Page 146 of Kingly Bitten

It needs a follow-up phrase, I realized, tryingNyxnext.

Another click.

All right. I was about to key inLilithwhen Jace’s whisper of a thought gave me pause.

Vesperus,he breathed.

What?

It’s Vesperus,he replied, his voice certain.Nyx’s consort.

That wasn’t a name I knew, but I heard the history of it through his mind. The gift Nyx had bestowed upon the Blessed Ones came from her love for Vesperus, a vampire-like god who required blood sacrifices to live.

Our feeding supposedly keeps him alive, Jace whispered.

It certainly fit the other two names in context. But I wasn’t sure how Selene entered into the equation. Regardless, I triedVesperus.

A third click sounded, this one causing the door to open of its own accord.

Why Selene?I asked Jace as I pulled it the rest of the way open.

“Selene was the mother of the first lycan,” Jace replied out loud.

My brow furrowed. “Nyx created her?”

“Sort of.” He stepped forward to peer into the room as the lights came on. “Selene was anErositacreated by one of the vampires of my generation. But they weren’t in love. He did it so a Blessed One could keep her forever. It didn’t work out as expected.”

I followed him into the room, noting its rectangular shape and alternate door. It seemed the entry point didn’t matter. This entire side of the hallway was one large server area, and definitely where Lilith would’ve gone.

“I’m familiar with that name,” Juliet said as she joined us inside the room. “Selene, I mean. She’s written in your books about theErositabond.” The last sentence appeared to be directed at Darius.

“Yes. It’s said that she’s the reasonErositasmust remain faithful to their vampire mate,” he explained as I wandered over to what I guessed was the main computer.

“TheErositaconnection is meant to be cherished, and Selene defied that gift by sleeping with the Blessed One,” Jace added from right behind me, his focus on me while he spoke.

“Which Blessed One?” Juliet asked.

“Fen,” Darius murmured. “Not only did Nyx take away her immortality, but she also cursed their child by turning her into the first lycan. She’s immortal, like the Blessed Ones, but all of her kind eventually die. Which is why vampires often see lycans as lesser—they don’t live forever.”

The computer flared to life as I sat down in front of it, the screen asking for another password.

“And they’re cursed,” Jace said, referring to why vampires felt lycans were beneath them. “Lilith always saw the alliance as a gift because we agreed to divide the territories evenly.”

“But the preference always weighed in our favor,” Darius murmured.

“True,” Jace agreed. “Any guesses on the password?”

I had several, so I merely nodded and started typing. I doubted Lilith would’ve used the same words as the door codes.

So I went through other details known about her.

Cane.

“Access denied.”

Michael.

“Access denied.”