book, glaring up at the daytime sky, almost daring it to smite him.

“We need to talk,” Luke gestures to us to move forward to protect Felix. “All of us. Now.”

Felix steps back inside, sweating and shaking from the bit of daylight he was exposed to, even from the shadows, showing Gaida a page from his book. “I know what’s happening to you,” he tells her. “The Blood Queen’s consciousness survived within her power. When Mashtar died and his power returned to you, she came with it.”

Gaida steps back, shaking her head. “No.”

“I had a vision,” Felix continues. “Through our sire bond. The Blood Queen wants you to reunite all worlds.”

“Reunification would be catastrophic,” Luke states the obvious.

“Not according to her,” Felix says. “She believes it’s her sacred purpose, her destiny. And now?—”

“She’s using me to accomplish it,” Gaida finishes. “She thinks this is her destiny? Fucking bitch.”

I place my hand on her lower back. “We’re not going to let that happen. What do we do now?”

Luke gestures toward the main academy building. “First, we contain this incident before panic spreads. Then we research. Felix has found references to a hidden chamber beneath MistHallow, built during the original founding. It might contain answers.”

“Wait? A part of the building you don’t know about?” I ask with a loud laugh. “Oh, dear. The shame of it.”

“Fuck off,” Luke growls and we chuckle, lightening the mood considerably.

As we walk toward Luke’s office, Felix falls into step beside me.

“The Blood Queen’s influence will only grow stronger,” he says quietly. “Next time, we might not be able to reach her.”

I watch Gaida walking ahead with Luke, her shoulders tense.

“We’ll find a way,” I say, with more confidence than I feel. “We have to.”

“So, do we know where to access this room?” Gaida asks as we pile into Luke’s office.

“No,” Felix says. “There is no access point. It appears to be a magickal place which you enter through a magickal door.”

“And that would be where?” I ask, looking around.

“I need to find it,” Felix says.

All eyes land on Felix as he sits on the floor and closes his eyes. “Not with you all staring at me. Go. You’ll know when I find it.”

“This is my office,” Luke snaps.

“And?”

“Better leave him to it,” I say, slapping Luke on the back. “I see the family resemblance now. All that grumpiness.”

Gaida snickers, but we back out and leave the master sorcerer turned vampire to his search.