Page 6

Caemorn shook his head.

They had reached the circular part of the road with the giant fountain.

It was bubbling now and the sound of splashing water was pleasant.

There were some students hanging about it, sitting on the edge, throwing in coins and taking pictures.

The phones might be useless in terms of sending data, but they could still take very good photos.

The students all froze though when they caught sight of the three of them.

Balthazar smiled and waved. Caemorn ignored everyone.

But no one approached even as Grayson saw some of them take an initial step or open their mouths to call out.

Balthazar doesn’t want them to come near. He sent out some kind of subconscious command that keeps people away. Wild, Grayson realized.

He expected them to head to the right towards the Eyros Palace with its soaring glass walls and warm wood. But they did not. Balthazar and Caemorn were leading them around the fountain and then straight on.

Towards Daemon’s palace.

Daemon’s palace was grander than all the others, but also more alien.

While he recognized aspects of the other palaces in modern and ancient, Daemon’s was different.

There was something about ancient Egyptian pyramids about it, mixed with Greek temples, mixed with a gothic sensibility all clad in pure white stone that glittered underneath the moons.

It was beautiful and made onlookers feel its grandeur.

There was no doubt that whoever lived within it was a king. Or a god .

Grayson’s heart beat harder as he wondered if he would meet King Daemon.

Part of him was dismissive of it. Daemon wasn’t his king.

And he didn’t believe in the innate right of royalty to rule.

They had to earn it. And so many people did not.

But another part of him couldn’t help but feel a trickle of awe mixed with unease.

The Immortals were different from Vampires, but Daemon seemed even more different than them.

They were definitely heading towards Daemon’s palace, he realized as they turned onto the long, straight road directly to the steps that rose up three stories to multiple brass doors that led into the palace’s interior.

Is that where the interrogation is going to be? I guess that makes sense, Grayson considered. This Sect of Dawn is against Daemon so I’m betting he’ll want to know exactly who they are and what they’re up to at the same time we will. If he doesn’t already know…

His head ached as he contemplated knowing the future.

If he had desired to be a Vampire, he would definitely not want to be a Seeyr Vampire.

He wondered what Amara had thought of them.

Was she destined to be a Seeyr? Of all the Bloodlines who would make appointments with students, it would make sense that it was them.

To know that Sam was going to die in advance. To know that Gregory would turn up. To know that I would fight them… Did they know I was coming here before I did? Was I really a surprise?

He glanced at Caemorn and Balthazar. Neither seemed to notice his look. He opened his mouth to ask, but found himself closing it. Did he really want to know?

Focus on this moment. Know that you’re going to get justice for Sam.

Grayson held onto that sense of satisfaction at the thought of meeting the Horys Vampire again.

She would have to give them answers this time.

He knew that no matter what she had to say it wouldn’t be sufficient for snuffing out Sam’s life or taking Gregory’s.

But a group someone like her worked for had to be really bad news and Grayson wanted to stop people like that.

He was surprised by the certainty he had about that. Before, he’d have been too worried about being caught using his powers. Being in the Ever Dark freed him of that concern. He supposed there might be some danger of an Ashyr Vampire seeing him and having questions…

What sort of questions might they have?

“Where are the other Immortals?” Grayson asked suddenly.

“Daemon says that all exist, either in their old forms or have been reborn in new ones,” Caemorn explained.

The Kaly Vampire’s eyes slid to him then away.

“ Reborn ?” Grayson had heard this before, but wasn’t quite sure he understood.

“We were human like you once, Grayson, but we are Immortals.” Balthazar winked at him.

“So Immortals were reborn in human bodies as normal mortals?” Grayson blinked.

“Well, I wasn’t normal .” Balthazar made air quotes around “normal”. “And Caemorn has never even passed by normal by a mile.”

Caemorn sniffed.

“Okay, you weren’t normal .” Grayson made the air quotes, too. “But how abnormal were you? I mean I can move things with my mind.” He paused as he said that. They seemed to hold their breaths too. He pushed on, “Could you read minds or something, Balthazar?”

“Ah, not exactly.” Balthazar grimaced. “I knew what people were thinking, but not on a conscious level. I just thought I was quite intuitive. A master of human nature.”

“Makes sense.” Grayson nodded.

“It was only after I was turned that my gift truly became known.” Balthazar tugged at his coat as if uncomfortable talking about his turning.

Grayson realized that Balthazar had never mentioned a Master to him. Nor had Caemorn. He wondered why.

“I was so much better at using my gift than anyone else, it was joked that I was Eyros reborn.” Balthazar shrugged as they made it to the first set of steps to Daemon’s palace. “It wasn’t until our king returned that who I am was confirmed and I started to remember myself.”

“How much do you remember?” Grayson asked.

With every step up the stairs to Daemon’s palace, Grayson felt strange. Almost heavy. His heart was beating wildly as if he were afraid, but that didn’t make sense.

Another shrug from Balthazar. He seemed not to notice the growing unease in Grayson. “I remember bits and pieces. Sometimes in dreams. Sometimes when I’m awake.”

“Dreams?” Grayson thought of what he’d imagined at the parade. He shook himself. His steps were getting slower. Harder. “What about--about you, Caemorn?”

“My past was obscured from me,” Caemorn answered. “By myself.”

“By yourself ?” Grayson blinked.

Caemorn looked over at him evenly. “The most effective lies are those we tell ourselves.”

They had reached the first landing. There were still two more sets of stairs above them.

Grayson was breathing heavily. His heart was thumping out of his chest practically.

But the two Vampires didn’t notice, or more likely, they pretended not to.

But why? What was this reaction? He needed his control for when he met the Horys’ Vampire.

Or Daemon.

Grayson almost asked to pause then, but he found himself wanting to keep going despite the discomfort and exhaustion. He had to keep going.

“Okay, so there are some Immortals out there who are still humans? Like you were?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, and they have no idea who they really are,” Caemorn answered softly.

“Oh, that’s… wow, okay, that’s…” Grayson’s voice dropped off and it wasn’t just from breathlessness.

He thought of how hard it had been on him not understanding his power. How it had overwhelmed him. How it had made people believe he was a monster…

“Grayson, no! No! Nooooooooooo!” his mother’s voice echoed through his mind.

A memory he would not allow himself to indulge in.

But he did think about how much it would have meant if someone had known about his powers.

Someone who understood what he was and what he could do.

Someone who could have told him that he wasn’t a freak.

How much that would have meant to him. There were Immortals out there probably feeling just that way, but while there was no one who could explain his situation, the Vampires could explain it to those Immortals reborn.

“Why haven’t you gone and found all of them? All the Immortals? And told them who and what they are?” Grayson asked sharply.

Balthazar lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Caemorn. The Kaly Vampire ignored the look. Grayson had an idea that they had discussed this--maybe even argued about it, at length--before.

“Well, because until King Daemon returned, we had no idea that the Immortals were capable of being reborn, let alone that they had been,” Balthazar explained.

“And our religion taught us that the Immortals were the enemies of Vampire-kind,” Caemorn added.

“Uh…”

“There’s a whole long story there.” Balthazar grinned. “But let’s just say that the history we’d been taught made us believe that Daemon was a myth, at best, and the Immortals were scumbags we wanted absolutely nothing to do with.”

“But you don’t believe that anymore, right?” Grayson asked.

“Oh, some do. That’s another reason the Weryn don’t trust us. Ironic as that is,” Balthazar muttered.

“Ironic? Why ironic?” Grayson asked. He was panting now. “Can we--we rest a moment? I’m not sure why, but I--I’m having trouble--”

Caemorn lightly caught his arm. “You’re nearing Daemon.” His eyes slid up to Balthazar. “Some people experience this when they come near him.”

“Will it stop?” Grayson gasped.

“It… will. Just rest and breathe.” Balthazar petted his back.

“Why--why are we here? I thought the interview would be at the--the Eyros Palace,” Grayson got out. He was leaning over. He really felt strange .

“Oh, we’re not here for that,” Balthazar said awkwardly.

“We--we aren’t?” Grayson asked.

“No,” a voice, dark and deep and familiar, murmured.

Grayson’s head snapped up. It was Daemon. King Daemon standing there in a white wolf coat, black pants and no shoes. Beside him stood Julian, looking at Grayson kindly. But Grayson couldn’t stop shaking. Daemon approached.

“You’re here, Grayson,” Daemon said quietly, “because Ryder will need you.”

“W-what?” Grayson’s teeth were chattering.

Then Daemon touched his shoulder. It was a single touch and the breathlessness, the cold, the weakness, the heaviness disappeared. Grayson took in a deep breath of thanks. His shoulders sagged for a moment in relief. He focused on King Daemon.

Those red eyes… I’ve seen those before…

“You said that Ryder needs me?” Grayson straightened, suddenly feeling alarmed.

What could Ryder need him for?

He went to see Lawson. Something’s gone wrong. But one look at the almost happy looks on Balthazar’s face had him amending that. Or something’s gone right.